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I paused. “New to town, huh?” She nodded. “She doesn’t happen to have long brown hair and whiskey-colored eyes, does she?”
Her brow furrowed as she poured the water into the machine, slipped the carafe under, and hit brew. “I didn’t particularly pay much attention to her eyes. Why?”
I grinned. Could I be so lucky? “No reason.”
“Oh, don’t give me that shit, Zackary. I know you too well, and since when have you ever been interested in brunettes?”
“Who said I was?”
She glared at me, and I laughed. “Okay fine. I might have met her already.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I met a woman who was new to town who said she had a new job.”
“And?”
“And, I might have gotten along with her. I could be wrong, though, and your assistant could be a complete stranger.”
“If you met her, wouldn’t you know her name?”
I shook my head. “No, she called me Smoke. I called her Whiskey.”
She rolled her eyes. “Zack Smoker, I swear to God, if you get involved with this woman and something goes wrong, I will kick your ass. I need a good assistant, and she seems fantastic! Don’t screw this up for me, please!”
“I’m not going to screw anything up, Lydia. Relax.” I laughed as I walked away, feeling more excited about the day then I previously had been.
* * *
An hour later,I was in the conference room getting things ready for the meeting with the new clients when I heard Lydia talking to someone as they approached. I was watching the door as Lydia stepped through it. The moment she stepped aside, I grinned like a six-year-old on Christmas morning.
Whiskey stopped in her tracks. Her eyes went wide as she noticed me.
“Good morning, Lillian, or would you prefer me to call you Whiskey?”
She gathered herself quickly. “Lilly will be fine.”
Lydia sighed as she shook her head. “So, it’s true. You two did meet?”
Lilly turned to Lydia. “Yes, briefly, but I only know his name as Smoke.”
I stepped forward, holding out my hand. “Zack Smoker. Welcome to Smoker Technical Industries, Lilly. I look forward to working with you.”
“Oh, I bet you do,” Lydia muttered softly, but both of us heard her. Lilly’s cheeks instantly turned pink, and she hastily pulled her hand from mine.
“Thank you, Mr. Smoker.”
“Please either call me Zack or Smoke.”
“Okay, Zack.” She lifted her chin, her eyes bright as if she were almost as excited to see me as I was her.
“Well, you met the boss—again. Let’s show you the rest of the office before we give you a sample of how our product works.” As she guided Lilly from the room, she glared over her shoulder at me and mouthed, Stay away from her!
I chuckled as they left, knowing damn well that was not happening.
* * *
I didn’t geta chance to speak with Lilly again until late that afternoon. I had spent the morning in the conference room going over details and most of the afternoon in the plant showing the new clients how things worked and the manufacturing process.
