A puzzled expression came over his face. “We ran out of offices. And with you being the newest member of the team, it was either fit you in here or move you to another wing by yourself.”
She swallowed hard. “If I’m in your way, I don’t mind working elsewhere.”
He shook his head. “I’m hardly ever in here, so it won’t be a problem.”
She supposed his frequent absence was some small consolation.
Zoe moved to the other side of the room and settled her laptop and day planner on the desk where she noticed a vase of fresh cut flowers. Red, white and purple blossoms beckoned to her. She leaned forward and inhaled their perfumed scent.
All the while she could feel Demetrius’s gaze following her every movement. She needed to show him—show herself—that she was over him. She could be just as professional as him—even if his mere presence could still make her stomach shiver.
She stepped around the desk and crossed the great divide. She stopped in front of his massive carved cherry desk and laced her fingers together.
He glanced up from his computer monitor. “Did you need something?”
“I wanted to thank you for this opportunity. I won’t let you down.” His eyes reflected a mixed reaction. Perhaps she could have worded it better. “I also wanted to tell you that I won’t let the past come between us.”
His dark brows drew together as he shushed her. With long, swift strides, he moved to the door. He noiselessly pushed it closed before turning back to her. “If I didn’t think you could be professional, you wouldn’t be here.”
She didn’t know whether to be complimented or insulted. “Grazie.”
“As for the other matter, we do need to talk. We have some unresolved business to address. But I don’t want to get into it here. It’d be too easy to be overheard. And I don’t want rumors to start.”
“Neither do I.” But obviously for different reasons than him. “You don’t have to worry, Annabelle won’t hear anything about the past from me.”
“I hope not. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with the contractor.” And with that he swung open the door and set off down the hallway, leaving her to wonder what his cryptic comment had meant.
What unresolved business?
“HOW’S IT COMING?”
Demetrius strolled into the office late the next afternoon. He couldn’t help but notice how Zoe jumped. He hadn’t meant to startle her.
“Good.” Her voice said otherwise. “Well, as good as can be expected at this stage.”
“I just visited the work site and the construction of the residential rooms on the backside of the mansion is moving ahead of schedule. Soon you’ll be able to get in there and do your thing.”
A frown pulled at her full, lush lips, but she didn’t say anything. Things definitely weren’t going as well as she’d like him to believe. Maybe she wasn’t up to the task, after all. There were still those dark smudges beneath her eyes. Something was most definitely keeping her up at night. But what?
His immediate instinct was to go to her—to rectify whatever was troubling her. He took a step forward, then hesitated. What was he thinking? Obviously he wasn’t—at least not clearly. Her problems were no longer any of his concern. And that had been her choice. Not his.
She glanced up at him, peering over her laptop. “Did you need something else?”
He cleared his throat. “I’d like to see what direction you’re taking the project.”
Her mouth gaped, but nothing came out. He couldn’t help but notice the pink gloss shimmering on her lips. His thoughts rolled back in time, remembering how her kisses were always sweeter than berries. His body stiffened. With determined effort he focused his mind back on the only thing that mattered—the only thing he could count on—work.
“Perhaps I could see what you’ve been able to do so far on the computer.” His words eased the awkward silence.
“I...I don’t have anything but some rough outlines.”
“That’s okay. It’s just with all of my meetings, we haven’t been able to talk much.”
There was a rebuttal reflected in her eyes, but in a blink it was gone. With a shrug, she stood up. “Be my guest.”
He wasn’t sure by the stilted tone of her voice whether she would be open to his feedback or if she’d just give him lip service and then disregard his input. He wanted to believe they could set aside their differences in order to make this important project a success. They were, after all, both professionals.
He took a seat, surprised that she was doing all of her work on the small laptop when he’d provided her with a computer and a large-screen monitor, which was much easier on the eyes. Then he noticed that she had specialized software. He should have expected that, but he’d noticed how his thoughts became severely distracted around her.
She stood off to the side. “You have to realize that what you’re looking at are some rough sketches. There are no details. I haven’t had a chance to refine them.”
“I understand.”
She showed him how to navigate the software. As she leaned over his shoulder, he caught a whiff of her perfume. The alluring scent was the same as what she wore when they were together.
Concentrate on the pictures.
Minutes passed, and then she asked, “Well, what do you think?”
“I don’t know.” It was the truth.
“Don’t tell me you hate all of the themes.”
He flipped back and forth between the three layouts of the mansion’s ballroom that she’d done up. The first screen cobbled together garden-themed pictures with lots of greens, pinks and yellows. The second screen contained images more in line with ancient Roman ruins utilizing the idea of the large columns on the front porch as well as adding some Greek and Roman statues. The last screen pulled together various Mediterranean aspects from the blues of the sea to the green of the palms.
“Say something. The suspense is torture.”
He’d never seen her so anxious. Under different circumstances, he might have turned this into a bit of fun, but the time for teasing and light banter had long passed them by.
“They all have aspects that I really like.” He flipped through the images once again. “Can you combine them?”
“What?” She moved to stand on the other side of the desk in order to face him. “You’re not serious, are you? They’re too different. It would be a mess.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I never said that I was any good at decorating. That’s what I have you for.”
She crossed her arms and leveled a steady stare at him. “And you’re the one who insisted that we work on this together. You went on and on about how you had to approve everything.”
He got to his feet. “Fine. I pick the garden theme. Wait. No. The sea one.”
She waited as though sensing he would change his mind yet again. “You’re sure about the sea setting?”
He thought for a moment and then nodded. “I think it’s the most relaxing of all them. If the residents aren’t capable of making an outing to the seaside, then we can bring it to them.”
“Okay. Then we need to pick out a color scheme.” She pulled