Page 8 of Flirting with My Billionaire Enemy

Have I not been giving him enough stay-away vibes? Maybe I should work on my death glare. I don’t do office romances. But I do have to admit, he looked awfully good in the suit he was wearing today. It was distracting.

If I’m going to be working closely with him, I’m going to have to up my back-off game, be purposely cold and grouchy. That kind of stuff. Because every time I’m around him, I’m drawn to him even more. Why does he have to be so stinking attractive and charming? It would be easier if he had a dad bod or something. I could resist that. But Kaison is ripped. I felt his muscled body for myself when he caught me.

In an instant, I’m taken back to that moment in the club, and his arms are around me again. The music is thumping, the lights are low, and the only things that exist are me and him with that delicious-smelling cologne that probably costs a fortune. How many times am I going to relive that moment? It’s been on my mind all day.

Stop, Ariana! I can’t allow myself to fantasize about him, even if his lips look totally kissable. But as I brush my teeth and wash my face, I can’t help but feel a jolt of excitement at the thought that we’re going to be eating breakfast together.

This has never happened to me before. I don’t get crushes on men at work. But then again, there’s never been a guy who looked like Kaison at any of my past jobs.

And unless I turn into a prickly grump, I don’t know how to keep it from affecting me.

4

KAISON

Corey brings in the coffee and a box of blueberry mini muffins from my favorite bakery down the street. “Thank you, Corey.” He sets it on my desk and walks away just as Ariana appears in the doorway. “Good morning. Come on in. This one is your coffee.” I hand it to her. “Soy latte, right?”

“Yep.” I’m hoping to get a point for remembering correctly, but she just takes the coffee to the couch and settles down without even a smile or nod. “I emailed you a copy of the task list I plan to accomplish this week. I’ve included the information I’ll need from you before I can get started on the software.”

I open my laptop and pull up the email she’s referring to. Glancing over the top of my screen, I scope her out. She’s wearing black slacks, a matching blazer, and a black-and-white pinstripe blouse. Once again, she has her hair pulled back at the base of her head and large glasses perched on her nose. She’s all seriousness, with a calm, cool demeanor that says, “I’m only here to get this job done.”

But that doesn’t deter me. It only makes me want to charm her even more. And I’m up for a good challenge. I’m not used to women turning me down. Once they hear who my family is, they’re clamoring to get my attention.

“I have a mockup already put together of what the program could eventually look like.” Ariana pulls out her laptop and walks toward me. She smells clean, like some kind of girly soap instead of an expensive perfume. Setting her laptop in front of me on my desk, she leans forward, and my senses come alive at her close presence. My skin prickles, and heat pours over me.

She clicks on her touchpad, scrolling through the basic program she’d created.

“This is impressive.”

“That’s only the beginning. Just wait until I show you the next part.” She skips through a few steps, explaining the details of how everything works in a quick, excited voice that washes over me as I fight the urge to lean closer to her. It’s clear that she’s proud of her work, which is solid. I can see why Dad was so eager to bring her on. “Once I get the details from you, I can customize this to meet the company’s needs.”

“How long do you think that will take?” I ask, aware of her closeness. I have to fight to focus on what she’s saying because my brain wants to run away with images of her in my arms, me pulling her hair out of that tight bun, letting her locks settle around her shoulders.

She doesn’t seem to notice my distraction. “That’s the part that will take the longest. And then we have to go through testing to make sure everything works smoothly.”

“How did you get this mockup working so quickly?” I ask.

She steps back and straightens, and I’m painfully aware of the newly created distance between us. “I had this done before I got the job. It was basically my portfolio. I’m assuming they liked it because I was hired.” She’s still keeping her voice controlled and professional. Is she as affected by the closeness as I am? She doesn’t seem to be, which is mildly frustrating. This girl will be harder to charm than I anticipated. Is she mad at me for failing to recognize her at our meeting? I wouldn’t blame her. I’d made quite the fool of myself, and it’ll take a while to dig myself out of that one.

She’s still beautiful dressed this way, quiet and professional, which is appealing all on its own. She exudes strength and intelligence and doesn’t seem desperate to get my attention—all attractive traits.

She closes her laptop and tucks it beneath her arm.

There’s an awkward pause as we stare at each other for a minute. I can’t help but take her in. Despite her standoffish demeanor, she’s growing on me. “You’ll have to try one of the blueberry muffins,” I say to fill the space between us. I need a distraction or I’m going to keep staring at her and the awkwardness will just get worse. “They’re from this amazing bakery a couple of blocks away. It’s this older couple who runs it,” I ramble on. “Some of the nicest people you’ll meet. It’s rare for the city. This place reminds me of the bakery back in my hometown.”

“And where are you from?” she asks.

Her question catches me off guard. She wants to know something personal about me? That was the last thing I expected her to ask. “Blue Mountain.”

“Never heard of it,” she says.

“It’s in the north Georgia mountains. My parents still have the house I grew up in.” Well, one of the houses I grew up in—they own many—but I don’t want to tell her that and make things weirder than they already are.

“Isn’t that a drive for your dad to come out here from the mountains?”

Technically, he takes a helicopter, but I don’t bring that up. “He has a place in the city as well.” Two floors of a penthouse, but I don’t elaborate on that either.

“And do you go back to visit your family in Blue Mountain often?”

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