“Julia,” he got up from his desk, “it’s nice to meet you. Welcome to Kind Design & Architecture.” He extended his hand to her.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Kind.”
“What happened to Kendra?” he asked.
“She got another job.”
“Oh.” His eyes narrowed at me because he knew I was lying. “I wasn’t aware she’d given her notice.”
I shifted my weight as my hands stayed tightly tucked in my pants pockets and I pursed my lips. There was no doubt I was going to hear about this.
“We’ll let you get back to work,” I said.
“It was nice to meet you, Julia. Sam, I need to speak with you for a moment about that project you’re working on.”
And here it came.
“You can go back to my office. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I turned and looked at Julia.
“Okay.” She smiled. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Kind.”
As soon as Julia shut the door, my dad started in on me.
“You slept with Kendra, didn’t you?”
“Dad, I—”
“I don’t want to hear it, Sam.” He put his hand up. “What have I told you time and time again about sleeping with the women at the office?”
“I know, but—”
“No buts!” His voice raised. “One of these days we’re going to get slapped with a sexual harassment suit because you can’t keep your dick in your pants.”
I wanted to tell him look who was talking, considering he’d cheated on all his ex-wives except my mother. But who the hell knew, he might have.
“I’m warning you. You are to stay away from Julia.”
Shit. If he only knew about Friday night.
“That’s going to be impossible since she’s my personal assistant.”
“Don’t get smart with me, boy. You know exactly what I mean.”
“Are we done here, Dad? I need to get back to work.”
“Yes. We’re done.” He shook his head. “By the way, did you and your brothers go get your tuxedos yet for the wedding?”
“We’re going tomorrow.”
“Okay. I’ll let Celeste know.”
As soon as I left his office, I went to see Grayson. Stepping inside, I planted my hands firmly on his desk and stared at him while he finished his phone call.
“I have to call you back, Louise.” He ended the call.
“How could you?” I spoke in a stern voice. “You blatantly lied to me!”
“She was the most qualified, Sam! Here, read the recommendation from Steven Hart.” He handed me the letter.
Grabbing it from him, I stood there and read it.
“This is on you!” He pointed at me. “You need to learn to control your impulses around women!”
“Yeah. Well, it’s too late!” I threw the letter on the desk.
“I kind of figured that by the look on both of your faces when you saw each other! If this is a problem, I’ll move her somewhere else in the company. I just can’t fire her because you slept with her.”
“It won’t be a problem and it won’t happen again. I can assure you of that. She’s different.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The day after our night together, I told her it was only a one-time thing and she agreed that it was for her as well.”
“She could have a change of heart since she’ll be working with you every day.”
“Then I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t. Don’t lie to me again!” I pointed at him as I walked out of his office.
Chapter 9
Julia
I sat at my desk and patiently waited for Sam to return. I should have put two and two together that night. His name and the house he lived in. It was different. A different design than all the other houses on the beach. I should have known he designed it himself. So much for my one-night stand and never seeing him again. Had I known, I never would have slept with him. I would admit thoughts of him rumbled around in my head all weekend. The night we spent together was incredible, and I was just about over it until I saw him again.
“My office, now,” he said.
Getting up from my desk, I followed him inside.
“Shut the door,” he snapped.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
He rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh.
“What happened between us the other night will never happen again. Do you understand me?”
I stood there in confusion because I had no idea where this was coming from. I’d thought we already put that behind us.
“Yes. Of course, I understand. I don’t plan on it ever happening again. I already told you that. You were a one-night stand, Sam. Nothing more.”
He stood there and narrowed his eyes at me with his hands tucked in his pants pockets.
“Do you usually have a lot of one-night stands?” he asked.
“Well—I—I’ve had a few here and there. I’m human, and I have needs just like you.”
“Fair enough, Julia. I apologize for my abruptness. I was just worried that—”
“That I would want more from you?”
“Well, yes.”
“I don’t understand that. Just because two people have casual sex, it doesn’t mean anything. We had a good time for a few hours. That’s all it was. So can we put it behind us and get to work?”
“Yes.” The corners of his mouth curved upward. “Let’s do that. Thank you, Julia.”
“No need to thank me.” I grinned. “I look forward to getting to know you better as a boss and I will get you to stop putting that crap in your coffee.” A smirk crossed my lips and he chuckled.
“Never.”
It was an interesting first day of work. When I got home, I kicked off my heels, poured a glass of wine and sat down on the couch to relax. Picking up my phone, I called my mom.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Julia, sweetheart, how was your first day at your new job?”
“It was good, and interesting.”
“And your boss? What’s he like?”
“He’s nice. I think I’m going to like working for him.”
“Good. I’m happy to hear that. Your father and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night, and we’d like you to join us.”
“Sounds good. What time?”
“Seven o’clock?”
“Seven’s good. Which restaurant are you going to?”
“We’re not sure yet. I’ll text you tomorrow when we decide on a place.”
“Sounds good, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Tell Dad I said hi.”
“I will, Julia. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Setting down my phone, I stood up and grabbed my wine glass. walking over to the console table, I picked up the 5x7 frame and stared at it as tears filled my eyes. Suddenly, my phone rang and when I grabbed it, my sister, Jenni, was Facetiming me.
“Hey you!” I smiled when I saw her face on the screen.
“Hi.” She let out a long yawn.