“Have I ever failed?” Ash asked mockingly.
Gabe waved his hand, making a dismissive motion. No, Ash hadn’t ever failed. Gabe had no worries on that issue. The three of them made a solid team. Their strengths and weaknesses complemented one another very well.
HCM wasn’t just a business. It was a corporation forged in friendship and fierce loyalty. The very things Gabe was about to test, all because he was obsessed with Jace’s little sister. Jesus, but if that wasn’t fucked up.
Thankfully, Jace rose, his hand sliding from the woman’s leg. He reached to pull her up from Ash’s lap, and she settled comfortably between him and Ash as they moved toward Gabe’s office door.
Jace paused and then turned, a frown on his face. “I’ll try to call Mia on my way out but can you check with her while I’m gone? Make sure everything’s okay and she doesn’t need anything? I hate that I missed her last night.”
Gabe gave a short nod, controlling his features carefully. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, man. We’ll see you on the other side.”
“Keep me posted on how things are going,” Gabe said.
Ash grinned. “Control freak.”
Gabe flipped up his middle finger and Jace and Ash exited, their latest conquest sandwiched between them. Gabe leaned back in his chair, checked his watch, relief edging him. He still had half an hour before Mia was due to arrive. Jace and Ash should be well away by then.
Chapter three
Mia got out of the cab on Fifth Avenue, a short walk to the building that housed the HCM offices, and sighed at the positively gorgeous weather. The wind ruffled her hair, hinting at the chill that was inevitable. The days were getting cooler as fall wound down to winter.
Gabe lived a short distance away at 400 Fifth Avenue, a sleek, modern residential development, while Jace lived on the Upper West Side closer to Mia—she was convinced she was why Jace had never moved closer to his office. And Ash lived at 1 Morton Square, which overlooked the Hudson River.
Mia hurried into the high-rise Midtown building that housed HCM and hastily dug out her security pass to get by the turnstile leading to the elevators. Jace had given her the pass when he’d given her a tour of the HCM suite of offices a few years earlier, but she hadn’t had to use it very often since she was usually with Jace when she visited. For all she knew the damn thing might no longer work, and then she’d have to register with security. With that much time, she may well chicken out and just leave.
Thankfully she had no problems.
She checked her watch when she got on the crowded elevator and then shifted toward the back as even more people pushed in. It was five minutes to ten, and she hated being late. Not that she was—at least not yet—but she was one of those people who was always early. Being late made her twitchy, and coming in this close to the wire made her anxious.
Not that she had any reason for why she was so bent on obeying Gabe’s command. It wasn’t like he’d have her head if she were late. But still…There’d been something in his voice that had made her wary of antagonizing him. And if she were honest, she was eager to know why he’d summoned her so imperiously.
Caroline had rushed her through the shower and then dressed Mia as though she were a child with no clue what to wear. After choosing jeans that hugged every curve, she picked out a cami top and an oversized, cut-off T-shirt that bared one shoulder. It was short in the waist and bared the tiniest portion of her midriff, particularly when she moved just right.
Caroline had fluffed and dried Mia’s long hair and curled some of the layers so the result was a messier wild look. She swore that hair like Mia’s drove men wild. Mia wasn’t sure she wanted to drive Gabe to anything. Sure, he’d starred in more than one of her teenage—and adult—fantasies, but now that he’d gotten up close and personal, she sensed an immense power that radiated from him.
It had intimidated her and made her think twice about whether she’d ever be able to handle a man like him.
Mia had applied minimal makeup; not that she didn’t wear it, but somehow overdoing herself for this mysterious meeting with Gabe seemed…desperate. Like waving a neon sign stating her infatuation and intentions. What if this meeting was something completely mundane? Wouldn’t she feel like a huge moron going in dressed for seduction only to discover he wanted just to see how she was doing? Who the hell ever knew what he was thinking anyway? Gabe wasn’t someone who broadcast his thoughts or feelings to the world.
At exactly one minute to ten, she escaped the elevator and hurried into the reception sitting area of HCM. Eleanor, the receptionist, smiled and greeted Mia as she approached. Mia didn’t have time to ponder whether she was crazy for agreeing to this meeting or even to collect and calm herself before diving into the fire. She had one minute to get into Gabe’s office.
“I’m supposed to see Gabe at ten,” Mia said breathlessly.
“I’ll let him know you’re here,” Eleanor said as she picked up the phone.
Mia turned away, unsure of whether he would come get her or if she would go back. Whenever she came to see Jace, she always just walked in. There was no waiting as if she had an appointment.
“You can go back,” Eleanor called.
Mia quickly turned and then nodded, taking a deep breath and heading down the hallway, past Jace’s office to the end where Gabe’s spacious corner office was situated. She paused at the doorway and stared down at her polished toes that peeked from the sexy heels Caroline had suggested she wear.
She suddenly felt like the world’s biggest idiot. Whatever had come over Gabe at last night’s party was probably hugely misinterpreted by her. And she’d come dressed to kill.
She was just about to turn around and go back to the elevator as fast as those heels would take her when the door swung open and Gabe Hamilton stood there staring intently at her.
“I was wondering if you changed your mind,” he said.
She flushed guiltily, hoping like hell he couldn’t read her thoughts. Her guilt was probably plain to read on her face.
“I’m here,” she said bravely, notching up her chin to stare back at him.
He took a step back and swept his arm past him. “Come in.”
She sucked in her breath and entered the lion’s den.
She’d seen Gabe’s office once before, years ago when Jace had taken her on a tour of the floor HCM occupied, but she’d been excited and it had all been a blur. Now she studied the interior of Gabe’s office with keen interest.
It screamed classy and expensive. Rich mahogany wood, polished marble floor that was partially covered with an elegant oriental rug. The furniture was dark leather with an antique, old-world look. Paintings adorned three walls while the last wall was all built-in bookcases filled with an eclectic mixture of works.
Gabe loved to read. Jace and Ash teased Gabe about being a bookworm, but it was a passion that Mia shared with Gabe. While Gabe had given her the necklace and earrings she’d worn to the party the night before, that same Christmas, she’d given him a signed first edition of a Cormac McCarthy novel.
“You look nervous,” Gabe said, breaking into her thoughts. “I won’t bite, Mia. Not yet anyway.”
Her eyebrows lifted and he motioned for her to have a seat in front of his desk. He pulled the chair out and put his hand to her back as he guided her into place. She shivered at the heat of his touch, and he let his hand linger a moment even after she’d taken her seat.
He let his fingers slide up her shoulder before he finally walked back around his desk to take his seat across from her. For a long moment he stared at her until heat crawled up her neck and to her cheeks. He didn’t simply look at her. He made her feel devoured by his gaze.
“You wanted to see me,” she said in a low voice.
The corner of his mouth crooked upward. “I want to do more than see you, Mia. If I had only wanted to see you, I would have spent more time with you last night.”
Her breath stuttered raggedly over her lips and then for a brief time she simply forgot to breathe. She licked her lips and ran her tongue over her bottom lip in agitation.
“For God’s sake, Mia.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
His nostrils flared and his hands curled into fists on top of his desk. “I want you to come to work for me.”
Of all the things she thought he might say, that hadn’t been one of them. She stared in astonishment at him as she tried to process the fact that he’d just offered her a job. Good God, she’d been well on her way to making a giant ass of herself. Her cheeks tightened in humiliation.
“I have a job,” she said. “You know that.”
He made a dismissive gesture with his hand and a sound of impatience erupted from his throat.
“It’s not a job worthy of your capabilities and education and you know it.”
“It’s not like I intend this job to be forever,” she defended. “They’ve been good to me and they’re shorthanded, so I promised I’d stay on until they can hire someone else.”
He gave her a look of impatience. “How long have they been telling you that, Mia?”
She flushed and dropped her gaze briefly.
“You’re cut out for more than being a cashier in a pastry shop. Jace didn’t spend all that money and you didn’t spend all that time in college to pass out donuts.”
“I never intended it to be long-term!”
“I’m glad to hear that. So give your notice and come to work for me.”
He leaned back, staring intently at her as he awaited her response.
“What exactly is the job you’re offering me?”
“You’d be my personal assistant.”
Just the way he said the words sent a shiver down her spine. The emphasis on personal couldn’t possibly be mistaken.
“You don’t have a personal assistant,” she accused. “You never have. You hate them.”
“It’s true you’d be my first in a long while. I trust that you’d prove a very capable employee.”
It was her turn to study him. Her eyes narrowed as she took in his intense, brooding expression.
“Why?” she asked bluntly. “What is it you want, Gabe? And while you’re at it, explain last night. Because I’m at a complete loss.”
His smile was slow and deliciously arrogant. “So my kitten has claws.”
His kitten? She didn’t miss the significance of that little word.
“Don’t toy with me. Something else is going on here. Why do you want me to come to work for you?”
His upper lip worked up and down and his nostrils flared as he stared across the desk at her.
“Because I want you, Mia.”
Silence fell, cloaking the room, suffocating except for the loud pulse in her ears.
“I d-don’t understand.”
He smiled then, a predatory smile that slid over her like the smoothest silk. “Oh, I think you do.”
Her stomach flipped and butterflies swarmed her chest and tickled her throat. This wasn’t happening. It had to be a dream.
“What you suggest isn’t possible,” she said. “If I work for you…we can’t…”
“Can’t we?” he asked mockingly. He leaned farther back into his chair, indolent and confident as he turned to the side to stretch his long legs. “The purpose of your working for me is so you’d be at my side at all times. And I’d have you when I want and how I want.”
Heat infused her entire body. She fidgeted in her chair, her hands twisting together.
“This is overwhelming,” she confessed. It was lame. Completely lame as a comeback, but what else was she supposed to say? She was utterly speechless.
Her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She knew there was more to this than his words. There was a wealth of meaning in those dark eyes. She felt hunted. Stalked.
“Come here, Mia.”
The firm but gentle command washed through the haze of confusion. Her eyes widened as her gaze found his, and she realized he was waiting for her to come to him.
She rose, her legs shaky, and she rubbed her hands down her jeans in an attempt to steady herself. And then she took that first step and walked around the edge of his desk to where he was still seated in his executive chair.
He reached for her hand and once he had his fingers twined with hers, he tugged her down onto his lap. She landed awkwardly but he sat farther up and shifted so she was nestled against his chest and tucked into his side. With his free hand, he delved his fingers into her hair, twisting the strands around his knuckles while he held on to her hand with his other.
“The relationship I’m proposing is not a traditional one,” he said. “I’ll not have you walking blindly into it without knowing exactly where you stand and what you can expect from it.”
“Big of you,” she said dryly.
He gave her hair a slight tug. “Little minx.” His eyes became half-lidded as he stared into her eyes. He disentangled his hand from hers and lifted his fingers to her lips where he traced the outline of her mouth with the tip of his index finger. “I want you, Mia. And I’ll warn you now. I’m very used to getting my way.”