“As tempting as you think you might be, no thank you,” she said and batted her long eyelashes at him while smirking. When she took a small step away from him, he couldn’t be any more irritated at the loss of her closeness.
Damn it all to hell, she was one stubborn chick.
As Duncan was thinking of a quick reply, the ding of the elevator interrupted his thoughts. A couple of office workers entered the elevator, and he could see the approving looks toward his wildflower. His? Duncan chuckled at the thought. He must have lost his mind somewhere on the ground floor where she bumped into him.
The elevator was getting close to where his brother Donovan had his office, but he wouldn’t let her get away from him, even if it meant he would follow her the whole damned day. When she made a move toward the doors, he glanced at the display and noticed the elevator would indeed be stopping at his brother’s floor.
That would be something else if she was going to meet with his brother. Fuck. No, that would be a disaster waiting to happen. Donovan was even more of a player than Duncan, and he would hate to deck his brother if he looked at her the wrong way. Donovan was the poster boy for the one guy he didn’t want her to meet. But perhaps she would be as immune to his charms as she seemed to be to Duncan’s.
He grinned at the thought that maybe she would put his brother in his place. But then he remembered she did the same with him, and the grin fell from his face.
Time to see what she was doing here at Mills Security.
When Kayla walked outofthe elevator, she noticed Mr. Boxer following her in the elevator mirror. It shouldn’t surprise her, and it definitely shouldn’t give her an extra sway in her step knowing he was walking behind her. Her four-inch heels clicked on the tiles as she strolled up to the reception desk where a voluptuous brunette in a tight, fitted red dress was typing away at her computer.
The receptionist’s dark brown hair was pinned up in a knot, but some loose curls bounced next to her hazel eyes and high cheekbones. Her red lips pursed into a straight line, and she didn’t acknowledge Kayla’s presence even after noticing her stepping out of the elevator moments ago.
“Good morning. My name is Kayla Walsh, and I have a meeting with Donovan Mills.”
The brunette was still typing with her long fake Ferrari-red nails and sighed rather obviously. Oh no she didn’t!
When the receptionist finally looked up from whatever she was doing on her computer, her face transformed from clearly annoyed into a big fake smile. “Good morning, Duncan. How are you? Is Donovan expecting you?”
Huh? Who is she talking to? Duncan? Kayla looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, Mr. Boxer was standing there smiling at the brunette. What is he smiling at her for? Kayla hated the pang of jealousy in her stomach. Wait, is this snooty woman flat-out ignoring me? Kayla normally would speak her mind, but she decided against it because she really needed this job.
With everything that’d been going on in the past month, she’d put a dent in her savings account. After recovering for several weeks, she’d had interview after interview this past week now that she no longer had to cover up the bruises. She’d been getting antsy, often lying awake at night wondering if she could make rent next month. Normally she would ask her family for some temporary help, but she couldn’t reach out to her family. Not yet.
“Hello, Jenna. No, he’s not expecting me. As you might have noticed, he’s expecting this beautiful lady. Kayla Walsh, was it?”
Kayla hated that Mr. Boxer was acting all chivalrous. He was not supposed to come out of his annoying, flirtatious, manwhore box. He was supposed to keep irritating her so she could keep up the act of not being affected by him.
She knew if she softened toward him, he would find a way to get to her. Kayla decided she needed to keep to herself, and she didn’t need this man making a play for her, even if the attraction resembled a smoldering fire that was one single puff away from a blazing heat.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. I’ll tell Donovan you’re here, but I’m sure that you’ll have to wait until he’s done meeting with Duncan.”
Kayla’s smile mirrored Jenna’s, and for the not-so-observant passerby, it might seem like the two women were being friendly. For Kayla and Jenna, it was clear they would never be friends, not in this lifetime.