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CHAPTER THREE
Liam
Things were looking up.
For one thing, I had a freaking Ice Queen lookalike currently glaring at me from across the desk. Well, she would’ve been a lookalike if Elsa had been built to tempt a monk. Her bright-blonde hair framed a delicate face, complete with ice chip eyes and lips that glistened as she puckered them lightly in my direction. My cock perked up in interest, but I knew it wasn’t a come-on. Every other part of her body screamed an immediate dislike to me.
Which I got. Most women had one of two reactions to me. Throwing themselves at, or running from. Smart girls with high standards, girls like Elsa here, they ran at the sight of me. They were smart enough to know that I was the opposite of relationship material and my baggage came with its own private jet.
Nope, Liam Macklen was not cut out for that type of woman. It didn’t stop me from casting an appreciative glance her way through. She was lovely, a seductive combination of confidence and vulnerability swirling around her.
And she smelled like lilacs, this Ashlyn Grove.
Her lips softened into a smile as she settled herself in front of me. I shifted in my seat, things getting uncomfortable as I pictured the wonderful things those lips might do, other than frown. I should’ve stayed on my side of the desk. Too late now.
As she stood there straightening her neat little black blazer, her voice an arresting low tone as she discussed the murder and dissection of my life as I knew it, I found my focus shifting.
I held up a hand, mimicking her earlier action, to which she paused, throwing a hefty glare my way. Obviously warning me to not get in her way during the process. Charming. I sent her my best smile. The one women always said made them swoon. She didn’t seem to notice it, and the rejection left me feeling oddly deflated. “I just needed a moment. You’re kind of tearing my life apart here.”
A flash of hurt twisted across her pretty features, throwing a dark shade into her soft blue eyes and immediately making me feel like a grade A asshole
She straightened her shoulders, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as she held up her page once more. “I’m only doing what I was asked. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll continue.”
I nodded, my gaze following the line of her throat as she swallowed once, twice, before beginning her speech once more. She was good. Her presentation was smooth, effortless, and other than those glares she threw my way when I moved around too much, she was pleasant to listen to. Even if she was basically stripping me down to a PG level of existence.
I languished in silence, curious about her reaction to my appraisal and to the life I was laying bare to her. It was clear she didn’t handle my silence well and sent question after question my direction. For some reason I couldn't identify, I loved riling her up. The pink flush that had filled her cheeks at our first meeting was back, those chipped ice blue eyes sparking as she regarded me.
“So? That’s all I have for now. Are you just going to keep staring at me, or should I leave?” She flapped her arms against her sides, making the papers on my desk flutter with the movement.
I raised my brows. That mouth, her plush lips, tugged downward in a frown, and drew my eyes.
Rolling my shoulder, I decided to push Ms. Ashlyn Grove just a bit further.
After all, I reasoned, I expected my colleagues to be able to handle pressure. I was just going to apply a bit more to see what she was really made of.
“This is the part where I sign away control over my life, my agenda, to someone I’ve known for all of fifteen minutes. Did I get that right?” My carefully managed temper tugged at its leash just once. This woman had no idea who she was dealing with. I was on my best behavior here in the office.
That would change soon when she was dragged alongside me into my personal business. But if I wanted this job, and I did most days, it meant sacrificing enough to keep her and the board happy.
“You did.” My gaze coasted over her. She looked far less confident now, and an unmistakable urge to apologize rose in my chest. I pressed a hand over it to stifle the reaction.
Ashlyn Grove was here to change me into something I wasn’t. She wasn’t an enemy, but I sure as hell didn’t owe her an apology for living my life. Although, I admit, my eyes strayed to the place where she’d sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, nipping on the soft flesh as she awaited my response.
“How will this work, then? You take control over all my press events and social media channels?”
“I’ll take over a bit of everything, Mr. Macklen. When you sign this, you’ll hand me over the information I need to make you into the next CEO of Leden Co. That’s an all-day, twenty-four-seven day job in my opinion. If you refuse, then I will be forced to do it myself, mostly trial and error, which isn’t nearly as successful. And as I’m sure you’ve probably noticed before, the media does not love you. Don’t make me have to use them to make a case to the board.”
The woman had balls, that was for sure. “Great. I'm happy to provide you with all the things you need. But please, don’t mistake my agreement with compliance. I will still live my life the way I want to.”
Her eyes narrowed, but there was a shine of victory in her eyes as she laid out form after form of information about my life, my history, and my list of wants and needs.
I moved them to the side immediately. For later. Or, more than likely, for Rose to sort out. As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t sharing a bit more than absolutely required of me. “What do you think of me?”
She straightened. “Excuse me?”
“What do you think of me? No doubt you’ve been given an extensive dossier on my life.”
“I was.” Her answer was slow, reluctant.
