“Right now? Owen, it’s six o’clock. I’ve already stayed an hour longer than I should have because you demanded I photocopy the plans for the last twenty-two jobs we’ve done.” Aggravation clamped around her throat. “And now you want me to organize the files? That’ll take hours.”
And completely ruin her plans for the evening, she wanted to mention, but she had a feeling he already knew that. In fact, she was beginning to suspect his main goal was to keep her from going out with Wyatt tonight.
“I know it’ll be a lot of work, but it has to be done,” he insisted. “Today I was looking for the Harris file and it took me ten minutes before I found it in the M section. The cabinets are a mess.”
“And they can’t wait until tomorrow morning?”
“You know I don’t like procrastinating. If it’s not done now, I’ll stew about it all night and won’t be able to sleep.”
She shook her head in amazement. “You won’t be able to sleep? I’m the one who’ll be here until dawn, doing the job.”
He paused, slanting his head in thought. “You’re right. This isn’t really fair to you.”
Relief shuddered through her. “Thank you. I knew you’d see—”
“I’ll help,” he interrupted, a satisfied glint in his gray eyes.
Maddie’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I’ll stay and help,” he clarified. “We’ll get some coffee from the diner, order a late dinner, and with the two of us working on it, the cabinets will be neat and orderly in no time.”
Except she wouldn’t be able to have drinks with Wyatt, though she realized this was exactly what Owen wanted.
He strode to the door, looking energized. “I’ll place a dinner order for us. I’ll tell Bobby to deliver it around eight, sound good?”
Gee, at the precise time she was supposed to meet Wyatt.
With wide eyes, Maddie watched as Owen left the office. The bell chimed cheerfully overhead after he disappeared through the door. Unbelievable. She couldn’t figure out what kind of game he was playing. He didn’t want her, but nobody else could? Was that it? And if so, that was completely ridiculous. He would actually make her work late just so she would miss her date?
Maddie knew she had no choice in the matter. When Owen set his mind on something, you needed a SWAT team to get him to back off. He’d decided they were organizing the cabinets, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it, short of quitting. Which she could totally do—she quit every other week, for Pete’s sake—but this time she was loath to do it. Normally when they argued and she quit, she knew Owen would always take her back. But he’d been acting so strangely the past couple of days, and she was worried that if she did threaten to leave, he might actually let her this time. And seeing that she’d just spent eight hundred dollars on that bridesmaid dress in Denver, she kind of needed a steady paycheck if she wanted to pay off her credit card.
Sighing, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and sent a quick text to Wyatt, telling him she couldn’t have drinks with him after all. A responding text came in a few seconds later—Sorry to hear that. Rain check? She texted back definitely, then shoved the phone back in her bag, kicked off her wedge shoes and headed for the cabinet. She was still wearing her bright yellow sundress and the material swirled around her knees as she bent down and yanked open the top drawer, which contained all the A files.
She was thumbing through them, chagrined that Owen was right as she discovered a C in the A files, when he returned with two Styrofoam cups of coffee. “I see you’ve already gotten started,” he said cheerfully. He placed the coffees on the desk, moved to the second cabinet and dropped to his knees. “I’ll just work on the Zs, and we’ll meet in the middle.”
Was it inappropriate to punch your boss in the face? Yeah, probably.
Controlling the impulse, Maddie focused on the files, but it was difficult to do when Owen was so close. She could smell his aftershave, a woodsy spicy mixture that never failed to make her palms go damp, and he’d rolled up his sleeves, revealing corded forearms that bunched and flexed as he pulled out random files and set them on the floor.
Was she destined to always lust after him? It was funny, ten minutes ago she’d been really looking forward to going out with Wyatt, and now it was Owen who yet again captivated her senses. Why did she have to be in love with this man? He wasn’t even all that great. He could be too serious, cranky, completely obstinate at times. He did things his way—no highway option—and when it came to women, he was so damn fickle it made her want to kick him. He went out with the dumbest girls, his relationships never lasting more than a week or two, a month tops. And he treated her like an ottoman he could put his feet on.
So why on earth did she love him?