No dating! No kissing! And definitely no…other things!
She hated the way she felt when he looked down at her. It was almost as if he could read her mind and those firm lips actually broadened into a grin as her mind raced frantically to inappropriate thoughts. That heart-racing, tummy-tightening, mind numbing feeling made her want to sprint out of the office, to hide somewhere safe. Some place where his striking eyes couldn’t make her feel as if he were looking at her naked. And liking what he saw!
Todd was still talking about her accomplishments and Sierra finally was able to tear her eyes away from the new guy and focus on what her boss was saying. “Take a look at that file and you’ll get an idea of what she can do. I think she’s definitely the person you’re looking for that could add a great deal of value to the projects you’re considering.”
Sierra looked at her boss, a man she’d respected intensely for years. He’d mentored her through some complex work and given her more opportunities than she would have received if she’d gone with any other firm. But why was he asking her to show this man her work? Not this man. Anyone but this particular man.
Memories of him lying in a hospital bed, his body broken and bruised because of her father’s cruelty, came rushing through her mind. If Drake Harrison ever found out that she was related to the man who had almost killed him, who had actually left him for dead, he would hate her with an intensity that didn’t bear considering.
Everything was so confusing! She didn’t like the many paths her mind kept jumping onto. She didn’t understand and confusion was difficult to deal with. Add in her emotional reaction as well as the physical response and she was just all over the place mentally!
Deciding to ask a few questions that might give her fried brain some much needed answers, she cleared her throat and squeezed her “frustration ball” behind her back. “I’m sorry,” she interrupted as smoothly as possible under the circumstances. “But what’s going on?” she asked, glancing nervously between her boss and the man who justifiably should hate her.
Drake raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was asking that question. An e-mail had gone out to all employees informing them of the acquisition this morning. He and Todd had been wandering the hallways, going from office to office, meeting each person, answering questions and generally just being visible in order to reassure everyone that things wouldn’t change with the new management.
Todd chuckled, obviously understanding the situation. “You have that big presentation this morning, don’t you?” He’d worked with Sierra for too long not to see the signs. “Did you even go home last night?” he asked, wondering if she’d spent the night working on the details in order to perfect any issues she’d perceived in her work. She’d done it before and he’d admonished her for it, but Sierra was one of those employees that took on a challenge and didn’t stop until she’d corrected any issues. Her dedication was one of the reasons clients asked for her so often.
Sierra squeezed the ball behind her once again, knowing that with each squeeze, the ball’s “eyes” would bug out, keeping hers from doing the same. “Yes,” she replied as if she didn’t understand how the two questions were related.
Todd smiled patiently. “This is Drake Harrison. He’s took over the firm as of last night at midnight. You would know that if you’d taken the time to read your e-mail this morning before you dove into your work.” Todd looked at her over the top of his glasses, his message both amused because he knew that she’d probably put in too many hours of overtime recently, and slightly admonishing because he’d told her several times over the years to check her e-mail every morning before she became too absorbed in her work. “Everyone was informed about three hours ago. There’s a big luncheon in the main conference room in two hours to get to know Mr. Harrison better. Will you be there?”
Sierra was about to decline, not wanting to be around when the extremely tall, now-healthy and somewhat terrifying Drake Harrison decided to do his meet and greet. The less time she was around him, the less chance he had of recognizing her and the less time she had to experience this disconcerting reaction her body had to his nearness.
She looked from Todd to the stranger who really wasn’t a stranger, wanting desperately to hide somewhere.
“Um…I wasn’t…”
Drake could see where this was going and he wasn’t going to let her off the hook. She was fascinating, he thought while he watched the expressions change on her lovely features as she tried to get out of the meeting. “She’ll be there,” he contradicted before she could even decline the invitation.
She blinked and looked up at the man’s blue eyes. “I will?”
She took a deep breath, trying to remember that she should be thrilled that Mr. Harrison was so vital and healthy. He’d come such a long way and he’d been laid low by some cruel men but had persevered. In her mind, she knew she should be celebrating his health.
Unfortunately, confronted by him now with that arrogance on his handsome features, and with him standing here telling her what she was going to do when he clearly knew that she didn’t want to attend the luncheon, something snapped inside of her.
She turned to fully face him, her eyebrows going up in inquiry. “I didn’t know I was going to attend. What time was I going to attend?”
Todd started to interject but Drake stepped forward, looking down at her and doing his best to intimidate her. “You’re going to be there at noon, just like the message stated.” He waited a long moment, daring her to ignore the summons.
Sierra kept her mouth shut. Her initial reaction was to tell him to go to hell. But Todd had just explained that this was her new boss. Telling off one’s boss in the first two minutes after meeting him would be a pretty bad career move. But she couldn’t simply accept his summons meekly. That simply wasn’t in her coding.
She actually squirmed slightly under his steady, challenging gaze. Was he daring her for some reason? She tried to look meek and mild but it irked her too deeply that he was doing this to her.
If only she hadn’t felt the heat in his hand when he’d touched her a moment ago. If only he hadn’t felt that shiver go through her whole body as he’d looked down at her.
“I really need to get these plans finalized for a meeting in thirty minutes,” she replied, not committing to being at the lunch but not blatantly ignoring the summons either. At least not in his presence.