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“We can be ready to break ground in a few months,” Andrej says, “assuming all the permits and finances come through.” Max assures everyone that his contacts at City Hall are ready to push everything through, while Losev—the biggest investor in the project—looks to me for the financials.
Initially, Miriam observes quietly, hazel eyes sharp with interest. By the time we’re served, she’s offering small but clever contributions.
My chest swells with pride, watching the men respond to her. They take her seriously. With each minute that passes, her confidence grows.
“You’ve made some interesting points, Miriam,” Max states. “I’d like to discuss some of them in further detail at a later date.” He holds out his business card. She takes it, her hand visibly trembling.
“Take mine as well.” Andrej does the same, and Losev follows suit. These are three of the city’s hardest men to impress, and Miriam has swept them all off their feet.
“Thank you. I’ll give you a call.” Her voice comes out a little breathier than usual. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.” She stands a little shakily, takes a breath, and walks to the back of the restaurant.
My friends turn to me, eyes sharp. “What’s your game, Gallagher?” Andrej asks.
“What game?”
“She’s smart. She’s quick. But what is she doing here?” he follows up.
“She’s been wanting to get some more experience in the industry, and I thought this would be a good way for her to dip her toes in the water.” I shrug nonchalantly.
“I, for one, applaud your strategy,” Maximilian drawls, eyes gleaming with wicked amusement. “I think it’s a genius idea to bring your brilliant assistant to lunch. It is so much easier to poach once one has an introduction.”
Andrej and Losev chuckle. My jaw clenches, possessiveness racing through me. “You will not poach her.”
“Oh?” Max questions, one eyebrow raised.
“She’s mine.” I’m almost growling, but I don’t care.
With a satisfied smile, Max relaxes into his seat. “That’s what I thought.”
Awareness of his verbal trap trickles through my fury. “Very funny, Max.” I take a drink of water to cool myself down. “She already had coffee with Michael a few days ago.”
“Michael Nelson?” Losev asks.
“Yes,” I confirm. “I don’t know what they discussed, but I’m not letting him get his hands on her.”
Back in the office that afternoon, I sit behind my wide, mahogany desk with dozens of emails competing for my attention, but I find myself instead staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the busy city streets as I reflect on the success of the day. Miriam legitimately glowed as she recapped the entire meal while we drove back to the office.
“And then Max said, ‘That’s a good idea,’” she gushes. “TheMaximillian Hawthorne thought I had a good idea.”
“I’m the one who invited you,” I grumble, but without any real ire. She killed it today. I just want to get a tiny bit of the credit.The Maximillian Hawthorneisn’t her boss, after all.
While we waited for the elevator in the parking garage, she turned to me without any artifice and gave me a hug. “Thank you for today.”
It didn’t take more than a second to realize she felt like heaven in my arms. Or maybe not heaven, but a fallen angel—all the innocence and purity, but with hidden depths of sensuousness and passion. A woman who chooses to work in this industry, to work with me, has a fire and drive that I want in my life and in my bed.
My computer dings, notifying me of a new email and drawing my focus away from lascivious daydreams and back to work.
It’s an email from Michael. The subject line says, “Got Miriam?”
Bastard. I click and start reading, my fury growing with every line.
“Hello old friend, Did you hear about my date with your assistant? You certainly know how to pick them. I’d like her assistance with any number of things. You’d better keep an eye on her. You never know who might be waiting to pounce.”
Son of a bitch. If Michael thinks he can talk about my woman that way, he’s got another thing coming. The next time I see him, I’m going to kick his ass. And if he tries to hurt Miriam in any way, he’ll find out exactly why people call me ruthless.
Chapter 5
Miriam
