"I don't see the point in this," Kade barked at me as I waited for him outside of the building. The anger in his eyes was sexy as hell.

"Mr. Miles," I started, but he cut me off.

"Kade." He moved up beside me, and we walked in step down the busy city street together. Something about being there beside him almost felt natural.

"What was your past profession?" I glanced over at him, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I'd coached myself throughout the night before that falling for a man like him was a horrible idea, but how could I fucking help it? He was gorgeous, strong, rich and brilliant. No. It was wrong. He was my boss, and most likely a total asshat.

That was a lie, and I knew it.

"I sold houses for years." He slipped his hands into his pockets and let out a long sigh. "My father hated that I didn't go to college, so I worked harder than anyone else in my family outside of him to prove my worth."

"And you do you think you accomplished that?" I pointed to a bench in the park across the street. The trees were bare, and it was freezing, but we wouldn't be out there very long.

"No clue. We had a fight before he died." Kade sucked in another breath. "I don't know why this is important."

"Because I've worked with lots of people —"

"In the modeling industry?" His tone was slightly degrading.

"Yes, and in the public relations world." I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to hold tight to my promise to Ron. It wasn't easy stepping into a genius billionaire's shoes. I honestly couldn't begin to fathom the stress.

"Okay. Your point?" He reached for my arm, grabbing my wrist as we jogged across the street. Cars drove toward us, and he tightened his grip as they approached. "Faster."

I wanted to snap at him to get his hand off of me, but I bit my tongue. Interesting that he would care for my safety.

A woman just ahead of us dropped her wallet and turned. "Sorry!"

"No problem." Kade picked it up, gave her a beautiful smile and slipped his hands back into his pockets.

Wow. Who was that guy? The butterflies resurrected inside of me. Was he more than he was putting on?

"My point is that these guys at the press conference are going to tear you apart if you're not ready." I stopped at the bench and sat down.

He started to sit beside me, but I lifted my hand to stop him. "Okay. No sitting for me?"

I laughed, unable to help myself. "Not yet. You're going to step out of your comfort zone."

"I don't have a comfort zone. I'll be fine Friday. I'll write up the fucking speech in my office today, and you'll have it before the sun goes down. We have time to go over anything we need to in the morning."

A little girl ran past Kade, and her red ball bounced into his leg. "Daddy?" The little girl stopped and looked up at him.

My stomach tightened in worry. He wasn't mean from what I could tell, but what an odd situation to be in.

What looked like the mother jogged up. "Oh. Lacy, that's not Daddy. Sorry."

"No problem." He looked down at the little girl as she smiled up at him as if transfixed. "Lacy, is it? You are too cute. You know that?"

My mind buzzed. He likes kids? Who is this guy? Fuck me.

The mom picked up the little girl and apologized again as she blushed. He waved her off with a kind gesture and turned back to me.

"Where were we?"

I pointed to a podium where a civil rights activist was giving a speech on something loudly. A small crowd had gathered around him.

"I am sitting down here. You're headed over there. Get up there and share a secret with the people listening."

"What? No. Fuck no actually." He glanced up toward the sky, ran his fingers through his hair and let out a growl. "Why did I say yes to this madness?"

"Coming to the park with me?" I stood and pressed my hands to his chest before I could stop myself. I didn't want to grow close to him, but something about him pulled me in without my consent.

"No. To this job." He took my hands and pulled them down his chest before stepping back. "Why am I sharing a secret with strangers? Something you learned in college?"

"Something like that." I tilted my head and studied him. He was scared or maybe just nervous. "Go. Now. That's your assignment from me, your PR Director. Making sure you succeed is my whole job."

"Then why are you setting me up for failure?" He turned and slipped his hands back into his pockets, his back to me.

All I could think about was seeing him with his slacks on and nothing else a few days back. I wanted to reach out and run my hands down the strong muscles before tracing the thick grooves with my tongue.

"Go. If you can do this, Kade, you can do anything."

"Fuck it. Fine." He walked away without looking back at me.

I dropped down back on the bench, my heart pounding hard in my chest as he made his way up in front of the crowd. Luckily, the activist wrapped up and jumped off the stage. Kade nodded toward the radical looking guy, and they clapped hands, which was fun to watch.

My breath lodged in my chest as he got up there and gripped the podium.

People walked over from the street and the street vendors as he glanced up. We locked eyes, and I nodded. He could do this. It was fun to see how many people were interested to see what the well-dressed, handsome bachelor with scars on his face had to say.

"I'm Kade Miles. My father was Geo Miles." He pointed to the building where we worked. "He owned that big building over there."

A voice rose up from the back of the crowd. "He owned half this city, boy."

I cringed, not knowing if the people of Seattle knew or understood Geo. Most people didn't. I was lucky enough to know him better than most.

"And he helped a lot of us make this city what it is." A businessman moved into the crowd.

"Yeah, he did." Another voice.

Kade nodded and turned his attention toward the people. "He was a complicated man, but I didn't know him in the world of business or philanthropy. I knew him as Dad. He was my hero, the one that played catch on Saturdays with me, the one that gave me a pep talk for my first date."

The crowd chuckled in a low hum as another twenty people walked up, interest on their faces.

"The best part about Geo Miles was something you might not know." Kade swallowed visibly, but his face showed strength and grace. "He adopted my five brothers and me when we were infants. None of us are blood-related, but he raised us like we were. Mom and he took care of us our whole lives, and when we were old enough, he told us the truth about our births."

"Wow." A woman near Kade reached up and gripped his hand on the side of the podium.

Tears blurred my vision. It wasn't even a sad confession, but it was simply beautiful.

"And when he died a little over a month ago, he left each of us a business." Kade pointed over to Miles Private Jets. "That one is mine, but I must admit, I've never done anything to deserve it. And honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing. I just want to make him proud and carry on his legacy. I want my kids to see what we've built, first him and then me through the years. It's my only focus right now."

"He's smiling down on you, Son. You got this." An older guy raised his cane in the back of the crowd. "He was a good man, and God blessed him."

"Yeah." Kade smiled. "And I hope he blesses me so I can be a blessing too. Thanks for listening."

The crowd let out a wave of hollers as Kade carefully made his way through them.

I hadn't realized he was headed my way until he stood in front of me. Wiping at my eyes, I stood and nodded.

"Good job. See? After that, the press conference is going to be a breeze."

"Agreed." He smiled and reached out to brush a tear from my cheek with the back of his fingers.

The moment was too intimate, but I wanted it to last forever.

"Okay. Back to work. We still need a speech." I cleared my throat and turned away from him. Shit.

"Why do we need a speech?" He moved up beside me, his shoulders back, chin up.

"Because we do. Stop asking questions and agree." I smiled as he growled low in his chest but didn't respond.

Good. He was learning, or maybe I was.