Crossing Hathaway (7 page)

“Actually, I don’t get very good reception on my BlackBerry here so I gave my suppliers my Gmail account and the extension in this office to call back. I don’t want to leave until I talk to them.”

“Then I’ll tell Brent to fetch two orders.”

What?
On what universe had I landed where Mr. Hathaway was buying me lunch? Maybe the caffeine had taken me into an alternate dimension?

“Oh.” My brows pinched together. “Thanks, that’s generous of you, Mr. Hathaway.”

“Ben.”

I waited for him to say more, straining to hear in case I missed it. “Beg pardon?”

“You may call me Ben.”

I swallowed and searched the room for
Candid Camera
. “Okay. Ben.”

“I’ll call you when the food arrives.” Without sparing me another glance, he left and shut the door behind him.

I stood there for a while, scratching my head in utter confusion. Before meeting Mr. Hathaway, I thought I understood people, but wasn’t sure I’d ever understand that man. I’d always loved puzzles and he was a living, breathing one. With only one day to solve him before handing him back over to Cameron, I needed to get to work.

Half an hour later, I’d sweet-talked my supplier into an amazing deal on a new camera system. I was so totally going to knock his socks off with my talents.

Mr. Hathaway popped his head into the surveillance office. “Lunch is here.”

I grabbed my proposal from the printer and followed him into the dim hallway, practically skipping over the solution I’d put together. If that didn’t impress him, nothing would. He’d turned up the lights a little so I didn’t trip all over myself again.

We went through a door into a giant boardroom. A long, cherry-wood table stretched along the center of the rectangular room, and two rows of lights shone a muted glow from the ceiling. Black-and-white photographs held in black frames lined the cream-colored walls. It was tasteful, neat, and tidy, just as he was.

“How many rooms do you have up here, Mr. Hathaway?”

He pulled out a chair and sat at the head of the table. “Ben.”

“Sorry.” I frowned, suddenly feeling a little queasy. “Ben.” Calling him by his first name sent little legged things crawling through my insides.

“I’ll give you a tour after lunch if you like.” After snapping out a cloth napkin and placing it across his lap, he opened a large paper bag on the table and withdrew two black trays with clear plastic lids. One, he set in front of him, and the other in front of the chair to his right.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks.” I sat and squinted at the mystery package. Food and I had issues. Nothing went in my mouth that I couldn’t identify, and I had no name for whatever colorful tidbits lay within the plastic dome. “What is this?”

Shoving a package of chopsticks at me, he said, “Sushi. Maki.”

Just barely, I held my grimace inside. “Is that … like … raw fish?”

“They’re just California rolls. Snow crab, avocado, cucumber, rice, and salmon roe.”

I stared at the package as if it contained squirming grubs, my stomach twisting and surging. “Fish eggs? You want me to eat raw fish eggs?”

“Try them.” He smirked and picked up a nasty round roll with his chopsticks. “If you don’t like them, I’ll have Brent fetch you something else.”

Okay, he was actually being reasonable. I supposed I could try. I took the wrapper off the chopsticks and fiddled with them. They snapped apart with a tug of my fingers. When I tried to position them in my fingers, one went flying halfway across the table. “Did this come with a fork, or at least some instructions on how to use these fool things?”

Ben pushed his chair out, retrieved my wooden projectile, came around behind me, and knelt beside my chair so close his heat made my skin tingle. “Let me show you.”

He positioned the chopsticks in my right hand, cupped his big one around mine, and helped me open and close my fingers. I stiffened under his touch, closed my eyes, and held my breath as sparkling electricity invaded my body. Spread. Grew hotter until it consumed me and left my inner thighs pulsing.

When he spoke again, his words came out in a soft whisper right next to my ear. “Open your eyes, Evangeline.” His warm, sweet exhale fanned across my cheek. “You need to watch what I’m doing or there’s little point in my lesson.”

Oh, right. Chopsticks. I opened my eyes, exhaled, and turned to look at him. Our gazes met for just a moment. A jolt of delicious warmth spread from the top of my head, down my abdomen, and tightened everything in the vicinity.

When my mental cobwebs cleared, I jumped up and stumbled away. “I think I’ve got it now, Mr. Hathaway.” A few swallows didn’t take the cotton from my mouth.

Head cocked, he studied my face. “Are you afraid of me?”

I stared at the floor, digging the toe of my sensible black loafer into the carpet. “No.” My mind spun answers to questions I didn’t want to answer.
I shouldn’t feel this way about my freakin’ boss.

“Your hands are trembling. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

My muscles relaxed a little. I’d rather he thought he humiliated me than the real reason, that he lit my body on fire and stoked the flames with every word, every movement of his body, even his scent. I jammed my shaking hands into my pockets. “N-no, it’s the caffeine. I just need to eat.”

I caught his nod in my peripheral vision before he sat and picked up his chopsticks. “I’ll mix you some soy sauce and wasabi to dip your Maki into.”

After a few more deep breaths, I joined him at the table. I tried to use the chopsticks again but the sushi roll kept flipping out onto the table. Certain Ben must have been laughing at me again, I gave up and stabbed my food with the end of one of the sticks, dipped it in the sauce he’d prepared, and took a bite.

Flavors exploded in my mouth. The freshness of the cucumber, the smooth, earthy taste of the avocado, the sweetness of the crab, the heat of the wasabi, and the crunch of the pickled ginger all blended into a dazzling harmony. “Mmm. Oh, my freakin’ gawd, I can’t believe how good this is.”

“I told you,” he said with great satisfaction. “What’s your favorite food?”

Marveling at the display of exotic food before me, my spine went limp. “I’d be embarrassed to say.”

Ben leaned forward and stared at me hard enough to send me squirming back in my chair. “Now you’ve intrigued me.”

I shook my head, sighed, and speared another California roll. “No.”

“Please?” So much emotion and determination filled his one word I paused to savor it in my thoughts. My imagination inserted that plea into other activities we might do together. Naked. And sweaty.
Stop it!

“Oh fine, but you’re going to laugh at me again. I love cinnamon toaster waffles, all right?” I glanced at him long enough to see a brief smile quirk his lips before he took another bite of California roll.

“Fascinating,” he said, his tone dripping with laughter and sarcasm.

Although I wanted to be annoyed with him, my mouth curved into a smile.

Squaring his shoulders as if preparing for more serious conversation, he wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Tell me. Are my Quality Engineers harassing you?”

I choked and coughed, pounding on my chest to dislodge the ball of shock caught there. “No. Where did you hear that?”

“When Dave Gibbons approached you, your whole demeanor changed. Has he threatened you in some way?”

My whole body went rigid as I calculated how he could have known that little tidbit. “You were spying on me?”

Face unreadable, Ben sat back in his chair and averted his eyes. “I have a right to monitor my own surveillance cameras whenever I choose.”

Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, huh? All of the hairs on my arms stood at attention. “So it was just a coincidence you happened to be watching the lunchroom camera during the five minutes I was in there? What, were you afraid I’d spill some corporate secrets?”

Silence for a moment. His stillness infuriated me.

“You told him you don’t date,” he said in a whisper. “Tell me why.”

I crossed my arms and leaned toward him, hoping my glare might hurt him somehow. “You might have a right to spy on your employees, Mr. Hathaway, but you don’t have a right to my personal life.”
Stick that in your craw and choke, buddy.

Angling toward me, he squinted, studied me for so long every muscle in my body went rigid. “I’ve offended you again.”

“Your powers of observation are frightening.” I scowled at the table.

“You confound me like nobody I’ve ever met before. I’m simply curious about you.”

I met his gaze, but he leaped up and paced in front of the door where the shadows were darkest.

“You don’t answer any of my questions, so why should I answer any of yours?” I tapped my foot, waiting.

He stopped, something I took for hope lighting up his features. “If I answer a question for you, will you answer mine?”

The thought of sharing that part of my soul with him made my heart hurt, but my curiosity tempted me. “Do I get to ask anything?”

He remained silent for a moment before he nodded, though the hunch of his shoulders suggested he was either terribly nervous or afraid.

“And you’ll go first?” I asked.

“I suppose I deserve your distrust.” He gave a curt nod, sending that cute little curl shifting across his ear. “Very well, I’ll go first.”

I stood and stepped closer, studying his perfect profile, the utter masculine cut of his jaw. “Why don’t you like people to look at you?”

His eyes closed and crimped together.

My chest tightened at the sight of his unease, but I wanted to know. “At first I thought maybe you had a disfigurement or something you didn’t like to talk about, but then when I saw you and realized you’re…”

Fuckballs!

His face snapped toward me, eyes wide and shining with curiosity. “That I’m what?”

Heat rushed through me, unwinding my nerves until they crackled and threatened to unhinge me completely. “You know what, forget it. Deal’s off.” I started for the door, but he beat me there and stood in front of it. “Your proposal’s on the table so I’m just going to head back to my office.”

“Tell me.” Desperation filled his voice.

I fought to control my spinning thoughts, but they sped out of my control. “I’d rather throw myself out the window than finish that statement.”

“Please, Evangeline.”

The hurt in his voice sent a shiver through me and tore down my resolve. I rubbed my forehead. Why didn’t my brain-to-mouth filter work around him? He had to know he was gorgeous. Didn’t he? “I was going to say beautiful, okay? There, I said it. And now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find a bridge to live under for the rest of my life.”

I shifted closer to the door, but he didn’t move and I couldn’t find the courage to look at him.

“You … think I’m beautiful?”

“Or handsome, or whatever the word is for a guy. Don’t act as if you don’t know it. I’m sure you’ve got hot women beating down your door. Can I go now?” A knot formed in the pit of my stomach, but I didn’t know why. “Please?”

After a long silence, he stepped away and I got the hell out of his office.

I made it back to my desk in the IT office without remembering how I’d arrived there. Why did I have to say that? Why couldn’t I have lied? He sounded so lonely, so hurt, as if he assumed I thought of him as a withered old man.

“That you, Eva?” Paul poked his head over my wall, his double chin hanging over. “When I didn’t see you this morning I assumed…” He cleared his throat and rubbed his wrist across his nose.

“I’ve been in his office all day.”

“You look like ass.”

I snorted despite my mental meltdown. “You try being around Mr. Hathaway for two days and we’ll see how you look. Cam wasn’t kidding about the guy being tantamount to Satan’s cousin.”

Mr. Hathaway’s voice replayed in my mind, evoking an urge I didn’t understand, to comfort him, to take his sadness away. Just his simple
“please.” God, stop it! He’s your freakin’ boss!

Jeremy appeared and perched on my desk, staring with longing into his own private world. “What’s his office like? I keep picturing the bridge from the
Star Trek: Enterprise
.”

I laughed, a burst of sound that flooded me with endorphins. “God, could you be any more of a dork? I’m not sure I’m supposed to say anything about his office. I’ll just say that it’s big and dark.” I stared at Jeremy. “Have you ever seen him? I mean, when he comes or goes from the building?”

“No. I overheard Skeletor talking to a girl in HR one day and he seemed to think Hathaway lives up there like some kind of freaky hermit.”

That tidbit should have seemed odd to me, but somehow it didn’t.

Jeremy shoved his glasses up. “Is he really as scary as everyone says he is?”

“Yeah,” Paul added, “I bet you’ll be glad to see Cam back on Wednesday.”

“He’s pretty scary, but after he’s done mind-fucking you, he isn’t so bad.” The knot in my stomach tightened instead of loosening. I shot a glance at the camera above the door.
Hope he didn’t hear that.

My office phone rang. I winced, but relaxed and picked up the receiver when the display announced an outside caller. “Good afternoon, Eva Ross.”

“Hi, sweetheart.”

I slid forward on my chair and shot Paul a look that made him retreat from my wall. Jeremy jumped up and left. I’d trained my boys well.

I spoke past a huge lump in my throat. “Hi, Mom.”

“Your dad is so sorry for what he said last night.”

“No he isn’t. Please stop trying to apologize for him.”

Her muffled sniffles brought tears to my eyes. “Please come over tonight, Evangeline. We’ll sit down and have a family talk so he can tell you himself.”

“Not gonna happen, Mom. Look, I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of this, but I’m done letting him hurt me. He’s never been a father to me, you know that, but please know I don’t blame you for anything.” I massaged my temple, though the sudden ache grew closer to my heart. “I have to stay away for a while. If you’d like to come to my place, or meet me somewhere for supper some night, I’d love to see you.”