Page 43 of Love In Hiding

“Rejection sucks,” she said, gulping her wine. “In more than the workforce.”

He lifted his eyebrow at her over that statement. She wished she could have locked those words in a vault rather than open the door and have them fly out the way they had.

Too late now.

“It can and it does. More so when you don’t see it coming.”

“Like what happened to you?”

“I suppose,” he said. Which made her think there was more to it and he wasn’t volunteering. That was fine for now.

“So West had a few phone conversations with us. Said that with Laken and Lily being out or going out, they were working less. Abby had already cut back. The department was taking a hit and they were already overworked. It was hard to get good trusted employees.”

“So why not bring a firm in under his umbrella with family members who were competent and trustworthy?”

“That was his thought. But make no mistake. He vetted us the same way he does every business venture. We came up with a business plan.”

“Good for you.”

“We aren’t riding on West’s name or charity.”

“I never thought you were.”

“Some will when they find out the relationship.”

“There is no stopping lips from flapping,” he said. “I heard enough whispered words about my promotion and then when I left.”

“I bet you couldn’t wait to walk in and put your resignation on Ryker’s desk.”

“It would be petty of me to say that I wished I could have filmed his reaction.”

“Not petty in the least. I bet he was threatened by you and it’s why he was shipping you across the country.”

“That was always my thought, but could be my ego is big.”

Her eyes drifted over him where he sat in the chair, and, heaven help her, everything about Spencer Jensen was big.

Long legs, like hers, but packed with more muscle than she’d expected. Broad shoulders. A body that looked deceptively lean…right until last night, when he’d pulled his shirt off to crawl into bed.

Yeah. She’d killed the light and rolled over so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. Then she spent the next five minutes fighting the urge to shove her feet out from under the sheets and air out the sudden heat crawling and sticking to her skin.

She hadnotbeen prepared for that. For him. The abs. The chest. The definition.

Not bulky, thankfully. Just strong and toned. Exactly the way she liked it. Which just stunk worse than the lobster in the plant that it was him she was so attracted to.

Being tall, she never had much interest in men shorter than her.

Spencer? He had a good five inches on her five-nine frame. Even in heels, she hovered just under his height, practically eye level. And he didn’t seem to mind one bit the few times he’d stood in her office, close enough for her to see the flecks of gold in those infuriating blue eyes.

“Nothing wrong with a big ego,” she said. “Fast forward, we went through all the paperwork and legal channels to get the business set up. It took time while Paris and I continued working. But we had a few clients on our own outside of our jobs. With approval from or employers. We also didn’t have a competition clause.”

“I bet your employers weren’t so happy about you leaving to start your own firm.”

“If we had stayed down south, maybe not, but moving north, I don’t think they cared all that much. And as we know, right now, the bulk of our clients are West’s. We didn’t steal anyone... not yet.”

He smirked, his blue eyes dancing over her face. “I’ve read your past employment contracts. You’re good even if someone wants to fight it. I don’t think they will risk going against us.”

“No. I’ve got someone on the hook. They are checking references. I know West will be the first one called and I’ve got to accept that he is the one pulling a lot of strings. But Paris and I are good at what we do. I know you think I turn people off.”