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I shake my head, doing my best to appear sympathetic. “I’m pretty slammed myself. Jack’s sent me enough new client profiles to have me staying late every night this week.”

Her smile brittles. “We’re all team players here, Eric. I’m sure Jack doesn’t expect you to get everything done this week. He understands that priorities are flexible in a dynamic work environment.”

Wow. I can’t believe she has the ovaries to try to con me into doing her work. I’m about to apologize and offer another excuse, but then I remember that unnecessary apologies are on the dude no-no list. So, with a firm shake of the head, I follow up with, “No can do, Blair. Being the new guy, I think it’s best if I stay focused on the work I’ve been assigned. I’m sure you understand.”

Blair’s pretty features scrunch into the “swallowed sour milk” expression I’m familiar with from Ellie’s original attempts to get information from her, when Rictor breezes by, snapping his fingers, “On your feet, Webb. All hands on deck in the conference room.”

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Dude.” Rictor arches a brow. “Falling asleep on the job already? DOJ put a kill order on the Sparks-GenCom merger last night, and the tech sector is taking it in the ass. Jack wants your input.”

“Be right there.” Tamping down the zing I feel that Jack requested my input, I flash Blair a “duty calls” smile and slip around her, laptop tucked under my arm, hoping there might be time to ask Jack how serious he wants me to get with my client research after the emergency huddle.

Is this just for show?

Or is he actually expecting me to put my incomplete MBA to work?

Either way, it’s flattering to have been trusted with important research for the company he and my brother value above almost everything else in their lives. For my brother, I like to think family comes first, and I know Jack, an orphan since his parents died, is devoted to his friends.

But aside from that, it’s all business all the time for those two.

That’s the only reason Jack spent half his weekend with me, after all—because he was afraid I would drop the ball and negatively impact his business. It’s something I would be smart to remember when I’m tempted to replay that kiss over and over in my mind like my favorite song.

Attaching meaning to a workaholic’s moment of weakness would be foolish indeed.

I hurry into the conference room in a manly way I know would make Jack proud if he were watching, but he isn’t. He’s focused on something one of the senior brokers is showing him on his phone, his handsome features arranged into his all-business face.

The look remains as he calls the meeting to order with a quick, “Good morning, people. Looks like Monday’s in the mood to kick our asses. So let’s get right into it. We need to get ahead of the tech sector panic before our clients realize there’s a reason to be nervous.”

His attention skims the room, hesitating ever so briefly on yours truly before moving on with a smile. “Hannah will start us off with a recap of what went down last night. Hannah?”

I don’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved that Jack is so clearly unruffled by what happened between us yesterday in the park. But I’m glad he’s making good on his promise to give Hannah more responsibility. Not only has she got the room set up with coffee and healthy breakfast snacks, but she has a great handle on the merger situation, too.

Soon we’re so deep in the market analysis weeds I don’t have time to think of anything except scrambling to contribute as best I can.

“How is biotech reacting?” I lean back in my chair and spread my legs like I’ve seen the other guys do during these meetings. “If they’re holding steady, we might be able to balance out some of the tech losses in that sector. We can also look at the foreign markets.”

Jack holds my gaze a moment, and I try not to squirm beneath his intense green eyes. “You think this merger news will sink tech for the next quarter?”

“Not at all,” I say confidently, surprised at how easily all of this is coming back to me. Just like riding a bike. Or kissing. Or kissing Jack…

Focus, Ellie. Focus!

“But this was a major merger,” I continue, “and before today we had no reason to think it wouldn’t sail through the regulatory proceedings. The market needs time to stabilize, and not all of your—our—clients have the patience for that.”

Jack nods, though I’m not telling him anything he doesn’t already know. I suppose he just wants to show the rest of the team I’ve got the chops to be here. “What do you suggest?”

“I have a few ideas for emerging stocks we can pitch the nervous investors,” I say, “and I’m sure our client relations team can finesse the language on an email to ease everyone’s minds. I don’t anticipate S and H taking a big hit over this.”

“You seem pretty confident,” Rictor says. “For a guy who’s been here all of a week.”

I shrug. “There’s an old saying about the stock market, Rictor. And at the end of the day, every one of our clients embodies it.” I let out a low chuckle, gently stroking my mustache. “If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the Street.”

Okay, I totally made that up, but most of my colleagues are laughing, including Jack. Even Rictor’s got a grin on his otherwise smarmy face.

“Agreed, Mr. Webb. Thanks for your, ah,poeticinsights.” Jack’s lips twitch with a smile so subtle I wonder if I’m imagining it, before he turns his attention back to the room at large. “All right, people. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Jack is so confident and commanding, steering this ship through the uncertain waters of triple-dip recessions and market instability, that I’m hanging on his every word. There’s something about a man in a crisp button-down with the sleeves rolled up, his strong forearms flexing as he writes on the whiteboard, taking control in a crisis.

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