Page 22 of Falling for Her Grumpy Boss

I sit behind my desk and attempt to work, but the spreadsheet open on my monitor might as well be written in another language. Every few minutes, my focus drifts again despite myself. Tess making notes during a call. Tess pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Tess frowning faintly at something on her screen before fixing it almost immediately.

By the time the intercom buzzes, I’m already wound too tight.

“Yes?”

“Your five o’clock canceled,” Tess says, her voice smooth and professional through the speaker. “He’s stuck in Wichita until tomorrow.”

The sound of her voice slides low through me in a way that makes me close my eyes briefly.

“Reschedule him for Thursday.”

“Already done.”

Of course it is.

Silence lingers for a moment before she speaks again, more carefully this time. “Would you like me to leave the revised Anderson file on my desk before I go?”

She’s giving me distance if I want it. A clean reset. A way to put this entire thing back into the box it should’ve stayed in from the beginning.

My fingers tighten around the pen in my hand until the plastic creaks softly beneath the pressure.

“No,” I hear myself say. “Bring it in.”

Another pause.

“All right.”

The intercom clicks off.

I lean back slowly in my chair and stare at the ceiling for a second. Every instinct I have tells me this is a mistake. Unfortunately, the part of me making decisions right now seems deeply uninterested in listening.

Five minutes later, a soft knock sounds against the doorframe.

This time, when I look up and see Tess standing there with a file tucked against her chest, awareness hits me hard enough to feel physical. The faint flush still lingering high along her throat does absolutely nothing to help the situation.

She crosses toward the desk and places the folder carefully between us. “The revised projections and updated supplier timeline.”

I nod once, though neither of us reaches for the file.

The silence shifts around us again, quieter than before but heavier somehow. Tess smooths one hand lightly over the edge of the folder before stepping back a fraction.

“About earlier…”

My pulse kicks harder instantly.

“Yes,” I say carefully.

Her eyes lift fully to mine then, steady despite the tension humming underneath them. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

The words should feel reassuring. Instead, disappointment settles low in my stomach before I can stop it.

I lean back slowly in my chair, studying her face. “You regret it?”

“No.” The answer comes immediately. A faint crease appears between her brows a second later, like she realizes too late how honest that sounded. “That’s part of the problem.”

Something in my chest loosens unexpectedly.

I drag a hand along my jaw once before answering. “You’re right. It shouldn’t have happened.”