Page 9 of Say You Remember Me
“Your main responsibilities this week will be getting familiar with the company and meeting the other executives and associates,” I continued, grateful Maddie couldn’t read my mind and was simply jotting down notes for herself into a navy-blue notebook. “I’ll have my dad’s assistant show you the ropes on some of the administrative duties and how to access the various training videos if you haven’t already accessed them.” I paused, trying to remember if I was forgetting anything. When nothing else came to mind, I asked, “Do you have any questions for me?”
She pressed her pink lips together, her eyes going up and to the right as if she was mulling this over. Then she said, “I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Okay, great. Then I think that covers everything for now.”
“Okay, awesome,” she said, jotting one more thing in her notebook before closing it. “Are there any meetings I should plan on attending today?”
I pursed my lips as I tried to remember what my schedule looked like. “I have a couple of meetings this afternoon. I think I can handle the one with Branson Financial on my own. But I’ll definitely need you in my three o’clock meeting since there are a lot of moving parts that I’ll need notes on.”
“I’ll be ready for that, then.”
She stood, and even though I knew she could let herself out of my office, I found myself standing as well, saying, “Here, I’ll walk you out.”
As I escorted her to the door, my eyes were drawn to the glass walls of my office. And when I looked at her desk just beyond theglass door, I realized just how perfectly the glass walls framed her desk.
Man, I really should’ve told Marsha to hire someone less stunning. Someone more like Rhonda, the sixty-something assistant who had just retired.
I really didn’t need to be distracted by a set of pretty blue eyes and a petite-yet-perfectly-curvy frame.
But no, every time I looked up, I’d see her there.
Hopefully, once the initial attraction had passed, I’d be able to focus on my work without the memory of our kiss floating to my mind every few seconds.
“I look forward to working with you, Miss Stevens,” I said, forcing formality into my tone as I extended my hand. Maybe using her last name would remind my brain to keep this strictly professional.
“I look forward to working with you, too,” she replied, her cheeks flushing the most alluring shade of pink as she slipped her hand into mine. And the moment our hands touched, a spark of electricity shot up my arm.
Static from the new carpet,I told myself. Definitely nothing to dwell on.
Maddie stepped out of my office a moment later, and I gave her a nod before closing the door behind her. I turned back to my desk, determined to focus, but my thoughts refused to cooperate. Instead, I found myself replaying that forbidden moment from Friday night.
The memory of that kiss rushed back—how she’d felt in my arms, the way her eyes had lingered on mine just before she walked away. There was something in her gaze that made me want to lean in again, despite everything.
Why was it that the first time I’d felt a spark with anyone in nearly a year, it had to be with my new assistant?
I sighed and shook my head. This was going to be a problem.
And it was probably bad that I couldn’t wait to see how it would unfold.
4
MADDIE
“Be good for Aunt Sloan today.”I leaned down to kiss Grant on the forehead, brushing his messy blond curls out of his eyes. “I’ll be back before dinner, okay?”
“Okay, Mom.” Grant, who was still nestled under his dinosaur blanket, grinned up at me, his eyes half-lidded with sleep. “Have a good day at work.”
“I will,” I promised, though part of me still couldn’t believe that I was actually heading to this job—a billionaire’s executive assistant. Since, after how I’d started things off, the fact that I was still employed felt like a minor miracle.
But now, in my second week, I was starting to find my rhythm.
Sure, I’d spent the first few days blushing like a schoolgirl every time Ian so much as glanced my way, but at least I hadn’t done anything too catastrophic.
Notagain, anyway.
Was I still slightly annoyed with Sloan for not giving me a heads-up that I’d hit on my boss before seeing him at work last Monday? Absolutely. But she claimed she didn’t realize who I was kissing at the club until it was too late—and after seeinghow thrilled I was after my epic kiss with a stranger, she hadn’t wanted to burst my bubble.
Could she have warned me the next Monday morning before I left for work? Definitely. But was I mad about having two whole days to fantasize about the handsome stranger I’d kissed? Not really. Daydreaming about being back in Ian’s arms at The Garden had been a pretty sweet escape while it lasted.
