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She bites on her lower lip, looking undecided. “I didn’t lie when I said my daddy is a busy man, totally self-made, you know?” What’s the obsession of this family with being self-made? “But…” she continues, then halts again. Appearing even more torn, she rounds the desk to grab a Post-it block and a pen. “I mean, for a man of your caliber… I’m sure Daddy won’t have a problem if I give you this address.” Angry Blue Eyes scribbles something on the piece of paper and picks up the note.
She strides toward me, locking that fiery blue gaze on me—a little of her personality coming back. She walks right up to me, getting too close for anyone’s comfort, and neatly attaches the Post-it note to my jacket’s pocket. Not content with the already too intimate gesture, she smooths a finger over the glued section, making sure it perfectly sticks to the fabric.
A slow current flows from where she’s touching my chest to the organ behind my ribcage. I’m not sure what her game is, but I can’t shake the sensation she’d rather give me a heart attack than seduce me.
“Anything else I can do for you, Mr. Mercer?” she adds, voice low and honeyed.
Her tone is deferential, but I still can’t help but feel as if I’m being made a fool of somehow.
I also don’t appreciate the way my breath hitches in my chest when she stares at me so directly. I take a step back. She’s definitely too young for me to be thinking what I’m thinking right now—how bad I want to drag a thumb across her cheek and wipe the small droplets of sweat dotting her skin. Yep, I’d better back off.
I give her my best business smile and the most professional answer I can muster. “Nothing for the moment, thank you.”
“Any time, Mr. Mercer.” She winks, and I swear my insides clench. “Feel free to stop by in the future.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve got a feeling we’ll meet again.”
Her smile is the last thing I see as I leave the office and once again enter the gym.
Outside, I stop in the midday sun and think for the first time of checking the Post-it. For a lightning-fast moment, I become convinced she hasn’t given me a proper address but has written some sort of joke or jab. Why else would I want to come back to see her?
But when I check the note, I find an actual address for some place in Queens.
Blake Avery, it looks like we’re finally going to meet.
4
BLAKE
MGM finally leaves my office, taking his extra-large ego with him and leaving me more breathless than after my HIIT class.
Up close, the man really is something. An annoying, entitled, overbearing—ignorant, I should add ignorant—six-foot-four beefcake. Broad-shouldered, muscular-chested, and arrogant. The nerve of him to come onto my turf with no idea of who he was supposed to deal with and lecture me on knowing my competition.
“First rule of business, always study the competition,” I repeat in a mock dude’s voice.
Maybe you should take your own advice, scuzzball.
I don’t know why I’m so worked up. Probably because he took one look at me and dismissed me as a silly girl who couldn’t possibly be the one in charge, an equal. No, of course he had to assume I was just a frivolous brat playing in her daddy’s office.
I’m about to mentally rant some more when Evan crashes into my office. He’s changed into yoga clothes, but looks even more agitated than when I left him a little over an hour ago. “Please tell me that wasn’t Gabriel Mercer storming out of the building.”
I’m not in the mood to receive a second lecture. “Don’t worry, I dealt with him.”
Evan brings both hands to his face, pulling down his cheeks. “Oh my gosh, what did you do?”
“Nothing,” I say, flashing an innocent smile and batting my lashes.
“Should I call the lawyers? Get ready for a lawsuit?”
“Not unless the man is even more of a twit than I already think he is.” I shrug and sit on the silver Pilates ball in my office to do some hip stretches. “Or that he has no sense of humor.”
“He came because of the article, didn’t he? What did you tell him? Did you two get in a fight?”
“Mr. Mercer wanted to discuss the fine print with my father… so I told him Daddy wasn’t available and he left.” I shrug. “That’s it.”
Evan frowns. “Your father? Why would he want to discuss the article with your father?”
