by Timms, Lexy
It was nerve-racking, that was for sure. But at the same time, I had to admit that it was oddly exhilarating. None of my previous jobs had challenged me the way I needed. Maybe this was just the thing for me.
Chapter 9
Daniel
IF I HAD REMEMBERED on Wednesday that Thursday would begin with the board meeting, I probably wouldn’t have asked Abby to be there so early. Of course, it was good for her to start understanding her role there in the company, as well as the roles of the other people the company was involved with. But at the same time, I knew this had to be a pretty boring start to her job here, and I hadn’t had much time to brief her on what the meeting would be about.
She took it all in stride, though, taking a seat beside me and paying careful attention all through the meeting. Hell, she was even taking notes in that clean, all-caps handwriting of hers. Maybe she would be even better of an advisor than I had initially expected. I could only hope so, I guess.
These men in the conference room were all associates of mine, and today was about new ideas for the company. But not only was Abby keeping track of who proposed which idea, when I glanced over at her notes, but she had also started a column to the right-hand side of her page that listed some ideas of her own. Interesting.
I had to admit, there was something inside of me that sparked with desire when I considered how she had studied up on my company. It wasn’t just that she was clearly intelligent and driven, although that was part of it. She had a narrow focus that I could only imagine employing in other settings. But more than that, I took so much pride in the company, and to have her realize just what it was that I had built was heady.
I forced myself not to focus on things like that during the meeting, though. I could already feel my body stirring in slight interest; focusing on her would only have led to an awkward situation for all of us. I was relieved when the meeting came to a close. But I knew that this was only the first of many meetings that I would have where Abby would be in attendance, if all went well. I was going to need to get over my lust and continue to focus on the business.
For a brief second, I wondered if sleeping with her would make things better. You know, get it out of my system. But when I glanced over at her, I knew that there would be no easy way to approach something like that. She had made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t like other women. She was focused on the job, and she wasn’t just here to flirt with me. To be honest, she didn’t even give me any sign that said for sure that she would be willing to sleep with me.
I shook hands with all of the men, watching as they trooped one by one out of the conference room until I was left alone with Abby. She was still in her seat, staring down at her notes, making a few final remarks for herself.
“Well?” I asked, leaning back against the table beside her and folding my arms across my chest. This was business, I reminded myself, and she was here to be my advisor. I pictured Gerrard in her position and forced myself to treat her the same way I would have treated him. “What do you think?”
Abby shrugged one shoulder. “It was an interesting meeting,” she said, as though she wasn’t sure what I was asking.
I gestured toward her notes and was amused to see her put a hand over them as though she was back in school and I was trying to cheat off what she had written. Then, she seemed to remember herself, dragging her hand away, a faint blush staining her cheeks. If she only knew what she did to me.
I swallowed and tried to pretend that the next words out of my mouth didn’t sound as husky as they did. “Whose idea do you think we should go with?”
Abby pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side, staring down at her notes. Then, she turned those pretty green orbs on me. “The guy who was on the other side of the table from me and two down. I didn’t catch his name, but he was the one in the navy suit.”
“James,” I said, nodding and trying to remember what his proposal had been. There was nothing in the proposal that made me sure that his was the best idea for the company, and I wondered what it was she had seen. Unlike me, she didn’t know all of the men who had been in the room, so what merits was she thinking of? “There a reason why?” I finally asked.
Abby smiled faintly at me. “He was the only one who bothered to shake my hand and say goodbye when they all left the room,” she explained. “And I know that may seem trivial to you, but to me, that means that he’s a man who’s doing ethical business. And a man who has manners.”
That surprised a laugh out of me, and I could see the anger flicker in Abby’s eyes. I shook my head before she could get too pissed at me for laughing. “Sorry, I just didn’t realize. But you’re right, that’s definitely a reason. I’ve known James for years, and he’s definitely a man with manners.” I paused, feeling like I was digging a bigger and bigger hole for myself. I shook my head again. “We’ll see how your first ‘advisement’ goes,” I told Abby lamely.
She stared at me for a moment and then nodded slowly.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and I noticed that no matter how many meetings we sat through, Abby took detailed notes. She showed no signs of flagging, and she definitely showed no signs of getting bored. Not only that, but she always had some sort of insight to offer at the end of the meetings, something that I might otherwise not have noticed. Something that Gerrard might never have noticed.
I was beginning to wonder if my quick decision in hiring her might actually work out.
We went for a drink after work. I took her to a trendy bar near the office building, same as I normally did with the new hires. I remembered her insinuation from the day before, about how this might be seen as improper, more like a date than a boss-and-new-employee kind of situation. But that wasn’t what it was, really.
Except that there in the dim bar lighting, I couldn’t get over how good she looked. She was more relaxed away from the office, and she smiled a little more freely. I flagged down the waitress so that I could keep from staring at Abby’s long blonde hair that tumbled down her back as she fixed it into a loose braid.
We ordered an appetizer tray and a couple of beers, and yet again, I found myself surprised by her. “I would have pegged you as a cocktail kind of girl,” I said without thinking.
Abby laughed. “I do drink cocktails sometimes,” she admitted. “Not those terrible pink drinks or anything like that, not if I can help it. But I drink beer too.” She paused, grinning at me and arching one eyebrow. “You’re not trying to get me drunk, are you?”
I stared at her for a moment and then forced myself to laugh as well. “No, I’m not trying to get you drunk,” I assured her, although I couldn’t stop thinking about what getting her drunk might lead to. Would she lean against me as I called a cab for her? Would she insist on coming back to my place with me?
I shook those thoughts away, though. Same as earlier, I needed to focus on the company and nothing more. She was my employee. I couldn’t touch her. The media would have a field day, otherwise, and there was a certain amount of respect around the office I knew I would lose.
Not only that, but she was my advisor. I couldn’t let my feelings for her cloud my thoughts about the advice that she gave me. I needed to stay clear-headed and cool. Treat her just the same as I had always treated Gerrard.
“You did a good job today,” I told her, trying to think of anything we could talk about. “You’ve done your research on McGregor Enterprises, haven’t you?”
Abby beamed, clearly pleased that I had noticed. “I did,” she told me. “Granted, I haven’t had a lot of time to do my research since I just saw the ad in the paper on Tuesday. But I’ve read up on a lot of your more recent clients. And actually, I studied you in my final year of business school.”
I blinked at her. “Me, or the company?” I asked.
“You,” Abby said.
I sighed and looked away from her. There it was. I had thought she was different from the rest of the women, that she was interested in the business more than swayed by my celebr
ity. But she was just like the rest of them. She had read all about me in tabloids while she was in school, and now she thought she knew me.
The trouble was, that wasn’t me. “I don’t know what you’ve read in those stupid magazines,” I began,
“but—”
“I don’t read that crap,” Abby interrupted.
I turned back toward her, frowning. “But you just said that you had studied me,” I reminded her.
“I did,” Abby said. “And sure, your, uh, youthful shenanigans? They may have been mentioned. I think everyone in the city knows a little bit about those. But what I mean is, we looked at some of your business decisions and tried to assess why you had made the choices you had made.” She blushed a little, although it was difficult to tell in the dim light of the bar. But her embarrassment was clear from the way she turned her face away from me. “Don’t let it go to your head, but you’re pretty damned brilliant.”
I stared at her for a beat too long and then forced myself to laugh. “Thank you,” I told her, surprised to find my heart thumping in my chest. It wasn’t just the compliment but the way she said it.
I could have any woman in this city, pretty much. That was what I reminded myself. Abby was the worst possible choice of someone to take home with me. First of all, she wasn’t particularly interested in sleeping with me, from what I could tell. But more than that, she was my employee. I couldn’t sleep with her.
There was nothing in her contract that said we couldn’t sleep together, of course. I knew there were some offices that made a big deal about that sort of thing, employee-to-employee relationships. It was especially tricky from an HR perspective since Abby was still on probation until I saw whether she really fit into this role with McGregor Enterprises.
But there was more to it than what we could write on paper. I could picture the news stories even now. I knew that Abby wouldn’t want to be caught up in that sort of scandal, especially not if she was hoping to work her way up to CEO of a company one day. And beyond that, I had no desire to have everyone in my business think I had done something improper. I didn’t want them to lose their respect for me.
Plus, if I did have to hire someone to replace Abby, or to replace anyone else around the office, I didn’t want to encourage the bimbos who falsified information on their resumes in the hope that I would take them out to dinner once I saw how “attractive” they were.
Abby was beautiful and smart and sexy and everything I might have wanted in a woman. But anyway, I wasn’t a relationship man, and a one-night stand would only complicate things between us. I had to rein in my feelings and just focus on her advice and her role with the company. I could do that; I knew I could. There was a reason I’d been able to build this company up so far since I had taken it over.
I forced myself to look away from the long curve of her throat as Abby tipped back her beer.
Chapter 10
Abby
I KNEW THAT THIS WASN’T a date, but there was something about getting drinks with Daniel that felt...strange. I tried to push those thoughts away, though, and focus on the fact that he was my boss. And a pretty interesting businessman to follow around, I had decided. Of course, I knew from everything I had studied about him that he was cunning and innovative. But there was something different between reading about him online and actually following him from meeting to meeting and seeing the way that he interacted with the people he did business with.
I had been surprised to see him shake hands with everyone in each of the meetings. He really got to know the people he did business with. And I supposed that made sense. But in a lot of the companies I’d worked for in the past, business was business and relationships had nothing to do with it anymore. It was all about that bottom line.
Not so with Daniel, I didn’t think. There was something honorable about the way he did business, and I liked that. I liked working for him.
The first day had already been challenging. I might have done my research on McGregor Enterprises, at least as much as I’d been able to, but there was something different about actually being in the room with all these people. There was a certain amount of context that I was missing, and I felt in some ways that I was perpetually scrambling to keep up.
But every time Daniel asked for my opinion on something and I gave it to him, I could see him considering what I had said. He didn’t always go with what I had advised him, and I respected that. He had opinions of his own about what would work. To be honest, I was surprised he followed my advice as much as he did, and I wondered if it was meant to be a hard learning experience for me. Maybe he wanted to show me, in a week or a month, however long it took, that my advice was ruining things that he had taken a long time to build up. Maybe I was just some sort of pawn.
It didn’t feel that way, though. It felt like he really did respect what I said to him. That was more than I could have hoped for, and that in itself made me want to learn more about his business so that I would be better able to advise him in the future.
I had wanted this job to be challenging, and it was proving to be everything I had hoped for.
I just wished it were a little easier to focus on the job rather than Daniel himself. I had focused on my notes all day, trying to concentrate on those and not on how sexy it was to watch Daniel confidently talk to the rest of the guys in each meeting. There was that first time he asked for my advice too. When he had leaned back against the table beside me, looking relaxed but somehow predatory. Dangerous.
And when he had invited me for a drink later, he had looked almost nervous, like he thought I might tell him that I didn’t want to go. Almost like this really was a date.
He was hot as hell, and he was charming, and he was kind. And I liked the way that he conducted business. One day in and I already felt like I was in over my head.
He certainly wasn’t the asshole I had anticipated him being. No, he wasn’t what I had expected. He did want my advice, and he didn’t try to put the moves on me. And that honestly made me want him even more.
I thought back to everything I had ever heard about him from the tabloids. That wasn’t the guy that I was seeing around the office, and it wasn’t even the guy that I was seeing here at the bar. I knew there were three very attractive brunettes in the far corner who kept looking over and giggling, no doubt recognizing Daniel. But far from playing up to their attention, he seemed oblivious to them.
It made me wonder about him. But it wasn’t like I could ask about any of that. His personal life was his own business. And I was still on probation. It wouldn’t be right for me even to ask if he had a girlfriend, as much as I was dying to know.
Not that I could do anything even if he was single. He was my boss. It wouldn’t have been right. And the last thing I needed was for him to blacklist me. I had spent the past couple years wondering if maybe I had somehow chosen my career wrong, if this wasn’t what I really wanted. But today had made me certain that this was what I wanted. I wouldn’t do anything to screw it up.
“You said that you wanted to be a CEO someday?” Daniel said suddenly, eyeing me carefully as he took a sip of his beer.
I shrugged, trying not to feel embarrassed at having confessed that in the interview the previous day. I had said it under the assumption that he would never hire me, or at least that he would never hire me for the role I wanted in the company. And yet, here we were.
I had basically told my new boss that someday, I wanted to take over his role. Or that someday, I was going to leave the company. That I wasn’t worth his training me up. I tried to think of a way to fix that, to make it sound better, but I was at a loss.
Daniel laughed, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. He shook his head. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’m flattered that you think my company is the place you want to work your way up.” He paused. “Of course, if we’re going to train you to be a CEO, I’m going to expect a lot from you. It’s good that you’ve done your research on the company, but it’s not g
oing to be enough in the long run.”
“Of course not,” I said immediately. “And I want you to push me. You asked why I wanted this job, and that’s exactly why.”
Daniel gave me a considering look and then a slow nod. “Good,” he said. Then, he grinned at me. “But you’re never going to get my job. This is my family’s company, after all.”
I felt myself blush scarlet. “I know that,” I muttered. I cast about for some way to change the subject. “It must have been hard for you to take it over at such a young age.” I clapped my hand over my mouth, barely believing I had said that. Surely Daniel didn’t want to talk about his father’s death and his early challenges as a CEO. I didn’t know why I had brought it up.
But Daniel just smiled affably at me. “Yeah, it was definitely difficult,” he admitted. “Although to be honest, I think having the company to run helped me in a lot of ways. I couldn’t really focus on the loss of my father because I was so busy trying to prove to everyone that I was ready to hold the reins of the company.”
“That’s sad,” I said frankly. But again, I clapped a hand over my mouth. “Sorry.”
Daniel looked amused. “It’s okay,” he told me. “Honestly, it’s refreshing to talk to someone who doesn’t just want to tell me how sorry they are for my loss.”
I grimaced. “I hated when people told me that after I lost my parents. Still do.” I paused. “I guess since I know all about your family history, I should tell you, I lost both my parents within the past couple years. I’m still getting used to it.” I didn’t know why I was telling him about that. But thankfully, I didn’t see pity in Daniel’s eyes. Instead, he nodded matter-of-factly.
“That must be difficult,” he said. He paused and then smiled crookedly. “I guess for two orphans, we’re doing pretty well for ourselves, eh?” He made it a joke to share between the two of us, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
