Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“You okay?” He asks. I snap to attention and realize I’ve been daydreaming.
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just weird being in this position. But I really do appreciate everything you’re doing for me Mick.”
He laughs. It’s such a good laugh, deep and expansive and it twists something in the vicinity of my chest. “I mean Mr. O’Halloran.”
“Mick is fine, Kate.”
“You can call me Katie,” I say. I have to start thinking before words come out of my mouth, because this shit is embarrassing.
“Are you sure? You said in the interview it’s Kate now.”
“It is. Professionally.”
“Well, you’re at the office and I’m your boss. I’m not sure how much more professional it gets.”
“I know I’m at work,” I say, “but Rory still calls me Katie. You might as well.”
“I’m not your brother,” he says, and his deep voice feels warm and crackly when he says it.
“I know that too. Is this a memory test? I may be a nepo hire but I know who you are and where I’m at,” I roll my eyes at him. He is trying not to crack a smile but his eyes, those icy blue eyes I’ve always found so captivating are sparkling a little with amusement.
“You always did have a smart mouth on you,” he says.
“And you always thought you were hot shit,” I say in a low voice, grinning in spite of myself.
“Because I was,” he says matter-of-factly.
I can’t help but laugh. Wishing I could stand here and talk to him all day, I realize I might be sliding into dangerous territory. “Well, you’ve probably got some big meeting here and I’m keeping you from it.”
“They’ll wait for me,” he says nonchalantly.
He’s funny and sexy and I feel my cheeks heat. I probably have banners of feverish bright pink on my face right now. Flustered, I swallow hard. He’s crowding me. He smells amazing and the heat coming off his body is like being too close to the fireplace in winter. I stand there dumbly, unable to form another coherent thought.
“I can take a hint. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“I don’t want my boss thinking I stand around talking all day,” I say.
I sit back down at my computer, aware that he’s standing nearby and watching me. I sit poker-straight and log in to my workstation. After a minute he walks away and I watch him from the corner of my eye, those broad shoulders and that commanding stride.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and get back to work.
7
MICKEY
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter under my breath.
“What’s that?” My bodyguard perks up.
I shake my head.
“Just got a message. I have to make a call.”
When I stand up, everyone else in the board room stands out of respect. I step out of the room and press ‘call’ instead of replying to the text message. My chief accountant’s wife answers on the first ring.
“Mr. O’Halloran. It’s so good of you to call,” she says. Her voice is shaky.
“How’s he doing?”
“I don’t know. I just followed the ambulance here and texted you when I parked.”
“Where’s here?”
“They took him to Beth Israel,” she falters.
“You want him at Mass General?” I demand.
“Well, I would’ve but they didn’t ask. They just pushed me aside. I tried to tell them who his cardiologist was—”
“Let me make a call. I’ll get him transferred.”
“Oh, no. I’m sure this is fine. It’s just not what we’re used to.”
“Is your daughter on her way?”
“She’ll be here in about an hour. She offered to stay on the phone while she drives, but I don’t want her distracted in traffic—” she breaks off.
“You have what you need right now?”
“I have my purse and my rosary.”
“Somebody’ll be out there in ten minutes to check on you to make sure they’re taking care of him and you,” I assure her.
“Thank you, Mr. O’Halloran,” she sniffs.
It takes me all of two minutes to dispatch two of my staff to Beth Israel to meet up with my accountant’s wife. They’ll have Ben transferred to a private room at Mass General as soon as he’s stabilized.
Half an hour later I get a message that it’s handled. Benny’s got an ICU bed waiting for him at Mass Gen and the daughter will meet them there. Jack will drive the wife to other hospital while Nicki goes to her house to pick up a few things the lady thinks she might need.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a breath.
My chief accountant is in ICU and I need a replacement. It looks like little Mary Katherine Donahue is up to bat. She can fill in for a few weeks. It’s office work. She won’t be at any risk so Rory can’t object, at least not on those grounds. If he had any idea the way I think about his sister, he’d have a reason to protest.