Always With You (The Connor Family 6)

It had made sense, because I’d always had strong analytical and problem-solving skills. But that job had slowly killed my soul. It was all travel, spreadsheets, and deadlines that kept me working late into the night. They paid handsomely for my time though, so I’d stuck there for years.

Cameron had taken a chance on me, and it turned out to be a dream job. The best match for my problem-solving skills.

I’d started the week with Reid on my brain. The man captivated me, pure and simple. I wanted to peel off every layer, find out what was beneath each. I’d have to, anyway, if I wanted to have a real shot at fixing his situation, but I couldn’t lie to myself: my interest wasn’t strictly professional.

The way he’d looked at me when he’d asked me to stay for that second drink.... God, it had felt as if he’d been seconds away from telling me to take off my clothes. As if he was seconds away from stripping me naked himself.

I shuddered at the memory, then blew out a breath. I’d been so close to saying yes. So close.

But then what? Why did I have to be attracted to him? Why couldn’t I instead want to go out with Severin, the guy from the firm across the street? Because laid-back and docile didn’t do it for me. Broody, sexy as sin, and ready for a fight whenever I picked one? Sign me up.

After the meeting, I went back to my desk, plopping down on my chair and spinning it once. Oh, yeah. This was going to be a terrific week. Before I had time to dig into my calendar, Cameron stepped in.

“Hailey, you have a few minutes?”

“Sure, boss.”

“When did you turn things around with Davenport?”

I’d mentioned during the meeting that I’d signed him on as a client. I’d told Cameron last week that things hadn’t worked out.

“Saturday.”

Cameron smiled. “Doing extra credit on the case already? You’re gonna run things around here one day, Hailey.”

I straightened up, barely kept myself from grinning.

“Is he giving you headaches? Davenport?”

“Not the easiest person to deal with,” I admitted.

“Would you rather I assign someone else to the case? You have plenty of work as it is, and quite a few new clients ask for you exclusively. If you think Davenport will be a time suck, cut him loose.”

I briefly considered that. My senses were still overwhelmed from our encounter on Saturday. Handing his case over to someone else would certainly bring whatever this was to a screeching halt, but I was no chicken.

Besides, handing him over to a colleague meant he’d have to rehash the story, and it had cost him enough to open up to me.

So what if I was attracted to him? I’d just have to get over it.

“I’ve got this, Cameron. Don’t you worry about me. I’m on top of things.”

“You always are. Cry out if you need help.”

I’d never done that, not once since I’d started at the agency. I shimmied in my seat, suddenly so full of energy that I could run a mile.

I rolled up my proverbial sleeves and got to work. About an hour later, Reid sent me a message with his sister’s number and her break times at school.

My stomach flipped a few times. I was ridiculous.

Her break started at lunch, at the same time I climbed into my car, heading out to meet a client. I put my phone on loudspeaker and called her.

“Hello. Who is this?”

“Hi, Bianca. This is Hailey Connor. I’m—”

“Oh, yes. Reid told me you’d be calling. Wait a second, I’m in the cafeteria. I’ll just go outside so no one can eavesdrop.” A few seconds later, silence replaced the buzzing background noise on Bianca’s side.

“That’s better.”