“How are you liking it?”
I made sure to take a deep breath before I spoke so my words didn’t come out in a supersonic spray of nervousness. “So far, so good. Everyone seems nice, and the building is stunning. I couldn’t think of a better place to work.” Ha, look at me acting all cool, calm, and collected. I hadn’t even fumbled any words.Nice work, Faith.
He grinned, creating a cute dimple on the left side of his face. Kill me now. Also, rich-guy alert.Danger. Danger.“I take it you haven’t met my brother yet.” He chuckled.
I wasn’t going to take the bait. Bitching about the CEO on my first day, even if it was his brother joking. No thanks. “It was nice meeting you, but I’d better grab a coffee and get back to it. I don’t want to make a bad impression on my first day.”
He laughed. “Ah, wise too. I like it. Well, I hope you enjoy working here. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“Thank you, Jack.” Funny how I rememberedhisname. I looked at the other guy, who was still unmemorable. I was such a shallow bitch. “Thanks for the donut.”
“Any time.”
I poured coffee into a take-out cup. There were no lids, so I didn’t fill it all the way. I liked my coffee black and hot, so I’d best be careful on my way back to my desk. I waved at the guys, smiled, and turned at the same time. Which was obviously too much for me to handle in these shoes.
As I stepped toward the doorway, my ankle had its revenge for being forced to wear these heels all day. It rolled with the enthusiasm of a pro wrestler going in for the kill. A knife of pain shot through it. My left hand—tragically the one holding the coffee—flung upward in a glorious, look-at-me arc, sending a cascade of hot caffeine flying straight into the path of an incoming human.
I reached out to grab the doorframe with my donut-holding hand and connected with a white shirt and broad chest. I managed to smush the chocolate-covered delicacy into said chest while grabbing a handful of now-ruined shirt. But I hadn’t recovered and was still falling. The man grabbed my upper arm and pulled me up and into his donut-encrusted chest. Now I was dirty too.
Oh. My. God. What had I done?
Silence from the men behind me didn’t bode well.
I leaned back and stared up, up, up at my savior. He had to be at least six four.
Heart racing, my breath stopped. Was I still falling?
Royal-blue eyes framed by thick lashes stared back at me.Those eyes were a darker, deeper blue than the day in Café Nero. Pupils huge and menacing swallowed all the light, sucking me into their vortex. I couldn’t look away. The chiseled jaw, straight nose, and dark, wavy hair in that I’d-do-anything-he-asked-me combination had my cheeks burning. My hand flexed, and my fingers tightened over what I thought was donut, but it was pec. Yep, that was a nipple under my palm and muscle being plumped under my fingertips. I should’ve known hour-old donuts weren’t that warm or that firm with just the right amount of squishiness on top. I bit my bottom lip. I’d been copping a feel of the big boss, and I dared say I’d like to do it again.
Bad, Faith. Get your shit together.
Curtis Knight growled, and I felt it in my core. Pushing away my hormonal reaction, I frowned.Stay strong.
A snort of laughter burst from behind me, dousing my desire as surely as what I’d done had just doused my desire to live. “Brother of mine, may I introduce your new marketing hire, Faith.” Oh, God, now he knew my name. Why did Jack have to do that? The universe hated me. I was totally getting fired.
All my previous coolness evaporated with my pride, and my words speedily peppered him just like the sprinkles had only moments ago. “I’m so, so sorry. I tripped. These stupid shoes aren’t even mine. My friend thought they’d be a good idea, but I’m used to my Docs, you see, and there were no lids for the coffee cups, and I?—”
“Quiet.” That single word in his low, authoritative voice vibrated all the way to my toes.
I gulped and pressed my lips together, all of them. My arm tingled from where he gently gripped it, and the scent of his aftershave—vanilla with a hint of cardamom—made me want to close my eyes and breathe deeply. I couldn’t keep looking at his face, or I was going to do something illegal, like kiss him when he wasn’t a consenting party. That plump bottom lip was nibbleable andprobably tasted better than the donut I wasn’t getting. I mentally slapped myself.Get yourself together, idiot. You need this job. Also, remember Mark? Your vagina doesn’t make good decisions. Not that Mark did anything good for your vagina anyway.Let’s not also acknowledge that Curtis Knight wouldn’t be into me at all. None of my pronouns were super or model. He didn’t even recognize me from the other day. Embarrassing. But what did I expect? It lit a spark of anger deep inside. But I tamped it down because I needed this job, and it didn’t matter if the CEO regarded me as if I were nothing. It’s what I wanted, wasn’t it?
I schooled my face into as neutral an expression as possible, hoping my irritation didn’t show. Stepping back, I slid my arm out of his grasp, the friction birthing goose bumps across my skin. “Please don’t fire me. I’ll pay for your dry cleaning. What else can I do to make this right?”
His brother chuckled, but Curtis, in all his frowning glory, radiated all that was stern, like he was about to discipline me. He cleared his throat. “You started today?”
“Um, yes.”
He peered down at his ruined shirt, then mine, his gaze lingering, before returning his flinty eyes to mine. “I would say it was a pleasure to meet you, but that would be a lie.” I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from rising.I beg your pardon, sir? “You don’t have to pay for my shirt,or my tieto be cleaned. Just stay out of my way, and do your job way better than you walk, and you’ll have a chance at keeping it.”
Argh, I’d ruined his tie too. Did he have a designer undershirt on that I stained as well?
This time, my cheeks heated from shame rather than desire. How many times had unwanted women thrown themselves at him, and I managed it literally without even trying. I betted none of them ruined as many pieces of his clothing as I just had. At least I was the best at something. Meh, after the way he’d spoken to meand not recognized me, he deserved my coffee and donut shower. “Ah, okay. Sorry again. Best get back to work. Bye.”
Before he changed his mind and fired me, I squeezed past him and hurried through the door, my ankle throbbing and a mouthful of coffee left in my cup. The only donut I was getting was if I licked the glazing and crumbs off my hand, and I already felt enough humiliation to last me until New Year’s, so that was out.
It hadn’t taken long for the day to plop loudly and with much fanfare into the toilet.
I was in so much trouble, and it wasn’t even halfway through the day.
