Page 132 of Theirs to Take

“You okay?” Eli asked her.

“Um, yeah, why?” she asked.

“Because you seem a little bit nervous,” he said, nodding to the way that she was white knuckling her handbag.

“Oh, well, I am a bit nervous,” she admitted.

“I am too if it makes you feel any better. Don’t worry,” he said, “we’ll get through the first-day jitters together.”

“Thanks, Eli,” she whispered. His brother shot him a look and he wondered what that was all about. Honestly, it was the way that Evan usually looked at him—as though he was disappointed in everything that Eli did. He wanted to ask him what was going on, but he knew that now wasn’t the time or place. He was going to get through his first day on the job, and then he’d worry about not disappointing his brother later.

Mina

Mina Flores was sure that taking the job at McTavish Industries was a huge mistake. Sure, her best friend, and former neighbor, Carrie McTavish—well, now Carrie Kingston, was crazy to even offer her the chance, but she had. When she first met Carrie, she was fresh off the plane from Scotland, pregnant, and scared out of her mind. It didn’t help that she had her crazy ex-boyfriend hunting her down, all the way from Scotland, once he found out that she was carrying his baby. Meeting Evan Kingston was the best thing to ever happen to her friend, and now, Mina was going to work for his younger brother, Eli, as his assistant. She had zero experience at being anyone’s assistant and the thought of fetching the boss’s coffee made her want to gag. She had gone to college and foolishly dropped out after three years, not sure if she was on the right path or not. But now, all she wanted was to finish her degree in business management and hopefully aspire to be more than someone’s assistant. It was a good start for her, and it paid well, but she still wanted more.

As soon as she walked into McTavish Industries, the butterflies in her tummy started. She was nervous about seeingEli again if she was being honest. They were paired together at Evan and Carrie’s wedding, and she had to admit that dancing with him was no hardship. They spent the day together, as best man and maid of honor and she found herself smiling a whole lot more than she usually did, and that had everything to do with the groom’s very charming brother. She liked Eli and when the wedding was over, and he still hadn’t asked her for her number, she started to worry. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way about her. Hell, maybe he had a girlfriend or wife even, who couldn’t make it to the wedding. She just assumed that he was single, and now, she was getting herself all worked up over the same man again. But this time, he was going to be her boss and not just some guy that she was supposed to dance with at her best friend’s wedding. This time, she shouldn’t be wondering what he looked like naked or if he was a good kisser because she was pretty sure that HR would have some rules about that.

After the polite introductions were made, she tried to will herself to calm the hell down, but nothing seemed to be working. And God, when Eli dipped his head in the elevator to ask her if she was okay, she knew that she was a goner. He smelled as good as he had the day of the wedding. Of course, Mina lied and told him that she was just nervous, and hearing him admit that he has too melted her defenses a little bit. She needed to get herself under control if she was going to get through the rest of the day. The very last thing she needed was for HR to pick up on some vibe she was giving off about Eli. She had liked guys before and had to be around them as just friends. She’d find a way to do that again because she needed this job if she was going to save up the money necessary to go back to college and complete her degree.

She and Eli spent most of the morning in HR, filling out paperwork and watching some boring videos about company policies and rules, and regulations that she was already thinking about breaking by asking Eli out for drinks tonight. She was evencoming up with some stupid speech about needing to celebrate their first day at McTavish—but the problem still remained of her not knowing if he was single, and the only way that she’d be able to know was if she called and bothered her very pregnant best friend. Carrie would tell her for sure if she was about to make a fool of herself.

She ducked her head into Eli’s new office and found him unpacking a few boxes. “Hey, I’m going to take a coffee break,” she said. “Can I bring you back anything?”

“Nope,” he said. “I just had a cup. And by the way, you don’t have to tell me every time you’re leaving your desk.”

“Well, I’m going to be gone for about twenty minutes,” she said. “I didn’t want you to wonder where I was.”

“You’re allowed to take breaks, and I don’t need to know your location at every minute of the day. I don’t like to micromanage people,” he said.

“Thanks, Eli,” she breathed. “It’s just weird that we know each other and now, I’m working for you.”

“That should make things easier,” he insisted. “I mean, we already like each other, right?” She more than liked him, but there was no chance that she’d tell him that. Instead, she just nodded. “Okay then, we have a leg up on our working relationship then. I think us knowing each other is a good thing,” he said.

“I guess I just wasn’t looking at it that way,” she said. “I’ll be back in a flash,” she promised, turning to leave his office. As soon as she got into the elevator, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed Carrie’s number.

“Hey, how’s the first day going?” Carrie asked.

“Good,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like if one more person asks me how I feel, I’ll murder them,” Carrie grumbled, causing Mina to giggle.

“Sorry,” she said, “I’m at least smart enough to know not to ask if you’re still pregnant.” Carrie made it very clear after her eighth month that no one was allowed to even joke about that. Every time one of her relatives called from Scotland, they’d ask if she was still pregnant or if she’d finally had the baby. Carrie would assure them that if she had the baby, everyone back home would know it because her father would shout the news from the rooftops. Mina knew how much her friend hated waiting for anything and this baby was really trying her patience.

“Yeah, at least you’re smart enough not to ask me that question,” Carrie agreed. “So, why are you calling me when you should be working?” she asked, not missing a beat.

“Well, I’m on a coffee break and I thought that while I ride the elevator down to the cafeteria, I’d call you,” Mina said.

“Um, you do know that they have coffee machines on every floor, right?” Carrie asked. “Eli might even have one in his office.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she lied, “but, it is my first day. Plus, I wouldn’t want to bother Eli by traipsing into his office to get a cup of coffee.”

“Are you all right?” Carrie asked.

“Sure, why do you ask?” Mina lied. She was feeling more and more out of sorts with every passing hour. She wasn’t sure if just coming right out and asking Carrie about Eli’s dating status was a good idea or not, but she had nothing more to talk to her about and she was going to have to get back to her desk at some point.

“Fine,” Mina whispered more to herself than to Carrie. “I called to find out if Eli has a girlfriend or if he’s married or something,” she admitted. The doors to the elevator opened and she stepped out into the lobby of the building. She had missed her floor, and now, she was wondering if she was losing her damn mind.

“Crap, I’ve missed my floor,” she mumbled.

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