but he didn’t look up, instead turning his attention to his computer.
Well, okay then.
It wasn’t as if I called him sir all the time, just when the situation seemed to call for it. Like when he was in a bad mood or pissed, both of which he had been this morning.
Whatever. I didn’t have time to dwell on it or any of the other confusing things that had happened between us, including the kissing, which we apparently weren’t going to talk about—fine with me. I had work to do.
By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving, but I didn’t dare take a break. Parker left for a meeting with a client at a restaurant a few blocks away, and I could practically smell the expensive entrées on his suit when he came back two hours later.
He caught me at his desk, leaving a stack of month-end reports sent from the managers who worked underneath him. I’d printed them and arranged them in the order Parker preferred. I scooted out from behind his desk as he slid into his seat.
His phone rang and I reached out to snag it as I rounded the desk. “Parker Anderson’s office.”
There was a pause; then a man’s voice asked, “Sage? Is that you, my dear?”
I froze, my gaze flying to Parker’s. I knew that voice.
Viktor, I mouthed to him. So much for him knowing I wasn’t dead. Guess that particular cat was out of the bag. I hadn’t even thought to not answer Parker’s phone.
“Would you like to speak to Parker?” I asked stiffly.
“Yes, if you would, and may I say I’m glad to see that you’re in such perfect…health.”
And that put the nail in the coffin of who’d killed Hanna and why.
I handed the phone over to Parker, who looked grim, then went back to my desk. I watched through the glass until he hung up the phone; then he beckoned me back in.
“What did he want?” I asked.
“He’s decided to come here himself and oversee everything, make sure the deal goes through the way he wants.”
I frowned. Parker hated clients who micromanaged rather than just letting him do his job.
“Is he coming in to the office?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m meeting him later tonight at his hotel.”
“By yourself?”
Parker glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. “Who else would I take?”
I ignored his sarcasm. “I don’t trust him. Can’t you take Mark or Jason?” They were a couple of senior managers who worked for Parker. But he just shook his head again.
“They’ve been holding down my current contracts while I’ve been dealing with this. I’m not going to ask them to tag along on this, too.”
I was disappointed, and worried; then something occurred to me. “Wait, you’re not keeping them out of it just because you’d have to give them a percentage, are you?” The question just popped out and I remembered with vivid clarity how Ryker was so certain Parker knew exactly what these people did and were capable of.
Parker looked at me. Didn’t reply. His jaw was clenched and his mouth was set in a thin line.
Belatedly, I tried to backtrack. “I’m sorry, that was inappropriate—”
“My reasons for not including other members of this firm are my own,” Parker interrupted, and his voice was icy steel. “You may go.”
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I said you’re dismissed.”
I didn’t have the guts to say anything else and I scurried out of the office, my face burning. God, it seemed I couldn’t do anything right today. Tears stung my eyes and I knew what part of my problem was. I’d been trying not to think about Hanna all day, but she was there, in the back of my mind. All I could see were those bloodstained sheets.
I sank into my chair, propping my elbows on my desk and resting my head in my hands. I had to get a grip. I was going to lose my job for real if I didn’t knock it off.
“Sage! Look what came for you!”
Jerking my head up, I saw a huge bouquet of red roses walking toward me. No, wait, it was Megan carrying a bouquet; I just couldn’t see her because it was so big. She set it on my counter. I hurriedly swiped away the wetness underneath my eyes.
“Oh my gosh!” I jumped up to inspect the flowers just as Megan peered around to grin at me. “These are for me?”
“Uh-huh,” she said. “Here’s the card.” She handed it to me.