Ethan laughed as Kaylee’s face turned a deep shade of bright red. He loved her blush. Her embarrassment had loosened her tightly wound persona, revealing a glimpse of the woman underneath. The woman who wasn’t trying so hard to be something she clearly wasn’t.

He always did a quick social media glance at clients he’d be taking out to get an idea of their interests and lifestyle. It helped with talking points and conversation transitions. Usually he didn’t delve too heavily. But with Kaylee, something had struck a chord. An entire afternoon had slipped by without him realizing it. One post to the next showed various facets of her personality. A joke here, a serious comment about saving elephants there—she was offbeat yet in-line. Black and white, yet exploding with color. Basically, all over the place in a way that made perfect sense. Meeting her, he could see why. He could see the two personas warring with each other.

For example, right now he knew she was undoubtedly putting on an act. Her hair, her suit, her makeup—she was going for something specific, though he couldn’t quite tell what. Humorless? Dull?

So much work, being something you really weren’t. Why bother?

He loved enigmas. It had been fascinating online, but in person, it was fantastic. Exciting. Interesting. He had a sneaking suspicion that getting to know her would be a wild ride. He looked forward to it.

She smoothed back her shiny hair, which was pulled into such a tight, perfectly formed bun it looked glued to her scalp. “I moved from New York because of the job market. There, I was a tiny fish in an ocean. I figured it would improve my prospects to move to a smaller body of water. As soon as I have a few years at the top, I can move to a bigger company and keep climbing.”

Ethan leaned forward with interest. He loved ambitious women. “And how is it working out?”

“It was going well until now.” The sparkle of determination in her eyes dulled, replaced by frustration. “I’m one of the candidates for an open VP spot, but I’m the only woman. There has never—not ever—been a female VP. Upper management, where I am currently—”

“Operations, right?”

She hesitated a moment, clearly caught off guard by his openness about social media stalking her. “Operations, correct. There are very few women in upper management. Only one person of color. The company is an older one, and old white guys are running things. I’ve always known that I’d have to work at least twice as hard as a man to get the same promotion, but this time it has nothing to do with what I can do. It has to do with what I am.”

“I’m not following.” He straightened in his seat as the wine showed up. The waitress showed it to Kaylee, waited for the nod, then got to work with the bottle opener.

“I’m the only single candidate vying for the position. I’m the youngest. And, like I said, I’m the only woman. The female thing is obviously the biggest hurdle, because I’d be breaking the mold, and old white guys love their power and tradition. Or so it seems.” She swirled the wine in her glass before sipping. Her nod had the waitress turning to Ethan to pour the first glass.

It was great when clients picked the wine. It allowed him to be lazy, and there was another upside: he got the first pour without seeming ungentlemanly. It was the little things.

“I don’t act like most women they know, though,” she went on. “I’m confident without being a bitch. I won’t allow someone to talk over me. I own my presence, and use my height to its full effect. I’m a power player. They’re on board with me as a person, but those differences I mentioned will tarnish my chances at the job.”

“So you want a man taller than you to represent the other half of a power couple?” he guessed. It sounded silly.

“I want a man that can handle a fine dinner, that can play alpha lap dog—” His confusion must have shown on his face, because her lips tweaked up into a smile. “I know. That sounds ridiculous. I don’t know what else to call it. I need an actor. Someone that will do what I say, when I say it, while also playing Mr. Big Shot Rich Alpha Guy. In essence, I need you to present the appearance of the man in charge, while also showing them that you’re happy with me being…me. I’m hoping…” She crossed her fingers. “I’m hoping it will help them understand me, and trust me, if they see me with someone like you, if they associate me with a powerful man. To put it bluntly, I want to hide behind your penis.”

He took a sip of his wine, the idea slightly dizzying. “I have no idea if that will work.”

She shrugged helplessly. “It’s all I’ve got. It’s worth a shot. Anything is worth a shot.”

That sounded like a mantra of sorts. It also dragged down her features and lit her eyes with frustration again.

“And why not another guy? Why pay for someone?” he asked. He didn’t bother pointing out that a snap of her fingers would get her anyone she wanted.

She huffed. “Where am I going to find a man that will volunteer to do all that? I intimidate most men, and Mr. Stereotypical Alpha usually finds somewhere else to be when I come around. And if he doesn’t? He’s trying to manipulate or belittle me in order to protect his fragile ego.” She rolled her eyes. “No thanks.”

He twisted his lips in thought. He knew a few guys like that. They weren’t just intimidated by women; they bristled around anyone more powerful or confident.

Dave’s joke about being afraid of women who could beat him up surfaced in Ethan’s memory. While his friend had (mostly) been kidding, it would stand to reason that a great many guys would shy away from the powerhouse sitting in front of him. She exuded confidence like it was her birthright. It was clear she knew exactly who she was, what she wanted, and where she was going. She’d steamroll the best of ’em to grab her dream with two hands. That kind of power was often seen in highflying businessmen, but it was rarer in women.

What people weren’t used to, they feared. Or avoided. Yes, she had a big, steep ladder ahead of her.

Ethan sorely wanted to see her climb. His mother, God rest her soul, would’ve loved Kaylee’s initiative.

“And your ‘friend’ doesn’t fit the alpha-lap-dog mold?” Ethan asked as their dinners arrived. A fat steak took the place of honor on her plate, next to a potato and vegetables swimming in juices. It matched his order exactly, except she hadn’t wanted chives.

Her shapely lips pulled into a smile. “No. He doesn’t make decisions. Even when I ask him to. It drives me crazy. We only go out to dinner when I already know what I want. If I’m feeling wishy-washy, even a little, I go out with a friend that will choose what we have.”

“So you don’t always like being in control.”

“Ugh!” She made a funny expression. “That sounds exhausting. No.”

“And this friend isn’t your boyfriend—why?” Ethan cut a lump off his steak.

She shrugged with one shoulder and put a small piece of steak into her mouth. After chewing for a moment and then swallowing, she answered, “He and I… We get along, and he is a good friend, but…”

“You’d walk all over him.”

That beautiful blush crept into her cheeks again and she dropped her face toward her plate. “Sadly, yes. He doesn’t have a lot of no power.”

“Then you feel bad for pushing him around.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “How’d you know?”

Ethan laughed. “Because I can’t stand doormat women. I don’t walk all over them often, but when I do, I feel like a real turd.”

“You? Walking over someone? Are you not usually this relaxed and easygoing?”

“I always am. And lazy. Very, very lazy. I can run a woman ragged with requests to get me things. When she just keeps on doing it, it’s great, but then I hear my mom’s voice in my head, yelling at me for being a dick. I always end up feeling bad.”

“Your mom is a strong woman?”

“She’s a skeleton right now, actually.” Kaylee jerked as though she’d been slapped. Ethan laughed again. She took life too seriously. “But she was a strong woman, yes. With a great sense of humor. And an aversion to all things domestic. When I was old enough, I ran the house.”

“You ran the house?” She added a heap of butter to her baked potato. “Did you live on a plantation, or something?”

“I just meant that I organized and took care of everything. We had a cleaning service come every couple weeks, so I managed that. I paid the bills, I did the shopping and cooking, made sure the biweekly gardener did his job and got paid for it—that kind of stuff.”

“And your dad?”

“He died when I was five.”

“Wow. She must’ve had a great job if she was paying for all that, the house, you…”

Ethan finished chewing and swallowed before answering. “My dad was a firefighter. He was involved in a lawsuit regarding asbestos. I’ll save you the details, but he and a few others won the suit not long before he died. That was enough to keep us comfortable, but my mother wasn’t happy with merely comfortable. She was excellent at real estate, you see. She could sell a house to anyone she could get a loan for, but more importantly, she had an eye for good purchases. Anything she didn’t need for us, she saved to buy more property. She was a multimillionaire by the time she died. But you know what? If not for me, she would’ve traded it all for a big art show. She would’ve gone on the lam, hippie style, and only worked on her art.”

Kaylee’s eyes widened. “She wanted to be an artist?”

“Yes. She did charcoal drawings. Not good enough to be a working artist, but she loved it.”

“But she kept with the real estate…for you?”

“Yup. And I kept the house running and myself alive. We were a good team.”

“And so you’re…” She squinted. “You have all that property now?”

Shock ran through him. He sat back slowly. He hadn’t meant to tell her all of that. As a rule, he never talked about what he was worth. The knowledge often strained his relationships with people. Changed their perceptions of him. These days, only Colton, Dave, Noah, and Dick knew his situation. He hadn’t even told Madison or Janie.

He shrugged it off and sipped his wine, playing it cool. “Yeah, but I’m not doing anything with it. If I have to, I’ll sell something, but I’d rather keep it going and pass it on to my kids.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You have kids?”

“No. But I hope to someday.”

“Ah.” Her calculating eyes stayed trained on his face. “So you are saving everything you make from rent and whatnot? Because otherwise I’m wondering why you are in this line of work.”

He had to hand it to her: she didn’t miss much. Smart women were much harder to brush off. He smiled. It kept him on his toes.

“In truth, I joined the business because of the other guys. My buddies.” He told her about starting with four, and why two were gone from the website. He shrugged, having never revealed this part of his life either. “Since my mom died, they’ve become my family. A backup family, even if it is a crazy venture that started as a joke. They wanted to go for it, so I stuck with them and went for it. Here I am.”

A smile worked at her lips. “I see. Bro code.”

He’d never thought of it like that, so he shrugged. He didn’t much care what she labeled it, as long as she understood where he was coming from. For some reason, suddenly that was the most important thing.

“How far do you go back with your buddies?” she asked.

“I met them after high school. They all knew each other before that, though.”

“I see.” She eyed her steak, half eaten. After a moment of hesitation, she went back for another bite. Apparently, that was the interrogation over.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “So, when is this dinner you speak of?” he asked, going back to his own steak.

“Next Thursday. I’m not sure I’ll need a date.”

He chewed for a moment. “You do need a date, but you’re not convinced I’ll work out. I will, I assure you. In the meantime, I have a horrible surprise for you.”

Kaylee paused in reaching her fork forward. “A horrible surprise?”

Ethan delighted in her confusion. He loved making people try new things, especially ones they initially shrank away from, or presenting them with situations they might find uncomfortable. At the very least, they had an interesting experience. At the most, they learned something about themselves.

He had a gut feeling that he needed to give Kaylee this horrible surprise. Had to. And right now.

“My mom used to do this to people all the time. It was a hoot. Most of the time. Sometimes it worked out badly.” He dabbed his mouth. “I’ll take you to a place for dessert and give you the surprise. Oh man, you’ll hate it.”