“Can I help you?”
Mia knew she was staring, that the man with the gorgeous blue eyes was speaking to her, that she’d looked up after the collision but hadn’t backed away, so the foot or so between them was due to him retreating while she still hadn’t found her voice or her ability to move.
“Are you lost?”
“Uh… yeah,” she finally managed, snapping out of it. She took a giant step backward and ran her hand through her hair. It happened to be the hand her purse was swung over, so when she did that, it swung back and forth violently before falling off of her shoulder. She caught it on her wrist momentarily, but then it fell to the floor. “Dang it!”
“Let me get that for you,” he said, stooping to get it, but by then, Mia had already gone to retrieve it herself. She hit her head on his shoulder hard. “Oh, God. Are you okay?”
Wincing, Mia rubbed her head. How strong was this man that hitting her head on his shoulder was like ramming her head into a brick wall? “I’m fine.”
He picked up her bag, and the two of them stood, though Mia could tell he was being careful to give her plenty of space. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” She took the bag and slung it back over her shoulder, trying not to roll her eyes at how stupid she must look. It was probably a good thing that she wasn’t going to be getting a job here or else she might literally run into this guy again. Or do something else stupid in front of him. “Can you tell me how to get out?”
He smirked at her, as if he could tell just how badly she wanted to get away. “I’ll show you. It can be a little tricky.”
“Thanks.” She wondered if any of the other candidates had gotten lost and assumed they hadn’t.
Following him back the way she’d come, she couldn’t help but notice how nice he looked from the back. She had to pull her eyes away from his perfectly sculpted bottom when they entered the area where so many other workers were sitting. She didn’t want to seem like a scumbag, but then, she’d never seen a man like this one before—not in real life—not that she could remember.
“Did you apply for a position here?” he asked as they were walking along, stopping to wait for her.
“I did,” Mia admitted, coming even with his shoulder. He was at least a foot taller than her. “But I’m pretty sure I didn’t get it.”
“Oh? Why is that?” he asked, looking disappointed. Mia figured he was just being overly polite.
She shrugged. “The interview only took about twenty seconds. I’m probably not even qualified.”
They rounded another corner, and she could see the exit now. “What position did you apply for?”
“It’s a secretarial position,” she said, stopping and looking down at her shoes. It was almost impossible to continue to look into his eyes without feeling drained.
“Anyone can do that,” he said. “What makes you think you’re not qualified?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done it before.”
“What have you done before?”
Something about the way he asked the question made her wonder if he was still talking about work. His cologne was spicy, a hint of sandalwood blending with cedar, and she had a feeling there was a note in his masculine scent that was all him. Mia bit her bottom lip and tried to get her head together. “Uh… nothing.”
“Nothing?” He lifted a dark eyebrow. Her answer seemed to intrigue him for reasons she couldn’t let herself contemplate.
“Not really. I worked as a cashier at a gas station while I took care of my mom.”
“Was she ill?” His tone changed to something less suggestive and more concerned.
Mia nodded. Her mother had been dead for almost six months, but she still missed her terribly. “She passed away, so I moved to the big city.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He seemed to sincerely mean that, and Mia felt a tear coming to her eye. So many people said it but it was just something one said off the cuff, as if they didn’t really feel it. She could tell by his eyes that he did. “Thank you.”
A heavy silence fell over them. Mia struggled for something else to say, but there wasn’t any more. He’d shown her to the exit; she wasn’t getting this job anyway. She’d never see him again.
He seemed at a loss for words as well, which she guessed was out of character for him. “Well, I hope you get the job,” he said with a small smile, and she almost thought he meant it.
“I appreciate that. Thank you. And thanks for showing me out.” She gestured toward the door with a thumb over her shoulder.
“You bet. Maybe I’ll see you around…?”
He was waiting for her name. This gorgeous, sexy man with beautiful blue eyes and the kind of grin that morphed between boy-next-door and spank you till you can’t breathe wanted to know her name.
The only problem was… she couldn’t remember it.
“I’m sorry—I didn’t catch your name,” he said, prompting her.
Too bad she hadn’t grabbed that copy of her resume. It was probably on there. “My… uh….” Oh, yeah—duh—that was it. “Mia. My name is Mia.”
That grin was back, the mischievous crooked one. “Mia?”
“Yes.”
He stuck out his right hand, and she stared at it for a moment, wondering what sorts of things it was capable of before she slipped her tiny palm inside. His touch was light at first, but then firm and commanding as he shook her hand and electric pulses shot up her arm. “I’m Beau.”
“Beau.” As in beautiful, she thought to herself. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Take care, Mia.”
She smiled and then turned to go, almost smacking into the doorway but catching herself and not daring to turn and look at him again to see if he’d noticed. He had to have—she could practically feel his eyes on the back of her.
Back in the waiting room, she ignored the sighs from everyone else who likely assumed she’d been interviewing that whole time, rather than just wandering aimlessly. She couldn’t help but smile, though. Even if she never saw Beau again, the encounter had been memorable. Maybe he’d get his wish, and she would come to work there. Then what? She didn’t know, but she was looking forward to finding out.
Walking into his brother’s office, Beau Whitaker waited for Sam to get off of the phone before he said anything at all. When Sam finally hung up and looked up at him, Beau wasn’t even sure where to begin. He wanted to seem nonchalant, but the girl he’d met in the hallway—Mia—was so beautiful, so intriguing, he wanted to make sure Sam was aware that Beau wouldn’t mind it if he hired her as his new secretary. In fact, if he had any say in it at all, Mia already had the job. “What’s up, little brother?” Sam asked, making a note on a sticky before attaching it to a file and moving it across his desk. “Need something?” Beau snickered. He didn’t come into Sam’s office often, unless he needed something. There was usually no need to. Sam handled new accounts; Beau handled existing accounts. If they ever needed to meet, their offices had an adjoining conference room where they could discuss whatever they needed to. The view out the floor to ceiling windows o
Mia had her Chromebook open on her lap as she looked through job postings. After the disaster a few hours ago, it was clear to her that she couldn’t let up on the job hunt. The Chromebook was old and didn’t stay connected to the Wi-Fi she was “borrowing” from her neighbor very well, but it was better than looking through the newspaper, which she also did on a regular basis.She was just contemplating contacting a used car dealership, wondering if she could ever really sell cars, when her cell phone rang.Picking it up, she studied the number. It wasn’t familiar to her, and there was no name to let her know who it might be, but she had to answer anyway. It could be one of the other places she’d recently applied to. “Hello?”“May I speak to Mia Eaton, please?”The voice sounded vaguely familiar. It was a middle-aged woman. “This is she.”“Hello, Ms. Eaton. This is Veronica Smithy from Whitaker and Whitaker.”A lump immediately formed in Mia’s throat as she considered she might’ve actual
Mia decided to treat herself to some Chinese takeout since she’d gotten the job and could theoretically afford it. Eating out was something she rarely did since she was on a tight budget, but under the circumstances, a little fun couldn’t hurt, could it? When the doorbell rang, she assumed it was the delivery guy with her orange chicken, but when she pulled open the door, she saw a courier standing there. “Hey. You Mia Eaton?” “Yeah….” He shoved a thick manila envelope her direction and then a clipboard. “Sign here.” Pulling her eyes away from the agitated expression on his face, she scrawled her name across the line, wondering what it was about life in general that had this guy so put out. “Thanks,” she said clipping his pen back on. “Yep.” He turned and headed back toward the stairs, leaving Mia wishing she could do something to make him have a better day. It was too bad that some people were never happy when there was so m
The mirror didn’t lie. Mia checked the length of her skirt one more time and made sure the seam was where it was supposed to be. She’d bought a full-length mirror when she’d gone shopping on Saturday to make sure she fit the specifications of her contract. She was wearing a black pencil-skirt that hit just above her knee, but with the slit in the back significantly higher, she felt slightly exposed. It wasn’t obscene by any means, nothing like that woman had worn to the interview, but it wasn’t something Mia would usually wear. She also had on a white button-down shirt. The top three buttons were undone, as her contracted said they must be, which meant one could see her lacy white bra at certain angles. She wasn’t sure what to think about that. Would everyone think she was some sort of slut? Her heels weren’t that high, but they were strappy, black, sexy and shiny. Her earrings were simple, as also mandated, and she had her hair up in a bun—but not a severe on
Mia followed Veronica through the maze, trying her best to keep track of the twists and turns this time so that she didn’t get lost on her way back to her assigned area. Eventually, they reached a door with a touchpad next to it where she would enter a code. “This is your office. Your code has already been created for you. I’ll show you how to change it some other time, but for now, it’s 8236.” Veronica punched it in, and the door beeped, glowed green, and she was able to turn the knob. Mia followed her into a decent reception area. She was surprised she’d have so much room. There was a desk with a bookshelf behind it, as well as a few chairs sitting across the room against the wall. The view out the window was spectacular. A few plants and some nice paintings and other décor decorated the area. “You’ll be able to change any of this if you want to.” Veronica gestured at the paintings and other decorations. “It’s lovely,” Mia replied, taking it all i
Mr. Whitaker was the sort of man who commanded the room without saying a word. Sitting behind his desk, his face freshly shaven, his dark hair perfectly styled, he seemed to fill up every space in the large room without opening his mouth, taking all of the oxygen away from Mia as she stared at him from the entryway.She’d remembered to knock—that was something. He couldn’t be angry at her for that. So why was he staring at her with such a narrowed gaze? Mia cleared her throat and said, “You wanted to see me, sure? I’m Mia. The new secretary.” She wasn’t even sure if he had had a say in hiring her. She hoped he had. It would be odd if he didn’t even know he had a new secretary.Sam leaned back in his chair and yanked on his royal blue tie, though it didn’t seem to loosen any. “I know who you are, Mia. Come here, please.”Mia came over, not sure what she should do when she got there. Two chairs sat on the side of the table closer to where she was standing, but he hadn’t mentioned sittin
The new secretary was hot. There was no question about that. Sam sat behind his desk, breathing in the lingering scent of her perfume. When she’d bent over to pick up that pencil off of the floor, he’d envisioned all sorts of things he’d like to do to her, things a person shouldn’t be thinking about at work—unless that person had it written into the contract that the secretary had signed that said it was all acceptable.Mia wasn’t the kind of girl he would’ve normally hired. When Veronica had asked him to check in on the interview, he’d noted she was beautiful, but she’d been so unprofessionally put together at that interview, he’d told Veronica she was a pass.Until Beau came in and insisted he hire her. It was the best choice his brother had made in a long time. Sam did his best to concentrate one work, but he kept thinking about Mia, about how her bottom curved when she bent over, the way the slit in her skirt showed just a hint of what she was hiding beneath that blac
Beau wasn’t expecting Mia to be standing in Sam’s office when he opened the door. Generally speaking, when his brother hired a new secretary, he didn’t see her much at all for the first few days, certainly not more than just in the morning and maybe in the evening. Everyone in the company knew that Sam’s secretary didn’t do anything for the company itself; she was only there to entertain him throughout the day. So when he saw her standing there, poised as if she were on her way out, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He hoped that his brother hadn’t already started asking her to perform his “special assignments.” From the look on her face, it seemed as if that might’ve been the case. She looked a little flushed. But then, she was smiling at him. So maybe he had imagined that. Maybe she was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. “Hi, Mia. How’s your first day going?” Beau asked, stepping completely into the room. “Good, thank you. How are you?”