Again emotion flickered over her face. It looked like she really wanted to believe him but didn’t quite.
“I don’t want to give you all any reason to think I’m not up to the job.”
“Your job is safe.” He was trying hard not to grit his teeth. She’d never been this obstinate before.
She’s not the same girl, that annoying voice whispered.
Yeah, yeah.
“Even if I don’t sleep with you?” she asked.
For just a second, the obstinate, contrary part of him reared its head and he wanted to tell her that she was absolutely required to be in his bed every single night. The job was that important to her? Then fine, he’d use that to his advantage.
But, of course, he didn’t say that. He would never say that.
“What happens outside of the office has nothing to do with your job,” he said.
Though that was maybe not entirely true either. Because the more he was around her, the more he wanted to be sure she stayed working for them so that he could see her every day.
“What about if something happens at the office?” she asked.
“If you do finally let me bend you over your desk and hike up one of those ugly skirts, then no, that will have nothing to do with your job,” he said, unable to hold back.
Her eyes narrowed at that. “I meant what if I tell you one of your ideas is terrible or tell you that you’re being an asshole in the office sometime?”
His brows rose. “Your job would still be safe,” he said. “In fact, if I do have a terrible idea or I’m acting like an asshole then you better tell me.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced but she didn’t say that she didn’t believe him either.
“Tell me that right now,” he challenged.
She chewed on her bottom lip.
He moved around the edge of the kitchen island, closer to her. “Whitney. Tell me right now what you’re feeling.”
“This is a terrible idea,” she said softly.
He nodded. “Okay.”
For a second she looked a little sad. Then she lifted her chin again. “And it’s an asshole thing to do to text me about cookie dough and nipples when I’m trying to go to sleep.”
He stopped moving but not truly outside of her personal space. He could reach out and touch her easily.
“So I should do it earlier in the evening going forward?” he asked.
She shook her head but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Not what I meant.”
“Tell me what you mean,” he said.
She swallowed. “Fine. I want you. I know that doesn’t surprise you and I know it’s just going to make your ego even bigger but, yes, I want you. Yes, there’s chemistry. But I want to do a great job at Hot Cakes too. Maybe more.” She didn’t seem entirely sure of that, however. “Even if it doesn’t affect my actual job, even if you wouldn’t fire me if we had a fight at home or whatever, it affects my performance because it distracts me and makes me jumpy and makes it hard to concentrate on work. I want to do a good job for me too, Cam. I haven’t had a chance to prove myself to others before, but at the same time I haven’t had a chance to prove myself to me either. Because I’ve never been able to really implement my ideas or projects, I don’t actually know if they’re good. I think they are. They seem to be. But…” She pressed her lips together. “Ollie thinks my ideas are good.”
“Of course he does,” Cam said.
“But Ollie also thought having a petting zoo at the cake tasting was a good idea,” she said.
Cam couldn’t help his grin. “Everyone loved the petting zoo.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, implementing ideas, actually doing the things I think up, is new to me. I have no idea if I’m actually good at any of this.”
“You are.”
“You have no idea if that’s true,” she said. “And you have to stop saying it until you do. Don’t placate me. Don’t compliment me because you want in my pants. Just let me do my job and do it the best I can and let’s see how it turns out.”
She had a point.
Dammit.
He figured she was good at it, but honestly, if she hadn’t had much to do with Hot Cakes other than having her name associated because of her family then… well, maybe she wasn’t good at it. He didn’t believe that, really, but she had a point about wanting to prove it. To them and to herself.
This was important to her for her too.
“Fine,” he finally conceded. “No more compliments on your work until you prove yourself.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“But I can still say that you look hot as hell wrapped in a sheet with your hair up like that?”
Heat flickered in her eyes. The only sign that he wasn’t way off base here.
Still, she shook her head. “No, you can’t say that.”
“Because it makes you uncomfortable?” he asked.
She hesitated, then said, “Because it makes me think about how hot you would look wrapped in only a sheet.”
That hit him with heat but also satisfaction. She wasn’t uncomfortable with their chemistry. She was distracted. That was okay.
“I would look really good wrapped in only a sheet. Down low. Around my waist.”
She pulled in a long breath. “Stop it.”
He grinned. “Okay.”
Her gaze tracked over his torso, then she sighed. “Asshole thing to do before I go back upstairs.”
She could take that thought with her when she went back upstairs to bed. He wasn’t apologetic about the idea of keeping her awake for a bit.
“Not sorry.”
“I know.”
Then she narrowed her eyes again. Though this time it seemed she was just thinking about something. “So I can do whatever I want? Say whatever I want? No consequences? No issues?”
He hesitated for some reason, but then nodded, mostly curious. He wanted her to be totally honest
