Tonight? Tonight, I was just Sam again.
And that was enough.
CHAPTER TWELVE
theo
Whatever I thoughtHayes International Headquarters was, this is way more.
Floor-to-ceiling windows with more coffee rooms than I can count. There are people here for everything and anything. It looks like everyone has an office and assistants. I can tell by the desks outside each office.
Which I’m not sure is necessary, but we can work on that later.
As soon as I got to my office, I was mesmerized by the view. You can see the whole city from here. And this is at least 1,000 sq. ft. bigger than my first apartment. I have a fully stocked bar cart, an espresso machine, two couches, two chairs, and my desk occupies the whole corner.
Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.
I was halfway through my espresso when the door opened. “Good morning, you are here early,” Harpersaid, barging in with coffee in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. “I’ve been here since six, just wanted to get comfortable before everyone arrived.”
“That’s smart. It will make you look like you know the place,” She says and winks at me. “I sent you a floor map with all the boardrooms you’ll be using, the immediate offices, so you know who you’ll have around, and I synced your calendar to mine, so I can see and change whatever needs to be changed.”
“Thanks, Harper,” She just smiled and walked out. I could hear how the office buzz kicked up a notch. I can hear the heels clicking, greetings exchanged, whispers.
When I opened my computer, I saw that my calendar looked like a murder scene.Thanks, Harper. I was buried in back-to-back meetings, board briefings, and PR run-throughs.
And then I heard the chattering. “Mr. Hayes brought both his daughters today. The tall one’s the lawyer, I think.” My head didn’t even try to argue the curiosity. I just snapped toward the glass doors in time to catch Max Hayes entering with two women in tailored suits flanking him like royalty. And there she was.
Sam. What the fuck?
There was no flirty smile this time, no curious eyes wandering around the room.
She was wearing a wine-colored silk blouse and white trousers that fit her as if they were custom-made for her. They probably were. Her hair was up ina high ponytail, but I could still see the curve of her neck, and I still remembered kissing it. She was coldly laughing at something Max said, confident, poised. That’s not her real laugh.
She is afuckingHayes.
The second woman had to be her sister, same cheekbones, but a completely different vibe. If I had to guess, I’d say that’s the lawyer. But Sam was also his daughter. Fuck. I felt like the room tilted, just enough to make me nauseous.
“Meeting in ten, Theo,” Harper said, handing me the agenda. “They’ll be joining us for the strategy review.” I nodded, more mechanical than I intended.
She lied to me. No, she didn’t lie. She just didn’t say anything. Who am I kidding? It’s the same shit. She lied, period. What the fuck was that night then? A distraction? A game? Did she think I’d never find out? Did she want to screw the CEO before she had to work under him?
Was I just— a power move to her?
I remembered the wine, her laugh. The way she curled into me when she fell asleep. The sound she made when she came around my co— stop stop stop.
I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath. I need to be professional. She doesn’t get to make me nervous.
I’m thirty-eight, I’m a grown ass man. A CEO. I’d built companies from a single code in my garage. I negotiated billion-dollar deals before breakfast. And I let myself fall for the lies of a twenty-something flightattendant just because she was flirty, funny, and let me fuck her how I wanted? Goddamn it.
I took a breath, straightened my jacket, and headed for the conference room. I don’t care that she is a Hayes.
This ismycompany now.
It’s time to play boss, even when it feels like she has played me.
The boardroom was too warm.
Or maybe it was just me.
