Page 22 of Worth Every Penny

“Not in the office, Mr. Hawkston.” Her lips curve as if she’s delighted with herself at having dared to correct me.

I bow my head in apology. “Where then, Miss Lansen?”

Kate’s eyes widen.

Fuck.Did that sound suggestive? I meant to say something respectful, but apparently my brain-to-mouth connection is faulty. My imagination, however, is working perfectly to create a list of alternative locations, all of which are lewd as fuck.

Kate doesn’t move. Is she waiting for me to explain myself? I don’t know whether to apologise or pretend I never said it, so I say nothing. I keep my expression neutral and stare at her, and she stares back.

My pulse beats in my neck like the repeated thwack of a blunt guillotine.

I have no idea how long we stand like that, or if we’re standing too close. She’s warping my perception of time and space. Everyone in the building could be staring at me right now, and I wouldn't have a clue. Wouldn’t even care.

All of a sudden, Kate turns and marches towards the lifts without another word.

8

KATE

Where then?

The resonance of his voice rings over and over in my head. What did he mean by it? The unreadable expression on Nico’s face gave nothing away. Did he mean it to be as…suggestiveas it sounded?

I’ve thought about him non-stop since Jack’s party and this morning I was so distracted by the strain of his muscles beneath his shirt that,of course,I took his words that way. I walked away from him like a stroppy teenager, and it’s possible he didn’t mean it like that at all.

But I had to get out of his general vicinity. The way he was looking at me…fuck. I don’t know if he does it on purpose, but there’s a raw sexuality about him, like he wears his sex drive on the outside. My entire body heated just being near him. Any longer and I’d have had sweat patches on my silk shirt.

“Big day, eh, Kate?” Jack’s voice pulls me back to the present moment. He’s leaning against the side of my desk, looking so comfortable you’d never know this was his first day in a new office.

I tilt my head.Yes.

Jack levers himself off my desk, props his hands on his hips, and looks around. “It’s an improvement on the little concrete block we leased,” he says. “Dad would have loved a building like this.”

I can’t disagree. The reception area downstairs is like a luxury hotel lobby. The ceiling must be twenty feet high, and the external walls are all glass.

My desk phone rings unexpectedly. I jump in my seat and the boy opposite, a pimply teenager with a shaved head whom I discovered earlier is Matt Hawkston’s son, Charlie, snorts in amusement. I scowl at him as I lift the handset. Jack is quietly chuckling too and raises a hand in a silent wave as he saunters back to his side of the office. I watch him go, noting the way the women steal glances at him. I roll my eyes and grip the phone.

“Hello, Kate Lansen speaking.”

“Miss Lansen, this is Victoria. Mr. Hawkston’s PA. He’s requested a meeting with you. It’s off-site. A car will pick you up outside reception in fifteen minutes. He’s instructed that you don’t eat anything beforehand.”

She hangs up before I can ask any of the questions that are running wild in my head. Off-site? Don’t eat anything? Which Mr. Hawkston? It’s unlikely to be Seb, seeing as we’ve had no dealings yet, and Charlie’s already told me his dad left for the States this morning. Shemustmean Nico. Springing an off-site meeting on me out of nowhere is just his style. His way of taking control and keeping me on the back-foot.

Nerves flutter in my stomach. I tell myself it’s because I’m annoyed at the brusque, impersonal invitation, and the presumption that I’ll drop everything for him.

I guess I have to go. Lansen Luxury Hotels might have been swallowed up by Hawkston, but keeping this job is the only wayI can hold on to my spa project. And that’s my little slice of Dad’s legacy.

I step out onto the street, where a sleek, black car is waiting.

The flutter of nerves in my stomach has become a horrid, bubbling sensation in my gut. I don’t like surprises. This whole scenario has my anxiety sky-rocketing.

“Miss Lansen?” the chauffeur asks.

I give him a nod and he opens the door for me. Is Nico already inside? I suck in a breath as I go to get in and exhale with relief when I see the car is empty. He’s not here.

I straighten again and eye the driver. “Where are we going?”

“It’s confidential. I’m under instruction not to tell you.”

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