Boyd’s mouth dropped open and his eyes flitted from me to Norma to me to Norma. He wiped his hand on his suit pants, suddenly nervous.
“It’s okay, dear. Answer honestly. As honestly as you like.” Her tone suggested an inside secret.
Did Boyd schedule trysts for his boss? I braced myself for his response.
At Norma’s encouragement, he relaxed and met my eyes. “She is not.”
The answer should have been comforting. But I was a cynical girl. “How can you be certain? Are you there when she has her meetings with him?”
“I am not. But I know that she isn’t.” He looked one more time to Norma for permission to continue. Seeming to believe he’d received it, he went on. “She wouldn’t do that to the person she’s involved with.” He moved his focus from me back to Norma. “She’s very loyal.”
“Thank you, Boyd. That’s all.”
He nodded once and left.
The door wasn’t yet shut when I spun back to Norma. “You’re involved with someone?” The blush on her cheekbones said it all. “Oh my god, it’s Boyd!”
Her blush and her smile deepened. Damn, the woman had it bad. “Now do you really think I would fool around with someone else in the office when my lover is right outside my door?”
I was speechless. “Why didn’t Hudson just tell me you were involved?” It would have eased my mind. Of course, affairs could still happen, but her having a boyfriend diminished the likelihood. Especially knowing how gaga he was over Boyd.
At the mention of Hudson,though, Norma’s giddiness evaporated.
“Hudson doesn’t know,” I realized. “Why? Is it a big secret or something?”
“Corporate policy is no dating within the same department. Boyd would be transferred. I don’t want to lose him. He’s worked for me for two years; we’ve been together for half that time. He’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. In more ways than one.”
“And perpetuating the idea that you’re still into Hudson is to throw him off track.” I was slow but catching on. “Gotcha.” The woman wasn’t a bitch—she was simply nervous her secret would be found out.
A wave of guilt rolled over me. “I feel like an idiot. I’m sorry to have assumed. And don’t worry—your secret is safe with me.”
She shrugged. “Thanks. It’s actually fun to tell someone.” Her smile reappeared.
“I’m sure.” The true nature of my relationship with Hudson had started as a secret. I’d been busting to tell someone—anyone—what was really going on. I certainly could relate.
Plus, talking about being in love was one of the highlights of the emotion.
Despite my paranoid nature, Norma convinced me she only had eyes for her assistant. But that didn’t explain all the time she was spending with my boyfriend. “So if there isn’t any romantic interest, why are you with Hudson so much?” I was keen to hear if Norma would say it was a business deal as well, and if so, if she’d expand.
Norma’s forehead furrowed. “He hasn’t told you?”
I shook my head, and she took that in. “Well, maybe I understand.” This seemed to be more for her than myself. To me, she explained, “It’s a very complicated idea he’s working on. He owns stock in a company but wants to purchase enough to have a controlling interest. But he doesn’t want the board members to be aware that he has the controlling interest. So he’s in the process of buying out another company that has enough stock in the first company to equal controlling interest when combined with the shares he already owns. Since he’s doing this all under the radar, we’ve had to be covert about the purchase. It’s all been like a game. Chess moves. We move, they move. I’ve had to research financial laws and tactics I’ve never encountered before. It will be a miracle if it goes through, but I’m beginning to believe in miracles.”
Her eyes lit up as she talked about the deal and I realized it wasn’t Hudson that turned her on as much as it was the work.
She paused, thinking perhaps that she’d gotten carried away. “Hudson’s methods have been brilliant,” she concluded. “He’s a fascinating man to watch in action.”
“It’s obvious you love your job, Norma.” I waited as she nodded. “Hudson’s mind is certainly one of the most creative I’ve ever encountered. It must be a real thrill to get to work with him so closely.” I loved it when he let me work with him. It was a real turn-on both mentally and physically. “And I’m not insinuating anything by that.”
“I understood what you meant. And yes, it is.” Her face grew serious. “By the way, I meant it when I said that I think you’re a much better match for him than that Werner girl. She made him miserable. You make him almost happy.”
I’d heard Norma insinuate that Hudson had been with Celia before. He’d dismissed it, saying she was as snowed as everyone, that he’d used the misconception to avoid Norma’s advances.
Now that I’d seen the video, I wondered if there wasn’t more to Norma’s notion. “Why do you believe he was with Celia? Did he ever tell you he was? Did you see them together?”
She frowned as she recalled. “He never said they were. She accompanied him to many of the office functions. I simply assumed. Were they not?”
I ignored her question, eager for more information. “Did you ever see them intimate together? You know, holding hands? Kissing?”
“No, I didn’t.” She thought about it a moment, as if realizing that it was strange. “That’s part of what seemed miserable about them as a couple—they were so unaffectionate when they were together. There was never the shine in his eyes like there is when he’s with you. Even when he talks about you, he glows.”
This surprised me. “He talks about me?”
“All the time.” She said it as if it were the most matter-of-fact thing in the world.
My heart flip-flopped. “Hmm. I never knew.”
I left Norma’s office feeling lighter than when I’d arrived. She’d assuaged my doubts about Hudson’s fidelity and had even given some insight on his relationship with Celia. More and more, the video seemed to be a sham.
Walking to the elevator, my better mood quickly quieted as I remembered I had to get past Hudson’s office again. If Jordan had texted him, he’d certainly be on the lookout for me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to bump into him or not. If I saw him, I’d have to explain why I was there.
But I’d see him. And that sounded both glorious and painful.
I walked cautiously down his hall, trying my best to keep my heels quiet on the marble floor, all the while keeping my eyes pinned on his closed office door. Which was why I didn’t notice he was standing in front of me until I bumped into him.
“Alayna.”
There it was, the sound I loved above all others—my name on the tongue of the man I loved. The way he said it, reverent like a hymn, like a lullaby—it kindled the emotions I’d been attempting to bury deep inside. Goose bumps scattered down my arms and my chest grew tight. So tight, so ready to burst.
I started to say something, but my voice was gone.
Hudson wrapped his arm around mine. “Let’s talk in private, shall we?” He led me to his office. “Hold my calls,” he said over his shoulder to Trish. Then he shut and locked the door behind us.
If the circumstances had been different, the whole dominating alpha mood he was in would have been hot. Okay, it was still hot. No matter the circumstances. And I’d been a bad girl—going behind his back and speaking with his employee. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d get spanked.
Wow, wasn’t I feeling optimistic?
“Well, hello, H.”
He released my arm. “What are you doing here, Alayna?” He looked and sounded tired. His eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles. Was he losing sleep over me? Or were work and an unfamiliar bed the more likely cause?