Fall Into You

20

Glancing down at her hand, she blushes. “Thank you. I have to admit, married life is pretty incredible.”

I don’t say it, but by the looks of that ring, her husband is extremely wealthy. And by the looks of that blush she’s wearing, he’s a stud to boot.

“I’m so happy for you. You deserve it.”

“Thank you. How about you? Still with Chet?”

It’s a testament to my good mood that the mention of his name doesn’t upset me. I wait for the pang of heartache to come, but when it doesn’t, I say a silent prayer of thanks to the gods of one-night stands and smile.

“No, Chet and I broke up.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“You’re sweet to ask, but I’m fine.”

“Judging by that secretive smile, you’re better than fine. Are you seeing someone new?”

I know she’s not the kind of woman who’d look down on me for having a one-night stand, but I shake my head. For some reason, I want to keep Cole all to myself. I didn’t tell Chelsea the details of my evening with him, either, an omission she most likely will never forgive me for.

Or stop trying to remedy.

“I’m happily single at the moment, but I do need a new book boyfriend. Do you have any suggestions for me?”

She grins and tosses her long dark hair over her shoulder. “Of course! Follow me.”

Rounding the corner of the counter, she leads me over to the romance and erotica section where she starts pulling books from shelves.

“I know you like erotic thrillers. This one’s a scorcher. A widow starts getting letters from a guy in prison who says he knows her, but they’ve never met. There’s a twist you won’t see coming. And here’s the latest release in that mafia series with all the hot Irishmen. Oh! Okay, I can’t remember if you’re into stalker romance, but this one’s amazing.”

I crinkle my nose. “I don’t know if I could ever find a stalker sexy.”

Eyes shining, Emery turns to me. Her laugh is low and mysterious. “Trust me, stalkers can be incredibly sexy.”

When she laughs again, I get the feeling there’s more to that comment than just a book recommendation. “Okay. If you say so. You haven’t steered me wrong yet.”

We spend a few more minutes chatting about books and getting up to date, then I happen to mention how I’ve been thinking of making a job change.

She stares at me for a beat, gears turning behind her eyes.

“You have an accounting degree, right?”

“Yes. Good memory.”

“Do you have any experience working for a CFO?”

I shrug. “I report directly to the CFO in my position now.”

For some strange reason, Emery is starting to look excited. “How about a big international firm? Ever worked for one of those?”

“The company I work for is on the Fortune Global 500. Why do you ask?”

“Because a customer of mine is looking for an assistant. He’s the CFO at a multinational corporation.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and I think you’d be perfect.” Her tone brightens. “You’re exactly the right combination of tough and experienced.”

“The way you say that makes me think tough might be the more important requirement.”

She hesitates, quirking her lips.

“Let me guess. This customer’s a piece of work, isn’t he?”

“He’s been through four assistants this year alone.”

“Yikes. Please tell me he’s not handsy.”

She looks shocked by the suggestion. “No! Oh God, no, nothing like that. He’s very professional. But he’s…”

I laugh at the way she’s trying to find a nice way to say something bad. “He’s a dick.”

“I was going to say temperamental. Well, no, I don’t want to make it sound like he goes around throwing tantrums. It’s actually the opposite. He’s controlled, but in a really intense way. Like it always seems as if he’s about to blow up, but he never does. He’s got this supercharged energy. Most people are extremely intimidated by him.”

A brief but vivid memory of the way Cole stared at me from across the bar flashes into my mind’s eye.

Talk about intense and intimidating. Mr. Dark and Stormy practically invented the words.

Smiling, I say, “Sometimes people who seem the most off-putting at first are actually the biggest softies once you get to know them.”

“If you’re interested, I can email you the job description to see if it might be a good fit for you. Their main office is located downtown.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go to the trouble. I can look it up on the company’s website if you tell me the name.”

“It’s not listed on the website. They’re using a recruiting firm to try to find a match this time.”

“Ah. Because they’ll have to replace the candidate at their expense if it doesn’t work out.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you have any idea what salary they’re offering?”

Emery names a figure so high, I think she’s joking. I laugh, but when she doesn’t crack a smile and only stares at me, I realize she’s not.

“Seriously?”

“Yes. The position comes with amazing benefits too. Health insurance, life insurance, 401(k) with matching contributions, lots of paid time off, all kinds of perks.”

“It sounds like the only drawback is the person I’d be working for.”

She waves a hand in the air, smiling like a model in an infomercial. “Who knows? Maybe you two will hit it off immediately.”

Her fake smile doesn’t fool me. “Uh-huh. Or maybe I’ll want to throw myself out a window after a week.”