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“How many times have I told you I hate being called ‘sir’?”
“Several times, sir.”
“I hate you, Mary.” Heath rolled forward to lie on his back, looking up at the woman who kept his business running like a well-oiled machine.
“I doubt that, especially when you see what I’ve brought you,” Mary said, a small, satisfied smile on her usually “all business” face.
“Is it a motorcycle?” he asked.
“Better.”
“Better than a motorcycle,” he muttered, wondering if such a thing were possible.
“I finished analyzing the profit reports on Incredible Edible this morning, and double-checked a few things with our accounting staff. We all agree that, without a miracle, the company will be bankrupt by the end of the year.” She set the box on the floor, giving Heath a clear view of the overstuffed file folders within, most of which bore her telltale color coding.
When he’d said he wanted all the dirt on the Incredible Edible Quinn Candy Company yesterday, he’d assumed it would take at least a week for Mary to gather the information.
“You’re right. This is better than a motorcycle.” A smile spread across Heath’s face as he clapped his hands together loud enough to make Mary jump.
“I thought you’d think so,” she said with a laugh. “Your bags are packed and waiting in the front office. If you leave now, you can just make the next train.”
“I love you, Mary.” Heath vaulted to his feet, enveloping his assistant in a bear hug.
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“Let me go, you big dork.” Mary laughed.
“Yes! Dork. Much better than ‘sir.’” Heath released her and headed for the door.
This was it, the moment he’d been waiting for! Now nothing, but nothing, was going to keep him from getting Annabella Quinn to sign on the dotted line.
“Don’t scare her, Heath,” Mary called after him. “She’s had a rough year.”
“Me? Scary?” Heath asked, genuinely shocked that Mary would consider such a warning necessary.
Almost as shocked as he was by the fact that she’d used his first name. They’d known each other since they were kids, but she insisted on calling him sir while they were at work, keeping their professional relationship professional.
“You know what I mean, sir,” Mary said.
“You don’t think she’ll like me?”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“I’m not going to take no for an answer, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be mean to the poor woman.” Heath shrugged on his overcoat, hurt that his right-hand woman seemed to think he had no more finesse than a bull in a china shop.
“I know you won’t, sir.”
“She’s going to like me, Mary. Hell, she’s going to love me,” Heath said, his confidence recovering when Mary smiled and rolled her eyes.
As he opened the door, he let out a battle cry that was echoed by the rest of his staff, all of whom were hard at work on the production floor outside his office. They made such a racket that he didn’t hear the quiet words that slipped out of his assistant’s lips as the door slammed shut behind him.
“I know, sir,” Mary whispered. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
CHAPTER TWO
Bella
“You have some nerve.” Bella shook her head and gave the obscenely beautiful man on her front steps her sternest look.
