Chapter 4
Andi couldn’t believe what this man was offering her—a dream job!
A chance to step out of the shadows and prove herself.
Could she do it? Could she actually dive into complex financial reports and uncover the hidden idiosyncrasies that revealed deeper problems?
Could she leave her cramped apartment in downtown Philadelphia and finally venture into the wider world?
Hell yes!
When he abruptly rose from his chair, Andi scrambled to her feet, nearly sloshing the wine as she hastily set the glass on the coffee table.
With her other hand, she clutched her notes, praying they wouldn’t scatter across the floor.
Somehow—miraculously—she avoided total humiliation. A small, shaky victory.
Laith moved toward her, slow and purposeful. He stopped just a few feet away, his commanding presence making the space between them feel far smaller than it was.
"So," he said, his voice low and even, "are you ready to accept the offer?"
Andi's heart thundered against her ribs. She swallowed, lifting her chin, forcing her voice to steady.
"Yes," she said, a fierce glint lighting her eyes. "I’ll take the job."
Something almost imperceptible shifted in Laith’s expression, like satisfaction flashing behind his eyes. He nodded once.
"Good," he said simply, the word carrying more weight than she expected. Then he extended his hand.
As soon as her hand brushed his, Andi realized she hadn’t won anything at all. A jolt of heat—startling and electric—shot through her. She stiffened instinctively, but he caught the subtle recoil, his gaze sharpening. Before she could pull away, his fingers closed more firmly around hers.
The effect was devastating.
A low, thrilling buzz spread through her veins, making her breath hitch, her knees weaken. She stared up at him, utterly trapped by the dark, magnetic pull of his eyes. Time became meaningless. Seconds. Minutes. Years. She no longer knew the difference.
All she knew was that she couldn’t look away—and, far worse, she didn’t want to.
She should step back. She should run. But another part of her, the reckless part she usually kept buried, urged her to move closer, to reach out—to touch his chest, his arm, anything to satisfy the aching curiosity igniting inside her.
Thankfully, mercifully, he let go first.
Andi sucked in a shaky breath as a thrill raced over her skin, a sharp contrast to the warmth that had enveloped her moments before. She instinctively wanted to close the distance between them again, to reach for the heat she'd just lost—and the realization horrified her.
Get a grip! she mentally shouted at herself. This man is going to be your boss!
Snapping herself back to reality, Andi turned on her heel, desperate to flee the luxurious office and the overpowering effect he had on her senses. She had almost reached the door when his voice stopped her cold.
"You’ll need a new wardrobe, by the way."
She froze, confusion knitting her brow. Slowly, she glanced down at her outfit—serviceable black slacks and a white dress shirt. Practical. Neat. Professional. What was wrong with her outfit?
Spinning back around, she lifted her chin. "What’s wrong with my clothes?" she asked, her voice tight with wounded pride.
She felt it—the deliberate, measured sweep of his gaze as it traveled from the top of her head to the tips of her practical black heels. His eyes were thorough, lingering, as if he were weighing every inch of her.
When their eyes finally met again, he answered, his voice low and deliberate. "You’ll need to look more confident. That outfit helps you fade into the background. If you take on this role, you’ll need to project strength. Authority. People will need to see it before they hear a word from you."
The way his eyes held hers, unflinching and unapologetic, made her stomach flip. He didn’t need to say anything more. His gaze said it all— You could be powerful, if you dared to be.
Andi’s cheeks flushed hot with a complex tangle of emotions—embarrassment, anger, determination. She straightened her spine, silently daring him to doubt her again.
"I understand," she said evenly, her voice calm even as her heart raced.
She turned again toward the door, her mind spinning with everything that had just happened—the offer, the electric spark, the raw challenge he had thrown down at her feet. She wouldn’t let his arrogance—or the unsettling effect he had on her—deter her.
But just before she crossed the threshold, she paused.
Something wild and impulsive tugged at her. She pivoted back, glaring at him without even realizing it. He stood there, leaning casually against his desk, sipping his drink with a kind of lazy, predatory grace—completely confident, completely in control.
Judging her.
Daring her.
Andi opened her mouth, ready to fire off a sharp retort. Something brilliant. Cutting. Devastating.
But no words came.
Instead, she just stared—breathless, stunned, utterly captivated—and thought helplessly:
Wow.
“Did you have something more to say, Andi-Andrea?” he asked, his voice huskier than before. However, the gentleness in his tone was mocked when a supercilious dark eyebrow lifted.
A flurry of angry words popped into her head. However, Andi tamped down on them, remembering that this man was her boss’s boss’ boss…or maybe even higher.
“Sorry, sir,” she replied before she said anything that might cause him to reconsider his job offer.
With her free hand, she smoothed her fingers down over her slacks.
“I’ll get new clothes before Monday.” It was Friday which meant she and her best friend, Carys, could go shopping tomorrow.
Andi despised shopping. In fact, she did most of her shopping online.
It was more convenient to click on the “buy” button while sipping wine, than pawing through clothes at a store.
He shook his head and pushed away from the desk, setting the now-empty glass down on the desk behind him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll have appropriate clothing delivered to you.”
Andi opened her mouth to protest, but his cell phone rang and he nodded apologetically her. “My assistant will send you travel details.” And then he answered the call.
If he happened to turn away from her in that moment and Andi saw the man’s tight ass for a brief moment, that wasn’t important. Nor was it significant that her eyes lingered for a moment before she realized what she was doing and rushed out of the office.
Fifteen minutes later, Andi slid onto the bar stool that her friends had saved for her.
“You’re late!” Carys announced, giving Andi a hug, then waved her hand, nodding to the waiter. Apparently, Carys had already put in a drink order for Andi with instructions to bring it over upon arrival.
“And you’re the best!” Andi sighed as she stared at the lemon drop martini the waiter set in front of her. Carefully, she lifted the drink to her lips, making sure to get a bit of the sugar from the rim, then swallowed the sweet and sour sip before heaving a sigh of relief.
“I know,” Carys replied, adding in a smug smile. “Why are you so late?”
The other two ladies in their Friday Night Happy Hour group, Jennifer and Amber, were already flirting with two good looking guys on the other side of the table and weren’t interested in why Andi was late.
“I had a really weird day,” Andi admitted, then told Carys the odd job offer.
“That’s awesome!” Carys exclaimed and gave Andi another hug. “When do you start?”
“Monday,” she replied, glancing around the room.
“What’s his name?”
Andi stopped, her hand frozen for a moment, then she laughed.
“I don’t know, actually. I just…” she paused again, then took another, larger, sip of her martini.
“My boss’ boss ordered me into the meeting without warning and, when the meeting started, no one took the time to introduce themselves around the table.
” She shrugged. “All of a sudden, some guy I’ve never seen before sat down at the head of the table and started snapping questions.
” She sighed, turning the martini glass slightly. “I’ll just call him Typhon for now.”
Carys’ eyes widened. “Is he that chaotic?”
Andi looked at her friend curiously. “Chaotic?”
“Yeah. A typhoon? Isn’t that like a hurricane?”
Andi laughed, covering her mouth with her fingertips. “Not a typhoon, dork. Typhon was a Greek monster. The top half of his body was a male human form but the bottom half of his body was all snakes.”
“Oooh! Like the reverse of Medusa!” Carys chirped.
Andi thought about that for a moment, then grinned. “Yeah. Just like that.” Carys was magically creative, but she wasn’t a huge reader outside of mysteries and romance novels.
They theorized about the job for a few more minutes, then about the identity of the stranger offering Andi the new job, then Carys’ eyes lit up.
“I have some news as well,” she whispered, which wasn’t necessary since the noise level in the bar was several decibels above what one might consider safe for healthy, long-term hearing.
“What?” Andi demanded, turning to fully face her friend.
“I met my new boss and he’s absolutely gorgeous!
” she blurted out. “He’s tall and handsome and…
well,” she tilted her head back and forth while looking up at the ceiling.
“Soon, I’ll figure out how to snap a secret picture of him so that I can show you.
” She grinned, wiggling on her stool. “He’s seriously gorgeous. ”
“Ooh! A workplace romance, then, eh?” she teased. Why did the face of her new boss pop into her mind? Quickly, Andi dismissed the man and focused on her friend’s excited news.
Carys giggled, then turned serious. “No!” she gasped.
“You know it’s a horrible idea to have a fling with a co-worker!
” She gripped Andi’s shoulders. “Plus, I don’t even know his name, but he gathered up the entire marketing team into a conference room today, then told us how we’re going to redesign the marketing campaigns.
” She wrinkled up her nose. “Which is great because the stuff that Dave was pushing us to do was just awful!” She waved a hand in the air while shaking her head.
“His ideas are boring and completely uninspired. There was no spark or life to the ads.”
For the next forty-five minutes, the two of them exchanged stories about their days and sipped on a second round of martinis. Slowly, the happy hour participants in the bar thinned out and then it was time for Carys and Andi to head home.
Out on the street, Andi hugged her friend goodbye, tightening her arms around her best friend for a moment. “I’m going to need your help.”
Carys had nearly her whole head in her giant purse as she searched for her subway pass. But at Andi’s comment, she stopped and looked up. “What for?”
“I need a new wardrobe if I’m going to take this job.”
“Does that mean…” she gasped theatrically, “…that you need to go shopping ?”
Andi shuffled her feet, rolling her eyes. “Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”
Carys gasped, clapping her hands together. “Yes!” she said with an excited dance. “Finally!”
Andi rolled her eyes as they strolled together to the subway stop. “My clothes aren’t that bad,” she grumbled.
“Yes,” Carys laughed. “They really are.”