She kept giving herself mental slaps to wake herself up. She couldn’t allow herself to think for even a single second that she and Byron had really shared anything together the last few days. They’d spent a weekend having sex. It had been beyond her wildest imagination good sex, but still just sex. If she imagined it to be anything other than that, she was a fool. She’d been deceived before, and she damn well wasn’t going to let it happen again.
The temptation to lean on him, though, was killing her.
But enough of this. Putting aside her personal problems and worries, McKenzie forced herself to get back to work. After about an hour, she was doing okay with that — no, she wasn’t moving as quickly or as efficiently as she thought she should be moving, but she was at least getting something done. Something other than moaning and groaning about a past that was over, that is.
When her phone rang just before lunch, she looked down and smiled. She hadn’t spoken with Zach since last Thursday and she was actually missing the guy.
“Good morning, Zach. How are things over there?”
“Without you, my love? Without you here, they can’t be better than okay.”
“Oh, no. Is there something wrong?”
Zach chortled. “No. Of course not. Hard as it may be to believe, I’m capable of doing my job.”
“Then why in the world are you trying to scare me?” she demanded.
“I wasn’t. I was trying to let you know that this place will never be the same without you here,” he told her. “I forgot for a moment how you can go from point A to point Z in one second flat.”
“I’m just ready to get back in there. I can only do this freaking job for so long before I go completely insane.”
“Are things any better there between you and Byron?”
“I shouldn’t have told you he is a pain in my ass,” she said. “But…yes, they’re just fine — pretty much the same,” she lied.
“Okay, McKenzie, keep things to yourself. I’ll try not to be too offended,” he told her with an elaborate sigh and a slight sniff.
“And you can quit being so dramatic, Zach.”
“Well, I was just calling to let you know that the accountant you’re filling in for contacted us today,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Remember why you’re there? The head accountant who met with an unfortunate accident? The guy, Norm Dannon, called us this morning to let us know that he wouldn’t be able to return to Knight Construction. Effects of the accident and all that. So you’ll need to find someone who can take your place, ’cause if you plan to stay there permanently, our business is going to go down in flames. Or up in smoke. Or…never mind.”
She paused for a second as his words processed. “Why in the world is he calling you?”
“There was a mix-up in communication. He called in to personnel and they directed him to our number for some reason. I told him he’d best call them back, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
McKenzie was instantly irritated. Did Byron already know about this? Had he been trying to keep it from her? She doubted she’d get the answers even if she did try to talk to him about it.
“Thanks, Zach. And I promise I won’t be here very much longer.”
“I see you’re on the phone again.” Byron’s irritated voice interrupted her call.
McKenzie looked up to find him standing in her doorway, looking less than pleased.
“I’ll talk with you later, Zach. See you very soon,” she told him, looking directly into Byron’s eyes as she said it. Then she hung up the phone.
“What do you mean by that, McKenzie?” Byron asked her as he came closer.
She decided to answer a question with a question. “Did you know that Norm wasn’t coming back?”
He didn’t respond immediately, and as always she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, because he blanked his expression. She really wished she could do that as well as him. She would pay just about every last dime of her precious savings to know what was going on behind that mask.
“Yes. I was going to inform you today. I’ve decided to hire Mary to replace him.”
This was what McKenzie wanted, so she didn’t understand the sudden sadness that was creeping through her. There was no way she would allow that to show on her face, though. Not a chance.
“That’s wonderful. I can tell her right away, if you’d like, and get her in here and up to speed.” She was speaking as stiffly right now as he’d just been.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll have our human resources people set her up in an office here and go over everything. She was very capable. It won’t take long for her to catch on.”
McKenzie was stunned. This man had been plunging in and out of her body at this same time the day before, and now he looked so cool, so professional…so indifferent. It was more than obvious that he’d gotten what he wanted, and now he was more than ready to be rid of her.
She smiled brightly. “That’s wonderful. Then I guess I’ll clean up my stuff and head out of here,” she said, trying to infuse some excitement into her tone.
“Thank you for filling in, McKenzie.”
And then he turned and walked from her office.
Yes, her time with Byron was truly over. As quickly as it had begun, it had ended. She sat there in silence for a long while and tried to process it all. She’d heard all sorts of things about Byron Knight — what a tyrant he was, how cold he was, how he treated women — but being at the receiving end of his dismissal was humiliating and depressing, She was fighting tears when she stood up, gathered up the few things she had there in her office, and left.
For years, she’d worn a hard shell — an outer shell. Who cared what people thought of her? She simply chose not to care. She’d built up her defenses to keep people from getting inside her head or her heart, but somehow Byron had managed to do both.
No! She wouldn’t even think such a thing. She was a successful woman, a woman who had a lot going for her and a busy road ahead of her. Why would she ever let a man mess with her head or make her think foolish schoolgirl thoughts? She wouldn’t.
She barely remembered the drive from Knight Construction back to her accounting firm, but when she found herself parked in the garage beneath the building, she took a few moments to collect herself.
Zach would be thrilled to have her back, and even sooner than he’d been expecting. She fought down the tears that wanted to surface, looked in her small mirror, and gave herself a pep talk before she fell apart.