Liam growled again and Mia rolled her lips together. “She’s not wrong,” Finn muttered. “And how exactly does that work…I mean, what is the thought process? Do you think it was just the first thing at hand or was it something more? A kink, maybe? A dessert kink that we know nothing about.” “Did they use an entire cheesecake or just a slice?” Jack mused, adding to the ridiculous conversation that was slowly driving Liam crazy. “Answering that question would probably go a long way to answering whether it was a spur-of-the-moment decision or premeditated.” “Can you even do that, though?” Parker asked. “Order an entire cheesecake from room service? Don’t you have to buy it by the slice—” “Enough!” Liam roared. At this point, he would never be able to look at another slice of cheesecake, let alone eat one. He did not want to know the details of Darius Carathurs’s close personal encounter with two promotion girls and a cheesecake. “I hope it wasn’t cookies and c
Thank the Lord above for HR. Mia didn’t think she’d ever thought those words before or would again, but right at that moment she would have gladly gotten down on the ground and prostrated herself before Becca, the HR manager, for saving her from the meeting from H-E-double-L. “Okay, so this is your security access card,” Becca said handing Mia a branded ‘The Playbook’ card similar to the visitor one she got from reception earlier. “Don’t lose it or Carter will lose his shit. It’s a big deal to get a new one and, you know, deactivate the old one, so it’s best just to make sure you don’t lose it.” Mia nodded, taking the card and slipping it into the special pocket of her handbag where she kept all her important stuff. “I need you to sign these contracts and read through all this stuff from the Fair Work Ombudsman and our workplace policies on bullying, sexual harassment, etcetera. We need your tax file number and your bank account details so we can pay you, and your firstborn chil
With the way her mind went completely gaga around Liam, that could be disastrous and only make the awkward situation awkwarder…was that even a word? She didn’t know, but she was using it. It suited the situation perfectly. If she didn’t have a solid plan worked out by the time Liam came back into his office she would definitely end up making the whole thing more awkward than it already was. She walked around Liam’s office, her fingers grazing the surface of his desk the bureau, and the window sill that had a spectacular view of the city. She could smell his aftershave and practically feel his presence in the room without him even being there. It wasn’t helping her come up with the words she needed or the strategy to make things less awkward between them, but she couldn’t deny she liked having this moment alone in his office to soak him in. Raised voices coming from one of the other offices made her stop and turn. The door was still open and she could see the other staff looking in
“Fine. If you want the truth then here it is. I don’t think she has enough experience to be anywhere near this project.” Carter’s only response was to raise his eyebrows. “She’s never done a day of work in a place like this. She’s still in that imaginary place that the university makes out the real world to be. We all know that living this job every day is nothing like they told us it would be when we were at university. Yeah, she might think it’s exciting to work with a celebrity like Darius Carathurs, but there is nothing glamorous about this job. At best she’ll be fetching coffee and at worst she’ll be a distraction to Carathurs that we can’t contain.” “So, let me get this straight. Are you worried about her messing this opportunity up for you? You’re worried her inexperience will make you look bad?” “Don’t put words in my mouth,” Liam snapped. “It’s true, though, isn’t it? This is about you making your mark and getting the attention of your brother and you are worried she’s
“I could style shiny, sparkling, unicorn fracking rings around you, Mr. I-Am-Too-Sexy-For-This-Shirt. I could beat you in a mother-blessed style-off with one hand tied behind my back and a pirate patch over one eye. I am fan-fickle-fantastic at what I do, which you would know if you have a good gosh darn about anyone else than yourself!” Her voice had risen and Carter and Liam had taken a step back from her, their mouths open and their eyes wide. If she wasn’t so mad, it would be funny. “Mia,” Liam tried again, braving her wrath to try and reason with her but she couldn’t be reasoned with. She saw her one and only opportunity to show everyone in her life that she was more than just the Minnie-Mouse-baby-sister-princess slipping through her fingers and she was grasping wildly at anything she could to stop her career from free-falling over a cliff. “Just give me a chance to prove myself,” she said, pushing her shoulders back and lifting her chin. “Throw me a fudge cookie crumb and
Liam was aware of the office staring at them as he urged Mia—his hand still wrapped around her elbow—across the main floor of the office and into his sanctum. He slammed the door closed and released her, shaking his hand out to get rid of the tingling sensation that had been burning up his arm since he touched her. Releasing her was the last thing he wanted to do. What he really wanted was to push her against his desk, kiss the ever-living shit out of her and then reacquaint himself with her body. But he didn’t. Instead, he stalked around the desk to put the large, solid piece of furniture between them and pointed to the chair for her to sit in. He sank slowly down into his own chair, clasping his hands tightly and leaning them on the desk so he wouldn’t reach across and drag her onto his lap. It was fucking ridiculous how much he wanted her and how much his caveman's brain had taken over his rational, stable mental capacity. He was breathing hard and when he looked up at Mia, s
Mia looked at him for a beat and he wondered if she was having flashes of what happened between them that night and then she shook her head to clear it or maybe in answer to his question. “Peyton doesn’t know,” she replied. “It, ah, it might be best if she didn’t find out,” he said, feeling like an arsehole all over again. “Yeah,” Mia replied, exhaling roughly. “Um, well, so do you have someone in mind to ask to be your candidate for the makeover?” he asked briskly, moving on from the awkwardness and into something he felt entirely more comfortable with. She bit her lip, sinking her teeth into her plump lower lip, and he groaned inwardly. “Yeah. Yes. Of course,” she replied, plastering a bright smile on her face. He nodded, desperate for this meeting to be over and to move her out of the close quarters of his office. “Okay great. “Your cubicle is just outside the door. Why don’t you go and get settled? I’m sure HR had some forms for you to fill out. There’s a phone on your
This time Mia did drop her head to the desk and she even pounded it a couple of times to see if she could knock some sense into herself. Who in the fecking world was she going to get to be her ‘candidate?’ With a deep sigh, she pulled out her phone and opened Facebook. She scrolled through her friend's list and discounted each one after a moment of consideration. She knew lots of people. It was just the way she was. A stranger was just a friend she hadn’t met yet. But none of them were right for something this important. She had an opportunity to show both Liam and Carter, as well as her university lecturers and her family, that she was actually good at something. It was her chance to shine and she was ship-scared of fluffing it up. She clicked on her ex-boyfriend Danny. He had a good body and a gorgeous face and his style could definitely do with a bit of a spruce up. She dialed his number and bit her lip while she waited for him to pick up. “Hey Mia,” he said, an