Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Mass production is well underway,” he continued as we pushed through the restaurant doors and stepped into the midday sun. “The sales team has split their focus between email campaigns and press kits. Social media is developing a strategy to build awareness before release.”
“Good.” I slipped my wallet into my jacket pocket. “I’m glad everything’s finally coming together.”
There was a time, just a couple of months ago, when GalvaTech had looked like a disaster waiting to happen. The company’s Chief Technology Officer, the man who’d developed the original prototype, had been embezzling funds to feed a hidden drug problem. That kind of scandal could have voided our contract entirely, but Liam insisted on sticking with them. He’d pushed to invest even more money to cover the losses. Partly because he believed in the company and the product. But mostly because of Morgan. She was head of marketing at GalvaTech, which her father owned. And that CTO who’d nearly torpedoed everything? Her stepbrother.
Liam had broken a cardinal rule of business: he’d fallen in love with a client. So naturally, he wanted to help her family. I wasn’t attached to GalvaTech in the same way, but I wasn’t heartless, despite what some of my former assistants might claim. I’d agreed to the additional investment, betting that the new EV charger would generate enough return to justify the risk.
Based on Liam’s reports, that bet was looking solid. Which meant I could redirect my attention elsewhere.
“So,” Liam said as we crossed the parking lot toward our cars, a knowing glint entering his eyes, “how’s the new assistant working out?”
I kept my expression neutral. “She only just started this morning.”
“I know. Kurt’s sister, right?” He studied me with the kind of scrutiny only a sibling could manage. “I’m surprised you agreed to it. Hiring a friend’s family member seems like a recipe for complications, especially with your track record with assistants.”
I shot my brother a look, even though he wasn’t wrong. “It’s a ninety-day trial. We’ll see how she does.”
“That’s not an answer to my question.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting,” I said.
Liam laughed, shaking his head. “Come on. First impressions? Is she competent? Is she going to last longer than the parade of assistants you’ve burned through this year?”
Competent wasn’t the first word that came to mind when I thought about Raina Seager. Distracting was a closer descriptor. And very unexpected. The way she’d walked into my office this morning with that bright smile and those ridiculous cookies, talking a mile a minute while I tried not to notice the way her blue eyes sparkled when she was nervous.
Yeah, I’d noticed anyway.
“She seems capable,” I said, keeping my tone even. “Time will tell if she can actually handle the workload.”
“High praise, coming from you.” Liam’s tone was dry. “Try not to scare this one off in the first week, yeah?”
“I don’t scare people off.”
The look he gave me suggested he disagreed, but he let it drop. “I’ll be at GalvaTech for the rest of the week, but I’ll stop by the office on Friday. Maybe I’ll actually get to meet her before you find a reason to fire her.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re hilarious.”
We parted ways at our cars, and I drove back to the office with Liam’s words rattling around in my head. Try not to scare this one off.
The problem wasn’t scaring Raina off. The problem was the way my pulse had kicked up when she’d walked through my office door. The way I’d found myself cataloging details I had no business noticing—the exact shade of her blonde hair, the fullness of her lower lip, the way she’d bitten it when she was nervous.
Attraction would only lead to trouble. I knew that. I’d built my professional life on clean boundaries and compartmentalized thinking. Women I worked with were off-limits, full stop. I’d never even been tempted to blur those lines.
Until this morning.
Raina Seager was the first assistant to make me want things I absolutely could not have. Which meant I needed to shut it down. Bury whatever this was and focus on what mattered: determining whether she could actually do the job.
Nothing else was relevant.
I’d told Raina she could take lunch when I returned, so the office wouldn’t be left unattended. But when I stepped off the elevator, I found her still at her desk, a half-eaten sandwich beside her keyboard, her attention locked on the computer screen.
She didn’t notice me. I stopped in the hallway, telling myself I was just assessing her work ethic. Observing how she operated when she thought no one was watching. That was all.
But my gaze lingered longer than observation required.
In profile, her features were delicate—high cheekbones, a straight, narrow nose, a jaw that curved gracefully toward her chin. Her blue eyes were framed by long, dark lashes, and her blonde hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, catching the light from the windows.