Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
After a whole lot of strong-arming and a promise to keep the information confidential, he agrees to get back to me with at the very least her last name…but now, he isn’t returning my calls. Does he think he can just blow me off? I hope not for his sake. Paying him a visit is not out of the question for me, and putting his airline on the no-fly list for all of the companies I manage would be as easy as making one or two calls.
I’ve even set my company’s private investigator after her, but I don’t expect him to have much luck either. Some guys would call this a lost cause and give up, but I’m not that guy. When I see something I want, I go after it until I get it. That’s how I build Fortune 500 companies from the ground up. That’s how the son of poor immigrant parents became one of the richest men in the world.
I can’t explain the hold she has on me, but from the first time I laid eyes on her, she’s been so heavy on my mind that it’s hard to keep my head in the game. If the P.I. called right now and said he found her, I’d skip out on the most important meeting of the year to go and get her.
In my life leading up to this moment, the only thing that has ever made me so mad with desire is my work. No woman, anywhere, could cause a reaction from me that’s this visceral and strong. I can’t close my eyes without seeing her naked and waiting for me to take her. The mere thought of touching her has me harder than a rock, and it happens several times a day.
I check my watch and see that it’s almost game time. The client I rushed home to see should be here any minute. I step out of my office and shake my head at the empty reception desk. The new girl HR hired for me is supposed to be here. How is it going to look if I have to greet the client myself? The conference room isn’t set up for the meeting. It’s a damn mess. I don’t know who they hired, but if she shows up now, her first day might also be her last day.
The elevator bell chimes and I look over as the doors open. If this is her, I’m going to…wait. It’s her. The girl from the plane is standing in the elevator, looking at me like a scared pup.
She freezes and the doors start to close, but I’m not letting her get away again. I reach inside the car and take her by the arm, gently pulling her out into the office. Have I finally reached the point where I’m hallucinating? No, this is a fantasy that’s coming to life before my eyes.
“Beth, right? What are you doing here?”
I’m trying my best to play it cool, but my heart is slamming against my ribcage. I stare at her beautiful face and see the same thing in her eyes that I saw on the plane that day. Yeah, she’s real alright.
“I think I work here. I mean, this is the suite number I was given on the phone.” She scans the empty reception area and takes a step backward toward the elevator. “Maybe I should go. This must be some kind of mistake.”
“Wait. You’re my new secretary? This is why you were flying for the first time. You were coming to work for me?” I guess I should have asked her where she worked. It would have saved me all the leg work.
“Bryan.” I see the light come on in her eyes. “Bryan Branigan Investments?”
“That’s me, kid. Small world, huh?” I must look like the cockiest son of a bitch on the planet but I don’t care. This is what winning looks like.
“Look, I’m sorry about last night. If you want me to leave, I understand. I really need this job. I uprooted my whole life for this, but if you don’t want me here, I guess I deserve that. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
I see the desperation in her eyes, and I’m consumed with the desire to take her in my arms and tell her that everything is alright. There’s just one problem, though. Giving me a phony number and standing me up is disrespectful, and if this thing is going to move forward, I’ll need to impose a bit of discipline for that.
“Lying and giving me a fake number wasn’t the best way to make a first impression, but I’m willing to give you a second chance on two conditions.”
“What are they?”
“First, you get the conference room set up for my meeting right now. You have less than six minutes to get it done and be back here to greet my client.”