by Layla Hagen
I’d been expecting him to be looking around the room with disapproval, but his gaze was fixed on me, and those green eyes seemed darker than I remembered them from yesterday. He looked down my body slowly and then back up. His eyes were smoldering. Oh my God. Was he checking me out?
I broke out in a sweat at the mere thought.
“Ms. Hensley, what is all this?”
“Christmas decorations.”
“I see that. What are they doing in here?”
“Thought this place could use some Christmas spirit. This was the only meeting room without decorations.”
“Did it occur to you that maybe that’s why I chose it? The entire floor is overflowing with twinkling lights and whatnot.”
Wait a second... was he picking on my decorations? He was losing all the points he’d earned yesterday evening.
“It’s not against company rules to decorate the workplace. I checked.”
“No, but blasting music isn’t appropriate.”
“You don’t like Christmas carols?” I countered. I had no clue why I was so riled up all of a sudden.
He narrowed his eyes. “This is not a Christmas carol.”
I was surprised that he listened to enough music to know the difference. In my mind, Winston was always working, wearing one of his crisp suits and shirt, and holy hell, the man was rolling up his sleeves. His forearms were impressive. Muscular and toned. A sudden desire slammed into me to know what else he was hiding under that shirt. Those pants.
I cleared my throat, hoping that would dispel the sinful images. I failed, of course. But I needed to get my bearings and apologize, be professional.
“I’m sorry about blasting music. You’re right, this is... inappropriate. I just didn’t think anyone would be here. I know everyone’s schedule. Except yours, of course.” Why hadn’t I thought about that? “But I am not sorry about the decorations. Everyone here is on edge to make the targets. We’re all working our asses off. We need a little bit of cheering up.”
I’d expected him to retaliate in his usual gruff manner, tell me to take it all down.
“Fine. The decorations stay. You’re right. It’s motivating for everyone else.” His tone was surprisingly soft. For everyone else, but not him? There was a story behind that. Something didn’t compute.
I was determined to make him come around.
“But I don’t want to hear that song again,” he added. The bossy tone was back.
I couldn’t help a grin and brought my hand to my temple in a mock salute.
“Yes, boss.”
“Sassy, are you, Ms. Hensley?”
“You haven’t seen sassy yet, Mr. Statham.”
Fire danced in those deep green eyes again, as if the heat had been there all along and I’d lit the match with my words. I licked my lips, quickly looking away. I had no idea what was going on here, what to do with this sudden... tension. I’d never met someone so masculine, so dominant.
When I chanced a look at him, I startled. He was still watching me intently. Could he tell that my entire body felt ablaze just because he was looking at me?
“The song, Ms. Hensley. It’s still playing.” There was amusement interwoven with bossiness in his tone.
“Right, yes.”
I felt his gaze on me every step of the way to the table where I’d set my phone. When I finally paused the damn song, I heard him chuckle.
He stepped away from the doorway, making just enough room that I could pass by him. I nearly brushed my shoulder against his chest on my way out.
I couldn’t ignore these energetic vibes rolling off him. I couldn’t ignore him, period. His presence was too overwhelming. Those suggestive lyrics were at fault for this... flirty tension we had going on.
I hoped.
Otherwise, spending two hours alone every evening with this sinful man might just be my undoing.
***
The rest of the day felt like a sprint. Winston was sending me about ten emails per hour. Judging by the occasional grunt and whispered curse from my colleagues, he was spamming them too.
At eleven o’clock, he called a meeting with the branding and marketing team. I was anxious about it for reasons I couldn’t explain.
When I stepped inside the large meeting room, I sat as far away from the front as possible. One by one, my colleagues filtered in, sitting around the oval table. I sucked in a breath when Winston stepped inside, looking away. Somehow, I could tell he was looking at me. When I chanced a glance at the front, I bit my lip. I’d been right. Winston’s gaze was trained on me.
Once everyone arrived, Winston started speaking. He talked extensively about the webpage. To my surprise, he didn’t mention the rebranding.
“Thanks for coming, everyone, despite the short notice,” he finished. “I’ve communicated with many of you extensively via email and phone calls until now, but I look forward to meeting everyone in person. This is my family’s legacy, and I intend to do right by it. I assure you, the well-being of this company and everyone who works in it is front and center for me. My door is always open.”
He looked around the table once. Did he have any idea how intimidating he was? He had this dominant allure that seemed almost dangerous, as if there was a real chance that if you walked into his office, you wouldn’t walk out the same person.
He followed that intro with a round of Q and A where everyone could open up about the most pressing issues.
He was brilliant; there was no other word to describe him. He had a quick solution for almost every issue, and I knew that even though everyone was still intimidated by him, they also respected him.
I relaxed and was beginning to think that the tension from this morning had really just been because of my unfortunate choice of music, but then Winston started moving around the table with slow, deliberate steps. When I felt him behind me, I sucked in a breath. He wasn’t close enough that I could feel his body heat, but I still felt his presence. All that power and energy were inescapable.
When he dismissed the meeting, he waited for everyone to leave. I felt him watch my every move as I gathered my notepad. Was he thinking about this morning, or could he tell the effect he had on me?
I only took a deep breath when I was out of the meeting room.
My reprieve was brief, though. Ten minutes later, Winston called me into his office. When he looked up at me over his laptop, I broke out in a sweat. My lips were dry.
“Ms. Hensley. That keynote for this evening is still missing.”
“I sent it before the general meeting.”
“I don’t have it.” His tone was impatient. Oh, this infuriating man.
“Have you checked your spam folder? The attachment was large. Sometimes our servers flag that as spam.”
He clicked on his laptop twice. “It’s in spam.”
When he glanced up at me, I squirmed, feeling trapped in my spot. My skin simmered. I felt as if the distance between us had vanished.
I was not attracted to this man. He was moody and... my boss. I couldn’t be attracted to him. And yet, I was.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” With a small nod, I hurried out of his office.
At lunch, everyone on our floor crammed into the kitchen, eating pizza and talking about the boss.
They were grilling me because I’d had more contact with Winston than anyone else, but honestly, I couldn’t tell them more than they already knew. The man was an enigma for me too. A sinfully hot enigma, but still.
When I returned, I passed Winston’s desk and heard him on the phone. He’d been talking to the same supplier since before I left for lunch. Had he eaten at all? It seemed unlikely.
Well, I couldn’t let him starve. The last thing we needed was for him to go into hangry mode.
Delivery would take a while, so I hurried to the food hall on the ground floor and had fun trying to guess what he’d like to eat. I ended up buying him a chicken sandwich. You couldn’t go wrong with that, r
ight?
He’d finished the phone call when I returned to his office. I knocked briefly at the door, even though it was open.
“I bought you a sandwich.”
He looked at me in surprise before rising from behind his desk, crossing the room to me. I tried to steel myself against all that sexiness and masculinity, but it was as pointless as it had been this morning in the boardroom.
Every step dripped with confidence, a hint of dominance, as if the world was his oyster. His for the taking.
“Thank you,” he said, taking the sandwich from me. The tips of our fingers touched. I felt as if he’d stroked my entire body. His gaze became even more intense.
“Figured you didn’t have time to grab lunch. It’s chicken.”
“And poison?” He gave me a half smile that made my heart beat faster. I couldn’t even imagine how I’d react if he’d flashed me a full-on smile.
He knew he wasn’t quite forgiven for his impatience before I cleared up the spam misunderstanding. Good.
“Can’t have that. I still need you to approve my vacation days, remember?”
“Did you have lunch?”
“Yes. Everyone else did. We order and eat together in the kitchen.”
He nodded, taking a step back. I was about to head out when he said, “Ms. Hensley, come in. And close the door please.”
I did as he said, feeling trapped. Especially when he motioned to the armchairs around the small round table in the corner.
“Sit down with me.”
Why did his voice have to be so rich and deep?
“How is the mood out there?” he asked after we sat down.
Was he genuinely concerned about what people thought about him? I couldn’t get a read on him.
“How do you mean?”
“Let’s put it this way. If I left my sandwich unattended, is there a chance someone would slip poison in it?”
I grinned. “I wouldn’t try my luck if I were you.”
“Noted. What would you suggest I do to improve my odds?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Because someone who dances to Kylie’s “Santa Baby” first thing in the morning at the office will give it to me straight.”
He looked at me as he said it. I maintained eye contact, even though my body temperature rose so quickly that I felt the need to splash cold water on my face right away.
“No one really knows you, Winston. You arrived less than two days ago, and everyone’s had at least two emails from you with shouty capitals. Your parents were everyone’s friends, and I think most people expected you to be the same. Everyone has different leadership styles, of course, but many of the long-term employees have stayed with Statham Stores because they’re loyal to your family. Because they love your parents.”
Something flashed in those dark green eyes. I had no idea why, but it made me want to reach out and pull him closer.
“Thank you for your honesty.”
“I wanted to ask you something. You didn’t mention the store’s rebrand in the meeting. Was that on purpose?”
“Yes. Please keep it to yourself for now.”
I stood, because his tone was final. He stood as well. I pointed to the unopened sandwich.
“Eat your sandwich. We wouldn’t want you to get hangry. Not the way to improve your odds.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
This time, he didn’t just give me a half smile, but a full one. I’d fulfilled my mission!
Only now I wasn’t just feeling that the distance between us was smaller, but that it was nonexistent. Those alpha vibes were simply too much. Well, well. Winston Statham was waving a white flag. A tiny one, but still, we were making progress.
I left his office because I didn’t think it was smart to be alone with him for longer than necessary. Then I remembered that I was meeting him at six o’clock alone.
Things weren’t going to get any easier today, were they?
Chapter Six
Sienna
At six o’clock, as everyone left, I gathered my laptop and notepad and headed to the meeting room.
I instantly lit up when I entered the room. I’d done so well with all the decorations, I couldn’t be in here and not smile. Mission accomplished.
I hurried to turn on all the twinkling lights. Fingers crossed that Winston wouldn’t object. On second thought, even if he did object, I’d find some way of convincing him that this was productive for work morale. After all, I’d convinced him this morning.
Okay. New resolution. I would not think about this morning. I was still mortified and hoped that Winston had already forgotten the incident. On the other hand, I was fairly certain that my semisexy shimmy around the room had been what had convinced Winston to let me keep the decorations in the first place.
And speaking of Winston, where was he? I was five minutes early, but it wasn’t like him to be late.
As if on cue, the door to the meeting room opened and he stepped inside, carrying two take-out bags. A delicious and familiar aroma filled the air.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Dinner.” My stomach growled at the smell. “I’m keeping you hostage here. The least I can do is feed you dinner.”
I was suspicious. He’d waved the white flag this afternoon, but I’d assumed it would be a fleeting thing.
Was this our newfound chemistry? I could get used to this.
“Thank you,” I said.
When he placed the bags on the table, his arm very nearly touched mine. He smiled at me, taking my breath away.
Oh, yes. I was already getting used to this.
“What did you buy?”
“Chicken masala.”
“That’s my favorite.” I perked up. This evening was looking better and better. He hadn’t even commented on the explosion of lights around us. We were definitely making progress.
“I know.”
I stopped in the act of unwrapping the lid of my bowl. That caught me off guard.
“How?”
“Asked Mara where you usually buy lunch, then asked the cook what your favorite is.”
I lowered my eyes to the bag. Okay, so this wasn’t just waving a white flag. It was thoughtful.
“Great choice. It’s the best masala in the city as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know why he’s not more well-known. But I’ve talked to my family about maybe bringing him in as a visiting chef at the Blue Moon.”
“Blue Moon? The one owned by Blake and Alice Bennett? You’re related to the Bennett family?”
“Yes. My older sister married Christopher Bennett,” I said as we sat next to each other, digging into our dinner.
“So what are you doing here putting up with me? Half the family works at Bennett Enterprises, and the other half own successful businesses.”
“I know. They keep tempting me into joining them, especially Pippa. The designer. I’ll work at Bennett Enterprises someday too, but I want to have as much experience as possible so I can be an asset when I join them.”
He scrutinized me, as if he was seeing me in a different light. Having all that focus on me, all that simmering heat, was overpowering my senses. I lowered my eyes to my bowl, drawing in a deep breath.
I felt at his mercy—his gaze was inescapable.
We ate in silence, and I was proud that we’d managed to put the awkwardness from this morning behind us.
Almost unwittingly, I looked at the corner where I’d been shimmying while I’d hung twinkling lights. I realized one second too late that had been a mistake, because Winston followed my gaze. When he snapped his attention back to me, I knew he was thinking about that morning again.
I squirmed in my seat, suddenly feeling hot. Winston’s gaze fell to my lips. I inhaled sharply, pushing the empty container to one side, opening my laptop.
I glanced stubbornly at the screen, even though it was still loading. I chanced a quick glance upward. Winston was watching me with a half smile. My senses were on high alert, on the b
rink of being overpowered by him—again.
“Should we begin?” I asked.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
His own laptop was open next to him. I hadn’t prepared a presentation, per se, just Power Point slides with keywords to help our brainstorming.
“What spurred the decision for the rebrand?” I asked, hoping for more info than yesterday.
“It’s good to renew a company’s image from time to time,” he said vaguely.
I wasn’t buying it, but fair enough. He didn’t need to explain himself to me, even though it would have helped to know why he wanted to scrap the current one.
“The Christmas branding stays,” he said. “It’s part of the store’s DNA, and customers would feel cheated if we dropped it. But we need something more, a draw all year round to put us ahead of Macy’s and other similar chains.”
“How about something seasonal?” I suggested. “Each season could have a different theme.”
He nodded slowly. “I thought about that too. We’d build up to the new season in the last month of the current one, instead of running sales. That’s one thing we need to change—sales shoppers. It’s a drain on profits. That in turn affects liquidity.”
I pressed my lips together.
“What?”
I’d never been afraid to speak my mind, even if I was wrong. How else was I going to learn? And Winston had always been fair to me in that regard. He might be bossy and demanding but had never put me down for saying the wrong thing.
“Sales shoppers can become regular customers eventually. For years, I could only afford to buy marked-down items, but as soon as my financial situation improved, I bought full-priced items too. It’s a matter of building brand loyalty. If you didn’t have those sales, I would’ve just gone over to Macy’s.”
He tapped his pen on the table, frowning. “We have data on that. Sales shoppers use our fidelity card most. Let’s track how many became regular customers over the years and go from there.”
“I’ll run the stats tomorrow.”
“Great. I like the seasonal plan.”
“Well, winter is going to be split in two, right? We can only play the Christmas theme until the end of the year, at most. Then we can play on Valentine’s Day, although it’s not my favorite holiday.”
