I didn’t go on the date, of course. I went straight home and crawled into bed.

The following morning when I got to work, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was half-afraid that when I got to my desk, it would be packed up in a box. It was a bit illogical—he wasn’t that sort of man—but I was afraid all the same. I was afraid, even if he didn’t fire me, we’d lost something that night we wouldn’t be able to get back.

It couldn’t be replaced, either. I’d searched most of Manhattan for another man like him, and I hadn’t found one yet.

It brought me some measure of relief to find my desk just as I’d left it the night before. I wouldn’t feel completely better until I saw Lee, though. Until I knew everything would be okay between us.

I didn’t have to wait long. My purse was barely put away when the phone on my desk started ringing, and when I answered, his deep voice slid over all the cracks in my composure. “Come into my office as soon as you get settled in.”

I hung up, my stomach in knots as I approached the door that opened up to bedlam last night.

Peeking my head in, I said a bit inanely, “You wanted to see me?”

He gestured for me to come all the way into his office. “Close the door, please.”

It was the please that made my stomach sink. So formal.

Besides, Lee never said please.

Dread opened up like a black hole deep inside me, sucking everything into it. My things may not have been boxed up and waiting for me on my desk, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make me leave.

Some part of me thought maybe I should be grateful if he truly cut me loose. I’d never leave him of my own volition. I’d be a prisoner to this painful, unrequited devotion for the rest of my days if he let me.

But I wanted to stay. God, how I wanted to stay.

I tried to swallow past the knot in my throat, tried to shake off the mantle of fear draped over my shoulders as I approached his desk. I felt like I was marching to the guillotine with little hope of being spared.

He wouldn’t meet my gaze. He wasn’t awkward—Lee never let his discomfort show—but cordial in a way we never were with each other.

His gaze finally landed on me, but it swept over my face, missing my eyes. He was just taking stock of how I was feeling faced with him after what had happened the night before.

Probably realizing how terrified I was, he tried to put me at ease.

“How was your date?” he asked.