Chapter 9
Daniel
IF I HAD REMEMBERED on Wednesday that Thursday would begin with the board meeting, I probably wouldn’t have asked Abby to be there so early. Of course, it was good for her to start understanding her role there in the company, as well as the roles of the other people the company was involved with. But at the same time, I knew this had to be a pretty boring start to her job here, and I hadn’t had much time to brief her on what the meeting would be about.
She took it all in stride, though, taking a seat beside me and paying careful attention all through the meeting. Hell, she was even taking notes in that clean, all-caps handwriting of hers. Maybe she would be even better of an advisor than I had initially expected. I could only hope so, I guess.
These men in the conference room were all associates of mine, and today was about new ideas for the company. But not only was Abby keeping track of who proposed which idea, when I glanced over at her notes, but she had also started a column to the right-hand side of her page that listed some ideas of her own. Interesting.
I had to admit, there was something inside of me that sparked with desire when I considered how she had studied up on my company. It wasn’t just that she was clearly intelligent and driven, although that was part of it. She had a narrow focus that I could only imagine employing in other settings. But more than that, I took so much pride in the company, and to have her realize just what it was that I had built was heady.
I forced myself not to focus on things like that during the meeting, though. I could already feel my body stirring in slight interest; focusing on her would only have led to an awkward situation for all of us. I was relieved when the meeting came to a close. But I knew that this was only the first of many meetings that I would have where Abby would be in attendance, if all went well. I was going to need to get over my lust and continue to focus on the business.
For a brief second, I wondered if sleeping with her would make things better. You know, get it out of my system. But when I glanced over at her, I knew that there would be no easy way to approach something like that. She had made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t like other women. She was focused on the job, and she wasn’t just here to flirt with me. To be honest, she didn’t even give me any sign that said for sure that she would be willing to sleep with me.
I shook hands with all of the men, watching as they trooped one by one out of the conference room until I was left alone with Abby. She was still in her seat, staring down at her notes, making a few final remarks for herself.
“Well?” I asked, leaning back against the table beside her and folding my arms across my chest. This was business, I reminded myself, and she was here to be my advisor. I pictured Gerrard in her position and forced myself to treat her the same way I would have treated him. “What do you think?”
Abby shrugged one shoulder. “It was an interesting meeting,” she said, as though she wasn’t sure what I was asking.
I gestured toward her notes and was amused to see her put a hand over them as though she was back in school and I was trying to cheat off what she had written. Then, she seemed to remember herself, dragging her hand away, a faint blush staining her cheeks. If she only knew what she did to me.
I swallowed and tried to pretend that the next words out of my mouth didn’t sound as husky as they did. “Whose idea do you think we should go with?”
Abby pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side, staring down at her notes. Then, she turned those pretty green orbs on me. “The guy who was on the other side of the table from me and two down. I didn’t catch his name, but he was the one in the navy suit.”
“James,” I said, nodding and trying to remember what his proposal had been. There was nothing in the proposal that made me sure that his was the best idea for the company, and I wondered what it was she had seen. Unlike me, she didn’t know all of the men who had been in the room, so what merits was she thinking of? “There a reason why?” I finally asked.
Abby smiled faintly at me. “He was the only one who bothered to shake my hand and say goodbye when they all left the room,” she explained. “And I know that may seem trivial to you, but to me, that means that he’s a man who’s doing ethical business. And a man who has manners.”
That surprised a laugh out of me, and I could see the anger flicker in Abby’s eyes. I shook my head before she could get too pissed at me for laughing. “Sorry, I just didn’t realize. But you’re right, that’s definitely a reason. I’ve known James for years, and he’s definitely a man with manners.” I paused, feeling like I was digging a bigger and bigger hole for myself. I shook my head again. “We’ll see how your first ‘advisement’ goes,” I told Abby lamely.
She stared at me for a moment and then nodded slowly.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and I noticed that no matter how many meetings we sat through, Abby took detailed notes. She showed no signs of flagging, and she definitely showed no signs of getting bored. Not only that, but she always had some sort of insight to offer at the end of the meetings, something that I might otherwise not have noticed. Something that Gerrard might never have noticed.
I was beginning to wonder if my quick decision in hiring her might actually work out.
We went for a drink after work. I took her to a trendy bar near the office building, same as I normally did with the new hires. I remembered her insinuation from the day before, about how this might be seen as improper, more like a date than a boss-and-new-employee kind of situation. But that wasn’t what it was, really.
Except that there in the dim bar lighting, I couldn’t get over how good she looked. She was more relaxed away from the office, and she smiled a little more freely. I flagged down the waitress so that I could keep from staring at Abby’s long blonde hair that tumbled down her back as she fixed it into a loose braid.
We ordered an appetizer tray and a couple of beers, and yet again, I found myself surprised by her. “I would have pegged you as a cocktail kind of girl,” I said without thinking.
Abby laughed. “I do drink cocktails sometimes,” she admitted. “Not those terrible pink drinks or anything like that, not if I can help it. But I drink beer too.” She paused, grinning at me and arching one eyebrow. “You’re not trying to get me drunk, are you?”
I stared at her for a moment and then forced myself to laugh as well. “No, I’m not trying to get you drunk,” I assured her, although I couldn’t stop thinking about what getting her drunk might lead to. Would she lean against me as I called a cab for her? Would she insist on coming back to my place with me?
I shook those thoughts away, though. Same as earlier, I needed to focus on the company and nothing more. She was my employee. I couldn’t touch her. The media would have a field day, otherwise, and there was a certain amount of respect around the office I knew I would lose.
Not only that, but she was my advisor. I couldn’t let my feelings for her cloud my thoughts about the advice that she gave me. I needed to stay clear-headed and cool. Treat her just the same as I had always treated Gerrard.
“You did a good job today,” I told her, trying to think of anything we could talk about. “You’ve done your research on McGregor Enterprises, haven’t you?”
Abby beamed, clearly pleased that I had noticed. “I did,” she told me. “Granted, I haven’t had a lot of time to do my research since I just saw the ad in the paper on Tuesday. But I’ve read up on a lot of your more recent clients. And actually, I studied you in my final year of business school.”
I blinked at her. “Me, or the company?” I asked.