She opened her pink mouth and stared at him for a beat as if he’d caught her off guard. “I guessed. Roast beef on rye with brown mustard, lettuce and tomato.”

His lips twitched. “Red meat,” he said. “You didn’t think I was a vegetarian.”

She bit her lip and smiled tentatively. “Wild guess. I passed up the quiche, too.”

He chuckled, reaching for the bag. “Thank you. You did a good job. Plain chips,” he noted.

“I played it safe,” she said in a neutral tone.

“So you did. If you’ve always been so adept at reading your employers’ appetites, I can see why you were promoted.”

Her eyes widened. “It was just food. It isn’t that difficult. Alex liked anything with olives. Max skipped pasta and carbs at lunch because he always wanted to be sharp for the afternoon.”

“And what about you?”

“Whatever I pack,” she said. “May I get anything else for you?”

“Whatever you pack,” he repeated, ignoring her question. “There’s a company cafeteria.”

“Habit,” she said with a shrug that drew his gaze to her slim shoulders. “I’ve been packing my lunch since elementary school.”

“Same here,” he said. “When there was food available.”

She gave him a silent, questioning glance.

“Foster homes,” he said.

“Oh,” she said, a combination of sympathy and confusion flitting through her eyes. “My father died when I was young, so it was just my mother and me.”

He met her gaze and felt a lightning-fast connection that took him by surprise. He saw the same surprise cross her face as she blinked and looked away.

“I hope you like the—”

“Emma,” a male voice called from the outer office. “Emma, are you there?”

Damien watched her cringe. “Just a second,” she whispered and walked to the doorway. “Brad, I’m assisting Mr. Medici—”

“You can go ahead and—” Damien broke off, surprised when she desperately waved her hand behind her back for him to stop speaking.

Surprise lashed through him at her silent order. Or, was it a plea?

“No, tonight’s not good. I need to work on a paper for one of my classes. Please excuse me,” she said and turned back to Damien, closing the door behind her.

She met his gaze for a moment, then bit her lip. “Sorry about that. I’ll just—”

Curious despite himself, Damien lifted his hand. “Who’s Brad?”

She gave a heavy sigh. “He’s a very nice man in accounting. Very kind. I can’t think of a bad thing to say about him.”

He nodded silently. “Except he doesn’t take a hint well.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “He’s very nice—”

“You’ve said that twice,” he said.

“I don’t like hurting people’s feelings,” she admitted. “Especially nice people.”

“He’s not all that nice if he’s ignoring your rejections,” he said. “I’ve learned that most nice people prefer honesty even when it hurts.”

“I haven’t been dishonest,” she said.

“I’m sure you haven’t.”

Silence hung between them as she gnawed her lip. “He’s asked me out at least a dozen times.”

“And you’ve said no each time?” Damien said, incredulous. “The guy’s head must be made of concrete.”

She winced. “I might have visited his mother in the hospital once.”

A soft heart beneath that crisp suit, he decided, and found the quality appealing. He shrugged. “You want me to see if he’s on my list for terminations?”

Emma gasped. “Oh my goodness, no. I couldn’t live with myself if I ever—” She shook her head. “No. He’s an excellent employee. Honestly.”

He regarded her silently for another long moment. She blinked and cleared her throat as if she were gathering her composure. “Well, I, uh, should let you eat your sandwich. If you need anything…”

“You’ll know,” he said.

Emma closed the door to Damien’s office behind her and wanted to melt into the hardwood floor. Mortified, she covered her face with her hands. What was wrong with her? She prided herself on her ability to present a calm demeanor in every situation. Yet she’d been babbling to Damien Medici.

She’d worked for Max De Luca, who’d been called the man of steel. She may have felt intimidated at times, but she’d managed to hold her own. For Alex Megalos, she’d maintained the highest level of discretion. Given his playboy reputation before he married Mallory James, she’d encountered more than a few phone calls from overzealous wannabe girlfriends.

Yet here, she’d glimpsed slices of humanity, even humor, when she’d expected Damien to be a block of ice. She found his strength and complexity compelling, almost seductive.

Appalled at the notion, she castigated herself. “Ridiculous,” she muttered. Damien Medici was going to slice MD to shreds. He was the enemy.

Two

The next morning, Emma walked into Max De Luca’s office suite to give him an update on Damien Medici. She felt a combination of nerves and disappointment as she faced Max, a tough VP whose heart had softened because of his wife Lilli and his son David.

“The only thing I know is that he has already begun to put together a termination list and that he asked for information from these departments.” She handed her former boss a typed report.

Max glanced over the report. “What about the computer?”

“He’s using his own laptop and told me to give the desktop to someone else who needs it. He uses his cell phone for all his calls, except for people inside the company. I included those calls on the report.”

“I see,” he said, thoughtfully reviewing the information. “Based on this, I think he’ll start cuts in middle management.”

Emma bit her lip.

Max shrugged. “I agree that MD needs to streamline. I just want to make sure we don’t cut anything vital to our future. Middle management isn’t a bad place to start, as long as he doesn’t want to cut too deeply,” Max conceded. “Both Alex and I agree that Medici isn’t the right man for this job, but James Oldham is determined to stay on the side of the stockholders. He has won the position of chairman of the board, and he clearly intends to keep it. He is the most dictatorial chairman I’ve ever encountered at MD. Keep me posted. Let’s meet next Tuesday at the same time.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have more information,” she said.

Max gave a cynical smile. “Medici’s no fool. He clearly trusts no one. If you learn anything new, use your cell to call my cell or Alex’s.”

“Of course,” she said and left his office. She took the elevator down two floors to Damien’s office suite.

As she entered the office, she was surprised to see a light shining from beneath the door to the inner office. The door was slightly ajar and she could hear Damien’s voice. Stepping closer, she listened.

“Mr. Oldham, if you truly want Megalos-De Luca to be at the top of its game, you’ll have to give me free rein on the cuts. I accepted this contract with you based on your promise to let me do what I do best. If you’re finding our agreement difficult, I can leave today.”

Emma dropped her jaw in shock. James Oldham was chairman of the board.No one dared speak to him in such a way.

“I’ve been through this many times, Mr. Oldham. I understand you’re concerned about bad PR. A well-publicized termination package and a reemployment assistance program will go a long way to softening the blow.” Damien paused for a second. “What’s your answer? Will you give me the latitude you promised or not?”

Several seconds passed and Emma held her breath. If only James Oldham would just sayno, then no one at the company would need to deal with him, including her.

“I thought you would see it my way,” Damien said in a triumphant tone.

Emma’s heart sank.

“I’ll be in contact soon,” Damien said, his voice louder as he moved closer to the door.

Emma fought a sliver of panic. He couldnot find her eavesdropping. She quickly moved to her desk and began to hum an off-key version of a song by Fergie as she turned on her desktop and set down her lunch and purse.

“Emma,” Damien said from behind her.

Despite the fact that she knew he was there, she jumped. “Oh, hello. You’re here very early.”

“As are you,” he said, studying her.

She prayed he couldn’t read her mind. “I have this new boss who is even more of an early bird than I am. It’s a real challenge to out-early him.”

His lips twitched. “I don’t expect you to work the kind of hours I do. I’ve been described as a workaholic by more than one person.”

“And are you?” she asked, thankful for the diversion.

“I’ve never been afraid of hard work. That attitude has served me well. My work is my passion. My mistress.”

“But don’t you want human companion—” She quickly realized she’d stepped outside the line of professionalism and broke off. “I apologize. That’s none of my business.”

“You’re correct. It’s not, but I could ask you the same question.”

Emma thought of her mother and all the money and effort it had required to get her out of trouble. Time and time again. “I have family.”

“So do I. Brothers,” he said. “We made contact again after we became adults.”

The way he looked at her made her feel as if he could see inside her. There was a terrifying sexiness to his power. She suspected that he was the kind of man who could make a woman do anything he wanted and make her like it, too.

She wanted to withdraw from his appeal. She wanted not to feel the pull toward him, the forbidden attraction. She wanted to be able to be perfectly professional, perfectly removed. And she would.

Tags: Leanne Banks Billionaire Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net