to take such extreme measures.”
She glared at him. “Don’t patronize me.” “I’m not. I fired Genevieve half an hour ago.”
Rendered speechless by the pronouncement, she could only gape at him as he moved close enough to curve his large hand around her bare upper arm.
“I trust you, Colette, and I value your opinion.” He squeezed her arm, imparting his support and his willingness to stand by her decisions. “I suspect she knew that, and felt threatened by you.”
Her arm tingled beneath his touch, sending rivulets of awareness down to her stomach and legs. “That’s ridiculous,” she said, striving for a calm, unaffected tone.
“Is it?” His lifted brow belied her words. “I’m sure it took her all of one second to figure out that there’s something between us.”
“There’s nothing between us.” There can’t be.
He ignored her as if she hadn’t spoken and his thumb idly brushed the skin along her arm, perilously close to the swell of her breast. “I can’t work with people who allow their personal insecurities to interfere with what’s best for my business.”
She swallowed, exquisitely aware of that steady back and forth sweep of his thumb. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Why do you always assume the worst of me?”
Her cell phone buzzed within her back pocket, making her jump. Since Janet and Henri were the only people who knew her number, and neither of them would call in the middle of the day unless it were important, she winced and reached for the phone. “Do you mind?”
The phone buzzed again, and Stephen arched a brow as his hand fell to his side. “Do I mind that you’re accepting personal calls during a business meeting with me?”
She held up a finger while her eyes flicked to the phone’s screen. Janet. Without thinking about the consequences, she accepted the call, turned her back, and pressed the phone to her ear. “What is it?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
Janet’s tinkle of laughter sounded in her ear. “Of course it is! Everything’s fine, dear. I just wanted to let you know we’re going to the park for a bit of playtime and I didn’t want you to get worried if you called and we were out.”
Janet refused to carry a cell phone, stating that she had no head for any of those newfangled gadgets. Closing her eyes, Colette decided she was going to make it a condition of her employment from here on out. She cupped her hand over her mouth, straining for privacy though there was none to be had. “Thank you,” she said in a low voice, cursing Janet’s poor timing but unable to fault her for the call. “I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Don’t forget sunblock,” she added in a whisper. “You’re talking too softly, dear. I can’t hear you.” Colette bit back a frustrated groan. “Sunblock,” she repeated a little louder. “Don’t forget.”
“Ah, of course. And I’ll have Emma wear her cute little hat, too.”
“Thank you.”
When she returned the phone to her pocket, she felt Stephen’s regard against the back of her head.
“Sunblock?” he observed dryly. “Who calls to discuss sunblock in the middle of the workday?”
Her thoughts ricocheted from one prospective lie to another, even as she summoned a bland smile and a composure she didn’t feel. “It was my roommate,” she said as she turned back to face him. “She has very sensitive skin and burns quite easily.”
Surprise lifted his brow. “You have a roommate?”
“Yes.”
“Who checks in with you while you’re working?”
She felt herself flush. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in a routine conversation between my roommate and me?”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” His lids lowered as his gaze dipped to her mouth. “I’m interested in everything about you.”
The flush burned hotter and she fought the urge to lick her suddenly dry lips. “You and I were talking about Genevieve and the fact that you fired her.” She walked to his office doorway and turned. “If there’s nothing else, then I assume our meeting is concluded?”
“You assume wrong.”
“You’ve hired her replacement already?”
“Yes,” Stephen said, moving to tower over her where she stood. “I thought we’d go with a male this time. So there’s no competition for my attention and approval.”
She did lick her lips this time, her pulse kicking with denial. “There was no competition with Genevieve.”
His eyes warmed. “You’ve got that right.”
She firmed her mouth. She would not allow him to see that his nearness disconcerted her. “There was no competition because I was not competing.”
“Our new designer can’t