Brock

“B-Brock?” Nina asks, my name sliding deliciously through her full lips in a way that makes me wonder what it’d feel like to kiss her.

“The very same.” I take a little bow and shoot Nina a grin.

She looks pale and a little panicked. Not surprising, considering the way that weirdo was grabbing her arm and getting right up in her face. I’ve seen enough creeps like that in my time to know that they don’t have any issue getting physical when it’s against someone who can’t fight back.

“Sorry for putting you on the spot there with my little white lie, but I figured you could use some help dealing with that . . . guy.” Not sure how Nina would take it, I bite back the plethora of words I want to call the douchebag by.

“No, no, it’s fine; it’s . . . well, thanks,” she stutters as she plops her beautiful ass down on the couch, her legs a little shaky. “He followed me the whole way here. I confronted him and figured I’d gotten him to back off earlier, but I guess he’s more desperate than I realized.”

“Are you okay?” I ask, concerned now. “Did he hurt you?”

She looks up at me with beautiful, amber eyes. “I’m fine. Thanks, Brock. I’m just a little shaken up.”

I resist the urge to reach down and pull her into a protective hug. She looks so vulnerable; I just want to tell her everything is going to be okay.

I almost do. The urge is so strong, but then I remind myself of what I thought when I first saw her.

Stay professional. She’s your coworker now, nothing more.

“Are you sure? We have a medic on site. Shall I call her down to take a look at you?” I ask.

“No, Brock. Really, I’m fine.” As if trying to convince me, Nina gets up to her feet. I’ve got to say she’s already looking better, like she’s making an effort to shake it all off. “I just figured the worst thing that could happen today would be me flunking my interview—not watching my crazy ex get dragged, kicking and screaming, out of the lobby. But now that has happened, I figure things can’t get much worse, right?”

Her ex, huh? I thought as much, but it’s nice to hear a confirmation. That means they’ve probably just broken up. That means she’s single.

Despite my resolve to stay professional, I can’t help the spark of hope flickering in my chest. Stop it, idiot.

“So . . . yeah, let’s go get this interview done. I’m not even nervous now. Isn’t that weird?” Nina laughs then looks embarrassed, her smooth, soft cheeks turning a rosy shade.

Adorable.

“Sorry,” she says, looking up and giving me a little smile. “I, uh, have a habit of talking too much when I’m nervous. Just tell me to shut up if it’s bothering you, okay?”

I open my mouth to tell her she’s doing okay; she’s doing perfectly fine.

“Should I even be saying all this to you?” she asks before I get a chance to say anything. A look of concern crosses her beautiful face. “I’m supposed to be impressing you and making you think I’m actually going to be good at this job. Because I am—going to be good at the job. Not just . . .” she trails off, bright patches of red rising to her cheeks.

It’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m struggling to control my hands from reaching up and feeling the heat in her face. But that would be the opposite of professional.

I should say something, right? But it’s so fun watching her go on like this. I suppress the smile that wants to spread across my face.

Nina takes a deep breath, closes her eyes for a few moments, and then opens them again. “Let’s start again; shall we? Hi, Brock. Nice to see you again after all this time!”

With a bemused smile, I shake her proffered hand. “Hi, Nina. If you’ll come this way, we can get this interview underway.”

She returns my smile, her eyes so bright they almost seem like they’re glowing. I swear my heart pauses for a split second. It feels like she’s peering straight into my soul.

Unable to take any more of that intensely beautiful gaze, I turn away from her, leading the way toward the elevators as she follows quietly along.

It doesn’t look like Nina has realized I was the guy she spilled coffee on, but at this point, I’m not even mad about it anymore.

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Nina says in the elevator as it climbs all the way to the top of the tall skyscraper. “But I guess we can all change quite a lot over the course of a few years, huh?”

You can say that again.

“We sure can,” I say, casting a glance at her. “It took me a few moments to recognize you, too. I still remember the days when you were just an awkward kid, tagging along while I was hanging out with Dean.”

“Oh my God,” she groans. “Don’t. I’ve been cringing about that internally all morning. I used to follow you two around like a little, lost puppy. Remember that time when you two were drinking beer, and I snuck one?”

I laugh at the memory. “How could I forget? We came up to your bedroom and found you in a heap on the floor, barely talking sense. After one beer!”

She blushes again, shyly looking down. As she does, the way her blouse moves gives me a glimpse of a lacy black bra and a hint of the creamy white skin of her breasts. At the stirring in my pants, I take a breath and avert my eyes.

Jesus, Brock, get ahold of yourself. A glimpse of skin, and you’re getting a hard-on? Over your friend’s little sister? What are you, fourteen? Pull it together. Fuck.

Luckily, Nina’s too preoccupied with being embarrassed to notice the direction of my gaze.

I stare at the panel with the floor number the rest of the ride like I’m trying not to look directly at the sun. Our floor finally arrives, and we step out of the elevator.

“My office is just up here,” I say. “Follow me, and we can finally get this interview done and dusted.”

A few moments later, we’re sitting on opposite sides of my desk. Nina’s got a little notepad and pen in front of her and suddenly looks all business. I’m honestly quite impressed.

“First off, I want to apologize for being late. I was on my way over here, but someone happened to spill coffee on me out on the street. I had to buy a new shirt.” I cock her a crooked grin. “It’s okay, though. The perpetrator had an important interview to rush to.”

Her lips part in surprise. “Oh my God. Was that you?”

I nod, enjoying her reaction.

“You’re not just teasing me?” she narrows her eyes at me, leaning forward in her chair to examine me more closely with those bewitching eyes.

I shake my head. “Nope, really me. But hey, we’re here now, right? And that’s what matters.”

I hadn’t planned on mentioning it, but I couldn’t resist. And now she’s blushing again, except this time, it’s spread to her upper chest too.

She’s dangerously adorable. Leave it to me to torment myself with this girl that I know I can never have.

“Look, Brock, after everything that’s happened today, I’ll understand if you don’t want to take me on,” she says, her words tumbling out of her mouth. “I’m a walking disaster. I know that.”

“Stop, please,” I say, holding up a hand with what I hope is a reassuring smile. “I don’t want to hear any of that nonsense. We all have bad days, and hey, at least today will be memorable. A new shirt and a near-fight, all before lunch? Most days I’ve barely woken up properly by now.”

She breathes a sigh of relief.

“And Nina, if that creep ex of yours comes sniffing by again, let me know, okay? He seems like a really nasty piece of work, and no woman should have to deal with that. Tell me if he causes you any more trouble, and I’ll get it dealt with. Promise me.”

She hesitates for a few moments.

“I want to make this a comfortable work environment for you,” I add.

“Deal,” she eventually says, “but you have to promise not to say anything to Dean. He already has enough on his plate, and I don’t want to add to his worries. Pete’s a jerk, but he’s all bark, no bite. You probably scared him enough already.”

“Okay,” I say reluctantly. “But don’t keep this to yourself. It could be dangerous.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She nods. “Brock, is there anything I can do to repay you for that shirt I ruined? It must’ve been terribly expensive.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I say, waving a dismissive hand.

“Really?”

“Yeah, seriously. Let’s move on,” I say. “I’m afraid this interview is going to have to be quite short. I’ve got a big meeting later on, and I need all the time I can get to prepare for it. So, you’re applying to be my assistant. I’m not exactly sure what the position will entail yet, but it’ll probably just be random tasks and whatever admin stuff I don’t have time for. You think you can handle that?”

“Sure can,” she nods. “You can rely on me. I’m actually not as much of a disaster as I might appear after the events of this morning. I’m organized, I’m good on the phone, and I’m used to dealing with assholes.”

I chuckle at that last one. “Those are all useful skills.”

She catches herself, looking panicked. “Not that I’m saying you’re an asshole. But, you know; the stereotype of big business guys and stuff, they can be assholes. So . . . I’m good at dealing with them. Not you. But I’ll be good at dealing with you too.”

“That’s good.”

“My God.” Nina leans back and pinches her temples. “I really am trying my best to not get this job, aren’t I?”

I’m laughing now, and it feels good. I wasn’t joking when I told her my work days tend to lean on the boring side. Looks like that’s about to change, though.

“No, you’re actually completely right,” I say. “Plenty of suits are complete assholes, and I hate dealing with them. So if you can do that for me, I’ll actually be really grateful.”

Her face lights up in a stunning smile, and damn, there goes my cock again.

She’s going to be dangerous. Going to have to watch myself with her. She’s fucking gorgeous.

“Great,” she says, giving me a mischievous grin. “I’ll be your premier asshole handler. Could I have that title on my door do you think?”

We both burst out laughing, and I know I’ve made the right choice in taking Nina on. If nothing else, at least my days will be more interesting.

“So, when can I start?” she asks. “Is there anything you need me to do today? I want to make up for the time you lost having to buy a new shirt and stuff. If you’ve got that big meeting later. You can probably use all the time you can get, right?”

I glance at the stack of accounts that need filing. “Well, there are these. I’ve been putting these damn things off for a month.”

She leans over the desk, unwittingly giving me another glimpse of her cleavage as she grabs the stack of papers.

“Accounts? Where do they need to go?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

I turn my monitor slightly to show her the software we use, and she moves her chair around to sit next to me. Despite my best efforts, it’s a struggle to stay focused when she smells so good.

“I can do this,” she says, brushing against me as she reaches for the mouse. She seems familiar with the software already. “Go and prepare for your meeting. I’ll have this all done by the time you’re finished.”

I smile, glad to be rid of the damn things. Having a PA is going to be awesome.

As I cross the room and open the door to leave, a thought strikes me. “Hey, you really want to repay me for that shirt?”

Nina glances up from the computer. “Of course. You can take it out of my paycheck, but maybe not all of it from one paycheck. Maybe we can do it in installments, or—”

“Nina, I’m not going to dock your pay,” I cut her off, chuckling. She really is cute when she gets all frantic.

“Oh.” A relieved gust of air escapes her mouth.

“Can you keep Saturday night free, though?”

“Sure, I guess. What for?” she asks, a quizzical expression on her face.

“Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? Sometimes, I’m going to need you to accompany me outside of traditional office hours. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

She frowns, uncertainty flitting across her face. “No, I don’t think so. But . . . it’s not a date, is it? I’m not that kind of girl, Brock.”

I can’t tell if she’s serious or not.

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. Promise. Although . . . you may find yourself doing things you don’t usually do . . .”

“Well, aren’t you a regular man of mystery?” she teases with a little smile. “Okay, Saturday night is now blocked out on my calendar. The hot date I had planned with a tub of ice-cream and the TV is just going to have to wait until another time.”

She returns her attention to the paperwork, and I turn and leave the office. I know I should be hyper-focused on this meeting, but I just can’t stop thinking about her . . .