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He searches my features, then reaches out and uses his thumb to scoop up a tear drop that I wasn’t aware had slipped out from the corner of my eye. He brings it to his mouth and sucks on it, and my entire body seems to burst into flames.
"Why did you do that?" I whisper.
He looks as confused as I feel. "Fuck if I know." He holds my gaze a second longer, then reaches down and takes the sheet from between my fingers. "You were right, this list sucks."
I turn sideways, not facing him fully. "That’s not what I said."
"Well, I’m saying it. It was wrong of me to expect you to draw up this list when you don’t know me at all."
"Well, you are my boss, so I’m not supposed to know you… Like that," I flush as I’m saying it, and though his lips curl, he doesn’t say anything to make my discomfort worse.
"But this particular assignment involves you getting to know me well enough to draw up a profile that helps you to attract the right woman for this position."
"It’s not a job," I point out.
"So you keep insisting."
"You know I’m right."
He frowns, and there’s genuine confusion on his features. "You can call it anything you like, but the purpose of this exercise is to attract applications from women who you will interview and then draw up a shortlist for me to choose from."
"Me?" I squeak.
He looks around the room. "Do you see anyone else I’d trust with this task?"
"Abby?"
He snorts. "She’s too close to me."
"But I’m not."
"You’re not," he agrees. And he’s right, but it feels like a twister has suddenly emerged in my gut.
"You’ve seen the worst of me, and you’re standing—"
Barely.
"—so, you know what to look for."
"I do?"
"Sure." He nods. "You need to find someone who’s as soft as you on the outside but has a spine of steel. Someone who’s adamant and obstinate enough to hold her own and knows when to give in to me."
I feel the blush sweep up my chest, my throat, right up to the roots of my hair. "Was that a compliment?"
He blinks. "I believe it was," he says slowly. There’s surprise in his eyes, which he banks at once. "And to help you in this, you’re going to spend time with me."
22
Knight
"So, she agreed to get to know you better so she can describe you better in order that the right kind of woman will apply for the role?" Adam takes a long drink of water from his bottle.
"That’s the idea, yes." I stretch out my calves, then my thighs, trying to work out the kinks that have formed after that ten-mile-long run along the Thames. It’s a perfect early autumn evening. The light is golden and slanting through the buildings along the bank of the river. It’s almost nine p.m., but it’s light. The days are long enough for me to complete my run and have time to return to my home office and get some work done.
"And she agreed?"
"I didn’t give her a choice."
