Page 4 of Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss

Lydia seemed to snap out of whatever held her captive, and she took his hand. “Lydia Parker.” Lydia glared at Kat. “Will you close the door when you leave?”

Kat nodded and pulled the door shut. What wasthatabout? As she walked past Fred’s desk she leaned over. “Do you know that guy?”

Fred shook his head. “Nope. Never seen him before.”

Weird. Whatever it was, Kat hoped the newspaper wasn’t in trouble. Christmas was two weeks away and she couldn’t afford to lose her job. She barely scraped by as it was, and her mother needed her.

Chapter 2

Damian sized up the woman standing behind the desk. She was in her early fifties, dedicated to her work, and flustered that he was in her office. If he was going to get to the bottom of this, he’d better play it cool.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Warren. I had no idea you were in town.” Lydia twisted her hands together.

“I flew in last night.” He glanced around her office. There was nothing of value. Nothing special about the building. He didn’t even see any printing presses, which might be worth something to a museum. Maybe they printed in another building. He’d have to ask.

“I see.” Lydia smoothed out her pencil skirt. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I’m here to check up on things. I’ve been running Warren Industries since my father’s passing.”

Lydia slowly nodded. “What would you like from me? Access to the books? To the building?”

Good. She was going to cooperate. “Yes. I’ll need both of those things.”

“Of course. Anything you need. You’ll see we run a tight ship here. Pleasant Hollow is a small town, but they rely on their weekly newspaper.”

“Weekly?” Damian sucked in a breath. “You’re not a daily paper?”

“Oh, heavens no. We don’t have enough staff to print daily.”

Wow. They actually brought in more income than he’d thought with just a weekly paper. Now he was more curious than ever to see their books. “Do you have a desk I could use? Just for a few days?”

Lydia swallowed. She looked like she was going to faint. “Yes, of course. Come with me.” She brushed past him and opened the door, motioning for him to follow her. “Everyone, this is Damian. He owns Pleasant Hollow Times.” She began pointing people out. “This is Sarah and Fred. They do the reporting. Paul is our graphic designer and he sells the ads. And Katherine runs the front desk and helps with whatever else is necessary.”

She turned back to her employees. “Damian’s going to be using Garrett’s old desk for a few days. Please let him have access to what he needs. He’s come all the way from New York.”

Damian felt the weight of all eyes on him. He tugged at his tie. “Yes. Thank you. Just go on doing your jobs. I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

Lydia walked to an empty desk near the front of the room. “You can sit here.”

Damian set his briefcase down on the scratched wood surface. It was more in the open than he’d like, but it would have to do. He didn’t want to start off by kicking Lydia out of her office. “Thanks.”

“I’ll go get the files you’ll need.” She left him there, with everyone still staring at him.

He glanced at Katherine, sitting behind the front desk. She wore a baggy sweater with skinny jeans and tall black boots. It looked good on her.

First things first. “Do you know where I can get a good cup of coffee?”

Katherine stood. “I’ll get you a cup.”

“No,” he said quickly, glancing at the cheap coffee maker on the counter. “I’d rather order specifically what I like if you don’t mind.”

The woman glared at him, her hand on her hip. “What’s wrong with the coffee I made?”

Damian cleared his throat and stepped over to her desk. “I’m sorry, Katherine.”

“It’s Kat.”

He started again. “I’m sorry, Kat. I don’t want to hurt your feelings. I’d just like to order from a coffee shop. Surely there’s one around here.”

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