Page 5 of Flirting with the CEO

The man himself hadn't shown up yet. At lunch, I was almost ready to bet I wasn't going to see Colton Whitley at all today. And that was fine by me. After all, I was here for a year, and having a day or more to learn the ropes only helped me understand how to best help Mr. Whitley in his environment.

On the way in, I’d spotted a nice cozy restaurant by the water, and I wanted to take myself out on a lunch date. Before leaving, I checked my appearance in the bathroom mirror. My dark brown hair was a bit unruly today and unwilling to settle down. It had been a windy morning, and I actually kind of liked the wild look. I thought it suited me and somehow made my green eyes more prominent.

I was wearing a dark green dress today, which had long sleeves and a black leather belt. Over the years, people had hinted now and again that dresses were too feminine. But this was my style, and I didn't much care what others thought. At thirty-two, I completely embraced it. Besides, being feminine didn’t seem to get in the way of things, so why not follow my heart and sense of fashion? I could probably have gone with something more practical than stilettos, though. My feet were hurting already. But I wanted to make a good impression on my first day.

I returned to my office, grabbing my coat, then stopped for a minute just to look around my office. I loved it and decided I was going to send the HR manager a box of chocolates or something. I was 100 percent sure she'd had a hand in getting me my own office, and I could kiss her for it.

Just as I walked out and closed my door, I heard a booming voice.

"I don't have time for her today."

"Colton, really. You should meet her. It's her first day, and she’s here for you. You’ll like her. She’s very nice."

That was Sandra, the HR manager and my favorite person at Whitley Biotech. And the loud, angry voice apparently belonged to the one who'd become my least favorite person: Colton Whitley.

"I’ve got a full schedule today, and I don’t have time to be managed," he said.

"I've seen your schedule. But I'm sure you can arrange just five minutes of your time to meet her."

Footsteps approached, and then two figures rounded the corner.

This was Colton Whitley? That was impossible. I'd imagined someone shorter, for some reason, or maybe with a bit of a receding hairline. Someone older, for sure. After all, the man wasn't just a CEO but also a scientist.

That's what you get for holding a prejudice against scientists, Zoey. Now pick your jaw up from the floor.

Surely he couldn't be this good-looking. I’d googled him when I first got the assignment but couldn’t find pictures. HR gave me a packet that included his bio, it didn’t specify his age.

"I said no, Sandra," he boomed. Yep. The voice belonged to him. There was no mistaking it.

Fortunately, neither of them saw me. I wanted to catch him off guard and be the first to greet him.

I cleared my throat. "Mr. Whitley. I'm Zoey Thomas," I said, walking a few short steps toward him with my chin held high, as if I hadn't overheard their conversation. "Pleasure to finally meet you."

Sandra looked from me to Colton, then walked away with quick steps.

Great, even his own team is bolting. That isn't good.

He obnoxiously sized me up and down. What was that about? I decided to take a closer look too. I hadn't realized from a distance that his eyes were so blue. For a few seconds, I completely forgot what I was here to do, and that never happened to me. I was a professional.

"I was just going out for lunch and wondered if you’d like to join me," I continued.

"My schedule is full today,” he quickly answered, then added, "I hope my team made you feel welcome."

They did. Unlike you.

At least he'd realized he was a bit rude.

"See you around, Ms. Thomas," he said before going into his office and closing the door. Seconds later, I heard his voice again. He was on the phone.

All right, so at least he wasn't making up being busy. By the sound of it, this was a business call, so perhaps his schedulewaspacked. Still, his manners were atrocious. I gathered that he wasn't happy that I was going to be shadowing him for a year, but he could be more gracious about it. I’d never worked with someone who had such hostile manners as Colton Whitley... or someone who was as handsome. But that was beside the point. Looks didn't matter, not one bit.

Well... maybe they did, but I wasn't willing to admit that.

I hurried outside, determined to move forward with my lunch plans. I grabbed a burger from the restaurant and sat on a bench facing the water. No matter where I worked, I always tried to get outside every day for lunch, even if just for fifteen minutes. August was coming to an end, so we wouldn’t have sunny, warm days for much longer. Spending a bit of time in the sun filled me with a lot of energy for the afternoon.

My phone beeped just as I finished the burger. I smiled. It was my brother Alex. He knew it was my first day on this new project. I answered after swallowing my mouthful.

"Hey," I said.

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