“Sort of.”
“Very well. I’ll let you know when it arrives.” She gave him a curt nod and turned to leave the room, mindful of each step she took and wondering if he watched her as she left.
* * *
For the second time today, Eli watched his assistant’s ass sway and wondered at the chutzpah of this woman. Didn’t she know who she was dealing with? It wasn’t often, if ever, he trotted out his family crest to remind people to respect him, but maybe the reminder was overdue.
“Sable” behaved as if she had little to no respect for his billions in the bank, or maybe she’d worked for so many billionaires in the past, she was bored rather than impressed.
Not that he wanted to impress her.
She’d knocked him off center for sure, and there was no denying that the palpable snap of attraction in the air was as inconvenient as it was enthralling. Eli Crane wasn’t easily enthralled.
She’d succeeded at getting him to fill out the e-mail for a conference call she’d handle later. For the first few minutes, he pecked away with a childlike scowl on his face, answering carefully and succinctly, before deciding he was behaving a tad melodramatically.
Reese would be thrilled at the participation, and his assistant was right—filling out her requests wasn’t time-consuming. Still, Eli wasn’t stepping into COO until he was ready—no matter how many tasks Isabella Sawyer conned him into doing.
He clicked SEND and leaned back in his chair, arms over his chest, mind lost in thought on the upcoming boardroom meeting.
Until a samurai sword blade sliced down his back.
He barely contained a surprised bleat, swallowing down the pain and putting both hands on the arms of his chair to ride it out. It would pass. It’d always passed before.
He counted to three, then back to one, then up to three again. A few low and slow breaths later, the spasm relaxed enough that he no longer saw spots. Used to be the phantom pains, tingles, and stabbing needles came from the part of his right leg he no longer had, but that had since ceased. He’d noticed back pain more and more often lately. He swiped his hand over his brow to find sweat beading there.
God. He hoped this wasn’t a new thing. Or, worse, that the phantom pains were planning to return for an encore.
“Stupid fucking chair.” He pushed himself up and rolled the chair several feet away from the desk. He walked across the room, stopping halfway to prop a hand on the wall and take another breath. The elevator door screeched open. Lunch delivery, he assumed. Sable was nothing less than efficient. She’d insisted on ordering lunch and he had no doubt she’d marched out there and checked it off her planner right away.
He hobbled from his office, straightening his back as he clenched his jaw. He’d made it a habit to limp around the other PAs like Frankenstein’s monster, but with Isa he sensed it was more like being the lame antelope in a lioness’s sights.
A wave of admiration crashed over him in spite of himself. She was seriously underutilized as an assistant. She should be someone’s boss. And not mine, he thought with a frown.
Eli arrived at the table as Isa returned with a bag of takeout.
“You’re making a face,” she said. “Do you not like Indian food?”
“I like all food.”
“Except for meat unless it’s seafood.”
“Right.” She didn’t ask him to expound and he was glad. He was sick to death of qualifying his preferences since his unwelcome trip home.
Honorably discharged was a shitty way to say goodbye.
“Do you eat a lot of takeout?” Her tone was conversational as she unloaded foam containers and plastic ware. “I do. Too much. Probably I should cook more, but I’m so busy at work.” She paused to send him a glance as she folded the paper bag neatly. “Lots of people need assistants.”
He didn’t respond.
Her full lips pursed as she set the bag aside. He watched as she stacked her sleek laptop, planner, and phone and pushed them to the side. Her pen rested flush against the stack. It was like watching a live-action game of Tetris.
“You do this a lot?” he asked before he thought about it. He was supposed to be running her off, not conversing.
“Do what?” When she tilted her head, her long, dark hair hung at her side like a drawn curtain. He was momentarily blinded by how damn gorgeous she was. He blinked out of his stupor and waved a hand in her general direction. “Assist.”
“Oh, of course.” She opened the lid to her food and handed him a plastic fork.
A tantalizing, spicy scent curled into his nostrils and his mouth watered.
“This is my job, after all. I’m well versed in how to serve,” she said.
Seemed an odd choice for someone who was so damned bossy. But maybe that was her specialty. Bossing around her boss.
“Well, this can be your last day. I don’t need your help.” He dug a fork into his food and scooped up a bite. Holy hell, it was like having a mouthful of fire ants. Sweat coated his forehead anew as tears pricked his eyes.
“I should have warned you, I had them make both our entrees the same heat level.” She took a dainty bite and chewed, not reacting to the hellfire the way he had. “Today isn’t my last day, Eli, but if you’d like, I can finish up after lunch. I have another assignment that needs my attention.”
Mouth the temperature of Hades, he reached for the water bottles on the table, knocking one over to get to the other. By the time he’d drained one and caught his breath, Isa had finished half her food and was pecking into her phone at the same time.
“What’s it going to take to get you out of here?” he croaked, cracking the lid on the other bottle.
She finished typing on her phone, shut off the screen, and set it aside. Before she answered, she ran a tongue over her teeth, pushing her lips out and making him curious if they tingled the way his did.
He hadn’t lusted after a woman since the last woman he’d lived with. Clearly he needed to have a conversation with his dick, because this was not the one to start with.
“Start by telling me what had you cursing and grunting earlier. Did you hurt yourself?” She cocked her head.
“No,” he lied.
Her eyebrows jumped briefly. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m not your nurse.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“You don’t answer any of mine.”
“Dammit, Sable.”
Her nickname suited her. It was exotic like her eyes and matched the deep brown of her hair. Her steady gaze reminded him of the spice in the food. She was almost too hot for him to handle.
“Forget it.” Rather than continue to argue, he pushed himself from the table and stalked back to his office, fists balled at his sides in frustration. Having a woman here—sharing a meal with her—reminded him of a time he couldn’t get back. A time in his life when he’d opened up, but it hadn’t been enough. The one time when everything blew up in his face.
In his office, he glanced down at his leg in consideration.
Correction. Twice.
Twice now life had blown up in his face.
Chapter 3
Three of the longest days of my life,” Isa told Chloe. She plunked her tote onto her desk, where her assistant sat tapping out an e-mail.