He narrowed his eyes. “This is not a Christmas carol.”
I was surprised that he listened to enough music to know the difference. In my mind, Winston was always working, wearing one of his crisp suits and shirt, and holy hell, the man was rolling up his sleeves. His forearms were impressive. Muscular and toned. A sudden desire slammed into me to know what else he was hiding under that shirt. Those pants.
I cleared my throat, hoping that would dispel the sinful images. I failed, of course. But I needed to get my bearings and apologize, be professional.
“I’m sorry about blasting music. You’re right, this is... inappropriate. I just didn’t think anyone would be here. I know everyone’s schedule. Except yours, of course.” Why hadn’t I thought about that? “But I am not sorry about the decorations. Everyone here is on edge to make the targets. We’re all working our asses off. We need a little bit of cheering up.”
I’d expected him to retaliate in his usual gruff manner, tell me to take it all down.
“Fine. The decorations stay. You’re right. It’s motivating for everyone else.” His tone was surprisingly soft. For everyone else, but not him? There was a story behind that. Something didn’t compute.
I was determined to make him come around.
“But I don’t want to hear that song again,” he added. The bossy tone was back.
I couldn’t help a grin and brought my hand to my temple in a mock salute.
“Yes, boss.”
“Sassy, are you, Ms. Hensley?”
“You haven’t seen sassy yet, Mr. Statham.”
Fire danced in those deep green eyes again, as if the heat had been there all along and I’d lit the match with my words. I licked my lips, quickly looking away. I had no idea what was going on here, what to do with this sudden... tension. I’d never met someone so masculine, so dominant.
When I chanced a look at him, I startled. He was still watching me intently. Could he tell that my entire body felt ablaze just because he was looking at me?
“The song, Ms. Hensley. It’s still playing.” There was amusement interwoven with bossiness in his tone.
“Right, yes.”
I felt his gaze on me every step of the way to the table where I’d set my phone. When I finally paused the damn song, I heard him chuckle.
He stepped away from the doorway, making just enough room that I could pass by him. I nearly brushed my shoulder against his chest on my way out.
I couldn’t ignore these energetic vibes rolling off him. I couldn’t ignore him, period. His presence was too overwhelming. Those suggestive lyrics were at fault for this... flirty tension we had going on.
I hoped.
Otherwise, spending two hours alone every evening with this sinful man might just be my undoing.
***
The rest of the day felt like a sprint. Winston was sending me about ten emails per hour. Judging by the occasional grunt and whispered curse from my colleagues, he was spamming them too.
At eleven o’clock, he called a meeting with the branding and marketing team. I was anxious about it for reasons I couldn’t explain.
When I stepped inside the large meeting room, I sat as far away from the front as possible. One by one, my colleagues filtered in, sitting around the oval table. I sucked in a breath when Winston stepped inside, looking away. Somehow, I could tell he was looking at me. When I chanced a glance at the front, I bit my lip. I’d been right. Winston’s gaze was trained on me.
Once everyone arrived, Winston started speaking. He talked extensively about the webpage. To my surprise, he didn’t mention the rebranding.
“Thanks for coming, everyone, despite the short notice,” he finished. “I’ve communicated with many of you extensively via email and phone calls until now, but I look forward to meeting everyone in person. This is my family’s legacy, and I intend to do right by it. I assure you, the well-being of this company and everyone who works in it is front and center for me. My door is always open.”
He looked around the table once. Did he have any idea how intimidating he was? He had this dominant allure that seemed almost dangerous, as if there was a real chance that if you walked into his office, you wouldn’t walk out the same person.
He followed that intro with a round of Q and A where everyone could open up about the most pressing issues.
He was brilliant; there was no other word to describe him. He had a quick solution for almost every issue, and I knew that even though everyone was still intimidated by him, they also respected him.