LITMIR.BIZ

      Opal glanced at her watch. It was close to eight o’clock and she had just completed filing all the electronic messages. It was time to call it a day, but before she left, she needed to check with D’marcus to make sure there wasn’t anything else he needed her to do. They had been busy in his office with numerous conference calls until around five that afternoon. She wondered where on earth the man got his energy. In addition to his regular business, he had received a couple of media calls regarding Dashuan Kennedy’s incident that past weekend.

      Before logging off her computer, she picked up the stack of papers she needed him to sign. The door to his office was slightly ajar so she walked in—and stopped short. He was leaning back in his chair asleep. This was another first. Today at lunch she had seen him smile; now tonight she was watching him have a peaceful moment. The expression on his face was relaxed, unstrained and calm. She walked farther into the room and once again noticed the framed photograph of the woman he usually had sitting on his desk. Earlier, when he’d spread out the files on his desk, he had placed it in a drawer.

      Curiosity made her move toward the desk to pick up the photograph and look at it. Something she had never done before. For some reason, he always placed it in the drawer when he left each day.

      The woman was simply beautiful and Opal immediately knew she had to be the fiancée he’d lost, the one who had gotten killed in a boating accident two weeks before their wedding. She then wondered if Colleen was right and if D’marcus’s less-than-friendly attitude could be the result of a broken heart.

      “What are you doing in here?”

      Opal jumped at the sound of the gruff voice, nearly dropping the papers out of her hand as she quickly placed the frame back on his desk. She swallowed against the tightness in her throat and said, “I have papers for you to sign.”

      He straightened in his chair. “But that doesn’t give you the right to bother my personal belongings, Ms. Lockhart.”

      “I’m sorry, Mr. Armstrong, but I was curious.” She then added, “She was beautiful.”

      Instead of accepting the compliment he stared at her with ice-cold eyes. “You had no right to touch that photograph.” The anger in his voice almost made Opal’s pulse go still.

      “I said I was sorry, sir, and it won’t happen again.” Anger tainted her voice, too. She was a person who respected everyone’s privacy and she hadn’t meant any harm. It wasn’t like she was planning on stealing the darn thing.

      “These need your signature,” she said, handing him the papers. He took them from her and the room got extremely quiet. The only sound was the shuffling of papers. He handed them back to her and she turned and quickly walked out of his office, closing the door behind her.

      As soon as Opal left, D’marcus stood and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants. He walked over to the window and glanced up at the sky. Damn, what was wrong with him? It seemed he didn’t miss a beat when it came to chewing out Opal Lockhart about anything. He could understand her being curious about the photograph, especially since he went to great pains to lock it up each night. And she was his administrative assistant. There was nothing on his desk that she shouldn’t be allowed to touch.

      He inhaled deeply. What was there about her that seemed to bring out the worst in him without her even trying. In fact, if he was honest with himself, he had to admit she was the most easygoing person he knew.

      He heard her shutting down her computer for the day and knew he had to apologize for his behavior. Grabbing his jacket off the rack, he headed for his office door.