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“Me.” Ivy smacked a stack of folders onto the table beside me and shot a sassy glare at the stranger. “I was bragging about you. I see you’ve met Bennett.”

“Not formally,” I said.

The man in question reached a hand across the table. “Bennett Zubiria.”

I offered a polite smile as I shook it. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” he said, eyes sparkling.

“Bennett,” Ivy said in a warning tone.

His smile grew. “No need to be jealous, my love. You know I’ve always been yours.”

Ivy slipped into the chair beside me, narrowed green eyes on the man across from us, who lazed at the table as if he owned it. “Bennett is an old college friend of Camden’s⁠—”

“And yours,” Bennett interjected.

She continued as if he’d said nothing. “Otherwise, he’d have been fired long ago for his general uselessness.”

I snorted at her sarcastic tone, but turned to Bennett. “You went to Yale?”

His head tilted. “You know off the top of your head where Cam did undergrad?”

Oops.

Cheeks stinging, I tried to grin, but failed miserably. “I only remember because I wanted Yale so bad, but I was rejected.”

Bennett hummed. “Helps when you’re a legacy.”

The burn in my cheeks only flared hotter with the indignation.

“Yeah.” He leaned forward, smirking. “Throw that back with no chaser. Stings, doesn’t it?”

“Unearned privilege always does,” I murmured.

A dark and knowing laugh rumbled in his chest. “Oh, you’re perfect.” He looked at Ivy. “She’s perfect.”

“I know. Bye, Bennett,” Ivy said pointedly.

He stood and nodded at me. “Until next time, Shay Honeycutt.” Then his full attention moved to Ivy, and he winked. “Poison.”

“Poison?” I asked as he strolled away.

Ivy rolled her eyes. “Poison Ivy. He thinks it’s hysterical.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Be forewarned. He talks sweeter than honey, but the boy’ll get under your skin before you even realize he’s there.”

I schooled my features, but drips of unease slithered down my throat and straight into my belly. “What does he do once he’s there?”

Ivy’s gaze flickered off to a corner behind me, but she only offered a non-committal shrug. When she looked down to shuffle through the papers, I stole a glance in that direction. Near the back of the room, Cam Shepherd stood outside an office with the most elegant woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Long, perfect blond waves fell to her mid-back. Her wide mouth stretched into a smile as she spoke. Bent toward her, Camden murmured something, and the woman turned to set bright blue eyes on me, curiosity sparking in her expression.

I jerked my attention back to the desk.

“It’s his mother,” Ivy said without looking up.

I nodded as if the information meant nothing to me and focused on the folder Ivy opened between us. A stack of new hire paperwork with my name on top rested inside, and my heart tripped into a giddy gallop. Employment could easily be taken for granted, but this was a blessing. I had to force myself to keep from asking how soon was payday.

Ivy launched into an explanation of the different forms—the standard employment package, but also an NDA regarding information I might glean about the recipes of Henley products. She chatted about expectations while I filled it all out. Halfway through my emergency contact sheet, an interruption came in the form of a smooth, sophisticated drawl.

“Miss Honeycutt?”