Page 24 of Hers to Love
Well, she couldn’t lie. She couldn’t call him an ogre to kill her attraction. That would never work. What could she do? How could she distract herself when he was around all the time?
She looked up at the knock on her door. Thankfully, it wasn’t Marshall.
“Hey there.” A dark-haired man with a slick smile leaned against her doorframe like he owned the space. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jarod.”
No.Another man would not be a good distraction.
Chapter 11
Marshall was exhausted. He hardly slept the night before and hit the gym at four a.m. to kill himself for two hours in hopes of clearing his head. When that didn’t work, he got into the office at six-thirty to lose himself in work.
Still couldn’t stop thinking about Kornelia and that mouth of hers. It begged to be tamed and his lips itched to crush hers.
He was in big trouble.
Just keep things professional for the next two and a half months and she’ll be out of your life.
Ten long, agonizing weeks of watching that gorgeous creature walk in and out of his office smelling amazing and wearing curve-hugging dresses that tempted him to touch her, her sweet smile capturing all of his attention.
He should just resign right now because there was no way this situation wasn’t going to end with Kori in his arms. He’d thought he would never find another woman who could make his heart beat as wildly as his had last night. The urge to provide and protect hadn’t been this strong in a long time. After Sabrina’s mother, he didn’t want to feel like this.
Boy, had he missed it.
But it was too soon. Seeing the therapist had convinced him that he had things to work through. Trust issues. A loss of drive.
Well, he had the drive part back. Kori had made sure of it. He was working hard either because she made him or because he had to stop thinking about her.
Strangely enough, he trusted her. Believed her. So why was he fighting this?
Oh, yeah. The board. His job.
Her own lawsuit.
How would it look if she had to show up in court and admit that she was in a relationship with her new boss?
Whoa. Relationship?
Where had that come from? Marshall pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on fast and strong. He hadn’t even kissed her, and now, in his mind, he was in a relationship with her. No way she’d want him. Not only was he old, but he was crazyandold.
Not a good combination.
“Are you listening to us, Marshall?” Perry asked, perturbed. “I know this meeting has been coming for weeks, but all the board members are here now and we’d appreciate your attention.”
Marshall let his hand drop, his gaze scanning the conference room. Members of the board assessed him with curios looks. He nodded. “I apologize. Was up early, and I’m getting headache.”
“Still drinking?” another member asked.
Marshall gave him an even stare. “As fate would have it, your assistant told me you were looking for a new liquor cabinet, and I delivered mine to your office. I don’t need it anymore.”
The member grunted and looked away.
“We mean it, Marshall,” Perry said. “You’ve put us in a tight situation giving her a raise. If we fire her now, it might look like we didn’t have sufficient cause.”
Exactly.Marshall wasn’t an idiot. Kori did deserve a bump in pay; it was serendipitous that the board wanted her gone and hadn’t fired her yet.
And now they couldn’t. He was one step ahead of them in that department at least.
And that’s why I’m the CEO.
