He raked a hand through his hair, for a brief moment appearing frazzled. The show of emotion was so unlike him, she blinked. “Um, you okay, boss? Is there anything else you want me to do before I leave?”
He leaned a shoulder against the door frame and frowned. “You’ve worked as my assistant for almost two years, right?”
She gulped inwardly. “Yes.” Customarily, she went to his office and not the other way around.
Instead of answering, he glanced around her cramped quarters and frowned. “We need to do something in here. New carpet maybe. And furniture. Make that a priority when you get back.”
“Yes, sir.”
When he scowled, she backtracked quickly. “Yes, Nathaniel.” His name threatened to stick in her throat.
In the privacy of her own thoughts she often referred to him as Nathaniel, but it was another thing entirely to say it aloud, even though he insisted that all his employees call him by his first name.
She noted he had said when you get back, not we. Which probably meant he would be working in this building all alone during the holidays. He didn’t have any family that she knew of, though anything was possible. He was a private man.
It was ridiculous to feel sorry for him. The guy was a gazillionaire. If he wanted a homey, cozy Christmas, he could buy himself one.
After a long, awkward silence, Nathaniel glanced at his watch and grimaced. “I suppose I have to make an appearance downstairs?” The tone of his voice made it a question.
Dani nodded. “They’ll be expecting you.” She indicated a manila envelope on the corner of her desk. “I have the bonus checks right there.”
“You could give them out.”
She sensed he was only half joking. Just in case, she answered seriously, “Your employees like hearing from you, Nathaniel. Getting a perk from the boss himself is a nice way to start the holidays.”
“What about you?”
This conversation was taking a turn that made her palms sweat. “Payroll put a check in there for me, too,” she said.
He grimaced. “You deserve more. This place wouldn’t run half as well without you.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but the usual bonus check is fine. Let me shut down my computer, and I’ll be right behind you.”
“I’ll wait.”
She took that terse statement to mean in the reception area. But no. Nathaniel watched her every move for the next five minutes as she took care of the brief routine she repeated at the end of every workday. She decided not to take her purse and tote to the party. It would be easier to pop back up here before she went home. Because the office contained sensitive information as well as her valuables, she slipped a key card that opened the executive suite into her pocket. If the boss got trapped at the party, she didn’t want to have to wait.
At last, she stood and smoothed the skirt of her simple black dress. She’d chosen sophistication over traditional holiday colors. At five feet four inches and with plenty of curves, she tended to look like a perky tomato when she wore all red.
Nathaniel studied her in silence. There was nothing insulting or offensive about his regard. Still, she knew without a doubt that in this moment he saw her as a woman and not simply a piece of office equipment.
She picked up the envelope with the checks and handed it to him. “Shall we go?” Her heart beat far faster than it should. It was becoming more and more difficult to act normally. Feeling so aware of him rattled her. Something had to change, or she was going to end up embarrassing herself.
No one would blink an eye if she and her boss entered the large conference room downstairs together. Nathaniel Winston might as well be a monk. His reputation with the opposite sex was not only squeaky clean, it was nonexistent.
That fact shouldn’t have pleased her. But she was attracted to him, and in some tiny corner of her psyche, a fantasy flourished. It wasn’t as if she had any real shot at a relationship with him. Even so, his single status kept her reluctant fascination alive. It was impossible to be near him day after day without wondering what it would be like to share his bed.
Dani felt on edge as they walked toward the elevator and then headed twelve floors down in silence. Nathaniel had his hands jammed in his pockets. More than once she had wished she could read his mind. In the beginning, it was only because she wanted to know if he thought she was doing a good job. Now that she had a serious crush on him, her curiosity was far more personal.
Why didn’t he date? Or maybe he did go out but in secret. Not likely. What woman would put up with his workaholic schedule?
On impulse, she blurted out a clumsy conversational gambit. “Will you be traveling for the holidays?”
He shot her a sideways glance tinged with incredulity. “No.”
Poor man. She had probably shocked him. No one asked the boss about his personal life. Dani was the closest employee to him, yet she managed to be remarkably circumspect despite the many questions she had. At this point, the deliberate choice to avoid any hint of intimacy, even conversationally, was the smart thing to do.
She wanted to learn everything there was to know about Nathaniel—of course she did. Keeping a professional distance was a matter of self-preservation. By relegating the man at her side to a box labeled boss, she told herself she could keep from getting hurt.
The elevator dinged as the door opened. The unmistakable sounds of merrymaking drifted down the carpeted hallway. “Well,” Nathaniel muttered. “Here goes.”
As bizarre as it sounded, Dani thought he was nervous. Surely not. Her boss was well educated, well traveled and wildly successful at a young age. There was no reason at all for him to dread this momentary formality.
Just inside the doorway of the crowded room, Dani abandoned the man who drew attention with no more than a quick, guarded smile.
As people greeted him, she found a group of women she had known from the beginning of her employment at NCT. Several of them shared a Pilates class. A couple of others had bonded over their young children. Ever since Dani became Nathaniel’s assistant, though, her coworkers treated her with a certain deference.
She didn’t particularly like it, but she understood it.
As she sipped a glass of punch and nibbled on a cheese straw, she noted the men and women who had already imbibed to the peril of their careers. Dani had nothing against alcohol. Sadly, though, some employees lost all circumspection when they enjoyed the office party a little too much.
Nathaniel was socializing, though his posture betrayed his lack of ease. At least it did to Dani. He was playing the genial host, but he would rather be most anywhere else. She’d bet her last dollar on it.
Nathaniel was never too excited about the office Christmas party. He wasn’t a warm, fuzzy kind of guy. On the other hand, he was no Scrooge, either. At his urging, Dani had planned this lavish, catered affair complete with an open bar. The festivities had begun at four o’clock and were still going strong two hours later.
At last, Nathaniel made his holiday toast and passed out bonuses to key players of the various divisions. His speech was wry and funny and remarkably charming. Dani had to step forward when he called her name. “Thanks,” she muttered.
Their fingers brushed briefly. “Merry Christmas, Dani,” he said gruffly.
“Thank you.” Her throat tightened inexplicably. Boyfriends were a dime a dozen. She needed a good job more than she needed a fling with her boss. But for the last year and a half—the length of time she had been