She gave me a long look before she shook her head. “If I was going to try to get out of it on day one, I’d never have signed the contract. I’m just trying to make sure you realize what you’re in for with me. I’m not stylish, sweet, or graceful. I can watch my mouth, but I’ll always end up with a foot in it.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.”
She let out a soft snort. “I’m not. I’m just being realistic.”
Leah dropped her gaze away from mine, focusing on her hands folded in her lap instead. Her loose hair shielded her expression, but I sensed hesitation in her all the same.
“Hey.” Pushing up off the desk, I sank into the seat beside hers and turned to face her fully. “What’s going on?”
I reached out to brush her hair away from her face, withdrawing when her gaze darted to my fingers before it lifted back to mine. “Do you really think I can do this?”
“I do,” I said. “Why? Are you having second thoughts?”
“More like cold feet,” she said on a soft but humorless chuckle. Breathing out deeply, she sat up straighter and looked me right in the eyes. “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m too out of my depth. Rick made me think that I could handle this, but even my assistant would be better suited to this job than I am. In fact, she’s perfect. You should’ve just asked her.”
“Perhaps we should’ve,” I mused before shooting her a grin and giving her denim-clad knee a light shove. “If Jefferson wanted Katie, he’d have asked her. He didn’t ask her because he asked you. You can handle this in your sleep, Leah. I’ve got your back, remember? Any time you need something, even if it is just reassurance, you can come to me.”
“Can I trust you to keep that promise?” she asked.
Her tone was interesting. It wasn’t soft or small. It was the complete opposite actually. Sure and firm.
Despite her misgivings, she wasn’t trying to run from this. She had no intention of jumping on the first plane home and admitting defeat.
This was something else. It seemed more like she was trying to figure out if I would actually be there for her when shit got real or if I’d be laughing behind her back if something went wrong.
It didn’t matter that she’d known me before. As we’d said the other night, we’d both been kids then. She was feeling me out the way I was now, trying to determine if she had a friend in this city or not.
Getting to my feet, I held a hand out to her and jerked my head toward the door. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” she asked but placed her palm in mine and let me pull her up.
I let go of her hand as soon as she was standing, grabbing my jacket from its hook, and then gestured for her to precede me. “We’re taking the day off. The only other thing you had to do today was to meet with a decorator for your office, but I’m sure Katie can handle her. Do you have any particularly strong ideas about what you want the office to look like?”
“Nope.”
I smirked. “That’s what I thought. Katie will make sure it’s functional and fits the campaign for the meetings you’ll be taking in it.”
“We can take the day off on my first day here?” she asked incredulously.
I shrugged. “When you’re with me, you can do whatever the hell you want to. Besides, we’ll be working all weekend, and technically, we’ll be working this afternoon as well. We’ll just be working on building a relationship instead of a perfume campaign.”
“A relationship, huh?” Her eyes lit up and she waggled her brows at me. “You could’ve taken me to dinner first. I don’t usually get into relationships with virtual strangers at the drop of a hat.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not a virtual stranger then.” I winked as I opened the office door for her. “I think I fit into the ‘old friend’ category better than the ‘virtual stranger’ category.”
“You were hardly my friend,” she said but didn’t argue the point any further.
Katie was standing with Janice, my long-time assistant, when we walked out. She opened her mouth to say something until I stepped out as well, closing the door behind me. Instead of speaking, she practically shrank back while Janice frowned.
“Leaving the office, sir?” she asked, glancing at her computer screen. “I don’t