Chapter Two

Matt

“Mara, I need the minutes from the last meeting with Pinkerton when you come back from lunch, please.”

“They should be on the printer. I’ll go get them,” she said, half sliding her arm in her coat.

“No, it’s okay. You’re going to lunch. I’ll get them,” Matt said, waving her off.

He walked down the small corridor near Ryan’s office and into the copy room only to collide with a tiny beauty. They both grunted before she fell into his arms, dropping the stack of paper she was carrying. He tightened his grip on her, holding her a little longer than he should before finally helping her to her feet. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Kane.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t looking where I was going. In a bit of a hurry.”

“Oh no. It’s in one of the piles on the floor now.” She dropped to her knees in front of him to pick up the papers that were strewn about and his body had an immediate reaction. Calm down. She’s an employee. You know the rules, he thought to himself. Then he knelt down to help her pick up the papers.

“I’ve got it,” she said, trying to shoo him away.

“It’s okay. It works faster with help.” Matt gathered most of the documents, finding his right on the bottom of the pile. They both stood up and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her. A few strands of hair fell from her bun, making her look twice as lovely than just a minute earlier.

“I hope I didn’t make you late.”

“It was my fault, I’m Matt.”

“I’m Candice Nichols.” He smiled at her, thoughts of every single minute of the next twenty years flashed through his head. My heart’s fucking going insane. She’s it. I know it, he thought.

“I’m off to meet with your boss. Don’t worry, I won’t tell him about this. But it was nice bumping into you,” he said, winking and walking away a lot lighter. All I needed was a way to get some alone time with her. She’ll fall in love with me, he thought, feeling super confident.

What he didn’t know was someone saw that simple but intimate exchange, and she wasn’t happy with it.

He strolled into his brother’s office on cloud nine with a smile that hadn’t been seen in such a long time. He felt good inside. Now he needed to find a way to make her his because he didn’t think he could let her slip away. It was in the cards for them. He was certain of it.

“Who’s jingling your bells?” Ryan asked Matt as he entered his office.

“No one. Why would you ask something like that?”

“First, you came in here with that cheesy, motherfucking grin and your cock isn’t tucked away. You’re going to make my new assistant faint at the sight of that monster.” Matt gasped and looked down. His cock was still rock hard and his brain was mush.

“She can see it all she wants. I’ll catch her if she faints,” Matt said with a smile. The thoughts going through his mind weren’t of the innocent nature when it came to little Miss Candy.

“Just wait until after the new year. I have so much fucking work and I need an assistant. She’s doing a great job so far.”

“The new year is all I’m giving you and then I need to have her.”

“You want her to quit or for me to fire her just so you could fuck her?”

“No, so I can marry her.”

“What?! Did I just hear you say that?”

“Yes, you did. I want her and I want her badly. As soon as I spotted her I knew what it is. You know damn well what dad said.”

“Yes, I do, and you know what dad enforced last year,” Ryan tossed back at his brother, mentioning the ‘no-fraternizing’ rule.

“Yeah, and until now, I thought it was a fucking smart move.” Matt blew out a harsh breath in frustration. His mind all on her. 

“Don’t rush this. If she’s the one, get to know her. Did you already run the report on her?” Matt knew Ryan was being objective and reasonable, but he didn’t feel that way. He knew from the softness in her bright blue eyes that she was everything sweet.

“I did. It should be sent to my private email soon. It’s going to be a basic one, then a full-blown report in less than a week.” Matt was now scared to review the materials that he knew would hit his email this afternoon.

“Talk to her and get to know her before you fuck up both of your lives.” Matt was getting more and more annoyed by the second.

“You act like I go around falling in love with all these women. And for the love of God don’t bring Rose into this.” He hated when he teased him about Rose. Come to think about it, he hadn’t teased him about her in a long time.

“I wasn’t. I know that’s not love. Hell, it was barely more than a friend zone.”

“Exactly.” Matt steepled his fingers. “So, let’s talk shop and get this shit together.”

 

Candice

She didn’t get to make it out of the copy room before she was stopped by Mara. They didn’t really get introduced, but from the look on Mara’s face, Candice knew she wasn’t welcome.

“He’s not up for grabs, Candy. Typical name for a bimbo,” she scoffed. “Did you think wearing slutty outfits was going to get you more than a quick roll in the sack? The Kane men only marry classy women. And Matt and I are getting married next year. So, stay away. I won’t have someone else trying to steal him away.”

“Whoa. That’s a bit much. I barely said a few words to him. I don’t know you or him. I’m here to work. Excuse me, Ms. Black.”

“Just wait. His heart isn’t available as much as his body. That belongs to Spencer’s slutty wife, Rose. She dumped Matt after getting engaged to Spencer. He hasn’t gotten over it.”

“Whatever. Not my business,” Candice hissed before brushing past the bitch in all black. Her last name suited her. She wondered if it was true that Matthew and Mara were an item and getting married, but there was no one to ask. She didn’t know anyone and had no right to be concerned about Matthew’s relationship status. Next time she was going to take a look at her ring finger. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much, but it did. The fact that he was in love with someone he couldn’t have had broken her heart more for him than for her. It was terrible that he was longing for Rose’s love, but it was worse that he was fucking that snooty troll.

As she walked back to her desk, she looked at Ryan’s door. She wanted to know if Matt was still in there. He probably was, which meant he was going to pass by her. Nervously, she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She hated that she wanted a truly unavailable man, but there was nothing she could do. Her pulse was racing. She wouldn’t be a side chick to anyone or less than the only one they wanted, so taking a deep breath she tried to clear her mind of all thoughts Matt related.

She was typing out the notes that Ryan needed when the door opened. With everything in her power, she didn’t look in that direction. She focused on her work, but Matt wasn’t going to let that happen.

“So, we meet again,” Matt said. “How’s your first day going?”

“It’s going okay. Except for the copy room incident.”

“Don’t get hung up on that.”

“Candice, can you come in here a minute?” Ryan called from his open door.

“Sorry, I think I got you into trouble.” Her jaw slackened and her eyes widened. “I’m just kidding.”

“I’m coming,” she called out, standing out of her chair with a report he needed. Matt gave her a look that was pure sexual then walked away. She shook off the tingles and met with Ryan.

“Close the door.” She did and he pointed to the seat in front of him. It was still warm from where Matt had been sitting and she felt insanely turned on by that. “You’re not in trouble, so don’t listen to that knucklehead. I just want to go over some ground rules for office dating. No dating allowed. My brother can be a great guy, but I know you need this job.”

“What’s with everyone?”

“What do you mean?”

“First his assistant and now you. He’s said a handful of sentences to me and I have said even less. I do need this job, and no man, no matter how good looking, is worth starving for.”

“That’s great to hear. Is that my report?” he asked, pointing to the document in her hand.

“Oh, yes. Here it is. I’m still working on the one set of minutes.”

“Okay, here’s my schedule. Look it over and familiarize yourself with the way it’s organized. And sorry for the chaos today. I promise to keep Matt and Mara away.”

“Thanks. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Candice made it through the day without speaking to Matthew again. She liked calling him Matthew in her head. She liked the sound of it, but she didn’t know if she could call him that out loud. He smiled the two times she saw him and she couldn’t wait for five o’clock to hit. She still had a four-hour shift to do at the department store, which she knew would turn into six. It was going to be a long night.

Matt

He looked over the file and was shocked, pissed, and saddened all at once. Because her life became public record four years ago, his guy was able to get the information easily.

“You had it hard, sweet Candy. I plan on fixing that very soon,” he said, pouring himself a glass of scotch. He sat down and read the file again. She was twenty-years-old like it said, but she didn’t have a degree. She attended community college for a semester but dropped out. At the age of sixteen, her mother killed her father over another domestic dispute. She was given to an aunt as the foster parent until she reached eighteen. Her credit report showed a hundred hits, transactions, and delinquencies all over it. There were also many fraudulent claims on the report that had been proven, but the score was still garbage. That was all he had but her address, and he was truly tempted to go over there that night.

His phone rang and it was Ryan. “Hey, Matt. I just got a call from the temp agency. Apparently, there was a mix-up with the credentials for Candy and another woman, so they apologized and asked if I wanted the other replacement.”

“What did you say?”

“I told them that I liked how she was working out so far and that she had potential.”

“Good.”

“Did you get the report on her?” he asked the question Matt knew he would, so for the next hour they talked about her situation and how dire it had been. The girl was working hard to improve her circumstances. If everything worked out the way he wanted, he’d be improving her circumstances indefinitely.