“Forget it?” His brother chuckled. The bastard was smiling at him, but the moment it clicked, he looked rather shocked and asked, “Are you sure?”
The Mills brothers’ code was sacred, and they did not mess with chicks who were declared off-limits. Sure enough, the moment Duncan nodded his confirmation, Donovan strolled behind his desk and took a seat in his designer chair.
“What can I do for you, Miss...?” Donovan let his words linger for Kayla to reply.
“Kayla Walsh. We have an appointment—well, we had an appointment scheduled ten minutes ago.”
Duncan was taken aback a bit when he found that Kayla was not blushing, not flustered, nor was she stuttering when she replied to Donovan. She walked toward Donovan’s desk and reached out her hand for him to shake. After their handshake, she took the liberty of sitting in front of Donovan’s desk, and she crossed her legs. Her back was straight, her shoulders set back, and somewhere in the mix-up earlier, she had taken off her coat, which she draped over the arm of her chair.
She was wearing a bright yellow blouse above her tight black skirt, and her two top buttons were unbuttoned, giving just a little hint of her ample cleavage. In front of Donovan sat, indeed, a wildflower who radiated that she was not in the least distracted or bedazzled by him, and Duncan respected that. In some weird way, he was proud of her, and he didn’t know what to make of that.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Walsh. I’m sorry, I hope you’re not deciding against this job because of this turn of events?”
Duncan knew his brother like the back of his hand, and the look Donovan was giving Kayla was one of him sizing her up. He wanted to know if she was some porcelain doll who would break at his antics, because he often had female visitors, and Donovan wasn’t going to change his ways.
Kayla responded in a calm voice. “No, I’m not deciding against this job.”
Donovan started to say, “Good, now—” but he couldn’t finish his sentence because Kayla interrupted him.
“But I do have certain stipulations I would like to discuss first.”
Duncan smiled because nobody ever interrupted Donovan, not to mention giving him stipulations. He took a seat on the leather couch to watch the show. Surely this meeting was not going to end in employment for Kayla now, so he could relax and sit back and be glad his brother wasn’t going to work closely with her.
Kayla handed Donovan some papers. “Number one, I am not one of your playthings, so no innuendo, no groping, no yapping about all this painting stuff, because that will not work on me.”
Duncan’s jaw dropped, and when he looked at Donovan, he could see his brother was also surprised. Duncan leaned back in his chair and had his chin between his thumb and index finger as if he was looking at a puzzle he had yet to solve.
“Number two, I don’t want to witness a similar situation ever again, so please lock the door when you’re preoccupied and can’t answer it.”
Duncan laughed out loud at her words, and he caught Kayla smiling at him before she shook her head and looked with a straight face at Donovan again.
“Those are my stipulations. I don’t think these should be deal breakers for you, but for me they are. I work hard, and as you can see in my résumé, I have the experience to take a truckload of work from your shoulders.”
Duncan wasn’t prepared for the next words that came out of Donovan’s mouth as he glanced at Kayla’s résumé and nodded. “Fair enough. You’re hired.” Kayla smiled and shifted in her chair ever so briefly, as if she hadn’t been completely sure about her tactics but was happy with the outcome. “Welcome aboard, Kayla. Please fill in these forms so we can send you our offer via mail.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Mills. You’ll not regret this, I’m sure.” Kayla sounded relieved while her posture still remained self-assured.
“I know, Kayla, and you can call me Donovan.”
Duncan smiled. She sure did take a stand against his brother, and there weren’t a lot of people who could get away with that. He was proud of her and no longer worried she would fall for his brother. If anything, she might be the one person who could stick around as his assistant and keep telling it to him straight.
Duncan wanted to have her so badly when he first laid eyes on her, and perhaps he still did, but now she was not only off-limits for his brother but for him as well. Pursuing her would make things too complicated, and he wasn’t sure she would be the one who would make him go for complicated. He was busy with his new business, his family, and friends. Even though he might be bored with the long line of one-night stands he’d had in the past few years, he didn’t need a girlfriend when he could have all the tail he wanted at his dojo.
So when Donovan and Kayla wrapped things up and agreed she would start the very next day at nine, Duncan only said goodbye when she got up from her chair. “See you around, Kayla.” Well, that could mean anything, right? Duncan had hoped to leave the door ajar for them becoming something more, but not to look too eager for a chance with her.
“I guess so, Duncan.” She turned and walked through the door, heading straight into the elevator, which was kept open by an office worker who looked at her fine swaying ass when she entered.
“You got it bad, brother,” Donovan said as they watched the elevator doors close.
“Nah.” Duncan tried to downplay his feelings for Kayla. Shit, now he was thinking about his feelings for her? How did that happen? It was way too soon to speak of feelings. He hardly knew the girl, let alone had feelings for her.
That reminded him.... “Can I have a look at that résumé?” Duncan turned and tried to take the documents from Donovan’s desk, but Donovan was quick to take them from him.
Donovan replied sharply, “You know I can’t let you, bro. I won’t violate her privacy because you’ve got a hard-on for her.”
Donovan had his own security company that was not only hired for installing security systems but for safeguarding and private investigation as well. He also worked with a women’s shelter in St. Johns near Duncan Dojo, and his company often provided protection when a woman needed transportation from the shelter to the next safe house. He was an IT genius who came in handy for making any trace of the fleeing woman disappear.
For some this might be a real contradiction to a man who could discard women so easily in his private life, but Duncan knew Donovan was always up front with his dates. And because Donovan was a Mills brother, he was also known for his loyalty, honor, and strength. Donovan was a guy who you’d have to get to know better to understand his ways, because he didn’t open up easily. But when you proved yourself to him, he’d have your back no matter what.