Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Because she was rapidly running out of money.
I’d fucking told her for the last fifteen years that she needed to slow down, that she needed to invest more and liquidate less. She’d pinched my cheek, tutted, and donated a couple million to rebuild the children’s wing of the local hospital. I’d half expected she’d pass away before she actually spent all the money, but she appeared to still be going strong. The money, on the other hand, was not. And now I was going to have to tell her she couldn’t afford her annual Christmas ball.
I couldn’t do it here, though. I’d take her to lunch wherever her favorite place was. Then, as soon as she took her first bite, I’d lay it all out for her. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but if we moved quickly, I’d get her deposit back for the ballroom and we could start figuring out a long-term plan. Something that would keep her in the home she and her husband had bought almost fifty years ago now. Something that would keep a skeleton staff of house managers and medical professionals around her. And maybe she’d even have enough left over to do one of those adopt-a-kid-for-Christmas angel trees.
Maybe.
By the time I managed to get Mrs. Kloss out of my office, I was twenty minutes late for Selena’s last interview. I rushed to the conference room, but I stopped at the door. No one would bat an eye at my coming in late. It was my damn company after all, but I had the feeling that my unexpected arrival halfway through might throw her off her game.
Reverse nepotism, Albert had called it. I ground my teeth. I didn’t want to do Selena any favors, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to do her a disservice either. Reluctantly, I went back down to my office and sent Albert an email.
Something came up. If Selena Sinclair is the hire, send her down to me after the interview.
Then I got wrapped up in work and forgot about everything else. Mrs. Kloss. Selena. The interview. I’d always been able to do that–focus my attention on something so closely that everything else disappeared. It was the secret to my success, a gift and a curse. It had built my empire and alienated plenty of people. Mostly women who didn’t understand how I could have forgotten to meet them for dinner when we’d just talked about it that morning.
I don’t know how much time passed. Enough that my stomach began to rumble, letting me know that lunch had been a while ago. Enough that the muscles around my neck began to bunch up. I might have been able to ignore those distractions, but suddenly, Mrs. Flannigan was at my door.
“Sir, the new hire is here.”
I looked up, still lost in the fog of numbers I was running in my head. They danced like static between me and Mrs. Flannigan’s face. Then she stepped aside, and everything dropped away as Selena Sinclair stepped into my office.
She’d been a cute college girl when I’d met her. Nothing that I found interesting. Now, four years later, she was fucking stunning. Golden brown hair nearly the exact same color as her wide eyes that looked at me directly from under high, arched brows, set in a face so beautiful that she should have been looking at me from a billboard or a movie screen. Not here in my damn office.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. White,” she said, her lips curving into a tremulous smile. “I’m so excited to be joining your company.”
I stood up automatically and held out my hand, but even as I welcomed her, a warning voice sounded in my head. This is a big fucking mistake.
Somehow, someway, I was going to have to get rid of Selena Sinclair.
4
SELENA
Dominic White looked exactly like I remembered. Tall, intimidating, devastatingly handsome in a way that chilled me to the bone. He had a deep frown on his face when Mrs. Flannigan opened the door to his office, and it only deepened when he looked up at us.
“Welcome to the company,” he said, stretching to his full height that made me feel child-sized, even in my best three-inch heels. He held out his hand, his face still a grim mask that didn’t match his welcoming words. His voice didn’t match them either. He could have been saying get the hell out in that exact tone and it would have made more sense.
“Thank you.” My voice seemed too high, too bright. I cleared my throat and tried to sound normal. “I really appreciate the opportunity.”
“I only got you an interview,” Dominic said brusquely. He let go of my hand but remained standing, remained frowning. “You had to earn the offer letter, and you’ll have to earn your place here.”