Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
He gave a nod. “Okay, pizza it is.”
His eyes met mine, and the air between us tightened. I felt the awareness instantly, low in my stomach, warm and unwelcome. His gaze dipped to my mouth for the briefest second, just long enough to make me remember his hot, deep kisses, before flicking back up to my eyes.
My pulse stumbled and I straightened, needing to do something that made me feel like I was back in control again. “Well, I’m sure you have things to do before everyone gets into the office. Have a good day, Mr. Powers.”
“You too, Ms. Starling,” he drawled, his low, deep voice doing annoyingly intimate things to my body.
I turned quickly, refusing to glance back as I made my way to my own office right next to his. I shut the door behind me, leaned against it, and had to press a hand to my chest to steady both my heart rate and my breathing.
I needed distance. I needed focus. I needed Liam Powers out of my head. Because after ten minutes alone with him this morning, I already knew one thing with absolute, undeniable certainty. Working in the same office as Liam was going to be a problem. A very sexy, complicated, distracting problem.
Because no matter how hard I tried to pretend otherwise, no matter his genuine apology or our resolve to keep things professional, it was clear that at least on my part, the attraction and chemistry between us hadn’t abated one bit.
CHAPTER NINE
Liam
My first week at GalvaTech was busy, which was to be expected when starting with a new company. As usual, I spent my first day setting up my office and introducing myself to everyone, buying lunch and giving the employees a chance to get to know me and establishing a comfortable working dynamic. Now that I’d been here almost a week, I had a routine in place.
When I started the angel investment company with Simon after leaving Wall Street, I discovered early on that coming into an already established company was a delicate process. Feathers were easily ruffled when a new guy showed up and started throwing his weight around. It didn’t matter if my experience in business made my ideas valuable. It didn’t even matter that I invested a significant amount of money into the business.
People were touchy about strangers bossing them around, so I learned that it was best to spend a few days observing how things ran and working closely with the CEO to make it clear that this was a collaborative effort and that I wasn’t just some rich asshole coming in to take over. This was a partnership, not a takeover.
Most everyone seemed more relaxed around me now. While learning how things operated and were managed across the company, I was particularly impressed with how Samuel ran things at GalvaTech. He was hands-on without being overbearing. He checked in with each department regularly but also trusted his executives and managers to run things as needed. He delegated responsibilities in a way that made people feel supported instead of micromanaged.
He was a down-to-earth guy that cared about his company in a way that only a man that built it from the ground up could. It was clear to me that the success of this company meant the world to him because it was his legacy, and that feeling was reflected among his children.
His stepson, Parker, was vital to the company. I quickly realized that he didn’t just design the new product. He oversaw the research and development department and managed technology infrastructure. By all accounts, the man was a computer genius.
Morgan was the marketing director for the company, and even just a cursory review of her department told me that she was damn good at her job. She’d taken GalvaTech from a mid-level name to a recognizable brand in a few short years. She had a passion for this work that was obvious without even having to talk to her.
Which was convenient, considering how she’d avoided me completely.
After our awkward conversation when I was setting up my new office, I knew that keeping things professional with her wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as she made it sound that morning. She talked about our night together as if it didn’t matter, and I figured I had that coming for sneaking out, but I also knew it was best to put it behind us so that my investment and her family’s company could be our focus.
But telling myself that and actually doing it? Two very different things.
I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the night we slept together, and it was all because of her. Morgan was too damn tempting in her pencil skirts and high heels that did amazing things for her ass.
Not that I was staring at it. Nope, not at all. Especially not when I was in a meeting with her father and she walked by the conference room. That would be incredibly unprofessional.