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“I knew your grandmother was the one on our first date,” he said with a shrug. “When you know, you know. I believe that. You just need to open yourself up to the possibility of it.”
“And if I don’t?” I asked defiantly, but I already knew the answer.
“Then, I won’t be leaving the company to you.”
The anger and resentment coursing through me was overwhelming, and I didn’t know what to say. I’d never felt this way about my grandfather before. I was caught completely off-guard by this stipulation of his.
The worst part was the betrayal I felt. How could he do this to me? Get married now? As if I didn’t have enough emotional baggage to deal with right now?
Even if a wife was something I wanted—which it definitelywasn’t—I couldn’t imagine focusing on cultivating a relationship while I was trying to grapple with the mortality of the only person I’d ever really respected.
No. No way. This isn’t happening.
I stood again, seething. “I’m not playing this game. You can’tforceme into this ridiculous stipulation. After everything I’ve done for the company…I can’t believe you’d do this to me.”
Turning away from him, I stormed off. I could feel his eyes on me as I left the study, but I didn’t turn around. I needed to get out of here before I said something I’d regret.
Hayden and Dylan saw me pass by the living room on my way out the door, but I didn’t stop to talk to them. I wouldn’t even know how to explain the old man’s criteria for my inheritance.
It was too absurd to even consider.
* * *
“Come in,” I called out when I heard three sharp taps against the door of my office the next morning.
My efficient assistant barely waited until the words had left my mouth before she was pushing the door open with an oversized coffee cup in one hand and an iPad in the other. Mia set the coffee on the corner of my desk without looking up from the device in her hand.
I took a moment to look her over, knowing damn well that I shouldn’t.
Because she looked good today, with her scoop-neck silk blouse and her tight black skirt accentuating her curves. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled back in a bun, showing off the slender column of her neck. My gaze traveled up until I met her eyes, brown with flecks of gold and surrounded by dark eyelashes.
I’d noticed the depth of her eyes from the moment we met, at her interview. I’d been attracted to her even then, and it almost kept me from hiring her. But Mia was easily the most qualified candidate that applied, with her bachelor’s degree in business and past experience as an administrative assistant at a different tech company.
She ended up being the best assistant I’d ever had.
The problem was that I couldn’t help noticing how sexy she was. I hated that I was so aware of her, because it drove me crazy to be so close to her all the time when I knew that I needed to keep my hands to myself. I shouldn’t even consider crossing that line, no matter how tempting it was when I breathed in the lavender and peach scent of her perfume and my eyes focused on her full, kissable lips.
There was just something about her that heated my blood, and it wasn’t even just about her looks. Mia was more than just an efficient, dependable assistant. I had a reputation for being moody and unapproachable, but she dealt with my grumpy ass better than anyone else I’d ever worked with.
She was smart and didn’t take anything I said to heart, which was good because my frustration with my own attraction to her came out in the wrong way at times. I was short with her when I shouldn’t be, but she always took my temperament with a grain of salt.
That just made me want her more, for reasons that I didn’t understand.
“I just finalized your itinerary for the day,” Mia said, finally looking up from her iPad. “I needed to move a few things around because John Helt needed to change your meeting from eleven o’clock to two in the afternoon.”
“Thank you, Miss Carter,” I said, just as I heard a ding coming from my computer as my calendar updated those changes she’d made.
I picked up my coffee and took a sip. It was perfect, as usual.
Suddenly, the door of my office opened again, without a knock this time. Only two people here would do such a thing, so it was no surprise when Dylan and Hayden came strolling in.
“You ran out of Grandpa’s house awfully quick yesterday,” Hayden commented. “Like your ass was on fire.”
I glared at Hayden for a moment before turning my attention back to Mia. There was a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth, and her eyes glinted with amusement.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
Why couldn’t I stop noticing that?
