Victoria’s lips pressed into a thin line as she watched him return to his desk. “Okay...”

John couldn’t get a read on her one-word reply. “Okay?”

“I’m sorry for distracting you.”

He dragged in a ragged breath before saying, “I’m not asking for an apology. I’m just asking for a little patience.”

“No, you’re right,” she said, waving him away. “I should have stuck to the schedule. We weren’t supposed to meet up yesterday and I definitely wasn’t supposed to call you for...fun at one in the morning. I set the plan and I didn’t follow it,” she finished with a resolute nod.

“Where do you get these ideas?” John asked, his temper quickly running away from him.

“They aren’t ideas,” she said defensively. “They’re the truth. If I promised you order, I should be able to hold up my promise.”

This is maddening.

“I didn’t even want your plan, Victoria,” he said, clenching his chair’s armrests. “I wasn’t interested in four weeks of highly-orchestrated romance.”

Her mouth fell open as her eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

He failed to see where her confusion came from. John thought he’d made it clear when she first sashayed into his office with a day planner that he couldn’t plan fucking. He wanted something more with her. Slowly but surely, Victoria was beginning to open up to him, expressing herself and letting her librarian bun down. But the shift between last night and right now was difficult to keep up with. She was putting the mask back in place and being deliberately obtuse. “I want more from you.”

Victoria took a deep breath and rubbed at the space between her brows. “I don’t know if I can give that to you.”

“So, four weeks is enough for you?”

“I don’t know. I feel like you’re putting me on the spot right now and I don’t have a—”

“—a plan?” John interrupted. “You didn’t come prepared to a conversation about commitment?”

She shot him a glare. “No, I didn’t. I came here today to talk about work. We’re talking about the original reason for our being together: the internship.”

“Victoria, I don’t give three flying fucks about the internship. God knows I can email it to you tonight and everything will work out,” John said as he stood. As he walked around the desk, he fought to keep his tone in check. When he got to her chair, she sat up straighter and narrowed her eyes at him. “The work will get done because it always gets done. I’m more worried about getting involved with a woman who only wants me when it’s convenient for her. You’ve got me acting like the governess from that damn book.”