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reason, put it into his pocket. His actions were purely mechanical at this point; his mind was dealing with the very unwelcome discovery that for a brief moment he’d wanted to kiss away Aubrey’s tears. Where had such an absurd idea come from? “Forget the file. I may be able to find an old version lying around somewhere.” He turned abruptly and left the room.
    Aubrey leaned back in her chair, covering her face with both hands. How could she fall apart in front of him of all people? What must he think of her?
    When they met later at lunch, one look at his face was enough to know the morning’s events were to be forgotten. She wondered if she would ever understand him. This meal, like so many others, was conducted in silence. It wasn’t until Paul began clearing the table that Corbin finally looked her way.
    “I’ll be going out of town tomorrow. If things go as I expect, I should be back within three or four days. Since this was planned before you joined us, Paul arranged to have some time off to visit his family in Florida. This means you’ll be alone. Is that going to be a problem?”
    “Not at all,” she assured him. “It will be nice to have the house to myself.”
    “And the boss out of the way, right?”
    She shrugged. “It’s not like you’re here that much anyway.”
    “Something you should be thankful for.”
    “I haven’t complained, have I?” she asked lightly.
    His smile grew, and Aubrey felt the breath catch in her throat. When he smiled, it was like looking at a different person.
    “If you’re finished, I’ll show you what to do while I’m gone.”
    As they left the dining room, Paul appeared. “You got a phone call, Aubrey.”
    Who would be calling her on Corbin’s home number? “Who is it?”
    “Richard Meadows.”
    Corbin scowled as he turned and continued on his way to his office. Aubrey was turning out to be all the trouble he’d envisioned and more. If she wasn’t hurting herself, she was losing things. Now she’d attracted the notice of the island playboy. He knew nothing good was going to come out of that. Why had he listened to Phoebe?
    His mood wasn’t improved when not five or ten, but twenty minutes passed before Aubrey joined him. He made his annoyance felt by launching into a recital of work that would keep her chained to her desk for a week, let alone the few days he was going to be gone.
    She closed her notebook with a snap. “Are you serious? I can’t possibly get through all that.”
    He twirled a pencil between two long fingers. “Admitting defeat before you’ve even begun is ridiculous, don’t you think?”
    “You think everything I do is ridiculous,” she said on a short laugh.
    “Not everything; just some things.”
    “Thanks; I feel much better now.” Aubrey gathered her notes and walked back to her own desk. She felt more than saw him get up and follow her.
    “I’m going to regret saying this, but for what it’s worth, my advice is to forget about Richard and find another guy to hang around with.”
    Aubrey had no special feelings about Richard one way or the other, but she resented Corbin’s attitude. “I’m the best judge of who I want to spend time with.”
    “I knew I was wasting my breath. What you perceive as unnecessary interference in your affairs is at best disinterested and at worst tied up in some totally misguided sense of loyalty to Phoebe.”
    “I don’t need your help with my social life.”
    “You have no idea what you’re getting into nor will you have the least idea how to get out.”
    Aubrey laughed at this. “Have you been listening to Phoebe?”
    Corbin’s eyes never left her face. “Listening to her was my first mistake. I don’t need Phoebe to tell me the rest of this story.”
    “Whatever way this particular story plays out, I won’t let it affect my job.”
    “Can I get that in writing?” he asked with a wry smile. “I may be only eight years older than you, but it feels more like