I grimace as I rake my fingers through my hair and stare at Julian. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

His lips flatten as he pulls a face. The kind of face that tells me he’s not fucking kidding me. “Sorry, man. I wish I were. But he effectively wiped ten mil off your bottom line last night.”

I don’t waste time mulling my choices over. As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one to be made here. “Get rid of him and find me a new analyst. And get Maxwell to take over his work.”

Julian nods, and after he leaves, I swivel my chair so I’m facing the view of Sydney city I have from my office. It’s not so much the lost cash that’s angered me; we’ll make that up without a problem. It’s Graham, one of my analysts. He’s been sloppy for months now, at least six. I’ve given him space and time to fix whatever the hell is wrong in his life, but he’s continued to make mistake after mistake. If there’s one thing I can’t tolerate, it’s people who waste opportunities.

My phone rings and I answer it in the pissed-off mood I’m in. “What?”

“Owen, that’s no way to answer your phone.”

I rub my temples. It’s just gone nine in the morning, and already my day has turned to shit. “What are you doing calling me so early in the morning, Mother?” She’s usually at some gathering with her friends or at the gym or something that involves other people. My mother has an incessant need to be surrounded by people she can impress. I love her, but I’ll never understand that desire.

“Can a mother not call her son?”

Jesus. Today is not the day for this. “I’m sorry, but I’m dealing with something that is time sensitive. Can I call you back if it’s not urgent?”

“I was simply calling to let you know I spoke with Marcia Montgomery. She tells me that John says you’re a shoo-in for the Bluestone Award. I thought you might like to know.”

Her cool tone lets me know I’ve upset her, but it’s not the first time I’ve done that, and it won’t be the last, so I ignore it. “Thanks, Mum. I’ll call you later when everything settles down.”

“Oh, Owen, one other thing. Jill. You need to keep her on side. If she rocks the boat, that award may go to another company.”

My ex wife.

The one who still owns half my company.

“I have to go.” Getting into yet another discussion with my mother about my ex isn’t something I want to do this morning.

“I told you that you needed to force her out, Owen. She—”

I squeeze the stress ball my brother, Ryan, gave me for moments exactly like this one. If anyone understands the difficulties involved in dealing with Mary North, it’s Ryan. “I’m hanging up now, Mother, but I’ll take your advice under advisement.”

Without giving her another second to continue her lecture, I end the call and throw the stress ball at the closed door of my office. Unfortunately, my assistant, Tahlia, chooses this very moment to enter my office.

“Shit, Owen!” she yells when the ball hits her fair in the chest. “You’re lucky it’s me who that ball hit and not Jill.”

I shove my chair back and stand. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Tahlia. Are you okay?”

She swipes the ball off the floor and pelts it back at me. “I am now,” she mutters when it hits me in the chest. “Let me guess, your mother?”

Raking my fingers through my hair, I exhale a frustrated breath. “Yes. That woman is more than I can handle this morning.”

“Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, but it seems there’s another situation that may need your handling right now. Some woman is letting loose on Dirk outside his office, and for once, I don’t think he’s able to handle it.”

Dirk is our HR guy and an all-round jerk most of the time. The only reason he still works for North & Co is that Jill fights me every time I try to fire him. She either has a soft spot for the asshole or she is determined to keep him because I want him gone. I can’t read her mind any better now than I could when we were married, so I can’t be sure which it is.

“That would be a first. I’m half tempted not to get involved.”

“I’m completely with you on that except for the fact there’s a reporter on her way to interview you for that article about the Bluestone Award.”

Shit, I’d forgotten about that.

I nod. “Okay, leave it with me. I’ll head down there now and sort it out.”

She hands over a thick stack of files. “And after you’ve sorted that, these need to be taken care of. Looks like it’s gonna be a long day today, boss.”

I dump the files on my desk, irritated that I always end up having to fix Jill’s mistakes. Because that’s what these records contain. Problems she’s caused. She refused to allow me to buy her out of the company when we divorced, and I didn’t force her hand because I understood what this company meant to her. We’d built it together during the six years of our marriage, and I’d hoped that her fight to keep half of it would mean she’d put our differences aside for the sake of the company’s success. That was a year ago, and since then she seems to have replaced her intelligence with stupidity. North & Co might be doing well financially, but behind the scenes, we’re a mess of bad decisions and battles for control. I’m close to losing my patience with her. The only things keeping me in check are the Bluestone Award and the fact I once loved and respected her.

I push her to the back of my mind and head towards Dirk’s office, which is at the other end of the floor I’m on. The shouting that’s taking place gets louder with every step I take. When Dirk and the woman come into view, I frown as I see who it is.

Charlize.

The woman I met in a bathroom at Dougall and Poppy’s wedding a few nights ago.

The woman who has captivated my thoughts since.

I know her by voice alone.

“Dirk,” I bark, “What’s going on here?”

Charlize instantly stops her ranting and spins to face me, eyes wide. Her face scrunches into a frown, and I can’t help but think that even when she’s frowning, she’s beautiful. “Owen?”

Goddam that voice turns me on. Charlize has a sultry tone that hits me right in the gut. From the second she’d asked me the other night if I always wandered into women’s bathrooms, I’d been held hostage by that voice. And as she’d shown me a piece of who she is while she lost her shit over the ripped dress, I’d been bewitched.

I want to stop and talk to her, but at this very moment, my main goal is to rip Dirk a new one. Dragging my gaze from Charlize, I give him my attention again. “Dirk?”

Whatever is going on here has him wound so tight he looks ready to snap. “This bitch came in for an interview about an hour ago and has now come back to my office to let me know she’s not happy she didn’t get it.”

His use of the word bitch unleashes my anger. I’m about to let him have it when Charlize takes over.

In a much more controlled manner than the ranting she was doing a moment ago, she says, “First, I don’t appreciate you referring to a woman who stands up for herself as a bitch. I know your type, and I don’t like you, but I would never refer to you as a motherfucker because you stood up for your rights. Second, damn straight I’m not happy that you chose a man over me just because he’s a man. But third, I’m glad to know how this company operates because working here is the last thing I want to do now.”

Charlize’s long hair is pulled into a sleek ponytail high on her head. It bobs all over the place while she lets Dirk know how she feels, and I’m distracted by the damn thing almost to the point of not keeping pace with their argument. Not only am I distracted by it moving around, but I’m also fascinated with the colours she now has in her once-blonde hair. It’s a mixture of purples, blues, and pinks—colours that weren’t there the night we met.

I draw my attention back to the matter at hand and cut in on Dirk who is giving her all the reasons under the sun as to why he would never hire her. I have a feeling that she’s right—that he did hire someone just because he was a male. Dirk holds a grudge against the women in my company. Something about women only being fit for jobs that don’t require much brain capacity. His words, not mine.

I look at Charlize. “How do you know he hired based on sex?”

She meets my gaze, and I suck in a breath at the fire I see in her eyes. I hardly know her at all, but I get the distinct impression she’s a spitfire when it comes to some things. This being one of those things. “I overheard him while I was in the bathroom. I was just coming out when he told someone that he would never hire a woman, let alone one with multi-coloured hair. He said something about only interviewing me to keep the boss happy and the company out of any possible sex discrimination lawsuit.”

Jesus.

I work hard to keep my calm.

“You can’t prove a fucking thing, bitch!” Dirk spits.

My calm snaps. Turning to him, I bark, “Walk away, Dirk. Get back to work and leave this for me to handle. I don’t want to see or hear from you until I come looking for you.”

His eyes widen. It’s not often I lose my calm. However, he doesn’t back down easily. “She’s got nothing on us, Owen, I—”

“Now!”

With one last glare directed at Charlize, he turns to walk away. He’s almost back in his office when she calls out after him. “By the way, you should have hired me. No way would I have ever advised North & Co to invest in those Vistaland shares. My advice at that time would have been to buy up Panorama shares, and for the record, I’d still advise that today if you’re looking to make up the millions you dropped overnight. Just sayin’.”

I have to give Dirk credit. He slows as she calls out to him, but he doesn’t engage. A moment later, his door slams shut, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Now, to fix the shit he’s put the company in.

“I’m sorry about what’s happened thi—”

She cuts me off, her eyes softening as she meets my gaze. “Look, it blows that I didn’t get the job, but it’s not your fault, Owen. And to be honest, I don’t think I would want to work here anyway. My guess is that the guy who owns the place must be a real asshole if he hires men like Dirk.”

My brows lift. “I’m the asshole who owns the place, Charlize.”

She blinks. “Oh.”

“So you know, Dirk won’t be here much longer.”

“Good. Your company will be much better off without him.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re a financial analyst? And you know we invested in Vistaland?”

“I guess you could call me that. And didn’t everyone know that North & Co invested in Vista?”

That is true. Our investment was heavily reported at the time, and the share price rose along with that. My company is well known for its wise trades. Lately, though, not so much. My team of analysts have been making rookie mistakes all over the place, and the problems between Jill and me are allowing those mistakes to continue.

So while my investment in Vista is well known in financial circles, I’m intrigued as to how Charlize knows. “What do you mean by “I could call you that”? Either you’re an analyst or you’re not.”

She slings her bag over her shoulder. It’s the same bag she had at the wedding. A large black one that looks like it’s seen better days. “Look, does this even matter? It’s not like you need to know my education and job history. I’m not applying for another job here.”

I can’t figure out why she’s turned cagey all of a sudden. It’s like she’s trying to avoid answering my question. I cross my arms over my chest. “Humour me.”

She stares at me for a good few moments, not saying a word. She seems to be thinking hard about what she’s going to say. Fiddling with the strap of her bag, she finally blurts, “Fine. I never finished my degree. I have no formal education, so I guess I can’t really call myself an analyst. But it’s what I do. I know the stock market like the back of my hand, and I love it. So that’s probably the real reason why Dirk didn’t give me the job. It just pisses me off that he also judged me based on my hair and the fact I’m a woman.”

I thought I was intrigued before. Now I’m fucking captivated. She has no formal qualifications, yet she’s throwing out advice about trades like a pro. She’s on the money about the Panorama shares. They’re exactly the shares I’d expect an analyst to recommend.

“So let’s say—” I start, but Tahlia comes running down the hall towards me and cuts me off, a look of panic on her face.

“Owen! I need your help. Right now!”

It’s not often my assistant descends into hysteria. In fact, she never does. Glancing between the two women in front of me, I say to Charlize, “Can you give me a moment? I want to discuss this some more with you.”

“Sorry!” Tahlia says to Charlize as she grabs my arm. “I just need him for a few minutes. Then he’s all yours again.”

Charlize nods and shoos me. “Go.”

Tahlia drags me away before I get another word in. I’ve no idea what the hell could be so important to Tahlia that it’s separating me from the beauty and intelligence of a woman I’m more interested in than any woman I’ve met in years. But as soon as I’ve helped her sort it out, I’m coming straight back here to find out more about Charlize. I need to know everything about her.