Page 60 of When Glitter Meets Gold

“Can you just tell me? I have a meeting in the boardroom in…” I glance at my watch. “Thirty seconds!”

“Oh, I know all about your meeting.” He scoffs. “I set it up. I was going to prepare you for who’s in there. But now…” He continues to dab at the makeup. “You can walk in there clueless.” He narrows his eyes, looking down his nose at my hair. “Andwith frizzy ends.”

25

SARA

Frizzy ends.

I scoff while smoothing down my hair as I approach the boardroom. I donothave frizzy ends. I spend far too much on hair treatments and salon visits to havefrizzy ends.

I’m still furious over Francis’s comment when I arrive outside the boardroom. I consider my retaliation comment as I pat at the pleats in my tweed mini skirt, thrusting my shoulders back like some flustered peacock before I greet my mystery guest.

I grip the handle and burst into the room.

And then, my nipples get so hard they feel like they’ve turned to steel.

“Jack! What are you doing here?!” I shriek when the sight of him standing next to the floor-to-ceiling window, dressed in another impeccably tailored suit, one hand in his pocket, the portrait of sexy and panty dropping, startles the absolute shit out of me.

I’d be lying if I tried to convince myself he hasn’t been on mymind since our encounter in the alley way. Since thatkiss. The one that sent my pulse racing, my body heating, and my pussy clenching, because yes, Amber was right, it’s been a while…

God, focus.

“Sorry,” I say, collecting myself and thrusting the image of being slammed against the boardroom table and fucked into oblivion, out of my head. “I mean, what are you doing in my office? If you needed to talk to me, I’m sure yourresourcefulassistant could have stalked me and tracked down my phone number.”

Whispers of humor etch their way onto his handsome face as he moves around the curve of the boardroom table. “I considered it. But I wanted to do this in person.”

I gulp as his large hands come to rest over the top of a high-backed, leather chair. His gold cufflinks glint under the low lighting, forcing the rest of his impeccably dressed ensemble to fall under my scrutiny. It’s as if the scruffy man I met on the trails was all just an illusion, something I dreamt up. Because this version of Jack is solid, something carved in stone. Not a hair is out of place.

I tuck my hair behind my ears, fighting the urge to loosen my silk necktie due to how increasingly warm it’s becoming in here. This is insane. I spent an entire night with him in the wilderness, and now I can’t form sentences because I can’t stop thinking about his body beneath that suit, and how I know exactly how it feels to be pressed against that body, taut muscles contracting against my chest and hips during a rainstorm…Stop.

I clear my throat. “Do what in person?”

Jack leans against the side of the mahogany table, not taking his eyes from me.

“On the trails, right before I left you, you spoke about anidea you had.” He watches me until I catch on. “Something about needing an edge for a promotion.”

Intrigued, I narrow my eyes, and fold my arms over my chest. “Go on.”

“What if I showed you what goes on behind the scenes of my company? What if you saw what it means to be me?” He shrugs. “You could decide if I’m more than some ‘greedy zillionaire who reaps the benefits of others work from…a super yacht in the Caribbean’,was it?” He smirks as he repeats what I said to him at Midas the other night.

I grin as I chew the corner of my mouth. “It’s an interesting offer,” I say calmly. “But I don’t get how that helps with my promotion.”

He steps forward. “I want to hire you.”

“Hire me?” I shriek while assessing what he’s offering. Is Jack inviting me to associate with the Vandenberg Group? I’m speechless.

“This isn’t arrogance, Sara,” Jack says. “This is using what I have to help those around me. I know the sway my company can have.” He moves a step closer to me. “You don’t have to say yes, but just know the offer doesn’t come with terms, just you getting to see that I’m not a jerk.”

I find my voice. “I don’t think you’re being arrogant. I’m just surprised, that’s all…but I guess you did tell me you’d do the opposite of what I’d expect.” I take a deep breath, then shake my head. “You really want to hire me?” He nods. “To do what?”

Jack pulls out a chair, gesturing for me to sit. I’m hesitant, but also fascinated to hear what he thinks I can do for him. I slip onto the taupe leather, crossing my legs before tugging at the hem of my skirt when I feel the material expose too much of my thigh. Why did I choose the miniskirt today of all days?

“You look really fucking hot by the way.” Jack stares me dead in the eye while he pulls out his own chair from beneath the table, twists it to face me, and takes a seat opposite.

Stifling a grin and ignoring the urge to sit on his lap and grind against his crotch, I force a neutral expression. I don’t respond but I know he sees my cheeks flush.

He smirks before a different type of focus takes over him. Business Jack. “I have twenty-eight venues across the city that serve food on a daily basis.”

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