Page 37 of Stolen Kisses

"Who is it?" I asked.

Knox was smiling again, but this time it was different. Sneaky. Or perhaps shady?

"Chase," the person on the other side said.

Knox looked at Finn and pointed to himself, murmuring, “I win,” before opening the door. Obviously the two had some sort of bet going on.

"The man of the hour and the Sterling brother who Hannah actually wanted to see," Knox said.

My face warmed, and I was certain Chase could see my blush as he trained his gaze on me. Then he took stock of his siblings.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"We came to give Hannah the good news,” Finn said.

“And maybe warn her," Knox went on.

"About what?" Yes, Chase was definitely annoyed.

"They just welcomed me to the company," I said quickly, already fearing things might heat up.

Finn focused on me. "Hannah, rule number one with the Sterling brothers is never try to manage us. It doesn't work."

I pressed my lips together, holding my hands up. "Okay, I give up." It was a good thing this wasn't part of the assessment, because I had absolutely no idea how to act.

"You two, get out," Chase told Knox and Finn.

Knox smiled triumphantly, looking at Finn and holding up two fingers.

What is up with these two?

“Out!” Chase said. His brothers filtered out one after the other, and then he closed the door. "Whatever they said, forget it."

I couldn't stop laughing. "I'm sorry. That was the most bizarre thing I've witnessed. I mean, you had kind of a similar interaction with them at the wedding, but I figured they’d behave at the office."

"Sometimes they do around strangers. They probably thought the rules don’t apply because they already met you before. I've been trying to make them behave for years, and I'm failing."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You're trying to make your grown brothers behave? I think your attitude is the one that's the problem here, not them."

His eyes flashed. "Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm."

"How was the day?" he asked, changing the subject.

"You didn't see the scores?"

“I did. Duncan sent them to me. They’re impressive. But I wondered howyouare."

"I’m fine, really. I haven't done this in a while, but it was exhilarating. I especially liked the case study, and I'm tremendously happy that I already know the decision, so I don't have to fret for days. I'm a bit light-headed because I only had a flimsy breakfast and am ready for a good lunch."

"We can go grab a bite once you're done."

I licked my lips, taking a step back, and hit the desk. He moved closer to the door, almost as if he was afraid of what might happen if we were too close. I was afraid too.

"No worries, I’ll take myself out. I saw a deli around the corner and eyed one of the burgers on the menu. Are there any steps left, or am I officially done?"

"Magda is going to come back with the contract. The two of you will look at it together, and then you’ll have a few days to review it."

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