The thought rattles me. I keep seeing flashes of him—how hot and cold he was in the interview, his detached intensity in the café, and how soft he was with his daughter.
I need to snap out of it. He’s myboss.
“Since your employment offer was… unconventional, I’ll take you to Worth instead of his assistant, Andrée. She’s handling the training, but he’ll probably want to talk to you first.”
I remember Andrée from the interview. She was professional, yet kind. I’d much prefer her over Worth right now.
When we round the corner, I notice the front desk is empty. Then, a door swings open. A woman slips out, smoothing her blouse and tugging at her skirt, like she’s readjusting it. My eyes flick automatically to the gold plaque on the door.Worth Miller.
I roll my eyes.
Of course he’s banging his receptionist. Why am I not surprised? The man’s reputation precedes him. A forty-something billionaire playboy still living like a twenty-something frat star.
Any fantasy I had about him, any ridiculous thoughts I let myself entertain, melt away under the ice-cold bucket of reality.
But then, I remember the man at the café. The father with his little girl. He looked… different. I guess that was just another mask.
Griffin clears his throat, jolting me back. “Mya?”
“Y-yes. Sorry.”
“You were staring.”
“What?”
“At Shaina. The receptionist.”
I plaster on a smile, though I know it looks fake. “Just getting a glimpse of the kind of colleagues I’ll be working with.”
Griffin shakes his head, as if he can read every single thought in my head. “This is going to be interesting,” he mutters under his breath.
Before I can press him on it, Shaina turns to him. “You can go in, Mr. Hayes.”
Griffin thanks her, then gestures for me to follow.
He cracks the office door open and steps aside for me. “Worth. Your new protégé is here.”
Worth glances up from his monitor. His eyes skim over me once—barely even a second—before returning to his screen.
“Take her to the boardroom,” he says flatly. “Andrée just started the introductions.”
Griffin narrows his eyes at him. “That’s not in my job description. So how ‘bout no? You do it.”
Worth finally looks up at us again, his gaze lingering this time. “Fine. You can go, Griff.”
Without hesitation, Griffin backs out, tossing me a quiet, “Good luck,” before leaving me behind.
“Ms. Jones. Take a seat.”
I glance at the chair, then back at him, every instinct in me screaming to bolt. But I want this job. Iearnedthis job. And I will not cower in front of the big, bad CEO.
Either way, I’m not the one who emailed me on a Sunday night to offer me a job. Clearly he wants me here for a reason.
I sit, crossing my legs. My skirt shifts a little higher on my thigh, and I catch Worth’s gaze lowering to the exposed skin. Heat creeps up my chest. I quickly tug it back into place, pretending I didn’t notice.
“Thank you for coming in today. As you can imagine, the way I hired you goes against HR protocol. I would appreciate discretion on how you received the offer.”
I force a polite smile, keeping my tone neutral. “Of course, Mr. Miller.” Nothing more, nothing less. The last thing I need is anyone thinking I got here through favoritism.