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Her colleagues obviously respected her—perhaps Ben Overton a little too much. There was a mad crush there, on that man’s part. Impossible not to see it.
Plus, Ryan knew Staci Kay well enough to know that she would not have moved Maxi into the VP position if she didn’t believe in Maxi’s talent to the nth degree. This was Staci’s dream, her livelihood, her very lifeblood. She took her company’s interests personally and seriously—enough to do everything in her power to convince Ryan to join the organization at its most vulnerable hour.
Despite his being just a little perplexed, initially, about his shift in careers, and the fact that he could be resolving problematic issues well beyond a shoe crisis, he’d really only needed to take one look at Maxi in her stilettos to know that he’d made the right decision in agreeing to sign on as Operations Director.
Now, though, he had to table all of his suddenly raging hormones in order to continue the work he’d started several weeks ago when Staci had made h
er most vehement appeal to him for help.
So he diverted his attention from Maxi by setting up his computer system, working into the wee hours of the morning to get everything online, including his surround-sound system, HDMI plug-ins, Wi-Fi router, Bluetooth capabilities, Apple TV, etc. A sixty-four-inch flat screen would be mounted into the corner of his home office when the carpenter he’d hired to assist him with hanging the heavier equipment and making some modifications came over on the weekend.
He had plenty to occupy his mind.
Work first, he told himself. That was where his focus needed to lie.
* * *
For Maxi, Tuesday brought with it more meetings. Back-to-back sessions that she asked Ryan to attend with her. No easy-breezy situation to find herself in. Maxi had considered previously that engaging in an office romance was a bad idea. She hadn’t had personal experience of this but had very quickly learned why it was as risky as the friends-with-benefits arrangement Lola and Alex had given a whirl.
They’d managed to come out unscathed.
Maxi wasn’t so sure that would be the case with Ryan and her, because they were explosive together and it didn’t help her concentration knowing exactly what he looked like behind those glasses and tailored suits.
She knew how his eyes blazed with desire. She knew how deeply, how thoroughly, he kissed. She knew the words he muttered in the heat of the moment and knew how fantastic his hands felt on her body. How orgasmic it was to have his cock buried inside her.
So, yeah. Meetings were a real bitch now.
She did her absolute best to conduct business and not get lost in his sexy accent and melting brown eyes.
Lunch rolled around, and Maxi was relieved she’d opted to have Avril order in and set up a meeting of the operational department heads to give an update on their progress. That way, she could kill two birds with one stone by avoiding the one-on-one lunch with Ryan that she’d mentioned the day before while keeping her finger on the pulse of the crisis. She decided to make standing lunch meetings for the week. Perhaps by the following Monday, she’d be over all these distracting high-voltage currents Ryan evoked just by being in the same room with her. Discussing his complicated algorithms. Sliding glances her way and grinning.
Urgh.
She couldn’t even get halfway through her Caesar salad because her stomach was knotted into a pretzel.
When the meeting wrapped, she tried to escape to the women’s executive washroom to freshen up, but it was occupied, the door locked. So she crossed the floor to the larger, multi-stall ladies’ room. She shoved the door open and stalked inside. Then immediately drew up short.
Avril stood at the counter, fixing her lipstick. She shot Maxi a knowing look.
“Some week you’re having, eh, boss?”
Maxi joined her assistant, two sinks down. She whipped out her toothbrush and paste. “I’ve learned more about the departments that fall under the Operations umbrella in the past twenty-eight hours than I have in the six years I’ve worked for Staci. I’m literally shocked that I didn’t have such intimate exposure to Production, Facilities, and Distribution before now. I mean, sure, I had regular interactions with the managers of those functional areas, but at the thirty-five-thousand-foot level, you know? And I worked most closely with IT, so this is all very enlightening.”
Avril snickered. “I’m not talking about your new position.” She wagged her brows suggestively.
“Then I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on, Maxi!” Avril dropped her tube of lipstick into her bag and then did a quick scan of the stalls, determining that they were all empty. She propped her hand on her hip and said, “After witnessing that wild and wicked kiss you and Ryan shared, I am completely in tune to the way you guys steal glances at each other—and let me tell you, I can feel the lust. Like scorch-my-skin, red-hot lust!”
“Oh, God.” Maxi went to work on her teeth. Rinsed with the bottle of water she’d brought with her. Flossed, to hell with Avril watching her so intently. Then she washed her hands and applied a fresh coat of gloss to her lips.
Avril remained rooted where she stood, her arms crossed over her chest, a mischievous look on her pretty face.
Finally, Maxi said, “There’s no discouraging you, is there?”
“No.”
“I can’t convince you to drop this and pretend you didn’t see what you saw?”
