Love like Yours Series (Box Set #1-4)

by Nicole S. Goodin

  “Good morning, how can I help you today?”

  “Hi, I’m Ellerslie Rush, and we are meeting a Mr. Graham so he can show us around the vacant offices.”

  Her eyes lit up in recognition. “Of course. He has just arrived, and asked if you could meet him on level ten please. He left this for you.” She handed me an access card. “If you just take an elevator from over there...” she pointed across the spacious lobby to a bank of elevators near the back. “The card will allow you access up there.”

  “Thank you, Alisha.” I smiled politely at the extremely efficient woman before me.

  “Have a lovely day, and I hope the offices and facilities are to your liking.”

  We moved towards the elevators as Quinn snickered. “Holy shit, I bet every one of those women was handpicked by Lawson, he loves efficiency, and she absolutely reeked of his preference for office staff.” She giggled. “Poor bloody girls, I can only imagine the agony he puts his personal assistant through.”

  Huh, Lawson is a high and mighty businessman is he? Interesting.

  We took the elevator up to the tenth floor. The doors opened out into a large area that I imagined would be a perfect space for the reception desk. A man who I assumed was Evan Graham strode towards us.

  “Miss Rush and Miss Pierce I presume?”

  I stepped forward to meet him. “Please, call me Ellerslie, this is my business associate, Quinn Pierce, and my brother, Reeve Rush.”

  He smiled warmly at us and a deep dimple appeared in his right cheek.

  This guy is not bad looking.

  I quickly let my eyes flick over the rest of his body. He looked around my age. He was a little taller than I was, had brown hair and eyes, and was dressed in a gray shirt with black trousers and shoes.

  I bet there’s a decent body under there too.

  Shit, El, pull it together. You’re at work for God’s sake.

  It had clearly been far too long since I’d gotten any.

  I pulled myself from my ogling and smiled at him again. Looking back at Quinn I could tell she was descretley assessing the view too.

  Reeve stepped forward and shook hands with Evan. “I’ll be acting as their lawyer today. I’ll have a look through the documents you have if you don’t mind, Mr. Graham?”

  “Please, call me Evan. That sounds great, I’m glad you’re here. It will shorten the process considerably if Ellerslie and Quinn decide to lease.”

  He handed Reeve a daunting-looking file and signaled with his hand for us to explore the floor ahead of us.

  “Shall we?”

  I walked and took notes and photos on my cell phone, Quinn did the same. The office space was set up really well. There were numerous dividers already in place, creating about a dozen office cubicles. There were bathrooms, storage, a large area for office equipment and two large offices that were closed in with glass walls. The view was beautiful too, two sides of the building looked out towards the harbor and waterfront, and the other sides had a view of the city surrounding us.

  As we moved around Evan explained to us, if we took the space, this would be our lowest floor. We would have five in total, levels 10 through 14. The four lowest levels were all very much the same as this, whilst the top floor consisted of large self-contained offices. That would be the floor that Quinn and I would work from, along with the other members that made up the board of directors.

  By the time we reached the fourteenth floor I was already sold on taking the lease. It was everything we needed for an office space. We hadn’t seen the gym or conference room yet but none of that really mattered anyway, it was a bonus to have access to all of that.

  “This is perfect, El.”

  I grinned as I turned around to look at Quinn. We were on the top floor of the building and the view from the offices was amazing. Each had its own bathroom and storage room, and they were huge. Quinn and I had both called shotgun on the two offices that had the best views of the water.

  “I know,” I breathed. “I’m so relieved. This is exactly what we need, Q. When Lawson gets back into town, we definitely owe him dinner. And drinks. A lot of drinks. We really lucked out with this place.”

  I turned to catch Evan’s eye and waved him over.

  Was he just checking out my ass?

  He had been hanging back, giving us some space to discuss our options.

  “It’s perfect, Evan, If Reeve is happy with the contracts then we’ll sign on today.”

  “That’s fantastic, Ellerslie. If you like, we could head across the road and have a drink to sign and celebrate?” He had a slight smirk on his face, almost as if he was daring me to say yes. I felt my face filling with heat.

  Is this guy hitting on me?

  Of course not, you idiot. This is his job. I bet he acts like this towards all potential clients.

  “Thank you for the invite, Evan, but unfortunately we have to get back to meet our moving truck. I’ll just catch up with my brother and check on the contract.” I heard Quinn chuckle – quietly enough that Evan wouldn’t hear.

  Bitch was laughing at me.

  “Another time then? You’ll have my number.”

  “Um... sure. Another time.” I nodded and blushed again. I figured I wouldn’t be seeing him again in the near future anyway – what was the harm in giving him a maybe-yes for an answer. I really needed to get my libido under control before I even considered going out with anyone, let alone a guy that was connected to work.

  The last thing I need is to get involved with another man anyway.

  Evan gave us the access card to explore the other levels on our own. The gym was huge, and there was a lap pool, spa and sauna that all of our employees would have full access to. The conference rooms were sleek and professional and would be great spaces for us to use. The ground level of the building had a delicious looking little café that was also open to the public. It was all amazing.

  We checked in with Reeve, who had no concerns about the agreement. Evan had us complete and sign the paperwork and as soon as the pen left the paper I felt another weight lift off my shoulders. We would be running Rush Communications from these offices, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

  ***

  We had been unpacking for the past two hours and I was over it.

  Both of our bedrooms had made beds, and boxes everywhere. The living area was about the same. I hadn’t realized just how much stuff we had when we combined it all. Quinn had flopped down on our brown leather couch about 15 minutes ago, put her feet up and started taunting me about Evan.

  “I saw that sly bastard wink at you before we left, El. And he checked about 100 times that you had his damn number.” She laughed at me from across the room.

  I picked up a throw pillow and hurled it across the space at her. I nailed her right in the stomach.

  I always was a bloody good shot.

  “Ow, bitch.” Quinn was laughing even harder now. “You should go out with him, El, what’s the harm?”

  I put down the box of kitchen stuff that I was unpacking and sat down on the couch with my legs tucked underneath me. “I don’t think so... the last thing I need is another man in my life.”

  “Have a bit of fun, El, it might just be one dinner. And maybe breakfast.” She laughed and wiggled her eyebrows at me.

  That cow was enjoying this a little too much.

  It earned her another throw pillow, this one right in the face.

  A one-night stand. Me? No bloody way.

  “Not happening, Q. I’m not interested in going out with him. And besides, he didn’t actually come out and ask me on a date. He probably just wanted to make sure I was happy with the lease.”

  “Right, uh huh, sure he was sweetheart. You just keep telling yourself that.” Quinn jumped up and headed down the hallway to her bedroom. “Oh and, El?” she tossed over her shoulder. “I saw you drooling over him, so you’re not fooling anyone but yourself.”

  Damn Quinn.

  I just wish she wasn’t right. />
  “You go out with him if you’re so bloody keen to get the guy a date,” I yelled after her.

  I got no smart reply from Quinn so I decided she must be over messing with me – for now anyway. I had a feeling this would not be the last I would be hearing of Evan Graham.

  We spent the rest of the evening unpacking and eating the Thai takeout that Reeve had brought down around dinnertime. He’d stayed and helped us for a few hours before he headed up to bed. It was Tuesday tomorrow, he had to head back in to work. Quinn and I had a lot to do to get the office set up for our start date in less than one week too. We needed to furnish our own offices, brief the relocating staff from our other branch that would be arriving on Wednesday, and begin the process of hiring new staff. It was going to be a very long few days.

  ***

  The past few weeks had passed in a blur. It had snowed, and I would have loved to have spent a few days enjoying how absolutely magical it was, but there hadn’t been time for that.

  Quinn and I were completely settled into our new apartment. We had even decided to hire the house cleaner that Reeve used to clean our apartment too, we had been so busy in the office that we just didn’t have time to do it ourselves. I loved to be busy, but I was looking forward to everything settling down with Rush Communications.

  We had hired about 80 percent of the staff we would eventually need. We had an operational reception, nearly all of our Chief Officers had their own personal assistants and we had taken on a bunch of interns and support staff too.

  My father was the official CEO – but since he would be based back in our other branch, I would take on the day-to-day responsibilities that his job entailed. I was also the chairperson of the board of directors. Quinn sat on the board of directors also, but her day-to-day role was Chief Technology Officer. She was amazing at her job, and I couldn’t wait to see what she could do here.

  I had hired a personal assistant after only two interviews. As soon as I’d met Weston, I knew he was going to be perfect. I had offered him the job on the spot, and he was elated. He had started the next day, and we were already working together as if we had known each other for years. Quinn, however, was having a little more trouble. She had been less than impressed with most of the potential candidates, and I was beginning to think that she had the same high standards that she joked about her brother having.

  My father had flown in last week so that he could help me finalize a few of the details, and sit in on a couple of the important interviews. He had seemed impressed with the way I was running the business, and he had told me numerous times how happy he was that I was doing this. It felt amazing to know that he trusted my judgment and business sense.

  I direct-dialed Quinn’s office, only three doors down from mine.

  “Quinn Pierce.”

  “Hey, Q,” I replied brightly.

  “Hey, perky, how’s it going?”

  I laughed at her tone. She sounded exhausted. It was seven o’clock on Friday evening, and I was ready to get the hell out of here.

  “Are you ready to head out? I’m starving, and all this paperwork is going way above my head anyway.”

  “I just have to finish up a couple of reports, and I’ll have to take them down myself, since I can’t find a decent assistant,” She complained. “Why don’t you head down in about fifteen minutes and bring the Jeep around – I’ll just meet you out front?”

  I tried my hardest to stifle my laugh, but I’m pretty sure Quinn still heard it. “Sure, I’ll have Weston file this stuff and I’ll meet you down there in about 20.”

  “Lucky cow,” she muttered before the line went dead. I had to laugh at her. I could see what her problem was, there had been some useless young girls parading in and out of Quinn’s interviews, wearing nowhere near enough clothing, and clearly not having nearly enough brains either. Some hadn’t actually seemed too bad, but I think Quinn was at the point where she was incredibly frustrated and she had begun to nit-pick over details that she normally wouldn’t have even noticed.

  I called Weston into my office. “Could you please file these for me, West? And then you can finish up for the weekend.”

  “No problem, are you sure you don’t want me to stay behind and finish up that typing?”

  “God no, it’s late, and you’ve been here for some seriously long hours this week.”

  “You know I don’t mind, El, but thanks. Has the ice queen had any luck finding a servant?” he joked. I knew Weston actually loved Quinn, he had joined us for late dinners here in the office several times in the past few weeks, and they got on like a house on fire. He had taken to calling her the ice queen for the past few days, after she had all but screamed at a young girl during an interview and caused her to leave, crying. In Quinn’s defense, the girl had turned up for a personal assistant interview, dressed like a hooker, and without any knowledge of how to operate a computer.

  I’m not sure what she was expecting.

  I was beginning to wonder if all these women thought that they were going to be interviewed by a man rather than a woman.

  I giggled. “Nope. Not a single potential candidate.” I sighed. “She’s exhausted though, she really needs to find somebody ASAP.”

  “I actually might be able to help. My roommate, Macie, is looking for a new job. Her last boss turned out to be a complete prick so she left at short notice. She’d probably be a little over qualified, but that might not be a bad thing if she’d be working for Quinn.” He smiled at me.

  “Really? Okay well bring her in on Monday. I’ll talk to Quinn this weekend. Try to get her to relax a little.”

  “Sounds good, boss. Enjoy your weekend.” Weston winked at me and turned to leave.

  “You too, Weston,” I called after him.

  ***

  I had packed up my office and pressed the call button for the elevator – It arrived and I stepped inside and pressed the button for the parking garage. My cell phone beeped with a new email. By the time I’d finished reading it I noticed that I was on the seventh floor and there were about half a dozen people in the lift with me. I was leaning against the wall of the elevator and had my back to most of the people inside.

  As the doors closed again, I started to feel a little uncomfortable, as if somebody was watching me. My neck prickled and I fought the urge to spin around.

  You’re a new girl here, people are going to look.

  I stood straighter in my heeled boots and shifted my weight to my other foot. I glanced around the elevator and smiled shyly at the middle-aged woman to my left.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, have I?” she asked me kindly.

  “No, probably not, I’m new to the area. I’ve just started upstairs, I’m El.” I extended my hand for her to shake.

  “Karen, I’m a PA on level 6.” She smiled again. The lift stopped and the doors opened. “I hope you enjoy it here,” she said as she exited the elevator onto the gym floor.

  “Thanks. It was nice to meet you, Karen.” I smiled back.

  Two other men also exited and headed into the gym. Another woman stopped on the floor of the pool and sauna.

  I hadn’t yet made eye contact with anybody else in the elevator, but it felt like there were eyes on my body the whole time I had been in here. I turned and looked up.

  Whoa. That guy is big.

  I was having trouble making my eyes move further than the broad chest and shoulders that were clothed in a crisp-white button-down shirt with a light-gray tie. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms.

  Oh, sweet Jesus... that tattoo.

  It must have been a sleeve of tattoos, with only a few inches exposed to my gaze. He had his dark-gray suit jacket draped over his other arm, and a brown leather laptop bag hung from his shoulder.

  I would definitely not be surprised if I was drooling.

  I heard a deep chuckle come from the direction I was looking, and I snapped my eyes up to his face.

  Holy f
ucking fuck.

  This guy was beyond hot. He looked like a damn model. He had a strong jaw, that hot-as-shit groomed stubble, and messy dark brown hair that almost flopped in his eyes.

  Oh God, his eyes.

  He had breathtaking green eyes. Eyes that were currently locked on mine with a look of intensity and a hint of amusement. I flicked my gaze down to the smirk on his lips. I found myself licking my lips without even making a conscious decision to.

  The elevator slowed and stopped on the ground floor. An older man that I hadn’t even noticed moved past me and exited onto the ground floor. He broke the spell that Mr. Tall, dark and hotter-than-hell had on me. I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts.

  Holy shit, El, keep your eyes in your head.

  I pushed the button for the parking garage a few more times – an attempt to get the elevator to move faster. I could feel my face getting redder by the minute. I had been snapped undressing the poor guy with my eyes. I was like a dog in heat at the moment and I needed to sort that out – fast.

  Why won’t this bloody thing move?

  I heard a chuckle again.

  “In a hurry there, sweetheart?” His deep voice moved through me. It was smooth and strong and hinted at a country upbringing. It suited him perfectly.

  I took a deliberately slow step back from the numbered panel, keeping my eyes focused ahead.

  “You’re not going to get all shy on me now, are you?” It sounded like he was having a laugh at my expense. I still hadn’t turned around to look at him again. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to turn away if I did.

  I could feel myself blushing even deeper as I stood there looking like an idiot. “What do you mean?” I replied, still not looking at him.

  The lift had reached the parking garage, but neither one of us had made any move to get out of the elevator.

  He snorted. “Really? I saw that little eye-fuck you were giving me.”

  I felt my mouth hang open as I turned to look at him. The air between us crackled with tension, sexual and otherwise. But before I could even come up with some witty remark to throw back at him, he took a couple of steps towards me. He was so close I could smell him.