"Ivy, this is Rainer Maxwell," I said. First with Stan, now with Ivy. What was it about Rainer that made all my closest friends smile like that?
"Oh, I've heard that name—"
I looped an arm through Ivy's and pulled her down the hall towards my office. "Sorry, Rainer, I already have lunch plans. Meet up again in two hours?"
Rainer stood where he was and watched me drag Ivy away. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Madison. Since when do you take two-hour lunches, Tasha? I'll see you in an hour."
"Ooh, I like it," Ivy said as I shoved her past my gawking assistant and into my office.
"Like what?" I asked.
"The way he doesn't have eyes for anyone but you." Ivy tossed her leather clutch on my desk and smiled at me.
"What?" I shut my office door harder than I intended. "That's insane. I thought you said you'd heard of Rainer Maxwell before. He's the biggest playboy San Francisco has to offer."
"Was," Ivy said. "I'd be willing to bet his reputation slides from here on out."
"How much?" I leaned against the door and crossed my arms.
"Ten thousand dollars." My jaw dropped, and Ivy laughed. "You keep forgetting about your money, don't you? Happened to me too, at first. You'll get used to it."
"It's not the money," I said. "It's this insane idea that Rainer is interested in me. In that way. He's the one I told you about. He horned his way onto my project just in time to get the big bonus. And now I'm stuck working with him. We're in major crisis mode."
"How romantic," Ivy said.
I groaned and shoved away from the door. "Just because Matthew started off as an arrogant snob and turned into the husband of the century doesn't mean fairy tales come true. You got lucky."
Ivy checked her watch. "Seems to me you're luck has been improving these days. Ever since you ran into Rainer. Is it safe to assume you're not free for lunch?"
"I'm sorry, Ivy. I'll make it up to you," I said.
"With a double-date? Perfect."
I groaned again. "Isn't it enough that I let you shop for me?"
"Oh, no, you did all that yourself. And you look wonderful, by the way," Ivy said. She picked up her purse and headed for my office door.
"Ivy?" I called. "Thanks for stopping by. I still can't wrap my head around the whole billionaire thing."
"Who cares about the money?" Ivy asked. "You've got other things to think about, and I hope you do."
I knew she didn't mean work, but I smiled anyways. "Drinks soon, no matter what is going on."
Ivy opened the door. Amy turned around so fast she almost fell out of her chair. Ivy had that effect on people. Not everyone was used to seeing a high-society darling live and in person. And Rainer hadn't even blinked. I knew because his eyes were on me. I shook off the thought and helped Ivy past my star-struck assistant.
Walking back from the elevators, I almost collided with Rainer's rushing assistant. Topher caught the flutter of papers before they flew everywhere and made room for me to walk past. Then he followed me, stopping only when we reached Amy's desk.
"Could you please let me know when Ms. Nichols has a free moment?" Topher asked Amy.
Amy snorted. "She's right there. Like a foot away from you."
Topher looked pained at my temp's lack of professionalism. He was about to explain her job description when I sighed. "Come in, Topher. I trust you have pertinent research for me."
The young man followed me into my office and laid out four crisp, new reports. "I sent these to your assistant, but then I made extra copies while printing these for Mr. Maxwell."
I picked up the first report as Topher's phone buzzed. The young man jumped as if the phone gave him an electric shock. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Nichols, but it is Mr. Maxwell. He's actually calling me."
I nodded and let the surprised assistant take the call. Topher was obviously underutilized by his boss, and it irritated me. Amy sat ou