“I needed you to show up today for a specific reason.” He stood and came around his desk.
The blood flowing through her veins slowed to an agonizing crawl. Here it came. The ol’ heave-ho. The pink slip. The relieving of duties.
He dropped to one knee in front of her like he was going to propose. What the hell?
“What are you doing?” Her voice came out shaky.
She almost kicked him in the face when he cradled her foot and slipped off her Ferragamo flat. She’d searched the depths of her closet because of a deep, long-buried memory that she owned shoes that weren’t heels. Just when she was about to lose all hope, there they were—ballet flats collecting dust. They were red, her favorite color, and now he was taking them off. “No, seriously, what are you doing?”
“I have to see if the slipper fits.” He looked up at her, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Wait. Was he being charming? Did he even know what that word meant?
“I’m sorry. What?” Thank God she’d had a pedicure last week in her quest to cheer herself up. He reached under the chair next to the one she was sitting in and pulled out a blue shoe box she hadn’t noticed. Surely he hadn’t. Surely not. “You bought me … shoes?”
“I did.” He sat back on his heels and looked up at her.
She could get used to having this large, ridiculously handsome man on his knees, his thigh muscles straining against the fabric of his pants, trying to please her in whatever fashion she so desired. She shook her head. Those were dangerous, fantasy-inducing thoughts she needed to exorcise from her brain and never think of again. “Why?”
“Because I noticed that after standing on your feet for hours yesterday, you were hobbling a little bit. And as much as you loved those shoes, I could tell you were cursing them.”
He’d been paying attention to her state of being and acted on what he’d seen? She would not smile. She would not. “Oh.”
He took a deep breath. “And also because I need to apologize for how I acted. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately, and I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve that.”
Thank God she was already sitting down. He’d shocked every ounce of tension out of her body. She would have melted to the ground in an ungainly, undignified heap. “Oh.”
He flashed a killer smile that sent her heart catapulting in her chest. “That all you have to say?”
She tried to wrestle her brain matter back into a cogent being. “No, it’s not. I’m just shocked, but thank you for the apology. I wasn’t expecting it, but I appreciate it.” She paused. “Does this mean you’re not firing me?”
“Yes, although you did almost burn down my kitchen.”
“I did not burn down your kitchen!”
He held up a finger. “I said almost.”
“It was just a little smoke!” That was the mantra she’d been repeating to herself since she ran out of the place. It was really the only reason she showed up. Okay, and because of his “or else” text. Fine. She could admit it to herself. Not him, of course.
He reached for a pen and writing pad on his desk and made a mark.
She frowned. “What are you doing?”
“A demerit for insubordination. I think it’s in my best interest to keep a tally.” He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing. “I like statistics. Speaking of statistics, I didn’t know your shoe size, which is partially why I chose these.”
Her eyes dropped to the box on her lap. There weren’t many identifying characteristics on the box besides a size, indicating it was a men’s shoe box. She really hoped he hadn’t bought her men’s shoes.
He gestured, a soft smile playing around his mouth. “Open it up.”
Jada took a deep breath and lifted the lid. She reached into the box and pulled out …
Crocs?
She stared at the rubbery black clogs. “What are these?”
“Crocs.”
She huffed her frustration. “Yes, I know that, but why these shoes specifically?” She’d seen other people—people deprived of all fashion sense—wearing them occasionally, but it had never occurred to her to buy some for herself.
“Because I didn’t know your size and these are a little forgiving in that regard.”
“Oh, okay.” She could still be shocked and touched. Who knew? She’d guarded her emotions so much over the years that she’d almost forgotten she had the capacity to be affected by a kind gesture. A kind gesture from Donovan Dell, of all people. “Thank you.”