Page 747 of One More Kiss

Riley

No, no, no, no…This can’t be happening.

Paul is not Paul at all, he is Nicholas Brooks, president of the New York office. My boss’s boss and brother!

No, no, no!

The two-letter word runs rampant in my mind. This is just my luck. Looking into his eyes, I spot the same surprise and confusion that I’m feeling reflecting back at me. For a long moment, I’m so shocked I can’t do anything besides stare at the man in front of me. He is wearing a crisp white shirt under a midnight blue suit that’s tailored perfectly to his body.

He seems just as mesmerized as me, until he clears his throat and looks away, breaking the spell he put us both under.

“William, I’ll take it from here. Thank you, you may go now,” he tells his brother.

Mr. Brooks gives him a brief glare before leaving the room, probably for dismissing him the way he did.

Nicholas either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, because he turns his attention back to the people sitting at the table. “Let’s go around and see what you each have so far. Mike, let’s start with you.”

“Mr. Brooks, let me start out by saying it’s an honor to work with you.”

Oh great, a suck-up. Love those.

“Legally, everything looks great. We are buying all the surrounding land at the moment. As soon as that’s done we’ll be ready to file all the permits we need and draw up contracts.”

“Great, next.” Nicolas moves onto the next person. “John, have you thought about possible designs?”

“Yes, sir. I have three rough drafts right here, ready for you to look over.” John hands him a stack of papers. Nicholas takes them but doesn’t even flip through them.

What the hell?

“Bill?” he asks the general contractor, the only man inside this room who is wearing a polo shirt and khakis instead of a suit.

“I’m interviewing a team now. I have some past day-laborers that I’m sure will appreciate the job, and my normal sub-contractors to do the specialty work. We’ll be ready to put this bad boy up when you are.”

“Naomi, what do you have for me?” he asks Tits McGee, who is sitting next to me.

“A whole lot of stuff, Mr. Brooks.” She giggles, and I can’t help but roll my eyes at her flirty remark. Unfortunately, as I turn my head, Nicholas catches my expression. His eyebrows raise, and I’m not sure if he is about to say something or laugh. Of course, he does neither. The man is like stone; impassable, expressionless, and cold.

He simply ignores me and turns his attention back to Naomi. I drown out her annoying, high-pitched voice and try to gather my thoughts into a box I can carry out to the trash and forever forget, but it doesn’t work. I’m reminded by the man in front of me I slept with my boss. The good news is I didn’t know he was my boss. Still, how am I going to work with him? Is he going to want me off this project? Do I want to be on this project?

I’m so caught up in my head that I don’t realize Naomi is finished talking and everyone’s full attention is directed at me.

“Riley, is it?” Nicholas questions curiously, and my mouth goes dry.

“Ah, yes… Riley… is my name.” I stumble over my words in the most awkward way possible.

Please, someone, kill me now.

“Umm…” I look down at the stack of papers in front of me, trying to pretend he’s not here. “I-I compiled a list of things… ah, colors I mean,” I stutter. “Since the building will be used as a mental hospital, I picked a calming color scheme.”

They’re probably going to put me in that mental hospital if I don’t get my shit together soon.

“Simple designs throughout, and I even found some art pieces by a French artist that are known to have soothing and relaxing effects.”

“Name?” Nicholas asks, not looking up from his paper.

“Um, Riley,” I say, but it sounds more like a question.

The boardroom erupts into laughter, and I feel my cheeks heat. Naomi covers her mouth as if she can barely contain her giggles.

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