I nod quickly. “Yes, of course—”
“I’m the one who chose you, not Mr.Havington.”
She chose me, not him? Him, as in Mr.Havington, whose name I’m hearing for the first time...but I have no chance to process any of these things—
“And do you know why I thought you’d be a perfect fit for our office?”
Because Lara seems like she’s competing for the world’s record for dropping the highest number of verbal bombshells under sixty seconds, and—
“Because I believe you have what it takes to be honest with him at all times.”
There goes the third bomb, and all I can do is hold my breath.Please, please let that be the last one,and—
Lara’s smiling, and I...I...I think she’d earn so much more as a professional poker player because I just don’t know what to do even when she’s smiling. Am I supposed to smile or not smile back? Am I supposed to answer or not answer, andoh, okay,why does it feel like things are going so, so fast since Lara’s already knocking on the door and saying, “Ms.Dunn is here to see you, sir.”
“Let her in.”
The world seems to stop for one second when I hear those three words, spoken in a strong accent, in a tone that—
Whoa.
I really thought I had prepared for this day, but why does everything seem to be moving so impossibly fast? One momentI’m still in the hallway, another moment I’m inside the office, the door’s closing behind me, and, um, okay, this is areallybig office, with windows taking up an entire wall, and the carpet so much thicker than the one in the hallway, and right at the center is—
“Please take a seat, Ms.Dunn.”
Him.
I’m already rushing forward as soon as I hear my boss speak again, but the moment I look up, and see the man seated behind that huge slab of black marble that someone has somehow managed to shape into a desk—
Oh, this is so, so bad.
My feet crash to a halt.
Because my boss is tall, dark, and handsome, which makes him exactly my mother’s type. Silky black hair, sculpted jaw and everything, olive skin that willneverever need the help of a tanning salon, and...oh, well, his eyes aren’t dark but they’re blue as the skies, so maybe notexactlylike all the men my mom goes for.
And come to think of it, he’s alsonotlike all the other guys I grew up fearing and avoiding since Mr.Havington, for one, has an actual job. Well, okay, make that a billion-dollar company, but the point is...are those the reasons why my skin isn’t crawling the way it usually does when I’m around guys like my mother’s exes?
My knees knock against each other as I move forward to obey his command.
Blue eyes slowly skim over me, and I don’t understand why my heart has started to pound, and I actually find myself fighting against the urge to—
Nope, don’t even think about it.
This may be my first job and all, but even I know one isn’t supposed tosqueeabout one’s boss...
“Please tell me about yourself.”
“I, um...”
What he’s asking isn’t rocket science. Like, duh, I know that, but it’s just so hard to concentrate around him for some reason, and that’s why I know—
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out.
I don’t think this is going to work.
“I’m afraid there’s been a mistake, Mr.—” My voice falters as I try to remember what my boss’s name is...but fail.
“Havington.”
