Simon took her folder and her resumé from her and looked it over. She really had graduated from Roosevelt Prep. So, they hadn’t gone to the same high school. But, she looked exactly like Heather Monroe. Well, the grown-up version of his Heather. He shook his head. He had to stop calling her that. She was a little bit taller and slimmer, but it had to be her. Otherwise, the physical similarities would have been extraordinary.
She stared at him, her face totally blank. Was it possible? Did she really not remember him?
Maybe he had been mistaken, and this woman wasn’t the girl he’d grown up with. Wasn’t the first girl who had ever taken an interest in him.
No. It was her. Had to be. Simon didn’t make mistakes. It was her.
“So, you’re not Heather Monroe?” he prodded. “You didn’t live next door to me?” He could always bring up the fact that they had dated, but what purpose would that serve? Hey, remember me, the fumbling idiot you lost your virginity to?
During that first night of sex on prom night, he had come a little too early. Fuck it. Way too damn early. Poor girl never stood a chance. No way in hell was he going to remind her of that.
Heather blinked and shook her head. “I think I’d remember living next door to Simon Diesel. I’m sorry, but I really don’t know you.”
Chapter 2
Of course, she remembered him.
Heather Hall knew exactly who this gorgeous specimen of a man was. And it wasn’t just because he was one of the world’s most recognizable billionaires. She and Simon had grown up as neighbors. Went to school together. Even dated, until he unceremoniously broke her heart.
Right now, Simon Diesel was staring at her. His breathtaking blue eyes darkening with confusion. Frustration. The way his eyes always did when he got like this when they were kids.
“Do you need a moment?” she asked. “I can always wait while you...” Her voice trailed off. While you what? Compose yourself from the shock of seeing the girl you dumped years ago?
“Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chair across from his desk.
She obliged and sank down into the plush leather swivel chair. Her eyes followed him as he resumed his seat behind his huge desk. Even sitting down, a distance away from her, she noticed that he was impossibly tall. And broad-shouldered.
For most of the years she had known him, Simon had been gangly. Awkward and pimple-faced. Then, sometime in high school, he had bulked up and gotten even taller. Now he was tall, lean. Even with his sweater vest and jacket on, she noticed the definition of the muscles underneath as his clothes clung to him. There was stubble on his square jaw, now clenched as he silently appraised her.
He pushed his messy black hair out of his face. “It’s just so uncanny.”
Heat crept up her cheeks. Damn it, she was actually checking out her potential boss like she was still a silly schoolgirl. Throwing her shoulders back, she asked, “What is?”
“You look exactly like this girl I grew up with,” he replied. “Her name was Heather, too.”
“Well, it’s a pretty common name,” she said. “And I’ve got a pretty common face.”
“No. Your face is anything but common. Pretty, but not common.” His gaze locked on hers. There wasn’t anything disconcerting about the way her potential boss was looking at her. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Through his eyes, she was seeing herself in a different way. Like she was a whole person he wanted to understand. A puzzle to solve.
Simon gazed at her like he was carefully studying her. Trying to take the measure of her before he rendered judgment. Whatever underlying heat she might have seen in his eyes had to be pure imagination on her part. The secret part that wanted Simon to look at her like he regretted breaking up with her all those years ago. “I apologize. That was completely unprofessional. I thought you were someone else.” He waved his hand. “Never mind.”
She blinked. Pushed her glasses up her nose. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you.”
“Yes, well, it was all a very long time ago,” he said. “I guess I’ve held on to memories a little bit more tightly than I should have.” He grimaced, like he was embarrassed at how personal the conversation had gotten.