Page 3 of Hers to Love
The man removed his shades, and he grinned. Kori recognized him at her and Sabrina’s graduation from grad school several years earlier. A man who looked a good ten years younger than his age. Italy had it’s perks.
Marshall Buchanan.
Chapter 2
So this is Kornelia Kaye.
Kori.
Marshall had to tell himself again that his step-daughter’s best friend went by her nickname.
And that he wasn’t to try anything stupid.
Stupid like fall for her.
Don’t even think about showing those dimples. That’s how you hooked my mom and that made a mess of everything,Sabrina had brutally reminded him over the phone yesterday.
She was right. His dimples got him into more trouble than they were worth. The only good thing that came out of marrying Sabrina’s mom was being a father figure to Sabrina. A reckless teenager by the time he had entered her life, she was now a well-adjusted woman. He liked to take a little credit for that.
And she was smart.
She had told him to steer clear of her mom and he didn’t listen.
He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
Marshall took a deep breath and put what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face to make Kori feel more comfortable about flying halfway across the world at a moment’s notice. He wondered how she had handled the news, but since she was here, that probably meant she’d taken it well. The young woman had just lost her job and desperately needed money for something Marshall couldn’t recall.
He did remember being somewhat inebriated when he said yes to Sabrina’s proposal to hire Kori as his new executive assistant. He wasn’t in a position to argue since all the ones he had interviewed in the last week hadn’t measured up to his standards. Things were slipping his mind and falling right off his calendar, so now he had no choice.
Annie just had to go and marry an Italian cover model and get herself pregnant. He wouldn’t be in this situation if she had had a little more consideration of his needs. He was the CEO, for crying out loud. He relied on her to keep him organized so he could focus on running the ship. Didn’t she know how valued she was?
Marshall swallowed a belch.
You’re not drinking again, are you?
Sabrina’s words nagged a him when he had to concentrate. Yet, he shouldn’t have had that drink on the way over. He wasn’t sure what Sabrina had told Kori about him, and first impressions went a long way. No sense in having this girl think he was too fond of drink before she even started working. She’d quit and would’ve lost no time but travel.
You sad o’d never be like your father.
Well, like father like son.He was a fool to think he could escape his heritage. Still, he had to convince Kori to stay and help him out of the impending mess he discovered the board was about to dump on him, and then she could leave once he found a more suitable replacement.
Her resume had been impressive—what he had actually read before he fell asleep. For the last five years, she had been the executive assistant for Brigham Noland, who was well known in the tech industry. Having once been in the army, Marshall considered that position a long-term deployment. The fact she had stayed for five years showed an incredible amount of dedication.
Or stupidity.
One of the two. He’d find out on the ride back to the hotel. Brigham was fast-becoming notorious for his wild behavior. Marshall didn’t care how much money the guy earned. He wouldn’t respect him. Brigham was a sloppy drunk; at least Marshall had the good sense to make it home before passing out.
But Kori had been fired. That he did hear about this morning when he asked his contacts for references. Whispers of a lawsuit. Allegations of misconduct. Couldn’t keep her hands off the boss. That didn’t sound like someone his daughter would call a best friend. And Brigham had a reputation of only dealing with models.
Kori…Kori…Kori…
Marshall racked his brain to remember this girl. Had he met her before? Probably, but he couldn’t remember what any of Sabrina’s friends looked like. Probably not a model or even he would’ve remembered.
Kori appeared on the staircase, her puffy hair moving like a thick wave in the wind. Marshall’s gaze drifted down the statuesque woman. She walked toward him confidently, her head held high. Her body was covered by a light jacket and a large bag she had slung over her arm, but her energy radiated across the distance between them, setting on fire the what little alcohol his system hadn’t digested, burning him into sobriety.
What a woman to let go.
Brigham was an idiot. Last Marshall had heard, Brigham was still single and on the hunt for the next top model.
