Page 4 of Hers to Love
Everyone told him not to hire her. To call the pilots directly and have them turn the plane around. Give her an early termination compensation package so she’d keep her mouth shut. Anything to keep her from setting foot in the company building.
Sure. And give the board another bullet to shoot him with? If he had done that,Sabrinawould’ve killed him. He was already overdue to have her come out to visit and couldn’t make one more misstep. She was like her mother in that sense. Always on top of every last detail.
The most annoying thing about his ex.
One of the most annoying things. Finding her in bed with someone else on their anniversary had topped the list by a long shot.
“You must be Mr. Buchanan.” Kori held out her hand. “I remember seeing you years ago at mine and Sabrina’s graduation.”
Still nothing. “Oh, yes! Ms. Kaye.” He didn’t remember Kori. He was half working during that event. But he didn’t miss it. He couldn’t say the same for the girl’s own mother.
He shook her hand. “I hope the flight wasn’t too rough. That’s one of the best private jets for that size. Glad to get it back here. I was thinking of taking a trip somewhere soon.” He took her rolling luggage and loaded it into the trunk.
Kori hung around. “Yes, it was really a smooth trip. I’m surprised I was able to sleep on the plane. I’m not usually able to do that.” She nervously chuckled.
“It’s called luxury.” He gestured toward the open back seat of the limo. “You get used to it.”
Kori shook her head and gave a disbelieving smile. “Oh, I don’t think I could ever get used to this much luxury. How do you handle it?” She slid into the car.
“As much as I can,” Marshall said and winked. After giving orders to the driver, Marshall settled back into the seat and finally let his eyes rest on Kori.
For a woman who was thirty and had worked for Brigham, she looked remarkably young. Dark brown, almond-shaped eyes. Full red lips that begged to be kissed, lipstick smudges be damned. Lovely brown skin the color of gingerbread.
And now he was hungry.
He cleared his throat and looked away, feeling weird. He was no stranger to lovely women in his company, but Kori…
She was barely older than Sabrina.
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“Huh?” He looked at her again, both enjoying and hating the view. Forget Brigham; Marshall would have to fire her just for being too distracting. He was jerk. It wasn’t her fault she was so beautiful.
“You’re frowning. You look…like you’re in pain.”
Pain was the opposite of what he was feeling—until guilt settled in. He forced a smile. “I’m fine. But thank you for asking.”
“Sir, thankyoufor giving me this job.” Her eyes held his, her voice full of gratitude. “It… I really needed it, and I’m so grateful that you were willing to take a chance on me. I know it’s last minute and I haven’t even interviewed, but I want you to know that I’m a hard worker, and I enjoy problem solving and working in a fast-paced, high-stress environment. I thrive in it, really.”
He snorted. “If you survived working with Brigham for five years, I’d say you have a seriously unhealthy relationship with it, and you should probably talk to someone about that.” He chuckled and then saw her frown and look away. He reached out and grazed her arm with his fingertips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She offered a small, closed-lip smile. “None taken. That was a…difficult environment.” Her grin spread to her ears and Marshall could tell she was forcing it a bit. “When Sabrina mentioned this job, you don’t how relieved I felt.”
“How long have you and Sabrina been friends?” That seemed like a safe subject.
“Since grad school. We were both pursuing business degrees then.”
“Right, right. In Denver, correct?”
“Yes! Being originally from Springfield, I didn’t know anyone and she grew up there. She played tour guide for me on a number of occasion and even taught me how to ski.”
Marshall smiled, picturing Sabrina on the slopes. She could out-ski him, and had done so on a number of occasions. The last time they took an advanced slope together, he almost died. Sabrina had laughed her head off—as did that tree that he had almost hit. It had taunted him as he almost unsuccessfully avoided it.
“Sabrina’s a great girl, and she’s really putting that business degree to work,” he said.
“Yes, she is. She paired it well with her bachelor’s. I’m really proud of her.”
“And you’ve worked in business for a few years now. You must be glad to have that degree under your belt.”
