And hearing this, William had thought right away, Cassidy.
His secretary had an unfortunate penchant for pranks, and the troublesome girl even had an entire office drawer filled up with prank props. Halloween masks, exploding pens, disappearing ink...
Anything one could buy on Amazon, it was there, and he was willing to bet Cassidy was also the one behind Eve's candy striper uniform. And while he normally hadn't any trouble with her pranks, this particular one, well...
Since it involved Konstantin, who could be rather unpredictable when it came to the girl he was dating...
William decided to personally check things, just to be sure he could be there to protect Cassidy, in case the hot-tempered Greek ended up wanting to throttle William's secretary for whatever reason.
And a good thing he did, too, since upon arriving at the hospital cafeteria, he saw right away that Cassidy was in trouble.
Or rather, she was about to get into trouble with William himself, with the way she was staring wide-eyed as Konstantin started kissing Eve.
William was furious and jealous all at once, not liking the way Cassidy was staring up at the Greek surgeon like the other man was some kind of sex god. In a couple of strides, William had reached Cassidy's table and promptly covered her eyes so she would no longer see any other man.
That...happened thirty minutes ago, and now he was paying the price for his impulsiveness.
He and Cassidy were back in the office, and his secretary stood before him, arms crossed over her chest, and her face alarmingly blank.
"What was that?"
William cursed silently in his mind. The truth wasn't a good option at the moment. Although he had gained a lot of ground in earning her trust, he knew it still wasn't enough. He had to keep lying, had to think up something plausible to say or it would all be over, and Cassidy would realize that his nerdy, mild-mannered demeanor was nothing but a sham.
"Mr. Stanhope?"
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She always used to call him that with a smile in her voice, but now...
With his back against the wall, and the threatening possibility that everything he had worked so damn hard for would go down the drain if he didn't say something in the next five seconds—-
"I'm sorry, Cassidy."
She stiffened.
"I know I had no right to act like that, but something inside of me just reacted. The way you were staring at Konstantin—-"
"I don't like him that way," she protested.
"I know that," William swiftly assured her, "but..."
Cassidy was now looking at him with concern. "What is it?"
"I was jealous."
Her eyes widened.
"You probably haven't noticed," William heard himself say, "but I'm in love with you."
Just One Night
Cassidy normally didn't have a hard time concentrating at work. Then again, she normally did not find herself having a crush on her own boss, and...
Speak of the hottie.
The thought popped out just as the glass doors slid open, and Eve felt her cheeks heat up as William strode inside.
Really, Cassidy? Speak of the hottie? Really?
And yet...
When her brown eyes met William's blue ones, and she saw the slight smile unfolding over his lips...
Cassidy's lips pursed in an effort to keep herself from sighing like a schoolgirl. Improper as it was, the words were nevertheless true. William was a hottie, and to think, it was just two months ago when they first met, and only a week ago since he confessed to being in love with her—-
"Good morning, love."
Holy, holy, holy...hottie.
Her toes curled inside her sensible shoes even as she managed to shake her head at her boss. "Please don't call me that—"
"Even if it's true?"
Oh dear Lord, save me from hotties with heart.
Cassidy forced herself to glower at William even though what she really wanted to do was yank him down by his tie and give herself a taste of his lovely, masculine mouth. "Please, Mr. Stanhope." She took a deep breath, intending to remind him of the need to act professional, but when she saw his smile fade, and a hesitant expression cross his handsome face...
Good intentions be damned, if it was only going to make her blue-eyed hottie feel bad.
"It's not that I don't like it," she muttered, "but it's just not...appropriate."
"I see."
"And I just need more time, like I said."
"Of course."
The quietness of his tone made her feel like a heel, and Cassidy cleared her throat. "I appreciate the sentiments, though."
"You don't have to force yourself to lie."
Oh my God, Cassidy. Loosen up...before you lose him!
But before she could say a word, the phone on her desk suddenly started ringing, and the sound made Cassidy jerk in surprise.
Talk about bad timing.
She glanced up at William, intending to apologize about having to take the call, but her boss had already walked into his office, and she had the craziest urge to bang her head against her desk.
Gaaah!
She was so stupid!
William was different from Darren. That had been obvious from the start, and he had never - like never ever - said or did anything to think otherwise. If anything, he only proved himself to be the loveliest gentleman over and over...as well as the dorkiest and clumsiest, with the way he often needed her help fixing his tie and he kept needing her to find things in his office.
He was a hottie, and he was in love with her.
These were things to celebrate, but instead she foolishly insisted on pushing him away, and oh God...
I really am going to lose him!
Cassidy burst to her feet, intent on asking for a second chance from William—-
RIIIIIIIIIING!
The sound made Cassidy flop back to her seat. Work, she reminded herself. Work first, love later. She reached for the receiver. "Good morning—-"
"Good morning, Cassidy." Dr. Lucian Stanhope's tone was immediately recognizable. "Is my cousin in?"
"Yes, Dr. Stanhope. Please hold a moment while I connect your call." She pressed the Hold button and contacted William. "Mr. Stanhope, your cousin..."
"Please connect him, thanks."
"Yes, Mr. Stanhope." Cassidy wasn't too surprised when she noticed her fingers shaking as she made the necessary switch before replacing the call. It was her first time to hear William speak to her so politely...and she didn't like it.
In fact, she didn't just dislike it.
She hated it, and it hurt.
A lot!
To the point that when she saw his door swing open and her boss come striding out...
William appeared bemused when she suddenly blocked his way. "Cassidy? Do you need anything?"
Cassidy's mind suddenly went blank. She knew she should say something, but...what?
"Can it wait for a few minutes?" her boss asked. "I owe Lucian a favor, and I'll need to head up to the new building—-"
Cassidy was horrified. The new building was where all of the med students were, and if her blue-eyed hottie was to go there alone, it would be like feeding a British lamb to a pack of she-wolves!
Ten minutes later, and Cassidy was happily giving herself a figurative pat on the back. She had managed to convince William to let her head to the new building in his stead, and with this, she had successfully averted a disaster.