I roll to a stop at the lights, and a black Mercedes Benz pulls up beside me. I look over and see the cute guy in the driver’s seat watching me. He revs his engine and smirks, silently challenging me. I flash him a broad smile, and just as the light goes amber, I kiss my index and middle finger and wave them at him.
“Mimi… don’t you dare,” Ayla warns just as I press down on the accelerator and speed off with him close behind me. The road ahead was clear, and I left him in my rearview mirror. “You’re going to get yourself killed one day with these stupid stunts.” She scolds me with a scowl, and I smile.
“I was barely doing sixty. Besides, he’s in an SL500. He didn’t stand a chance against my baby. Serves him right for underestimating me.” I justify with a shrug, and Ayla shakes her head as we pull into the company car park. I slam my foot on the brakes when I see a car parked in my spot. “What in the ever-living crap is this?” I utter, scowling at the Lamborghini jeep sitting in my parking spot. I roll my window down and poke my head out of the window. “Marcus?!”
The parking attendant—a tall, young man comes running over to me when he heard my voice. “Yes, Miss Evans?”
“Marcus, whose car is this, and why is it in my spot?” He looks at the car and then at me.
“I’m not sure, Miss Evans. I only just got on shift.” I sigh and nod.
“Thank you, Marcus.” He waves at Ayla and me and goes back to his office. “There is a sign that says VP. What kind of idiot parks in a reserved parking space,” I grumble as I pull up in another parking bay.
“Evidently, one that thinks they can do what they want and doesn’t give a toss.” We get out of the car and walk toward the back entrance of the building. Ayla walks over to the elevator while I make a beeline to the stairs. I’m claustrophobic and have a fear of elevators, so I climb twenty flights of stairs every day. “When are you going to get over your fear of elevators, Mimi? You’re a grown woman!”
“Fear has no age!” I shout down from the second floor. “Besides, it exercise and keeps my butt firm and legs looking fire.” I can hear her muttering to herself and ignore it as I continue climbing up. I stop at the tenth floor when my calves burn and rest for a few minutes before I go up the rest of the way.
When I get to the office, my knees are shaking, and I’m sweating in places I definitely don’t want to be. My assistant Molly is already waiting for me by the door with my coffee and perspiration spray. “Lift.” I lift my arms, and she sprays me and hands me my grande caramel latte.
“Has the meeting started yet?” I ask her, and she shakes her head, walking beside me.
“Not yet. The new CEO was running late also, so you’ve got a couple of minutes. By the way…wow.” I stop walking and look at her.
“Wow? What does wow mean?”
“He’s probably the hottest man I have ever seen in my life. When he walked out of that elevator, the jaw of every female, including mine, hit the floor.”
“Interesting.” I deviate to the bathroom and fix myself up before joining the rest for the meeting to introduce this new CEO that my dad was tight-lipped about.
Let’s go and meet this new hottie CEO that I’ll be spending the majority of my time with. I push the door open and take a sip of my delicious coffee as I do so, and everyone in the room turns and looks at me.
“Ahh, here she is.” My father announces, smiling. I return his smile, which falls just as quickly when the newly appointed CEO rises to his feet. The world, as I knew it came to a halt around me when our eyes met.
No stinking way.
The room fell silent as we stood staring at one another. “Hey, Tinks.”
The coffee cup slips from out of my fingers and hits the floor spilling all over the place. “Devin?” I whisper. It couldn’t be. He looks so different but so familiar at the same time. Those deep brown eyes of his still warm me through and through. He’s taller than I last remember. If I had to guess, I’d say six-foot-two, and he’s beefed up significantly, and while he was handsome before, Molly wasn’t kidding when she said he was hot.
His hair has gotten darker, cut short on the sides and a little longer on the top styled neatly. After he left nine years ago, I got curious and googled him but didn’t find anything. He kept himself off social media, and I never had the nerve to check again. The Devin I remember in my mind and this man standing before me are polar opposites, but he’s just gorgeous, and I hate that. A jawline so sharp it could cut glass, high cheekbones and those luscious full lips, and he’s now got a short-trimmed beard.
It felt like an eternity had gone by while we stood there staring at one another, but it was only thirty seconds in reality. I didn’t know what to feel or what to do. A part of me wanted to turn and run, but the other was still so angry with him.
Devin’s gaze flitters over me and settles on my eyes again. “It’s good to see you.”
I had a snarky remark all ready, but we had other people in the room with us at the moment, and I didn’t want to make everyone else uncomfortable. “You too.”
I roll my shoulders back and walk past him toward the table in the conference room and sink into the seat between my sister and father. Molly had already gotten the cleaners to clean the spilt coffee on the floor. Devin takes the chair opposite me, his eyes on me the entire time. I avert my gaze to my father. “We can start.”
My father looks between Devin and me, clearly sensing the tension between us. I avoid looking at Devin throughout the meeting as much as possible and keep my eye contact with him to less than a few seconds at a time.
I can feel his gaze on me while I sat there, pretending to listen while my father spoke, all the while trying to figure out how the hell, I’m going to work closely with him after everything. Why is he back? Why now, after almost ten years?
“Devin will be filling the position for a year.”
I look at my father again. “A year?” I intone, and he nods. “And then what? He goes back to wherever he came from? Who will take over the position after he leaves?” I question, and my dad looks over at Devin, and they share a look.
“I’ll find someone proficient enough to replace me before I leave.” Devin voices and I turn my gaze to his and frown a little.