“It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened,” he grumbles.
Oh my God. Does he go around having this issue with others? “Is kissing your employees a repeat occurrence for you?” The question leaves my lips in a whisper.
“What? No.” He blinks twice, giving away his surprise.
My muscles relax.
Huh. So maybe I’m special after all. The thought makes me smile to myself.
“But I’d rather you name your price to me in private than go to HR with a complaint, but I can’t stop you. I won’t stop you,” he amends.
I’m not sure I’m even breathing at the moment. “I’m not going to HR.”
The way he stares at me makes me feel like I’m sitting on the stand, with a lawyer assessing me for any kind of weakness.
“Okay.” He refocuses his attention on the drawing. “The idea is good. Great even.”
Okay, we’re segueing into an entirely different conversation. My brain hurts from the emotional whiplash.
He shoots me a bored expression. “Take a breath. I’m not in the mood to call an ambulance when you pass out and crack your head open.”
“How dare I consider for a second that you would catch me before that happens.”
“That requires caring and I’m fresh out of fucks to give.”
I release a heavy laugh, and our usual cycle repeats of him looking at me with the strangest expression. “I better get to work.”
He plucks my drawing off the wall and leaves the thumbtack on the corner of my desk. “I’ll be taking this.”
“What? Why?” I take a seat because I’m not sure if my legs can sustain me anymore.
“Because this drawing isn’t going to fix itself.”
“And you’re going to fix it?”
Something flashes in his eyes. Anger? Sadness? Fear? I can’t place whatever haunting look crosses his face because none of those labels make sense.
He grips the paper with a tight fist. “No. I don’t draw but I know someone who does.”
“Really? You have friends?!”
He drags out one long blink. “I don’t consider those who work for me as friends,” he spits out.
Okay then. Moving on… “Do you think they’ll help me?”
His eyes drag from my lips back to my eyes. “If only to spare me from witnessing your secondhand embarrassment again.”
My laugh takes over, making my entire chest shake. “I’m all for that.” But… “Do you trust them to not share the idea with anyone?”
His head tilts. “Why?”
My eyes drop. “I want to make sure it remains a secret until I present on it. That’s all.”
“I trust them.” He looks as if he wants to ask me something else entirely.
I press my feet into the floor to stop myself from jumping up and down. “Thank you!” My grin makes my cheeks ache.
Rowan stares at me, making my skin flush beneath his scrutiny. He turns on his heels, taking my drawing and my sanity with him.
12
Rowan
I didn’t hesitate when I grabbed the half-assed drawing from Zahra’s cubicle. Nor did I even flinch when I purchased a pack of a hundred colored pencils and drawing paper from the local craft store. In reality, the hardest part of everything was forcing Martha to take the rest of the day off so I could have some privacy.