Page 40 of Mid-Thirties Slightly Hot Mess Female Seeking Billionaire

"Never heard of him." I think for a moment as my brain processes the name she just told me. "Wait, isn’t your last name Kahan, as well? Is he, like, a relative of yours or something?"

"No, I wish. And yes, that is my last name. Good memory."

"I like to think my memory is pretty good. So, there’s a young man with the same last name as you. I mean, I’m guessing young, he could be old."

"He’s young," she says. "He’s, like, twenty-seven, I think. Anyway, he has a beautiful voice. Mainly folk-rock, bluesy songs. He’s this indie artist, and I just love him, and we have a very similar style."

"Could you play one of your songs for me?" I ask her, wanting to hear an original. I surprise myself by asking because I normally don’t have patience for people who wish to show me their random skills.

"Oh, no, no, no," she shakes her head quickly, "I am not talented. There’s no way."

"But you will play the jingle you created for me?"

"I mean, sure, I’ll play part of the jingle that I thought up. It’s not great or anything, because I didn’t know, really, anything about what you wanted. I figured you would give me more of a brief in our first official meeting." She smiles sweetly. "But if you have a guitar you can lend me, I will play you what I’ve come up with, so far."

"Let me get a guitar for you," I say as I head out of the study toward my bedroom. "I’ll be right back!" I shout as I jog down the corridor. I open the door, and for a few moments, I consider calling her to follow me. I stare at my welcoming bed and how badly I want to see her on it, but I don’t want to make her feel like I invited her over for one purpose and one purpose alone.

If I’m being honest with myself, I would love to kiss her. I would love to touch her. I would love to be with her. I want to look down into her eyes, brightly shining up at me from the bed. And then kiss and devour her. But I cannot let her know this. I cannot let her know that I want her. That would be highly inappropriate and unprofessional and go against everything I stand for as the CEO of Rosser International. I cannot be a hypocrite. I can’t tell employees that there’s a no-fraternization policy at the company and then hook up with one of my employees. Technically, I can because I’m a CEO, and I make the rules and can break them if I want.

Would she even want to hook up? And if she did, how would she feel at the end of our time together? Would we be able to interact afterward?Stop thinking about it, I lecture myself. It’s never going to happen. I sigh as I open my custom cabinet and grab one of my Fender acoustic guitars. I hold it to me, and then pick up one of my other guitars. If the jingle she’s created is simple enough, I might be able to play along with her. I carry both guitars back to the studio and stand at the door, watching her. She’s looking out of the floor-to-ceiling window and staring outside. It is a beautiful view. And it’s a nice day.

That’s one thing I have in every office that I work in. A great view. It’s the only way I can stay and live in the city. Sometimes, my mind drifts, and I like to think, and I’m always motivated and inspired by looking at the skyline. Sometimes, I think I should move to Seattle or Portland and be able to look out at the trees and mountains. What further inspiration would come from being in nature? Maybe one of these days I’ll do it, but not anytime soon.

"Hey! I have the guitars," I say as I finally walk into the room. She turns back to look at me with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks," she says. She’s got on her big, wide glasses, and her hair is in a loose bun again, but I see past that. All I can see are her delicate features and her friendly eyes. Her generous smile. She is light, happy, and full of goodness—she’s beautiful. She is absolutely beautiful. Whether her hair is up or down and whether or not she has glasses on. I can’t believe I haven’t noticed it before. She appears timid as she comes toward me. Does she know I’m thinking of pulling that hairband out and taking off her clothes?

"Two guitars? I’m guessing, one for you?"

"I figure if the tune is easy enough, I’ll strum along, if you don’t mind."

"Oh, it’s plenty easy," she says eagerly. "Very, very easy."

She takes the proffered guitar and takes a seat on one of the black leather chairs. I sit in the chair next to her and look over at her.

"So, what chord are you thinking?"

"For the jingle or for Rosser Home Goods?" she asks.

"Well, I just told you about Rosser Home Goods, so I’d be shocked if you had anything prepared for that."

"Oh, I actually came up with something just now," she says, laughing and throwing her hair back. She strums the C chord and then makes some adjustments to tune the guitar.

"Sorry," I apologize for the sound. "I haven’t played it in a while."

"No worries, I can tune yours, as well, if you want me to."

"I normally use an electric tuner that I left in my room, so I would be grateful."

"Of course," she says. She gets to work tuning her guitar, then places it at the side of her chair and takes the guitar from me.As she takes my guitar, our fingers touch and I feel a frisson of electricity pass between us. I know she feels it, as well, because she gasps slightly, and her lips part. I try not to stare at the pinkness of her plump lips. I try not to breathe in her heady, fragrant scent. I’m not sure how much longer I can ignore how she’s making me feel.

"So… We can start with the jingle," she says, strumming some more notes, "because that’s probably more pressing, right?"

"Yeah, it is. I think Lord Chambers would be delighted to hear something very soon."

"When you say very soon, how soon do you mean?" she asks.

"I mean, within the next couple of days."

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