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I almost snorted.
My bed was a dead zone, but I certainly wasn’t going to discuss that with the man whose eyes were constantly dipping down my body, who lit my skin every time I was in his presence.
Who was one of the three people I reported to.
And that, combined with all this bed talk, was the reason my cheeks were reddening.
Fortunately, I was saved by the door, which swung open as we reached our floor.
I held up the rest of the doughnut. “Thank you for this. You’re right, it did turn my whole day around.”
Or maybe that was just Easton.
Something I didn’t want to admit to myself.
He returned my grin before I walked out. “I’ll see you in twenty.”
“Twenty?” I asked, facing him.
“The executive meeting.”
I quickly checked my watch. “Oh crap, that’s right. I guess I’ll see you there.”
I rushed down the hallway and into my office, shutting the door behind me. I was out of breath, and I was positive it had nothing to do with how fast I’d walked to get here.
That man took every bit of air out of my lungs, even if I continuously tried to fill them.
I tried to ignore that thought as I sat at my desk, returning just a handful of emails before I had to go to the conference room. Everyone was already seated when I got there, and the only spot available was, of course, the one next to Easton.
“Drake, why don’t you start and give us an update on how everything went this week,” Grayson said from the head of the table.
The team was usually pretty honest during these meetings—at least the few I’d attended so far. But I wasn’t sure it was appropriate to tell them that only eight hours had passed since I’d arrived for work but it felt like a year and a half.
Man, I was exhausted.
“She’s doughnut high at the moment,” Easton replied before I could answer.
“Dude, you gave her a vanilla glaze and didn’t get me one?” Grayson barked.
Easton pushed the bakery bag toward the head of the table. “There’s one left. It’s all yours.”
“What about me?” Holden asked.
“And me?” the head of HR said.
“Sucks to be the both of you since I don’t share,” Grayson said with a full mouth. His gaze sauntered over to me as he added, “Tell us, Drake, are things good? Stressful? Are you in need of three more doughnuts?”
I laughed. “Yes. Yes. Andyessss.” This environment was so casual, there were times—like now—that aside from the tiredness, I forgot I was even at work. “You know I’m in the process of evaluating my entire team to make sure they’re adept for the rollout. It’s been a daunting process, but I believe I finally have some results.”
“What are your findings?” the head of finance asked. Her sweater hung across the back of her shoulders and tied around her neck, and she tightened the knot, making sure the heavy garment didn’t fall.
I glanced down at the notebook in front of me, reading the notes I’d taken during the solo meetings with my team. “About fifteen percentwill need to be replaced with candidates a bit more qualified.” I shifted my eye contact, avoiding Easton. “I expect a lot more than their previous director, and for the model you’re presently running, they’re fine. But for what I plan to do, I need more qualifications.”
“I’ll get in touch with our recruiter, so she can replace the coders you deem unfit,” the HR director said.
I nodded at her, smiling. “I’m happy to assist with the hiring.”
Only a brief period of silence followed before I heard, “Not wasting any time. I like it.”
