The office quiets down as our operations publisher, John Raymond, walks into the conference room.
“I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, but it’s Monday morning and time to get down to business. I would like to introduce to you your new boss and owner, Bentley Harrington. Please give him the same respect you gave Paul.”
I’m redoing my messy bun—I’m sure looking a hot mess still—when the room begins to clap, indicating our new boss has entered the room. Hopefully, he is as great a boss as Paul. I feel like I owe everything to Paul for giving me a chance. This is not the time to get emotional for what feels like the millionth time in seventy-two hours.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Oh fuck. That voice. I must be dreaming.
“I’m Bentley Harrington, but you can call me Ben.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. When I open my eyes, I know exactly who I will be staring at. My mouth goes parched. I avoid eye contact and quickly reach for my coffee cup, splashing a little on the table.
“Shit,” I mumble. My cheeks redden as I know everyone heard me.
My heart begins racing again as I can feel his eyes on me.
“Is everything okay, miss?” his deep voice asks, and I want to bury myself six feet under. Keep it together, Lex.
“Ben, this is Lexi Baker, our events director,” John introduces.
I swallow thickly as I know there is no more hiding. I try to even out my breathing as I lift my eyes to meet his dark eyes. This man is even more gorgeous than I remember. The golden flecks of his eyes, reflecting from the fluorescent office lights, the angle of his sharp jaw begging to be nipped, and that beautiful perfect smile that still flips my insides, but it quickly fades away when he takes me in.
Ben runs his hand over his neatly trimmed beard, and I remember how the scruff felt on my skin. His facial expression gives away no indication that he knows who I am, but his eyes tell me everything. Questions clearly flood his brain, but I’m sure the main one is why did I run? I wish we were alone, not having a staring contest in front of my office. Or well, his office. Oh my God, he’s my new boss. I slept with my boss. I got off with my showerhead yesterday morning with thoughts of things my new boss did to me with his tongue, fingers, and cock. I can feel the blush creeping up my cheeks and chest in embarrassment.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Baker. I look forward to working with you.” He then turns to the rest of the staff, completely ignoring me. “I look forward to working with all of you. I am sure that the sale of Maritime Media was somewhat unexpected. Paul and I had spoken for some time about this deal, and trust me when I say he did not do this lightly. I know that his company meant everything to him; it still does. I also know that this company runs like a tight-knit family, and I intend to keep that going. Family means everything to me.”
Ben’s facial expression changes, but only for a millisecond. If I hadn’t already been watching him so closely, I might have missed it. But I was watching him and did notice it.
So far, this morning, I learned his first name is Bentley, but he goes by Ben. His last name is Harrington. He is my new boss, and family is everything to him. My stomach drops, and my breakfast is ready to find its way back up when I think of what else I don’t know. Does he have a wife? I don’t recall a ring on his finger when we had our fingers linked while dancing. My eyes wander down his body to recheck his hands; however, Ben has since placed his hands in his pockets.
As my eyes rake back up, I can’t help but notice the way his suit molds to his fit body. Remembering the feel of his body on mine, my mouth waters, and my panties dampen. I need to knock these thoughts away. He is my new boss and entirely off-limits.
“Well, I’ve held up enough of your time with me. John, I’ll turn this meeting back over to you.” I realize that I completely zoned out and didn’t listen to anything else he said. Great, this is off to a fantastic start.
“Why don’t we go around each department and fill everyone in as to what’s going on this week or any important news to share.”
Ben stands in the corner of the room, and I try to look anywhere but him as my fellow employees begin to speak, but my body fails me, and I get a glimpse of him in my peripheral vision. My breathing becomes slightly erratic as I notice that his eyes are trained directly on me. I grab the pen from my notebook and pretend to jot notes down as everyone speaks, but in reality, I am telling myself to keep it cool and not run out of the office and say goodbye to my dream job, all because for once, I let my vagina take the lead over my head. The last time I did that, look at how it turned out. Oh, wonderful, I have now not only slept with my old boss’s son, but I have also now slept with my boss. I am going to get myself a bad rap around here if people find out.
A smack to my leg brings me out of my thoughts as I quickly whip my head to the right to Amy. She gives me a look indicating that it’s my turn. I’m as nervous, if not more, than my very first day here at Maritime Media. I slowly turn my head back to the table. I tell myself mentally the same mantra Hadley forced me to say to myself every time I wanted to cry when Dominic raised hell in here after we broke up. I am Lexi Baker. This is my dream job. I am the youngest events director for this company, and I got here because I’m a badass bitch.
“Lexi? Anything you want to share from Events?” John chimes in, clearly annoyed that I wasn’t paying attention. Great start to a new week and in front of my new boss.
I adjust myself in my seat and straighten my shoulders. I avoid all eye contact with Ben. This is what I’m good at. This is my calling. “Yes, of course, John. Sorry, I haven’t had enough caffeine this morning.” The room erupts in laughter. I place one hand on my notebook, the other on the table. “As you all know, the Best of Willow Creek Party is the biggest event of the year. The ballots were distributed in the last two months’ issues, as well as voting online. Once voting is closed shortly, I have the awesome job of going through the votes, and once they are tallied, they will be approved and finalized. I have the final venue options for approval. Oh, and don’t forget”—I turn to where the clump of sales reps are sitting—“we need auction items, so remember to talk to your clients. Ones that are winners, we will definitely want to go after for prizes, but even if you visit restaurants or salons or find those cute bed-and-breakfasts on the outskirts of town at the beach, bring me your suggestions, and I will reach out to them for prizes.”
I feel like I just word vomited in the meeting, and it isn’t until I look around the room that I remember Ben is standing there. He is still staring at me intently, but the corner of his mouth is tipped upward. I wish I could figure out what his expression is trying to tell me. “That’s it from Events.” I shrug back into my seat when the person to my left begins to talk about Sports. I glance in Ben’s direction one more time before he adjourns the meeting. Seriously, what is wrong with me?
“Okay, everyone, let’s get to work. My office door is always open, and I look forward to getting to know you all.” I avoid eye contact as I rise from my seat and gather my belongings. The conference room feels like it has been slowly shrinking the longer I’m in there. I need air; I need space.
I quickly race back to the safety of my office, not wasting time to introduce myself to the new boss like the others are. Trust me, I know him rather well. He knows me inside and out. My heart is racing as I grab my phone and pull up my group chat with Hadley and Brynn. They are never going to believe this. I’m not even sure I believe this. I pinch myself just before hitting Send to make sure this isn’t all a dream.