'I'm falling in love with the girl I can't have
I'm walking a line, that's a little bit mad
I know that I shouldn't, but I can't help the way I feel
This love is forbidden, yet I can't let it go unreal"
Forbidden love can be a tale of great complexi...
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I press the intercom and don't even attempt to hide my annoyed tone. "Is she here yet?"
"Yes, sir." Aileen's answer is immediate. Crisp and professional, as always. If she ever has any ideas or opinions of what I may or may not be doing with Mia, she keeps them to herself.
I like that about her.
After a moment of silence, Aileen's voice interrupts my thoughts. "Shall I send her in, Mr. Mills?"
"Yes, thank you." My finger barely leaves the intercom button before I hear the light knock on my office door that I immediately recognize as belonging to Mia. Even if she hadn't knocked at all, I could sense her there, just like I'd instinctively known when she hadn't been at her desk on time this morning.
She doesn't wait for me to answer, and I see her head tentatively poke around the corner. "You, um... wanted to see me?"
I can already feel my irritation slipping away as I look at her beautiful face. I'm not even annoyed with her. Sure, I'm paying her to be here on time, but... if I'm honest, I just selfishly want to see her, to hear her voice and look into her eyes.
"You're late," I say, my tone still gruffer than I intend. Mia nods and nibbles at her lower lip, and I wonder if she knows how much I love it when she does that. She's still hesitating at the door, though. "Come in," I demand, before softening my tone a little and adding a belated, "Please."
It's only when she's standing there in front of my desk, looking so radiant that it's like she's brought a ray of sunshine into the office with her, that I notice something is still a little off. She gives me a nervous smile, but... that's just it. She's nervous. She's fidgeting. Something is wrong.
Surely she doesn't think I'm upset about her being a few minutes late. She should know by now that my bark is worse than my bite. Still, I feel like an ass for the way I greeted her.
"Mia, I don't mean to sound so..." I shrug a little as I search for the right word. Grumpy? Cranky? Irritable? I had felt all of those things while I was waiting for her to come to work, but is that really how I want her to think of me?
She smiles again-more convincingly this time-and shakes her head, interrupting my mental search for the right word to tell her how I'm feeling without putting her more on edge than I already have. "No, it's okay. I'm sorry I was late. I just had some, um... some things to do. And then Dad wanted to talk over breakfast." She rolls her eyes. "You know how he can be."
I do know. I think of how protective David is and how he only wants the best for Mia, and it makes me smile. I can only imagine what David had wanted to talk about. Probably details about our trip to Japan. Or about work. Or about working with me.
My smile instantly fades as that thought crosses my mind. What would David think if she ever told him about the real nature of our work relationship?
"Your dad means well," I say, finally, making a conscious decision not to press for details that I may not want to hear. "I hope you can cut him a little slack."
