Clenching my hands into fists, I glowered as I stomped back to my office. I needed her near, and the only way I could think to do that was to make her one of my assistants. Luckily, one of them had just been promoted so there was a spot open. However, it was unlikely an intern would be qualified, so I was going to have to come up with a plausible explanation that didn’t include, “Because she’s mine, and I need her where I can fuck her any time I want.”
I stopped at Lois’s desk since it often came in handy that Lois seemed to know everything and everyone around here. “The red-haired intern in the front of the group. In the gray skirt and white blouse.”
Lois raised a brow and waited.
“Find out who she is and send me her resume.”
She cocked her head and studied me for a minute, likely debating whether it was smart to pump me for more information. Wisely, she simply nodded and turned back to her work. I wasn’t ready to talk about my future wife. Not yet.
I intended to google her while I waited, but by the time I had unlocked my computer and signed into our private server, bypassing the firewall, my email pinged with a message from Lois that had several attachments. I printed them out and relaxed in my chair as I read the information in her personnel file. Her name was Charlotte Kennedy—beautiful. But it would be even more so when it was Charlotte Whitney.
Twenty-one, although her birthday was in a couple of months.
That made me nineteen years older than her, which probably should have made me stop and rethink things. Instead, I started wondering if she was untouched and thought of all the things I would teach her. Things she would only ever use with me. Because if I found out someone else had touched what was mine, I would kill the son of a bitch.
Home address was listed in Manhattan.
Graduated Summa Cum Laude from NYU with a degree in economics and a minor in child development. Plus, she was a Rhodes Scholar.
Worked in the daycare at K-Corp all through high school.
She’d also interned with Diego Sanchez for a year—a close friend of mine who also happened to be an entrepreneur who bought businesses, built them into a success, and sold them off.
She volunteered at the animal shelter on 1st and 38th and taught swimming and tumbling lessons to children under five at the local YMCA.
Clearly, she loved children. Which boded well for us because the moment I saw Charlotte, I knew I wanted a large family. My brother was going to drop dead when I told him, considering I had no interest in a family at all during our conversation only minutes before the interns arrived.
But just from the one cursory perusal of her information, I was confused about why she was on the intern team.
Overqualified was an understatement.
Although, I was beyond relieved to see that there wouldn’t be too much pushback from HR when I promoted her. She wasn’t as experienced as I usually expected of my direct reports, but it would be easy enough to convince them she was a diamond in the rough. Which couldn’t have been further from the truth. Charlotte was the brightest gem I’d ever seen.
I pored over her application and college transcripts multiple times, making sure I didn't miss a single detail. Not that this small amount of information would satisfy me for long. However, something had been poking at the back of my mind, and I’d been unable to grasp it even though something told me it was an answer that I needed.
Kennedy. It wasn’t an unusual surname, but I couldn’t figure out what it was about it that kept nudging me. Setting the packet of papers aside, I went back to my earlier intention and googled my girl’s name.
Motherfucker.
Charlotte (Charlie) Kennedy was the oldest child of Hazel and Jamison Kennedy. The same Jamison Kennedy who owned one-third of K-Corp, one of the world's biggest investment firms. A man who was known for being a little overprotective of his wife and daughters.
That explained her internship with Diego. He was married to Thatcher Kendall’s daughter, and Thatcher and his brother Justice were the other two owners of K-Corp. Diego had mentioned the tight net these men cast over their families more than once. Apparently, Thatcher had almost killed him when he showed up at their house with his daughter, who was suddenly engaged and pregnant.
If Charlotte’s father interfered, it would make things a little more difficult, though not impossible. Absolutely nothing would stand in the way of me claiming her for my own.
Since Jamison was such a prominent figure in New York City, write-ups on his family were easy to find. However, none of them had information that wasn’t easily accessed by the public. Justice, Thatcher, Jamison, and their close friend, Jonah Carrington—who I’d dealt with on occasion since he handled the security for my company—were all well-known billionaires with a reputation for fiercely protecting the privacy of their families. I respected that, even if I was disappointed not to learn more about Charlotte.
“Lois!” I shouted. She rose from her desk and walked into my office, all at a snail’s pace. Dammit. She hated it when I yelled rather than used the intercom, but I’d been anxious and forgot. “Sorry,” I mumbled when she finally entered.
“Yes, Mr. Whitney?” she asked primly. Fuck. She was really annoyed. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she spit on my lunch later.
I gave her my most winning smile, and she rolled her eyes. Lois and her husband were disgustingly in love, and my charms had zero effect on her. Something I usually appreciated...unless I wanted something she wasn’t willing to give. Which, in this case, was her speedy cooperation.
I sighed. “I’ll do better,” I promised.
Noah thought it was absolutely hilarious that Lois treated me like a wayward child and got away with it. He’d never worked with her, though. She was brilliant and near perfect at her job. I wouldn’t give her up without a fight to the death, and she knew it.
“Fine,” she agreed, and I blew out a relieved breath.
“I need you to call HR and tell them to hire Charlotte Kennedy full-time. She’ll fill Wilford’s position.”
If Lois thought my request was strange or disagreed, she didn’t say so. “Anything else?” she asked.
I hesitated before giving her my next instruction, knowing it would reveal more than I wanted at this moment. And/or make me look crazy. The truth was, my sanity would only be in jeopardy if I didn’t get what I wanted, so I added, “Tell Duncan to move into Willford’s office today and put Charlotte in the office next to mine.”
Lois was a master at remaining calm and keeping a mask of professionalism on her face. When a tiny smirk kicked up one corner of her mouth, I was shocked. I kept expecting her to question my instruction, but instead, she just said, “Will do,” and sauntered out of the office.
I didn’t get a damn thing done the rest of the day. My mind wouldn’t focus on anything other than Charlotte. My body already craved her, and I had to remind myself that she didn’t know me. Fucking her on day one was out of the question. How long I had to wait constantly changed as I justified it happening sooner and sooner. How long would it take to make her fall in love with me when the pull between us was so strong? I wanted my ring on her finger and our baby growing inside her as soon as possible.
The one task I managed to complete was to set up security for Charlotte and put a plan in place for the possible eventuality that I’d need to grab her sexy ass and steal her away. I was covering all of my bases because Charlotte was going to be mine one way or another.