One Night Forever (The Cinderella Chronicles) by Lisa Renée Jones Page B

for…everything.”
    His eyes smoldered and
for long moments they simply stared at one another. “I’ll walk you
home,” he said.
    “ The sun is
up,” she said so quickly it was almost abrupt. “I’m
fine.”
    “ I insist,” he
said.
    She really needed space.
“No.”
    He looked like he would
argue, but then said, “Fine. I guess I’ll say goodbye.”
    Relief should have
followed. Instead, a dash of disappointment jolted her emotions.
Somehow, she managed a smile. “Goodbye then.”
    For several more seconds
he simply stared at her. Without another word, he turned and walked
away. Lauren watched as he climbed into his car, wishing he’d he
look in her direction.
    But he didn’t, which was
best. So why did it feel so bad?

Chapter Fourteen
     
    At eight o’clock in the
morning, Lauren stepped into the elevator of the Carlson building
with Celia by her side. Oddly, she felt quite rested after a
night—correction, night and early morning—of sex and more
sex.
    A tiny smile played on
her lips at that thought. Matt was like the Energizer Bunny. He
just kept going.
    “ Hold the
elevator.” Lauren knew the voice. It was Matt. Her smile
disappeared. Now she was nervous. Seeing him at work, in such an up
close and personal way, was going to be awkward.
    At least for her.
Somehow, she doubted it would be for Matt. After all, nothing about
having an affair with an employee seemed to bother him. That
thought made her stomach knot.
    Celia hit the open button
just as Matt appeared looking handsome and polished in a tailored
black suit. His white shirt was starched, his red tie a perfect
contrast of color. “Hey, boss man,” Celia said with a grin. “Lucky
I’m in a good mood or I would have pretended not to see
you.”
    Matt gave Celia a boyish
grin. It didn’t surprised Lauren that Celia got along well with
Matt. She was one of those people who blended and clicked. Celia’s
presence, and her light mood, helped a little. The flutters of her
stomach calmed knowing Celia would make conversation and act as a
shield of sort. Because the truth was, everything had happened so
fast, Lauren didn’t know how to act around Matt.
    Normal, she told herself.
Yeah right. What was normal for her and Matt?
    “ Must have had
your morning pot of coffee,” Matt said to Celia as he stepped
inside the car. He stood between Celia and Lauren. Then he looked
at Lauren. “If you catch her before her coffee she isn’t the same
person. It’s scary.”
    “ Really?”
Lauren asked, surprised by his easygoing mood for some reason. “But
she seems so nice.”
    He nodded. “There lies
the real danger. No one suspects but I have seen it
firsthand.”
    Lauren found herself
laughing. Something she didn’t think possible considering the
oddity of the situation. “Oh stop,” Celia said, eyeing Lauren,
“don’t believe a word of his junk.” Celia looked at Matt and her
expression went serious. “Would you believe Lauren got paired with
Greg for the BG campaign?”
    Lauren’s jaw dropped.
Just when she thought she might survive this elevator ride. Why in
the world had Celia just told Matt that? Lauren looked at him to
see how he reacted.
    “ Really?” Matt
said, slanting Lauren a look. Theirs eyes locked for the briefest
of moments and Lauren felt the intimacy in those dark eyes clear to
her toes. She quickly cut her gaze and focused on Celia, giving her
a silent plea that said, “please say no more”.
    Celia ignored Lauren and
focused on Matt. “I told Tyler this is an extremely bad way to
start Lauren’s career. That man is trouble.”
    Lauren fought the urge to
protest, but settled for a mere fidget and a discreet comment. The
last thing she wanted was anyone thinking she couldn’t handle Greg
or her job. And the last person’s help she needed was Matt’s. “It’s
fine,” Lauren said. “Greg and I are getting along just
fine.”
    Matt spoke then, his
attention on Celia, but there was a hidden meaning to his