Page 4 of The Husband Contract
“Oh?” I cut him off and give him a pleasant smile. “HR told me that?—”
“HR?” He frowns. “That’s not how we do it here, Ms. Monty.”
“Montgomery.”
“There are some members waiting,” he snaps. “Go and help them.”
“But you haven’t shown me what?—”
“You want the tips, you do the work.” And with that, he’s gone, and my heart races like crazy. This is not the ideal start to my first day at the job. Not at all.
I look to the front of the stand and see six men standing there, each one more handsome than the next. They all look rich and powerful, and suddenly, I feel out of my element. I rub my palms on my slacks and take a deep breath as I make my way to greet the men. I’m a coat hanger, not a supervisor at the IRS. I should be able to do this job easily.
“Welcome to the Magnolia Club. I’m Willow. May I take your coats?” I stop and smile at the men, but none of them make eye contact with me as they slide their coats off. I frown and clear my throat.
“Sebastian, I’m telling you, Nividia is going to slide soon. It can’t keep?—”
“Keep dreaming, Jack.” The most handsome of the men laughs, and I watch as he runs his fingers through his tousled, silky black hair. His eyes are a dark brown, and his skin is a glowing olive tan. He is absolutely gorgeous, and I can tell by the way his well-tailored navy suit fits his body that he is all muscle. Absolutely delicious, but I am not here to ogle hot men. Especially not hot men who are ignoring me.
“Hi, can I take your coat?” I say, once again being ignored. I’m starting to feel annoyed now. It’s not like I expected all of them to stop what they were doing and gazeat me as if I were the most beautiful woman in the world, but I hate feeling invisible. “I’m about to take my bra off,” I say to see if any of these men are listening. “And my panties,” I add for effect, but they are still discussing stocks and some type of liquor I’ve never heard of. This is one of the reasons why I dislike big cities: the people are rude. In Whispering Haven, the locals are always nice and friendly. Many will gossip about you after you leave a room, but at least they acknowledge your presence.
“I heard that Johnson called for MHT’s stock to be split next week.” A blond man with a crisp white shirt and sparkling blue eyes pulls off his coat, and I watch as he pulls out a thick wallet and slides it into his pocket.
“I’m going to split if no one hands me a coat in the next ten seconds,” I mumble. “Especially if grumpy Norman comes back and sees me just standing here.”
“Grumpy who?” The tall man with dark hair finally gazes my way, his lips thin as he blinks at me. His brown eyes gaze at me for a moment, and I look down quickly so he doesn’t notice my blush. That’s the problem with being fair-skinned. My every flush is apparent right away. Thankfully, he doesn’t press it and instead looks at his very expensive-looking watch and frowns. “We should get to the table. Pierre has the cigars I ordered, and I wanted to see if Magnus has the?—”
“We’re in company.” The blond man nods toward me, and I now finally have the attention of all the men in this group. I’m curious as to what Magnus was supposed to say or do. Obviously something big, if they don’t want me to hear about it. “Hello.” The blond steps forward and hands me his jacket. “You’re new here?”
“Yes.” I smile. “I, umm, I’m Willow. It’s my first day.”
“Nice to meet you, Willow. I’m Levi.” He hands me his long, dark gray peacock coat. I take it from him and grab ahanger, then go to one of the rails behind me and look for some numbers, but I don’t see any. I decide to take all the coats first and then worry about the numbers.
The next man steps up and hands me a luxurious black leather jacket. He has dark hair and the most vivid green eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. For a few moments, my heart races as he smirks at me.
“I’m Flynn.” He grins. “If you’re wondering.”
“Willow.” I smile and watch as he steps back. If Katherine and Brielle were here, they would be getting their flirt on. I can’t wait to tell them about this group of men. We don’t come across hotties like this at our day job, at Whispering Haven Bed and Breakfast.
“This is Santiago, and that’s Nate.” He points at the next two men, who look richer than Hades. They both nod at me and hand me their coats. Then steps up the hunk that was talking about Nividia. His turquoise eyes blow me away, and as I stare at him, I realize that he looks familiar.
“Jack Heathcliff.” He grunts as he hands me his coat. Not the most friendly man I’ve met in the world, but it’s not like I’m here to be his friend. Then steps up the last man. The one I think is the best looking of the bunch, which is saying a lot. He’s the sort of man that makes you think of sinful nights on silky sheets and ruffled hair and rolling around on fluffy rugs.
Or maybe that’s just me. Because I’m a bit of a romantic and a bit horny because I haven’t had sex in years. That might change soon if my online date goes well with Clark—though his photos have nothing on this sexy man. I bet he’s not on any dating apps.
“Hi.” My voice sounds like a mouse’s squeak, and I want to groan. “Hello,” I say again and wait for him to respond.
“Hello,” he answers in response, his brown eyes intenseas he hands me his jacket. I’m waiting for him to tell me his name so I can rush to the restroom and google him on my phone and find out everything I can about him. Not that it is going to mean anything, but I’m curious to know more about him.
“I’m Willow. I’m new.” I grin at him, tilting my head to the side in the way Brielle taught me to do if I was trying to flirt. All of a sudden, I’m wishing that my hair were down and I had on a nicer top. A low-cut top that showed off my cleavage. I want to see a twinkle in his eyes.
Ugh, I sound and feel pathetic.
“Get a grip, Willow.” Too late, I realize I’ve said the words out loud and not in my head.
“Excuse me, what?” He takes a step closer to me, and our fingers brush against each other as I take his jacket.
“Nothing.” I smile. “My name is Willow Montgomery. I’m single and ready to mingle.” Kill me now. He doesn’t even smile in response.
