“What was I thinking?” Caitlyn muttered—because, of course, gold wasn’t gifted until the woman in question had lasted at least three weeks. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I have every confidence in you,” he said, but she was already leaving, walking back across the immense office. “And Caitlyn?”
She stopped, turned to look at him and noticed that the sunlight filtering in through the shaded glass gilded his hair. Frowning at that stray thought, she said, “Yes?”
“No interruptions today. Except for the two o’clock, I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Right.” She walked through the door, closed it behind her and leaned back against it.
She’d made it. Made it through without once caving in to the shakes still quivering her stomach. Made it without feeling her eyes well up or her temper spike. She’d managed to hold it together and talk to Jefferson without once letting her emotions slip through.
After all, just because her fiancé had dumped her didn’t mean life as she knew it was over.
Jefferson worked through the day, got most of the immediate problems taken care of and finally looked up around six. Behind him, the sun was spreading color across the sky as it slid into the ocean. He didn’t take the time to admire it, though. There were still plenty of things that needed his attention. Most importantly the new bid on the passenger liner he was buying. A glance at the cover letter had him wincing and stretching out one hand to hit the buzzer on the intercom.
“Caitlyn, I need to see you.”
She opened the door a minute later, her purse slung over her shoulder as if he’d caught her on her way out. “What is it?”
“This,” he said, standing up and walking across the room. He held out the paper to her and said, “Read the second paragraph.”
Jefferson watched her tuck a strand of dark blond hair behind one ear as she read the document. And he saw her expression change slightly as soon as she caught the error he’d found only moments ago. This wasn’t like her. The best assistant he’d ever had, Caitlyn simply didn’t make mistakes. It was one of the reasons they did so well together.
His world ran smoothly, just the way he wanted it to. No surprises. No jolts. Everything neatly laid out in a pattern he chose. For Caitlyn to suddenly start making errors sent unexpected ripples through his universe.
“I’ll fix it immediately,” she said, lifting her gaze to his.
“Good. But what concerns me most is that the mistake happened in the first place.” He jabbed his index finger at the line that had caught his attention. “Offering five hundred million dollars for the cruise ship I’ve already agreed to pay fifty million for is not acceptable.”
She blew out a breath that ruffled the dark blond hair over her big brown eyes. “I know. But, Jefferson, no one saw this but you. It’s not as if the offer actually went out this way.”
“It could have.”
“But it didn’t.”
He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her. Even in her high heels, she came in a good five inches shorter than his own six feet two inches. “This isn’t like you.”
She sighed again and admitted, “I didn’t type this up. Georgia did.”
Impatience lit a fire in his belly. He was a man who expected the same perfection from his employees as he did from himself. And as his admin, Caitlyn was responsible for the paperwork generated from this office. The fact that she was subcontracting to the secretaries irritated him.
“And why was Georgia involved at all? The woman is just barely competent.” An older woman, Georgia Morris had been with his family’s company for twenty years. She was practically an institution at Lyon Shipping. But that didn’t mean that Jefferson was blind to the woman’s ineptitude.
He was all for loyalty, but he had his limits.
Instantly, though, Caitlyn went on the defensive. Her posture straightened up and her chin rose to a defiant tilt. “Georgia’s perfectly competent. She works hard. This was a simple mistake.”
“Worth four hundred and fifty million dollars.”
She winced. “She was trying to help me out.”
“And why do you suddenly need help in doing a job you’ve performed for two years?”
“Three.”
“What?”
“Three years,” she said on a huff. “I’ve worked for you for three years.”
He hadn’t realized that. But at the same time, it was as if she’d always been there. A part of his day. An integral part of his business.
“Even more of a reason you shouldn’t require assistance,” Jefferson said, baffled at the way her eyes were beginning to flash. What in hell did she have to be upset about?
As if she’d read his mind, she took a moment and deliberately tried to calm herself. A long, deep breath, a tightening of her jaw and a long exhalation passed before she spoke again.
“I was having a hard day,” she finally said. “Georgia was being nice.”
“Nice doesn’t get the work done,” Jefferson said tightly. He had no interest in why Caitlyn had been having a “hard day.” He didn’t get involved in his employees’ personal lives. Made for a quagmire in the office. Better that everyone kept their personal lives personal.
“No surprise there,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He scowled at her. “And if you’re still planning on having Georgia take over for you while you’re on your honeymoon, think again. Arrange with a temp agency to send someone here who’ll be able to get the job done without costly mistakes.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said, slinging her purse off her shoulder and heading for her desk.
Jefferson laughed shortly and followed her. “It’s very necessary. You’ll be gone four weeks, and Georgia running this office is unacceptable—not to mention impossible.”
“No,” Caitlyn said as she pulled out her desk chair and booted up her computer. “What I meant was, it won’t be necessary to call a temp agency. I won’t be leaving, after all.”
Frowning, Jefferson walked around her desk, watching her as she set the cover letter down and prepared to retype it. It was only then he noticed that the diamond she’d worn for the last six months was missing from her left hand. This then was the reason for the hard day.
Damn it.
He scrubbed one hand across the back of his neck. He didn’t want to know about her personal life. He preferred keeping business business. If she hadn’t asked for four weeks off for a honeymoon, he might never have known that Caitlyn was getting married at all.
And now it seemed that not only wasn’t the wedding happening but now that she’d brought it up, he was going to be forced into talking about it.
“What happened to the honeymoon?”
“Can’t have one without a wedding,” she quipped brightly, but managed to avoid looking up at him.
What was one supposed to say at a time like this anyway? Sorry? Congratulations? That would be more to his way of thinking. Why anyone would want to get married and link themselves forever to one human being who would no doubt batter them with complaints and whining for the rest of their lives was beyond Jefferson.
Still, better not to offer those particular thoughts. “So it’s off.”
“That