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I’ve never been great at business attire. Pantsuits always made me feel like I was playing dress-up in my mom’s closet or perhaps like I was going to guest star as a detective on a cop show, but the flowery dresses and cute skirts I’d prefer to wear make me feel unprofessional or even childlike compared to the amount of grays, blues, and blacks that everyone else wears.
“I was anxious about making it on time so I opted to take the earlier train which I now realize is probably a little too early.” I smile and start to follow him into his office.
“Well, as I mentioned in the interview, there’s no need to keep unrealistic hours. I get in pretty early—before eight—but I wouldn’t expect you to. That being said, since you’re here, let’s grab coffee and have a little talk. I’d like to run something by you.”
“Absolutely. How do you take yours?” I look at him, but he shakes his head and steps around his desk toward me after placing his suit jacket on the back of his chair.
“I’ll go with you.” He gestures forward with one hand, his other ever so lightly touching the middle of my back to guide us down the hallway toward a break room that has more snacks and coffee machines than a Hudson News at the airport.
It’s just the two of us in the room and I’m now very aware at how close I’m standing to him as he shows me how to work the fancy machine that sputters and hisses before producing a cup of coffee.
His hands are in his pockets, pulling his dress pants taut against his perky backside as he waits for the machine to finish. I bite my tongue to keep myself from outright staring. The images of him wearing small swim trunks, emerging from the ocean with water cascading over his tan body, come rushing back and I bite down harder.
James Bond… or Daniel Craig rather in those tiny blue swim shorts from one of those Bond movies from years ago… that’s what it reminded me of. I smile, almost giggling to myself that Beckham Archer really is like a real-life James Bond. Hot, rich, and if I had to guess, knows exactly how to make a woman co?—
“Brontë? You okay?”
“Hmm?” I whip my head around to face him, realizing I’ve been standing there staring at the coffee machine with my empty cup for several minutes as he finished making his.
Now is not the time, Brontë.
“Oh, yes, sorry.” I stumble forward, placing my cup under the spout and jabbing erratically at the buttons because I was clearly not paying attention when he explained it a few moments ago.
“Here, allow me.” He reaches around me and presses the correct button, his expensive cologne wafting upward.
He even smells like what I picture James Bond smelling like.
I let my eyes flutter closed for a brief second before he steps back and the space between us widens.
“Your dad and I were talking about you last week at golf. I think he was curious about if you were taking the job. Have you told him yet?”
His question about my father instantly tamps down the arousal I could feel building. Nothing like being reminded that the man you’re crushing on hangs out with your dad for fun.
“Uh, no, I haven’t yet. I will. I need to call my stepmom back about something so I’m sure I’ll tell them then.”
“Chantelle? She’s a very nice lady.”
“Yeah, she is. Makes my dad happy.” The small talk is odd but I smile and grab my coffee, then I follow him back toward his office.
He takes a seat behind his desk and I do likewise in a chair in front of his desk.
“What I wanted to talk to you about is a slight change in your role here at Archer.”
“A change?” I furrow my brows as I nervously clutch my coffee.
“Yes, but it’s not required. I thought I’d offer you my idea and if you say no, that’s perfectly okay. We’ll just have you be an assistant like we spoke about in the interview.”
He pauses, looking at me like he’s trying to ease my nerves.
“Okay.”
“After speaking with your father and going with my gut on our first meeting, I feel like you’d benefit from more than just setting appointments and booking travel. I’d like to see you in a more mentor-type position—with me.”
I swallow down the mouthful of coffee. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we are currently looking to possibly acquire an investment firm; they’re like one of those chain investment firms. They want to expand but don’t have the backing. If I purchased them, we would turn them into an Archer subsidiary and help them expand.”
I nod. “Understood. So what would I be doing then?”
