Chapter 7
MEGAN
"Hey, good morning. Another early bird," Klaus said the next day as I walked into our room.
"I was told this is the way to make sure I nab the best spot." I laughed, going and sitting by the window in the same place I was yesterday. "So, then, how come no one else is here?"
"We can come and go whenever we want. Most people start working in the morning at home and only come in later. That way, they avoid rush hour. By the way, I heard you've got a meeting with the boss in half an hour."
"I do."
He gave me a thumbs-up. "Good luck."
That was an interesting reaction. If I wasn't worried before, I sure was now.
I started working right away because I still had time before nine o’clock, and I didn't want to waste it by fidgeting in my spot and worrying about the meeting. Instead, I reviewed the files of the client that Luke and I were going to pitch to. They were marked in the announcement about the teams. I’d perused all existing projects yesterday, but today, I looked in more detail.
This was a project that was right up my alley.
"Ding-dong," Klaus said, startling me.
"What?"
"Your meeting with the boss starts in a few minutes."
"Shit, you're right. I was lost in reading all of this."
I rose from my chair and dashed to the bathroom, taking stock of my appearance. I looked professional enough. Since I noticed yesterday that most people, except Luke, were dressed rather casually, I’d toned it down a bit today, wearing jeans and a white shirt. It was a good look, I thought.
Okay, shoulders back, chin held high.
I walked out of the bathroom and straight to Luke's office. The door was wide open, and he was looking down at the keyboard. He must have heard me coming, because he instantly glanced up.
"You're here," he said. "Good. Come on in."
Licking my lips, I stepped inside.
"Close the door."
His tone was commanding again. I closed it carefully, and it was impossible not to take note of my rapid pulse.
I felt him looking at me. I turned around slowly, walking to him.
He just leaned back, eyes trained on me.
Both hands were on the table, fingers interlaced.
He looked relaxed and intense at the same time. How was that possible?
"Please take a seat."
"Good morning, Luke."
"Megan. So, what are your concerns?"
"My concerns?" I repeated.
"Yesterday in your message, you didn’t seem to like that there were no others on the team."
"No, no. I was just… well, I was curious why not, since every other team has more people."
"I take the training of interns very personally. That’s why I take everyone under my wing for at least three months out of the six.
The reason I do it is because it's the fastest way to get someone on board. They watch me in action, they watch how I think every project through, how I approach it, how I find out what the client wants and come up with ideas. And then they’re ready to take on their own.
Usually, we hire two or three people at a time, and then I invite them with me on projects by rotation.
You, however, are the only hire at the moment, so you alone will shadow me.
If that isn’t what you want, if you have a problem with it, then tell me right away. " His eyes glinted.
I crossed and uncrossed my legs, feeling like the world's biggest idiot. He did this with everyone. He hadn’t specifically requested me for some other reason.
Why would I jump to conclusions like I did?
Luke had kept his promise since I signed the contract and had been 100 percent professional.
And here I was, testing his patience, questioning his intentions.
I searched his face for a sign of the man I'd met at the bar that night.
That playful guy who didn't seem to take anything seriously.
But he wasn't here. The side Luke was showing me now was completely different.
He was all business, dedicated to his job.
He clearly had put what happened between us out of his mind, and it was time for me to do the same if I didn't want to throw away this opportunity to learn.
"I'm more than fine with that, Luke. I apologize if I gave off another impression."
He didn't say anything, just kept his eyes on me. It was unnerving. How was he so in control of himself when I was a nervous mess?
"Okay, then, our meeting is over," he said. "All the details you need about our upcoming projects are on the intranet. I’ll email you the pitch as soon as I have it."
"You're doing it yourself?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes. You and I are a team, but in the beginning, I’ll be the one doing the pitches and bringing ideas to the table.
You’ll support me with research. After a while, I’ll ask you to come up with ideas, and I’ll review them.
The rest of the teams are in charge of their own pitches.
I don’t oversee them. Remember, I trust my team 100 percent. I trained them, after all."
“This is amazing. I can't wait to get to that point myself. And to shadow you in the meantime," I added, offering him a pleasant smile, waving a white flag.
He didn't smile back. I guessed I deserved that. He had been far more patient with me than he needed to be.
“Is that all?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I stood up. “Okay, then. I’ll go back to my desk.”
"Email me if you have any questions. Or pop into my office."
"When are we meeting the client?" I asked.
"At the end of next week."
"Got it."
I walked to the door with determined steps, turning around as I opened it, and caught Luke looking at me. His eyes had been intense before, but they were almost feral now. The subtle change made my skin simmer. Was it possible that beneath the controlled man was someone who still desired me?
"How was it?" Klaus asked when I sat back at my desk.
"It was fine. He just wanted us to discuss some details about the client we’re going to pitch to."
"Prepare yourself to be wowed. Luke sort of transforms when he's with a customer. He's all relaxed here and cracking jokes, and then he's like a completely different man."
"Interesting," I said, realizing I was already seeing “customer Luke”, and I was pretty sure it was because of our sexy rendezvous.
I downloaded the client information and looked at my task list from the rest of the team. I couldn't wait to go with Luke to meet the client. This was an amazing opportunity, and I planned to make the most of it.
As Klaus had said, the rest of the team filtered in during the rest of the day.
In the afternoon, all seats were taken, and I was comfortable in my chair by the window.
I could see this becoming a tradition. Me and Klaus coming in every morning, choosing the best seats.
I was an early riser, so this worked perfectly for me.
I didn't like working from home much. My place was far too small for that; it felt claustrophobic. I needed to see people and interact with them. I fed off their energy. Besides, working in this office was a hoot. There was friendly chatter all the time.
“Dude, did you make any progress on the treehouse Luke wants for Paisley?” Klaus asked Derrick.
Derrick shrugged. “Nah, I’ve still got time.”
“Derrick. It’s his niece. He’s gonna have your head if you don’t come up with something more.”
“What’s this about?” I asked, remembering my first conversation with Luke.
“Luke wants to build a treehouse for his niece’s birthday. Asked Derrick here to research it, and he’s slacking.”
That was so cute. He had a senior member of his team researching treehouses.
I couldn’t manage to hide my smile, so I ducked my head lower, hiding behind my screen, opening the intranet portal.
Going through the tasks listed there, I realized I didn’t have too many from the other teams. Most of my time would be spent prepping information for my mentor.
I still couldn’t believe it was Luke.
For the rest of the week, I meticulously researched the client, sending Luke the information he asked for to put in his pitch. The next week went by in the same fashion. I saw very little of Luke—we mostly communicated through emails. I wondered if that was his MO with all interns.
He sent me the pitch on Thursday at lunch, asking me to finish the formatting.
I scrolled through it first. It was honest-to-goodness exhilarating to see all Luke had done.
He’d taken great care to address the client’s questions and needs.
I couldn’t wait to see him present it when we went to the client’s office tomorrow morning.
I stayed in the office long after sending it back to him perfectly formatted, wanting to take notes and study it. Once I was alone, I made myself tea in the kitchen and turned off the light in my office before sitting at the desk. It was cozy.
Luke had instructed me to think of all possible questions a client could ask, and he had even given me a few examples. I was writing down ways to answer them. I wanted to be well prepared for tomorrow.
"Megan?" Luke's voice startled me.
I turned around to face him. "Hi."
"What are you still doing here?" he asked.
My heart was about to jump out of my rib cage, I swear.
And it wasn't just because he'd startled me.
It was because he looked far too sinful, standing in the doorway with the lights off.
There was a dim glow in the corridor, highlighting his physique.
It transported me right back to our night together. A shudder went through me.
I cleared my throat, standing up. "Um, I was just preparing for our meeting tomorrow."
"It's seven forty-five," he said.
"Back at you," I replied just as he turned on the light. Okay, that was good. The whole thing seemed far less intimate with the lights on. But my body was still on alert.
"Yeah, but I'm the boss. You know what they say: If you don't want a nine-to-five, start your own company. Then you'll work around the clock."
I laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind in case I ever want to start my own company.”