“Great,” I huffed. “Get everything together for the gala. We’ll start on that as soon as I get back.”
I turned on my heel and hustled toward the meeting rooms.
I checked my reflection in a decorative mirror opposite the door, making sure I looked professional and composed. I turned. squaring my shoulders and entering.
“So glad you could finally join us, Ms. Tristen,” a nasally voice sneered as I stepped inside.
I turned to see Mr. Leach glaring at me. He’d abandoned his brown jacket and rolled his shirtsleeves up, revealing his pale, skinny arms. His white button-down shirt had a stain on it, several if I was being honest, and the vein in his forehead was throbbing.
“My apologies, Mr. Leach,” I said, sliding into an empty seat.
The Leech opened his mouth to say something more but was cut off by Mr. Mayfield.
“Not a problem, Ms. Tristen. We know the meeting request was a bit last minute. As I was saying, I will be retiring soon to spend more time with my family. I don’t want any shed tears on my part. My time with the Grand has been well spent, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”
“We have not settled upon a replacement yet, so I will continue acting as director in the interim. As many of you have already heard, corporate has sent someone to evaluate our performance and help us to see where we might improve. I’m sure you will all make a stunning impression. May I introduce Mr. Jensen Hawksley, CFO of Hawksley Enterprises.”
My stomach dropped as Jensen, who had been seated in the far corner, stood up.
The group clapped as he stepped forward. His large frame commanded attention as he greeted everyone with effortless confidence.
“Thank you, Mr. Mayfield, for that great introduction. I’m sure many of you are more familiar with my brother Julian, CEO of Hawksley Enterprises, but I can assure you, I’m every bit as talented and far more charming.”
He winked and a chuckle went around the room.
“Now, I understand Mr. Mayfield runs a tight ship,” he continued. “This hotel is one of the jewels of the Hawksley empire. I’m being brought in specifically for my experience in extracting what makes our businesses exceptional and figuring out how to leverage that in our other interests.””
His eyes caught mine, and I gulped as heat rushed through me. I crossed my legs discreetly under the table, squeezing my thighs together.
“I will be observing all of you over the next few weeks. I look forward to working very closely with each of you,” Jensen continued. “I won’t take up any more of your time. Please check your calendars for individual meeting requests.”
Everyone rose and started to slowly depart. The Leech frowned and made a beeline toward me. I tried to slip out the door before he reached me, but my escape was blocked by the cluster of well-wishers welcoming Jensen. Sighing, I mentally braced myself for a reprimand.
“You’re almost twenty minutes late, Tristen,” he snapped.
“My apologies, Mr. Leach. I only just received the meeting invite,” I replied. “It won’t happen again.”
He glared at me. “Damn right, it won’t. You will not be an embarrassment to me or this—”
Suddenly, Jensen appeared by my side.
“Mr. Leach, our marketing director, correct?” he said, holding out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ve seen some really impressive campaigns coming from your department.”
The Leech shook it, his sneer shifting to an eager grin in an instant.
“Thank you, sir. The pleasure is all mine,” Mr. Leach replied. “I’m very glad to hear you’re impressed, but I can’t take all the credit.”
The Leech hadn’t had an original contribution to a campaign in years. It was part of the reason Rhea and I had nicknamed him the Leech to start with. The little bloodsucker never hesitated to steal someone else’s ideas and pass them off as his own.
Jensen smiled politely, his eyes flicking to me. “I need a tour of the hotel, and I’d appreciate it if you let me borrow one of your marketing experts for the task. They’ll be most familiar with the unique selling points and the concerns of our guests.”
The Leech licked his thin lips. “I’d be delighted to give you the tour myself, sir.”
“I’m sure your time is valuable, Mr. Leach,” Jensen replied. “Perhaps your associate here could assist me. We didn’t get the chance to be properly introduced, Ms.?”
He held out his hand, and I shook it, trying my best to remain professional while my brain flashed back to the way his touch had felt on my body. My cheeks warmed, and I looked away, clearing my throat.
“Ms. Tristen,” I replied.
“Pleasure,” he said, his husky tone making the word feel a little more obscene than he probably intended. “Yes, if Ms. Tristen could show me around that would be a huge help. I’m sure you have better things to do, Mr. Leach. Consider it a consequence of her tardiness.”
The Leech ran his eyes down the length of my body and smirked. “Of course, Mr. Hawksley. What an excellent idea. Ms. Tristen, as soon as you’ve finished with the tour, I’d like to see you in my office.”
My stomach gave a lurch. The Leech was a renowned misogynist who’s thinly veiled remarks toward some of the female associates should have been enough to get him fired, but somehow, he was still here.
“Of course,” I replied, forcing a smile. “Right this way, Mr. Hawksley.”
I led Jensen toward the elevator, praying he wouldn’t bring up the other night as I pushed the button. There was a moment of awkward silence as the doors closed.
“I was really disappointed you didn’t stick around to at least say goodbye the other day,” he mused, his voice low even though we were alone.
“Can we not discuss that here, Mr. Hawksley?” I said curtly.
He grinned and raised an eyebrow. “It’s Mr. Hawksley now, is it?”
I nodded. “It would be unprofessional for me to be on a first name basis with the CFO, Mr. Hawksley, and my professional reputation is very important to me.”
He took a step closer, the line of his body coming dangerously close to my own. I bit my lip as the memory of him pressing me into the mattress returned.
“I respect that,” he said, not bothering to move away as he faced the front. “Though it will be a shame to not hear how you say my name again. I enjoyed that a lot.”
I gave him a side-long glance. He stared ahead, a charming smile on his face like he didn’t just hint at how I had screamed his name over and over again on Friday night.
The elevator dinged to a stop, and Jensen reached forward, pressing and holding the doors closed button.
“I know this was a bit of a surprise for you,” he said softly. “Trust me, it was for me as well, but I’m grateful we got a chance to meet again. I’ve never met someone quite like you, Kyla, and if you’ll let me, I’d like to get to know you a bit better.”
He brought his hand up and gently brushed his thumb along my cheek. My breath hitched as sparks ignited along my skin. His touch was warm and smooth, and before I could think about what I was doing, I leaned toward him.
“But I promise, I’ll do my best to respect your boundaries in the workplace.” His gaze dropped to my slightly parted lips. “I have a feeling you won’t make it very easy though.”
My heart pounded as his mouth started to lower toward mine.
“Do you want me to stop?” he whispered.
“No,” I replied breathlessly.
