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“I just think that you’re wasting precious time here.” She huffs. “The more stand-offish and distant you are with him, the more rejected he’ll feel. This is your first impression. You don’t get to press reset and start again if and when a piece of paper tells you you’re his dad. This is it. This is what’ll set the tone for the rest of your relationship.”
The doors slide open.
A lab tech steps into the elevator.
Nova clamps her mouth shut and stares a hole in the door.
“Miss Delaney, Mr. Harrison,” the lab tech says, giving us both nervous looks. She probably senses the tension in the air.
My jaw muscles clench and unclench.
I stare straight ahead until we get on the right floor.
Nova steps out first and the tech sidles up to me. “The boss looks angry. Did you do something wrong?”
“Probably,” I grumble.
She pats my back. “Oy. Good luck climbing out of that hole.”
“Thanks.” I hurry to catch up with Nova and pick up the thread of the conversation. “Look, about Rowan—”
“Mr. Harrison, can we discuss this later? I’d like to concentrate on the meeting.” Her tone is in-control, firm, and a little like a principal doling out a suspension notice.
Does Nova know she sounds like the nightmares I used to have about getting in trouble while I was in middle school?
Maybe she can’t help it. Her bossy nature is a plus and being the woman at the helm of a huge ship like Vision Tech probably exacerbated that personality quirk.
Rather than let my irritation fester, I release a deep breath and follow her into the conference room without another word.
It doesn’t matter either way.
Nova’s thorny personality won’t change the fact that I need her.
That she’s good for Vision Tech.
That she… means a lot to me.
To sooth my bruised ego, I tell myself that Nova probably cut off our conversation to preserve my privacy. We’re surrounded by the PR team director as well as the financial director. Neither man needs to know about the changes that barreled into my life this weekend.
“Miss Delaney.” Tony Roberts, our financial director, smiles sappily at Nova. He’s been flirting with her since her first day on the job and it’s my everlasting joy to see Nova brutally ignoring his signals.
Nova nods and takes her seat at the head of the table.
“My, my. You look especially fantastic today.” Roberts directs another flirty grin at her.
“Thank you.” Nova’s tone doesn’t change at all. Still in business mode, she places her index cards on the table and flips through them “Let’s start with our first agenda.”
I preen when Roberts melts into his chair with a look of tight embarrassment.
That’s right. Keep your distance, Roberts.
“First, let’s give a round of applause to Mr. Harrison,” Nova says.
My head whips up in surprise.
“Once again, he received the first place award at the convention last weekend, continuing his impressive victory streak.” Nova claps.
The rest of the room joins in.
