Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Forget the pink ruffled dress that exposed her soft skin. This time she’s wrapped in a leg-baring khaki coat with a belted waist showcasing hourglass curves. Hell, she’s standing in my office like a fantasy stripper here to entertain me.
I blink a couple times, not believing what I see, but nothing changes. She’s still there, gazing at me with bright blue eyes and glowing porcelain skin, making her look even more young and beautiful up close.
Hell, is she even twenty-one? Not that it matters. Either way, I’m too old for her.
Helpless to stop my feet, I move to her like a black magnet to shiny steel, needing to know what the hell she’s doing in my office, besides being a distracting dish of temptation, making my better judgment melt away. For all I know, she’s a spy for the enemy next door. Though, I highly doubt Mort would deliver a beauty like her to me. He’d more than likely keep her for himself.
“Hello again.” I can’t stop the rare smile that crosses my face. “Barclay Hammond.”
I extend my hand, and she reaches for it. Her soft and delicate fingers fit into my grasp like a matching puzzle piece. A small shiver passes through her touch—a vulnerable and dangerous revelation.
No one would call me a wolf, at least not to my face, but I’ve never been labeled as an angel either.
8
Tessa
Standing in the presence of this handsome man, with his curious smirk, all the anger I have for his behavior melts away. I try to remember the words I wanted to tell him when he walked out of the restaurant after secretly buying my dinner, but nothing comes bubbling up in my mind.
I have hormone-induced amnesia and finally understand how scoundrels get away with their actions. If I looked in the mirror, I’d likely see cartoon stars in my eyes. I couldn’t be more predictable if I tried.
“Tessa Holly,” I whisper in response to his greeting, trying to decide whether this is a dream or reality. Never in a million years did I think my first day of job hunting would land me in the CEO’s suite.
I glance from Mr. Hammond’s strong, handsome face to our connected hands. The touch between us tingles … or maybe that’s just me reacting to this man. Either way, I’ve already looked beyond last night without even demanding an explanation. It’s impossible to be angry when eyes like his scan over me, or a jawline shows such proud strength. Instead, I probably resemble a swoony dollop of meringue.
“We meet again, Miss Holly.” My name rolls off his tongue as he releases my hand. “It’s not every day I have encounters like this in my office.”
“You two know each other?” Mrs. Mackenzie glances back and forth between the towering titan and me.
“In a roundabout way, we met last night at Hammond Hotel,” he replies with an sly turn of his lip. Mrs. Mackenzie gasps, and I can only imagine what she’s thinking. The man has no shame. “Right, Miss Holly?”
And how do I respond to him? Pathetically, by giving him a slow nod as my lips form a silent O. Plus, my hand is still tingling from his touch, and my dormant nipples have been brought to life. Such traitors.
“What’s going on?” Mr. Hammond lifts his hand with an upward palm as his eyes shift between Mrs. Mackenzie and me. “It appears there’s something up between you two.”
“Well … there was an accident with the coffees for the meeting. My apologies for not delivering them on time, by the way.” Mrs. Mackenzie flutters her hands in the air. Our incident in the lobby seems to have thrown her for a loop, or perhaps it’s the strange electricity buzzing in the room.
“Coffee wouldn’t have helped this morning anyway,” he says with a frown while looking between Mrs. Mackenzie and me. My skin heats up as his eyes wander over my body. “What do you mean by accident?”
“I was walking through the lobby with your coffee order, and out of the blue, I ran into Miss Holly. She was covered in lattes and cold brews.” Mrs. Mackenzie turns toward me with an apologetic smile in her eyes. “She’s wearing my spring coat while I have her outfit dry cleaned. You should’ve seen the mess.”
“That explains a few things, but I’m curious about something.” Mr. Hammond rubs his chin in thought, his eyes twinkling. “What brought you to our building, Miss Holly? Following me perhaps?”
“What?” I sputter, not prepared for this question. The man thinks I’m stalking him like some desperate female. Okay, so I did stalk him online for an hour, maybe two, but I didn’t come here for any other purpose than to drop off my résumé.
“Maybe you wanted to thank me for picking up your tab last night.” Mrs. Mackenzie gasps even louder than before, but I can’t look away from Mr. Hammond and his know-it-all, smug face.