to get involved with Levi. Now she was making a legitimate business call and he was taking it personally because of what had happened between them.
She hated the way he’d looked at her before the meeting started. The tightness of his mouth, the set of his jaw, the anger still in his eyes. It made her want to throw up. She’d felt like that pretty much all weekend, and it wasn’t the liquor she’d drunk Friday night.
“Why the hell were they fighting?” she asked Mason, leaning her head back.
Mason didn’t answer right away and she lifted her head to look at him. A smile played on his mouth as he took a seat.
“What?”
“Levi was defending your honor.”
She squinted at him. “What?”
“Scott insulted you. I won’t repeat what he said. I’m sure it was said out of frustration. I happened to be just outside the office and heard it. I didn’t expect Levi to physically attack him for it, but hey…I have to admire how he came to your defense.”
Her body went rigid and her lungs seized up. She stared at Mason. She didn’t know what to say.
“I sensed some tension between you and Levi this morning.” Mason rested his elbows on the armrests of the chair and linked his fingers together. “Actually, I’ve sensed some tension between you two for a while. Only usually it’s more…sexual tension. This morning it felt like angry tension.”
She swallowed. Her throat stung. “Oh, Mason,” she whispered. “Have other people noticed?”
He shook his head. “I just pick up on stuff like that.”
“I know you do.” She tucked her hair behind one ear. “We’ve been seeing each other. But we had a big argument on the weekend, and he…ended things.”
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
She blinked, her vision having blurred. As usual her first instinct was to tell him she was fine. But the world hadn’t ended when she’d told her family how she felt. On the other hand, the office wasn’t the place to spill your guts…but Mason was a friend. “I’m really not. I’m a mess.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
She drew in a shaky breath. “I think I may have hurt him.”
“We all make mistakes. We hurt people we care about without meaning to. Then you say you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness and move on.”
She stared at him. “It’s not that easy.”
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Why not? You’re not sorry?”
“No! I mean, I am. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I was…geezus.” She bent her head. “I was just trying to protect myself. I’m not good at relationships. I don’t know why I thought I could do it with Levi. But I…” Her heart rose into her throat and lodged there. She swallowed again. “I think I might be in love with him.”
“Oh.” He paused. “Doesn’t that make it worth saying you’re sorry?”
She lifted her gaze again. “Do you really think that’s all it would take? That he’d forgive me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how he feels about you. Oh wait. He just punched a guy who insulted you.”
A smile tugged at her lips.
“What happened with other guys you’ve dated?” he asked. “I know you always say you’re no good at it. Why is that?”
She lifted a shoulder. “They just always lost interest after a few dates.”
“See, I find that odd. Because you’re a smart and beautiful and interesting woman.”
“Uh…thank you.”
“My suspicion is you never let people close enough to you to find out how smart and interesting you are.”
“Ah…”
“I could be wrong. Something to think about.”
He rose with a half smile and left her office.
She took a few deep breaths. Okay. She could think about that. But it would have to be later, because she had work to do.
She headed to Bailey’s cubicle. “Hey,” she said. “What happened with the billboard for Steel? Did Isaiah come through?”
Bailey smiled. “He sure did. It was on my desk when I got here this morning. I don’t know when they finished it, but I know he and Hunter were here on the weekend.”
Sloane smiled too. “Awesome. I knew they’d get it done.”
Next she found Isaiah and Hunter. “Good work, guys. I just talked to Bailey. Thanks for the extra effort.”
They nodded.
“Mason and I are taking you for lunch to show our appreciation,” she said. “Does that work for you today?”
Their eyes widened. “Yeah. Sure. Thanks.”
She started back to her office, then changed directions and returned to Bailey’s desk. “Mason and I are taking Isaiah and Hunter for lunch,” she said. “To