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I looked up at my boss in confusion. “You want me to meet with him here in your office and not in a conference room?”
“Yes, he requested it, and he’s a very important person, Rose. Do not mess this up.”
Okay, who in the hell is this guy? And I’m sorry, what the actual fuck?
My mind raced through people my parents knew. None of them would be so important as to ask for such a crazy request.
I stood. “Thank you for your confidence in me, Mr. Stiner.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, and I had a feeling he wanted to fire me right there on the spot for this client putting him the position he was in to give someone with little experience such an important role.
“Wait here, and I’ll go get him.”
When he shut the door to his office, I exhaled a shaky breath, then started to smooth down my black pencil skirt. Boy, was I glad I decided to dress in my business attire today. I normally wore slacks and a shirt. It was just more comfortable.
Turning away from the door, I picked up my electronic notebook and moved to the window. I had no idea what was happening or who the person was who requested me. They had to be someone powerful in order to get Mr. Stiner to agree to this even though he had no intention of letting me design the house. Someone political, maybe? My family didn’t really get involved in politics, so that couldn’t be it. Looking out over the mountains, I started to jot down some immediate ideas for how to make the home more environmentally friendly. Of course, I had no idea what type of home the client would want, where it was located, or how much space I had to work with. Log home? Rock? Were they building up in the mountains or in the valley? Would they be close to Bitterroot River? A million questions raced through my mind. I paused and looked out the window. Why was I even bothering trying to firm these things up if Mr. Stiner had no intentions of listening to me or letting me lead this project completely.
The door to Mr. Stiner’s office opened, then shut. I plastered on a smile and turned around, only to stare intently at the man before me who had the ability to crush me not only professionally but intimately.
When I opened my mouth, nothing came out but some weird noise, so I clamped my mouth shut.
He cleared his throat, pulled out the chair that was next to the one I’d been sitting in, and sat. Then, in that sexier-than-hell voice of his, he said, “How have you been, Rose Shaw?”
The only thing I managed to utter was one word.
“Bryson.”
Chapter Eight
BRYSON
The moment I saw her, my body came to life. Her back was faced toward the door, and the skirt she wore showed off the ass I knew intimately. My mouth actually watered thinking about it.
When she turned around, her smile faded, and her eyes went wide. A strangled sound came from her mouth before she pressed her lips together tightly.
I pulled out a chair, sat, and smiled at her. “How have you been, Rose Shaw?”
She swallowed hard, then whispered, “Bryson.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, she closed her eyes and shook her head like she thought she might be dreaming. When she finally looked at me, she asked, “What in the hell are you doing here?”
I tried not to flinch at the coldness in her voice. “Okay, not the greeting I expected from you.”
She closed her eyes and exhaled before she set what looked to be an iPad-type device down on the desk.
A look of pure anger moved over her face. She lowered her voice and whisper-yelled at me. “What do you want from me? A kiss? Would you like for me to throw myself into your arms and say, ‘oh, thank you so much for forcing my boss to allow me to design your house’?”
I moved about in the seat. It suddenly felt very hot in the room. “A kiss would be nice, but I didn’t force him to allow you to work on it. He wanted some douche named Drake, and I saw his work. He sucks.”
“And you know I’m good because we slept together?”
Frowning, I leaned forward. “Do not ever talk about yourself like that, Rose.”
She looked surprised and took a step back, her hand coming up to her chest.
“Loren sent me photos of your cousin’s house you designed. I loved it.”
Rose threw her hands up in the air and growled. “Oh my God. I swear I’m going to kill her for real this time, then disown her as my best friend. She knew about this?”
“No. She doesn’t know anything about the property I bought or the house I want built.”
