“You may go,” I say imperiously, shooing her with my hand.
Snorting, she turns and heads to the door. “Stop looking at my ass, Hale,” she says without looking back.
“Never,” I call back with a chuckle because she’s right. I was gawking unashamedly at her pretty backside.
This is the first time in the past three weeks I’ve blatantly broken our “be professional at the office so we don’t make anyone uncomfortable” rule. Sure, there have been a few stolen kisses here and there, and I occasionally make a sexually charged comment if we’re alone, but I’ve mostly been cognizant of the guideline—Mindy’s idea, for the record. And I admit, it’s a good one.
I have to maintain respect among my employees since I’m the CEO, and I also need Mindy to feel comfortable working here withoutjudgment from her coworkers. She’s honestly the best executive assistant I’ve ever had, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.
Though deep inside, I know she’s not going to stay at this job forever, no matter how much I want her to. Her heart is in baking and owning her own bakery, and I know for a fact she will be an excellent business owner. Her talent and professional efficiency, not to mention her heart, will assure that happens.
Plus, she made a promise to her mother—a couple promises, in fact—and I want to help her fulfill all of them. Remembering one particular pledge she shared with me during one of our late-night cuddle-and-talk sessions, I pick up the phone and make a call. Five minutes later, it’s done, and I take one last whiff of Mindy’s soft little panties before tucking them into the inner pocket of my jacket and rising.
Once I exit the door, I stop by her desk. “Ms. Espinoza, I’d like you to accompany me to the conference room.”
She smirks up at me. “Do you need me to feed you a bottle on the way so you don’t get hangry during the finance meeting?”
Such a fucking smartass.
“No, I want you to sit in on the meeting. I thought it could be beneficial for you to see the inner financial workings of a business since you’ll be a business owner yourself one day.”
When her eyebrows rocket upward, I add, “I’m sure your bakery will start out on a smaller scale than an international cosmetics company, but the backbone of it will be the same. You can see how we allocate funds to different areas like marketing, development, and supplies.” I lean my hip on her desk. “It’s a balancing act, like walking on a tightrope with scales hanging off each side of your pole. For example, if you spend too much on marketing but neglect to have enough supplies on hand, you’ll have lots of customers but no product to supply to them. Then you’re going to topple off that tightrope due to the imbalance.”
She nods, and I can see her brain working through what I said and how it may relate to her one day. I love the way her mind works. Scraping her teeth along her bottom lip, she says, “Are you sure youdon’t mind if I sit in? I know this meeting has some highly confidential information being shared.”
God, doesn’t she understand that everything I have will be hers one day? That thought might scare her off since we’ve only been “officially official,” as she calls it, for a few weeks. So I simply say, “I trust you.”
Her smile shines sunlight on my entire world.
“Let me get my notebook.”
Allison Torres, our Chief Financial Officer, wraps up her portion of the meeting. “So as you can see, Hale Cosmetics experienced double-digit unit growth in the fourth quarter of last year, and we’re projecting record first quarter revenues for this year which will lead to a significant improvement in earnings and margins.”
Her brown eyes find me sitting at the end of the long conference table, and she nervously tucks a strand of long, dark-brown hair behind her ear. I offer her a comforting smile and stand, buttoning my suit jacket.
“Thank you, Allison. That was an excellent presentation. Precise and concise, just like we all like it.”
Everyone around the table laughs, and someone yells out, “Especially the concise part.” I think it was Phoenix.
“I can’t argue with that,” I say, looking at the twenty or so faces turned expectantly toward me. “Does anyone need a bathroom break?” Everyone shakes their heads, and I add, “The accountants are up next.”
At once, chairs roll back and everyone stands. The accountants are the least concise group of individuals in the entire world, and everyone here knows it. The room empties, while everyone takes advantage of the restrooms down the hall.
They begin filing back in a few minutes later with fresh coffees in hand. I had Ambrosia set up a coffee stand just outside the conference room especially for this meeting. It seems that was an excellent idea, according to the happy murmurs from the attendees.
“You’re doing a great job,” Phoenix says in a low voice as he, Nicolette, and Helix approach.
“This was a nice touch,” his twin says, holding up his cup of coffee. “And I agree with Phoenix. You’re such a natural leader, Remi.”
Jesus, I fucking love these guys. Sure, we screw around and give each other a hard time, but they will always have my back, which is a great comfort while I’m running my first full financial briefing as the CEO.
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate you all.”
“And I appreciate that you had Ambrosia bring decaf tea for the pregnant lady,” Nic says, pointing at her rounded stomach. She’s due in a month, and her belly has really popped out there in the past few weeks. I’m not sure how she doesn’t topple over due to being top-heavy. “But Nicholas has a request.”
I grin and pat her stomach, something she’s said she doesn’t mind from family members. “What does my darling nephew require?”
“Cookies,” she says, her eyes a little bit on the feral side. “He requires cookies.”
