by Jill Sanders
“Good. I’ve got a few things to tie up here first. I can start in two weeks.”
The men glanced at each other. “How soon could you make a decision?”
“In a hurry?” He frowned.
They both shook their heads. “No, not at all. It’s just we have a few big projects coming up and . . .” Paul sighed. “We were sure hoping for some extra help.”
Aiden replied, “Once I get my foot in the door, it should take me only a few weeks, maybe a month, to make up my mind.” He thought about his schedule and rearranged a few things in his head.
“Good.” Steven smiled at him. “I knew talking to Eric about bringing you in was a great idea.
“Let’s clear something up. I’m not looking to become partner. If I do this, I’ll buy the both of you out. If you want to stay on, I’ll respect that and add it to the contracts, but if I decide to step in, it will be a full takeover. I’ll absorb Row and Stein completely.”
The men nodded in agreement and their smiles grew. “We’ve both decided that we’re too old and tired to continue running things like we’ve been doing. Neither of our kids wanted to follow in our footsteps, so we can’t hand the business down to family. Shame my son turned out to be a surgeon,” he said.
Aiden smiled. “From what Eric tells me, a pretty good one too.”
Steven’s smile was bigger now. “Damn good.”
“I’ll make those arrangements and have all the paperwork ready when you arrive,” Paul said. “Oh, one more thing.” Paul glanced at Steven quickly. “We want to keep this under the radar for now. No one can know about it outside us and the board members. Not until we’ve agreed to a deal.”
Aiden shook both of the men’s hands and watched the men leave. It was easy enough for him to read between the lines and know that they were having difficulty dealing with their growth and handling the financial responsibilities that came with success.
Aiden had been using Row and Stein Architects for the last five years for his own business and knew that the firm provided quality. In the years he’d used them, he’d never had any problems and had always enjoyed working with them.
But since Urban Development was Aiden’s baby, he didn’t want to jump into anything quickly. Not when it could jeopardize his business. He loved being a developer, but he loved being a business owner even more.
He could use a slight distraction. He was in between relationships and had plenty of time to focus on work, which was kind of slowly driving him crazy. This was just what he needed right now.
“Lisa?” He stepped out of his office and waited for his secretary to follow him back in. He walked around and sat behind his desk. “I’ll need to move my schedule around.”
Two weeks later, Aiden walked toward the silver thirty-story building downtown that housed the offices of Row and Stein Architecture Firm.
He’d been in the high-rise building on several occasions but had never been to the seventh level where the firm consumed the entire floor.
As he walked toward the rotating doors out front, he was bumped into from behind and almost knocked to the ground by a hurricane.
The first thing he noticed was the mass of hair flying in the heavy wind. High winds were common in downtown Denver, and today was no exception. He had struggled to keep his tie tucked in his jacket as he’d stepped off the bus into the wind earlier. So when the woman bumped solidly into him, he held on to her, assuming that her hair had blocked her sight and she just hadn’t seen him.
Her long green skirt was flying around, and even though the thing reached her ankles, she held on to it with a death grip to keep it from rising above her head.
There was a stack of papers tucked under her arm, as well as a large black tube for holding designs.
When she had knocked into him, some of her papers had flown out of her hands. She reached out to grab them and lost hold of her skirt, which rushed up high on her thighs. He was rewarded with a view of the sexiest pair of legs he’d ever seen.
It took him a moment to stop staring at the perfect, silky legs and spring into action. He reached out and grabbed at the papers that were flying around their heads in a whirlwind.
Finally, when he’d snagged the last paper from the air, he turned to her and stopped dead. He’d thought the legs were perfect. The rest of her was even better.
Her green eyes laughed at him as she tried to hold her skirt to her body and tame her long hair at the same time.
“I thought they were going to end up in Kansas, and then my next meeting would have been shot to hell.” She laughed. “Thank you.” She took the papers from him.
He stood there like a fool. He probably even had his mouth open, but he was too distracted to notice. All he knew was that his heart tried to escape his chest as the woman quickly walked away from him and into the building.
It took him a few seconds to react and he tried to follow her, but when he entered the building, she was nowhere to be seen.
He shook off his disappointment and made his way to the mirrored elevators. When he finally walked into the Row and Stein’s offices, he was impressed.
The cream-colored carpet accented the warm wood walls in the entryway. A shiny metal sign hung on a wall made with refurbished wood and reused bricks and stone. The mixture of new and old didn’t go unnoticed.
He was greeted by a blonde woman who sat behind the high receptionist desk. “Welcome to Row and Stein Architecture. Can I help you?”
“Aiden Scott to see Mr. Row and Mr. Stein.”
She nodded, then picked up her phone. A few moments later, she smiled up at him. “Mr. Row and Mr. Stein will see you now, Mr. Scott.” She motioned for him to follow her.
He walked through a massive room filled with people sitting behind large-screen computers and drafting desks. He noticed a long conference room that looked much like the one in his office.
“Mr. Row, Mr. Scott is here.” The woman stepped aside and Steven stood up from behind a very messy desk.
“There you are, my boy.” Steven walked over and shook his hand and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Shirley. Let’s go into Paul’s office; he’s the neat and tidy one.” He walked across the room toward another row of offices along the windows. “When my boys were little, I once lost them in that mess.” He pointed back toward his office and laughed. “Here’s our savior now,” he said, leaning into Paul’s office.
Paul Stein’s office looked a lot like his own did. Tidy and organized. There was a large drafting table and two massive screens that showed the man was currently working on designs for something big.
“Oh good. I’ve got a place all set up for you.” Paul stood and shook his hand. “I’ll show you to it. Everything should be ready.”
They walked a few offices down and Aiden was shown into an office roughly the same size as the other two. This one was cleared of everything except two large computer screens.
“The IT guy, Darren, should be around soon to show you how to get on the network and set up your user info. That file cabinet has most of our financial information in it. The rest is up on the network that Darren will give you access to.”
“I’ve arranged for you to go out on a couple different jobs, if you want, with some of our people,” Steven said, leaning against the doorjamb.
“I appreciate it. I’ll spend a few days looking over this and then let you know.”
“As far as it goes around here”—Steven leaned in and shut the door behind him—“we haven’t mentioned the possibility of being bought out to any of the employees yet. They think you’re here for a trial period as a new employee.”
“We’d kind of like to keep it that way until we get your final answer,” Paul added.
Aiden nodded. “I’ll let you know when I’ve made a decision.”
“If you need anything, just let us know,”
Paul said just as Steven opened the door to a dark-haired man in khakis and a black button-up shirt.
“Here’s Darren now to set you up.”
The two partners left and Aiden spent the next half hour learning their network. By the time Darren left, Aiden had to admit that his own IT guy was failing on the job; Urban Developers’ network wasn’t as efficient as this one was. Nor was his IT personnel as well informed.
He spent the next two hours glued to the screen, looking over the business’s spreadsheets for the last two years. Whoever did the books did a fine job. Everything was well organized and he had an easy time finding everything.
Lunchtime rolled around and Steven knocked on the door and asked if he’d like to join them for lunch. He followed the men down to the lobby and they ate at the well-known sushi place on the main floor. He enjoyed the two men’s conversation during lunch and realized just how close the older men were, which only had him thinking about his own relationships again.
As they rode the elevators back up to the seventh floor, he received a message to call his office. He excused himself so he could go back into his new office area to return the call.
When he walked in, the caramel-haired beauty from before sat with her feet propped up on his desk as she sucked down a long strand of ramen noodles.
When she noticed him, she started coughing on the noodles she’d just inhaled. He rushed over and began patting her on the back.
She couldn’t believe her luck. Her bad luck. The man she’d almost knocked down was standing outside her lunch area. Well, the empty office she’d used as her private lunch area for the last year and a half.
His dark hair, which had gotten messed up by the wind, had been combed down and slicked back. His suit was perfectly in place and he had the most annoyed look on his face, like he’d had when he’d first looked at her.
His hand continued to pound her back, even after she’d gotten air back in her lungs.
“I’m okay now,” she said between slaps on the back.
“You sure?” He stopped, his hand in midair.
She nodded and swallowed.
“What are you doing here?” He looked down at her and she couldn’t really read what he was thinking in his dark eyes.
“I . . .” She blinked a few times. “I work here. What are you doing here?” She set her chopsticks down and glared at him.
“I . . .” He shut his mouth quickly. “I work here too.”
“Noooo.” She thought about it—she knew they hadn’t hired anyone in the last few months. After all, she’d been told there was a hiring freeze in place. “You don’t. I know everyone that works here, and I know for a fact that we haven’t hired anyone new lately.”
He just looked down at her with those dark eyes and a slight frown on his lips. “I’ve answered your question, now it’s your turn.”
She shook her head. “You’ve avoided my question.” She moved to get up to go find Paul to get more information.
“No, I told you. I work here.” He held out his hand. “Aiden Scott.”
She looked at his hand and wondered why she didn’t believe or trust the man. “Kristen Collins.”
His eyebrows shot up as he asked, “Interior designer?”
She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, avoiding shaking his hand. She watched him drop his arm to his side.
“Well, Miss Collins, you’re sitting in my new office.” He motioned. “And I’d like to get back to work.”
She balked. “They gave you the big office?”
He looked around. “Big? It’s the same size as Steven’s and Paul’s.”
“You’re calling them by their first names.” No one called their bosses by their first names, except her, since she’d known them her entire life.
He nodded. “Friends of the family.” His eyebrows went up, no doubt waiting for more questions.
Gathering her lunch, she moved to get out of the chair, only to have the thing slide too fast and bump into the table behind her. Her skirt caught under the wheel and she heard a loud rip.
Closing her eyes, she cringed. “There goes my new skirt.” She should have known better than to wear a flowing skirt after hearing the high-wind warning that morning on the news.
She thought she heard a chuckle, but when she looked up at the man, his eyes were on her skirt. Looking down, she saw that not only had it torn, but it had torn down the entire front seam. Half of her thigh was now exposed.
“Ruined,” she surmised. “That will teach me to splurge.” She stood up and continued to look down at her skirt. It was a shame; she had really liked the soft material. And the color had matched her eyes perfectly. Maybe she could sew it back together. What was she thinking? The last time she’d tried to sew anything, she’d ended up with so many holes in her thumb that she’d given up trying. “Well, it was nice to meet you.” She glanced up at him, but when she noticed that his eyes were still on her skirt, she grabbed up her lunch and rushed out.
Now she would have to either find some other place to eat lunch every day or—she cringed again—eat at her own desk. Which never worked since everyone could find her and she would end up working through the half hour.
The second she sat back down at her desk, Roger walked up and handed her another assignment.
She sighed and set her bowl of noodles aside, knowing they would be cold before she could get back to them.
She made a mental note to ask Paul what was up with the new guy. Aiden Scott. Why did that name sound so familiar to her?
She shook her head clear and tried to concentrate on her work.
Just before five, her coworker Carla walked over and handed her an envelope. “Here’s your ticket for this week.” Kristen was in a weekly lotto pool. Some weeks it was scratch tickets, others state lotto tickets. She knew she didn’t have a chance of winning, but she’d signed up the month she’d been hired at R&S and hadn’t had the heart to tell Carla she no longer had the good luck to win anything.
“Thanks.” Kristen stuffed the envelope in her jacket pocket.
“Did you see Mr. Dreamy?” Carla patted the spot over her heart and rolled her eyes as she sat on the edge of Kristen’s desk.
“Hmm?” She turned and glanced at the woman. She was tall, skinny, and looked like she’d stepped off the cover of a magazine. Her beauty was one of the main reasons she’d been hired, according to the rumors that were spreading around the office.
“You know, Mr. Hunk in the empty office.” She motioned toward the corner office. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed him,” Carla whispered.
“No, I mean, yeah, I talked to him.”
“You talked to him?” She gasped a little.
“Sure.” She rested back and crossed her arms over her chest, mentally telling herself she needed a few more padded bras.
“About what?” Carla leaned closer and Kristen was assaulted with an accidental view of the woman’s perfect breasts as her shirt flopped open a little.
Kristen blinked and avoided the flawless cleavage in her face.
“He said he works here.” She averted her eyes and looked over to where Aiden’s office was.
“That’s it?”
“Um, and his name is Aiden Scott.” Her mind spun again, trying to figure out where she’d heard his name. Just the thought of his dark eyes watching her had her skin warming.
“Hmm.” Carla leaned back and Kristen was thankful when her shirt fell back into place. “Aiden. Such a sexy name.”
“I guess.” Kristen had thought the same thing when she’d heard it, but she kept trying to deny it to herself. She didn’t like dark-haired men with sexy brown eyes that were too hard to read.
“I can’t believe you didn’t swoon when he talked to you.”
She chuckled. “No, but I almost choked.”
Carla looked at h
er in question.
“He surprised me while I was eating lunch.” She nodded to her still-full bowl of noodles. “I almost choked on my noodles, but he slapped my back until I could breathe again.”
“I would have died.” Carla sighed. “A man like him, saving my life.” She sighed again, louder this time.
Kristen almost rolled her eyes. Aiden had not saved her life. “I guess Aiden Scott just isn’t my type,” she said, hoping that Carla would get the hint. Then she heard someone clear his throat.
When she glanced over, she could feel her face turn beet red. She froze, locking onto his dark brown eyes.
Carla chose that moment to rush from her cubicle as fast as her long legs would carry her.
“That’s a shame. Just what is your type?” He leaned on the half wall of her cubicle like he wasn’t going anywhere soon.
She swallowed and prayed that her face wasn’t as red as it felt.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to turn back toward her computer, but he rested his hand on her armrest to keep her facing him.
“You just told that woman that I’m not your type.”
“Carla,” she corrected and watched him nod.
“You just told Carla that I’m not your type. I’d like to know what your type consists of.” His smile grew and she noticed that his eyes were a lighter shade of brown than she had thought.
She shrugged, keeping her eyes locked with his. “Well, if my track record stands, my next boyfriend will either be a terrorist or an international jewel thief.”
He blinked a few times and then laughed, and for the first time in her twenty-three years, she found herself attracted to a dark-haired, brown-eyed man. She was completely thrown off.
CHAPTER FOUR
Aiden couldn’t explain why he was drawn to the beauty. He’d overheard her tell the blonde that he wasn’t her type. Well, the same could be said for him.
Actually, the busty blonde who had quickly vacated Kristen’s cubicle was more of his type. She looked almost exactly like his last three girlfriends.