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“Impressive.” Like most of the staff here, I’m sure he had a remarkable background. William had told me in my interview how the boss only hired the best of the best. The insecurity in me then wondered why they had picked me.
“So why Chicago? Weren’t there any internships that you could go after there?”
He shrugged, a distant look in his eyes. I could tell already that Brandon was one of those shy, quiet types. He preferred to blend into the room than to be front and center, which reminded me of a certain brooding and moody man I had not seen in over a year.
“What about you? Are you from Chicago?”
“Nope,” I popped the ‘p’ at the end. “I’m from this little town called Braven Bay. It’s in Wisconsin, but it’s not that far away from here.”
I loathed that place. It was a reminder of the life that I had escaped from and vowed never to return. The only reason I even mustered the gall to go there was for my best friend and her gorgeous babies. Otherwise, you would not catch me dead near that place.
And just as I had expected, the break room was more of a lounge than a dingy room with hard couches that gave plank-wood a run for its money.
White-tiled floors and white marble countertops in the kitchen area. There was an array of high-end appliances on those counters and a bowl of fresh fruit, a tray of pastries, and an assortment of teas and coffees ready to be enjoyed.
“This is here every morning?” I was completely and utterly gob-smacked. It sure beat the one time my old boss brought in day-old donuts for the staff.
“Yeah.”
I was in heaven.
I walked into the room and headed straight for the croissants. There were so many to choose from. I stuffed one in my mouth, and I wondered if stacking them onto a plate and taking them back to my desk would be a bit much. I turned back to Brandon to ask, but I stopped short when my eyes met with a pair of green ones that I would recognize anywhere.
“Danny?”
Speaking of the broody and moody man I hadn’t seen in over a year. What was he doing here?
Chapter three
She’s Here
Daniel
Idon’tlikesurprises.What I do like is control. I like things to be predictable, so I can plan for them accordingly. When surprises happen, I often lose the control that I so deeply desire.
The move to Chicago had been planned months in advance. I had planned where I would put my new HQ. I had planned the building I would be in. I also made sure that all the Sinclair assets and businesses were running smoothly in my absence. I had planned everything down to the minute details.
So why, oh why, was my sister's most eccentric and annoying friend standing in the middle of my break room with a croissant stuffed in her mouth?
The woman who stood shocked and still as stone in the middle of the room looked far different than I remembered. She had swapped in her fiery red locks for a softer strawberry blonde that I was not used to. Her eyes danced against the fluorescent lights as her gaze moved up and down the length of my body.
“Oh, Mr. Sinclair,” Brandon’s eyes darted all over the place as his head dipped a little, “I was just showing Selena around. She is our new paralegal. She will be replacing Amber.”
So, that was my answer to what she was doing in my building.
“I see,” I cleared my throat, “Leave us for a minute, Brandon. I need to have a word with our new staff member.”
Brandon didn’t question me. He simply nodded and walked out of the room, leaving me with Selena, still frozen with the damn pastry in her mouth. I walked into the room and walked over to the counter where the coffee machine was brewing. I pulled the croissant out of her mouth and put it on the plate she was holding, then proceeded to walk by her to the cupboards.
She was silent as I prepared my cup of coffee, but I could feel her eyes burning holes in the back of my skull. Selena Abrams was not the kind of woman who was easily stunned into silence, so that told me one thing: she was not expecting me to be here the same way I was not expecting her.
I was meticulous about my staff hiring, so how had I let this one slip through the cracks? The answer was clear—William. He was the only other person apart from myself who handled the hiring of staff.
“What are you doing at my firm, Selena?” I stirred my coffee with my back still turned to her. “Don’t you already have a job elsewhere?”
She cleared her throat and let out a low yet audible sigh. “I left that place. And what do you mean byyourfirm? Since when doyouhave a law firm in the city?”
“Since I moved here a year ago.” This time, I turned, and my eyes connected with those violet-blue oceans. They widened with shock and confusion at my declaration, another sign to let me know that she really had no idea.
