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I walked carefully, but not carefully enough as my left ankle suddenly rolled, causing me to pitch forward onto the asphalt.
Ouch. From the sting, I knew my knees and the palm of my right hand had taken the brunt of the fall. Slowly, I got to my feet, cursing my familiar clumsiness. I should’ve known better than to pair my natural ability to fall down with three-inch heels.
Just once could I have a day without bad luck?
Glancing around, I was relieved to see there were no witnesses to my humiliation.
Once upright, I limped gingerly to the door, ignoring the throbbing of my ankle and hoping this would be my one and only mishap for the day.
Upon entering the office, there was no one about in the stark reception area, equipped with an empty desk and little else. Good, I could use a few minutes to gather myself. I sat down on one of two uncomfortable folding chairs and took inventory of my injuries. Scrapes were prominent on my knees, the type you got as a kid from falling down at the playground while shards of tiny rock were embedded in my hand.
Glancing around, I hoped to see a ladies’ room where I could clean the wounds, but there was nothing but a large, gray metal door with what appeared to be a badge access panel next to it. Guess it made sense for a security company to have security.
The front door opened, and I looked up to see a large man with a beard and long, dark hair tied back. He wore a T-shirt and shorts, showing off not only a number of tattoos, but muscles upon muscles, as if he was a bodybuilder. But by the time my gaze traveled up to his face, I realized he was no stranger.
McGrumps.
His piercing blue eyes narrowed on me. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I swallowed hard at his gruff tone and forced myself to my feet. Immediately, I had to shift my weight to my uninjured foot. Shit. His less-than-welcome reaction didn’t bode well, but I lifted my chin. “I’m here to interview for the office manager position.”
He glanced down. “Why are your knees bleeding?”
“I fell in the parking lot.”
No comment from him. Shouldn’t be a surprise given his empathetically challenged behavior on the plane. We both turned our heads when the interior door opened to reveal his handsome brother who flashed killer dimples.
“Hi, Addy, nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Nic.” I took his outstretched hand and ignored the sting of my palm when it came into contact with his.
“Apologies for not greeting you sooner.”
My gaze bounced between the two brothers, trying to find some similarity between the intimidating giant of muscle and the pretty boy in the suit. It took a moment, but the resemblance was there in the nose and skin tone. Talk about complete opposites. Dominic, clean-cut and handsome, Leo, gritty, muscled, and primal. One you wanted to take home to meet Mom and the other you wanted to do very dirty things to you.
Leo said nothing, busy glaring at me.
Nic was all smiles. “Why don’t you come on back?”
My hopes Leo would not take issue at my presence were dashed when he rounded on his brother. “You can’t hire her.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because we wouldn’t get along.”
“News flash. You don’t get along with most people.”
I had to stifle my giggle.
“Absolutely not. She’s a hot mess.”
“I’m standing right here,” I snapped, exasperated by his callousness, and triggered by a label I’d worn my entire life.
Dominic chuckled while Leo glowered.
“I’ll make it easy on you both and leave,” I offered.
“No. Please don’t,” Dominic beseeched, turning toward me.
