CHAPTER ELEVEN

Emma

When I first walked in and discovered Trevor was here already at the office, I thought he might be playing some sort of game. I was apprehensive it was another angle to try to get to spend time with me alone. That idea went out the window, however, when he didn’t bother to engage me all morning. Then, once I went into his office around lunch, there was no doubt he was fully immersed in his work. In fact, his hair was all messed up from putting his hands through it while he reviewed whatever it was he’d been reading most of the morning.

So, come lunch time I took pity when he didn’t come out of his office. I told myself it was only a professional courtesy, the same thing I’d do for Simon, but the truth was I wondered what he’d been up to.

He surprised me by telling me about the company he was working on. Often Simon would bounce ideas off of me, but I’d wondered if Trevor would see me as simply an assistant to make his copies and get him coffee. I was pleased that he was treating me as a member of the team.

After picking up food from a sub place a couple miles away, I came back to the office and saw his phone light was on. I went in with his lunch anyhow. And, yes. Maybe I listened to a little of his conversation. Because despite the warning bells telling me not to become friends with him, I felt drawn.

“Sure, Dad. I get it. Okay, then. Talk to you later.”

He hung up and fixed his gaze on me as I was about to back out of the room. Then, smiling, he picked up the bag. “Thanks for this. What do I owe you?”

Huh. Simon was the only one who ever asked me that. Every other rich guy assumed I’d bill it to the firm, or who knows what they thought? They certainly weren’t ever concerned about paying me back.

“My treat,” I said hastily, wanting to leave all of a sudden.

“Wait. Did you get lunch, too?”

“A wrap. Why?”

I got the impression he’d been about to invite me to eat with him. “Nothing. Have a good lunch.”

I intended to stay quiet and turn around in order eat at my desk alone. But he had a certain puppy-dog sincerity, as if he simply wanted company. I was also very curious about how things were going with his presentation, so I said, “I could eat in here with you if you want.”

 It wasn’t like I didn’t eat lunch plenty of times with Simon. That was what you did with coworkers. And despite telling myself I didn’t want a friendship with him, I did wish to know more about him. I reasoned it was because we’d be traveling and working together. I ignored the inner voice calling me a liar.

“If you want.” He seemed unsure, which was my fault. I needed to clear the air.

“It’s not a problem. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He was halfway through his sandwich, obviously starving, when I returned with my wrap. He grinned sheepishly after swallowing. “Sorry. Guess I was hungry.”

Bloody adorable. And the warning bells were back. “Guess you were. Look, did you mean what you said the other day about being okay with a friendship?” I was acting a bit like a bull in a china shop because I wanted to get this conversation out of the way.

He stopped mid-chew and then proceeded, holding up a finger until he took a drink of his water, so he could swallow before speaking. “Yes, definitely okay with friendship. And I apologize if I came on too strong in the beginning.”

His agreement didn’t give me the relief I’d thought it would. “I take a while to warm up to people. But if the offer for friendship is there, then I wouldn’t be opposed to it. Might make things easier in working together.”

I’d thought he might be disappointed since most men I knew didn’t like having their ego checked. But he only grinned. “Good. As with any relationship, whether it’s professional or not, we’ll go slow. Trust takes time to build up, and I’m the new guy coming in after years of you and Simon alone together.”

Truer words couldn’t have been spoken. I did have a tough time with trust. “Good. Glad that’s settled. How’s it going so far with fantasy sports? Is it a yea or nay for the investment?” I was surprised he wasn’t more into this transaction. He had jock written all over him with his athletic build.

“Straight to the verdict, huh?”

“Sort of cuts through the bullshit.”

He laughed. “True, but I have seven pages of analysis. Not that it matters because I can’t seem to get the damn thing to print.”

“I can certainly help with that. Email it to me, and I’ll print it.”

He looked skeptical.

“What? I won’t look at it if it’s confidential. Although you probably shouldn’t have told me because now I’ll have to sneak a peek.”

He chuckled. I found myself enjoying the way he did so, as though he couldn’t help himself. “I hesitated because I didn’t want to bother you with it. You work for Simon, not me.”

That brought up a curious point. “True. But we’re a team.” And now that we’d addressed the elephant in the room, hopefully we could behave as such.

“Agreed, but I’m not good with knowing what I should or shouldn’t be asking of you.”

“Surely you’ve had an assistant before.”

He blushed. “I made the mistake once when I was nineteen and interning for my father of asking his assistant for something. Pearl is all of eighty pounds soaking wet and reminds me of my grandmother, but she set me straight.”

“And how did Pearl set you straight?”

“She informed me she did enough of one man’s shit; she certainly wasn’t about to do another’s.”

His amusement was contagious. I could picture it all too well. “And what did you say to that?” I knew many a man who would’ve pitched a fit about such an attitude coming from someone they deemed beneath them.

“I told her, ‘Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.’ Nobody messes with Pearl.”

I loved the idea of a little old lady ruling the suits in the office with an iron fist. And I found myself unthawing a bit. “That’s classic. So no more assistants for you?”

“Nope. I’d say I’m proficient, except I can’t seem to print this thing.”

“Let me take care of that. Send it to me.”

He went back to his mouse, clicking a few times. “Done. Thank you.”

A few minutes later, I’d printed from his email and returned with his pages. “Here you go.”

He took the papers from my hand. “Thank you. I’m curious. How did you and Simon start working together?”

That was one story I didn’t mind sharing. “I was nineteen and had started working as the receptionist in the New York office for the Stone Group. Simon needed an assistant temporarily, so they asked me to fill in. After a full day, he requested I stay with him for the week. And from there, he brought me on as a full-time team member for acquisitions.”

“He speaks very highly of you.”

“Yes, well, he makes it easy to do good work considering I feel the same way about him. Anyhow, I should get back to it. Email me your changes once you need them printed again.”

“Thank you. Not only for that, but for lunch, too. I appreciate it.”

I knew he meant it. I turned to go, but he stopped me.

“Oh, and Emma?”

My heart raced at the way he spoke my name, to the point I had to grip the door jamb. Definitely not thinking of him as a ‘friend.’ “Yes?”

“The verdict is I’m suggesting we buy the company. Work to grow its app and platform.”

I grinned. “I know. I skipped to the end of your presentation before I handed it to you.”

He threw his head back with laughter.

I went back out to my desk thinking it was too bad I didn’t go for nice guys; otherwise, Trevor would be a tough one to resist.