Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Valerie
I stood by the door as Lucas and Miles talked, still trying to wrap my head around how I would be working with him.
Lucas—who I met six years ago and was instantly attracted to.
Lucas—who taught me things about my body I didn’t even know. How fair was it my body still craved his touch?
Lucas—who left me for another woman.
That thought sobered me up. Fast.
Five years ago, he broke my heart, but now… Damn it, he still held a tiny piece of it, and that wouldn’t do. I needed to bury that shard deep. I was here to do a job, nothing more. Lucas was my past. I wasn’t going to fall for him again, no matter how much my body wanted him at first sight.
Maybe I should just bow out of this job? My boss wouldn’t be happy about that. Fantasies, Inc. was paying a healthy chunk of money to have me here.
Could I be around Lucas day in and day out and be professional? Look at him and remember the hurt? Ignore my craving for his body?
My fingers itched. So not good. I pushed my feelings away and straightened. This would not be easy, but I would do it. I needed to prove to myself that Lucas’ spell over me was broken. Maybe I could finally move on with my life.
Curiosity as to why Fantasies, Inc. needed a forensic accountant hit me.
I’d read the contract they sent my employer.
They wanted me to do a deep dive into the books of a company they were acquiring, but it hadn’t said much else.
Financial deep dives during corporate acquisitions weren’t unusual, but forensically?
That usually signaled issues on a much deeper level.
Actually, my curiosity was more about the company they wanted to acquire. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. What made this job feel different than any other I’d done before?
Lucas.
The contract said I would be working with the Director of Finance but didn’t name him directly.
This assignment happened so fast, I had to prepare open projects before I handed them off, so there was no time to do more than the most superficial search on Fantasies, Inc.
That search didn’t include the C-suite. Surprise!
And a question: Lucas knows his stuff. In fact, he’s recognized as one of the best. So why hire out?
Well, forensic accounting looked at data differently, but that was well within Lucas’ capabilities.
I rubbed my forehead, wondering about the real reason I was here.
Fresh eyes? Objective evaluation? Possible conflict of interest?
No sense in getting a headache over all this.
I’d find out soon enough. For now, I was here to work and nothing more.
When I arrived, Lucas had the initial advantage since all I knew was someone from Finance would meet me.
I hoped my shock at seeing him didn’t show too much.
I leaned my hip against the wall as my mind went back to when we met six years ago.
I was fresh out of college, just starting with Smith, Rogers, and Associates.
Lucas had been there for a few months. The company held a Friday night mixer so new employees could meet the veterans without the pressure of being in the office.
That’s where I first saw Lucas. He’d shed his jacket, and his white shirt clung to his arms and chest. Instantly, I knew the man worked out.
There was no way those muscles came from sitting behind a desk.
The ends of his dark hair curled, as if he needed a trim.
A stubby beard I wanted to run my fingers over just to feel those prickly hairs. And those piercing blue eyes.
A shiver went thought me. Those eyes made me feel as if he could see deep inside me and find out all my secrets. Not that I had many. I could barely stand still when he approached me, and we started talking.
That had been the beginning of it all. A week later, we were dating, then after four months, living together. And the sex…
Enough. I’m here to do a job not chase after Lucas.
Blowing out a breath, I straightened. The past was the past no matter how much my body tingled, and my hands wanted to sink into his short hair to see if was still as soft. There was no stubble on his face now, but it didn’t detract from how good he looked.
The object of my thoughts walked out of HR. I took a calming breath and tried not to react.
Get a grip. He could be married for all you know.
Ice filled my veins. Had he married the woman he left me for? Oh God, this was not good. If he was married… I glanced at his left hand. No ring, but that didn’t mean anything. A lot of men didn’t wear rings. If he was married, that was reason enough to keep my heart sealed off.
“All set?” My voice was firm, thank goodness.
“Yes.” His gaze roamed over my face before he pressed the button for the elevator. Did he see my interest? God, I hope not. The doors opened, and we stepped inside. He swiped his key card. “Our office is on the fourteenth floor.”
I fingered the cards Miles gave me. “You need to swipe the key card every time?” Talk about security.
“Only if you’re not going to the first floor.”
That was interesting. I wondered how often the cards needed replacing if an employee was swiping multiple times a day. The elevator pinged, and the door opened into a mid-sized reception area. A red-headed woman sitting at a desk smiled as they walked in, then rose and held out her hand.
“Ms. Ray, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Hazel, Lucas’ executive assistant, so if you need anything while you’re here, just ask.”
“Thank you, Hazel.” I shook her hand. At least she was friendly, many women weren’t always so friendly with other women in their space. Plus, I really don’t know what Lucas is like anymore. It has been five years and a lot has probably changed.
“Is everything ready?” Lucas asked.
“Yes. IT finished the last of the setup. Asher said if you have any issues to give him a call.”
“Great, thanks. Shall we?” Lucas gestured to the large wooden door. I turned and walked toward the door, and in an instant, he stepped close to me and opened it. “Welcome to our office.”
“Our office?” Everything inside me froze.
“Yes.”
Oh hell, we were sharing. I stepped into the room.
“Is this a good idea?” The words were out of my mouth before I looked around.
He called this an office? This was more like three offices put together.
I’d noticed Miles’ office was bigger than most, but this one…
There were large windows on two walls, letting in natural light.
God, I loved having natural light as I worked. I spied part of the Sound in a gap between buildings. My heart lightened; I so wanted to just go sit and stare at the water. Water helped me stay calm and kept my thoughts from chasing each other around. My fingers tightened around my bag.
This is work. Keep it professional. There was a small conference table, something like the one in HR, with comfortable chairs and a sofa not too far from the table. I saw a small black metal box sitting on top of a larger table against the wall. “Is that a refrigerator?”
“Yes. Sometimes I like having extra drinks here for visitors.” He grinned. “And for myself.”
“Still a Jet Cola drinker, are we?” Lucas had downed the stuff like it was water when we worked together.
“More a Red Bull guy now.”
I nodded. Made sense. Taking a deep breath, “This isn’t an office, this is…” I spread my arms out. “You could fit twenty cubicles in here and still have room.” Not that it was a bad thing. At least we wouldn’t be in touching range of each other.
“You could, but it’s just me and you.” He pointed to the large desk just off to the right that faced the first set of large windows. “That’s my desk, and yours is…” He gestured to the other side of the room.
I blinked. That was mine? The desk, if you could call it that, was three tables pushed together into an L shape with a stunning view. Two monitors and a laptop sat there, and another small conference table sat next to it. How had I not noticed the set up?
“I made sure you had plenty natural light; I remember how much you like it.”
He remembered? Something inside of me was thrilled before I nudged it away. What else did he remember? I swallowed. “I wasn’t expecting this.” Honestly, I was expecting a normal desk with barely enough room for what I’d need to do. I always made do, but this was a dream.
“I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.” There was a smile in his voice as he gestured to my desk.
“Asher, our head of IT, left your login credentials in the top drawer. If you need any office supplies, let Hazel know, and she’ll get them for you.
If I’ve somehow missed something hardware wise, tell me and I’ll get it for you. ”
Nodding, I crossed over to my desk and sat down in the leather chair. It instantly formed around my body, and I knew it was going to be hard to go back to my old mesh desk chair. I dropped my purse in the bottom drawer.
“I love this chair.”
“Having a good chair is important. I’ll let you get logged in and figure everything out. There’s a quick guide to our system in the top drawer as well. Just yell if you need anything.” Lucas walked over to his desk.
My gaze followed him, and I admired the way his pants molded to his ass. It looked firm. I had a feeling he still worked out. Oh, how I loved to grip his ass as he… I shook my head. That was the past. Time to get my head in the present.
I turned the computer and monitors on. This was a more up-to-date computer system than the one I was used to working with. After I logged in, I found the server where all the files I needed would be.
I opened the one titled “general information” and started reading.
By the second page, I reached for a pen and paper.
There wasn’t any. Why would there be? I could use the printer sitting on across the room, but I preferred paper and pencil.
After opening several drawers to find they were empty, it was time for a supply run before I dove head first into this job. I pushed back my chair.