“Landon, it’s great to meet you at last. I’m looking forward to working with you to implement your vision over the coming weeks.” Rose held my hand for longer than necessary, and the way she held my eyes was almost uncomfortably intense.
Annie may play by the rules, but I have a feeling Rose will be a handful.
I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing yet.
“I’m glad you’re on board,” I said. “Your department will be the one bearing the brunt of the work in rolling out the new models I want us to use, so we must work closely to make that happen. I’m looking forward to meeting your team and getting started.”
With a swift look around the table at the aforementioned team members, I froze at a face across the broad expanse.
It can’t be.
It had been ten years since I’d seen those eyes in person, but they had haunted my dreams and memories far too often since then.
Addy.
~Adeline~
It can’t be. How the hell is this happening?
The breath fluttering in my chest threatened to spiral out of control, and only through sheer force of will did I keep from hyperventilating. Luckily, Rick and Sarah were too focused on the conversation between their bosses to notice my near-panicked response to the new CFO.
Never one to pay more attention to office politics than I had to, the hiring of the new CFO hadn’t crossed my radar. Technically, the new hire could affect the way the department was run and make life more difficult for me, but there was no use in worrying about the possibility until there was concrete reason to do so. I had bigger things to worry about.
Now, I kicked myself over my stupidity. Any warning would have been better than this.
It felt like I’d been kicked in the chest.
After ten years of avoiding even any mention of the man on social media and the internet, he stood in front of me. It didn’t look like he’d let himself go. If anything, the time had broadened his shoulders even more. His hair was peppered with a touch of gray at the temples, but otherwise, he looked just as I remembered.
That was a problem.
Emotions that had long been buried surged through my mind, a vortex of love, hate, lust, pain, longing, and panic that took away any possibility of rational thought.
I’m over him. It’s been forever. It’s over.
I repeated the mantra to myself over and over, calming my racing pulse from dangerous levels to merely frenetic.
Then Landon looked along the table and caught my eyes.
Oh, shit.
The rest of the room faded away, and if anyone spoke, I didn’t hear it.
His expression was impossible to read. He’d always been inscrutable, but time had only given him even more of an advantage in that regard.
I didn’t dare breathe.
Someone beside him said something to draw his attention, and I sucked in a deep gulp of oxygen. More than just my face, my entire body felt flushed.
That wasn’t all.
Am I really getting wet right now? Shit.
Landon’s smooth voice rolled across the room and through my body, bringing back too many memories of the orders he used to give me and the commands I would obey without hesitation, no matter how dirty.
Then he turned to the table again.
“Hello, team. My name is Landon Fraser, and I’m the new CFO for Woolven Kleist. I’ll tell you a little about myself so you can learn where I’m coming from, and I’ll be meeting with each of you over the coming two weeks so I can learn about you and what you do. I was a professor of economics at Harvard researching corporate financial theory, specifically, the application of machine deep learning techniques to determine novel strategies.
“You’re probably sitting there thinking—hey, that’s exactly what our team does. You’d be correct in that, but don’t worry, I’m not here to replace your jobs. My research will be implemented as an aid, a tool to help you do your jobs better. I’ll be happy to address your concerns at our individual meetings, but if you have any questions, please get in contact with Annie and she will schedule a meeting with me to discuss them.”
During a pause, Landon’s eyes fell on me once more.
“I’m looking forward to meeting with you. It will be educational.”
~Landon~
“Thank you for your time, James,” I said. “Please send in the next member of the team on your way out.”
The intern nodded emphatically without responding, his hand still shaking on the chair as he hauled himself up. Getting him to fully answer questions was like pulling teeth.
Once the door closed, I turned to Annie.
“Is it just me, or was that way more painful than it needed to be?”
She grimaced. “He’ll head back to school in a couple more weeks. I have the feeling we won’t be hiring him back once he graduates.”
I shook my head. “I’ll put a personal veto on that right now. Who’s next?”
Even though I asked the question, I knew who was next. I’d had the day’s schedule memorized once a certain name appeared on it. Annie handed me a summary sheet that I scanned even though I’d memorized the contents last night.
“Adeline Hudson. Graduate from your own alma mater, both in undergrad and with an MBA from Harvard Business School. Been here for four years, and already promoted three times. She’s got stellar performance reviews. She’s one of our top performers, and upper management has had their eye on her for some time.”
None of her accomplishments surprised me. Addy wasn’t one to let her opportunities go to waste.
“Thank you, Annie. If you don’t mind, could you please make sure the slides are in order for my presentation to the executive team this afternoon?”
My assistant frowned. “You don’t want me here?”
“As you mentioned, Adeline graduated from my alma mater, and we’ve met in the past. I suspect we’ll get to talking about mutual acquaintances and it will be boring for you.”
“If you’re sure…” Annie gathered her notebook and gave me one more look before opening the door and slipping out.
Before the door fully closed, an elegant hand caught it.
Jesus.
That was the only thought I could muster at the sight of Addy. I’d only seen her behind a conference table at the team meeting, but now I could appreciate the sight of her full body. It was as stellar as I remembered.
Maybe more so.
Addy as an eighteen-year-old had been almost criminally sexy. Ten years later, she’d not only retained that sex appeal but refined it. This was a woman who knew how to weaponize her looks and take advantage of the edge it gave her in a world filled with men.
The tight dress she wore wasn’t quite inappropriate for the office, but it was enough that it likely earned her envy from her female colleagues.
And way too many looks from the males in the office.
The thought spiked my jealousy, even though I had no claim on her.
“Addy, please sit.”
Glad that my voice was strong and didn’t shake like I’d feared, I gestured to the seat across from me.
“I’m glad to see you,” I said.
Her lips thinned a marginal amount. “Hello, Landon.”
Addy’s voice couldn’t have been more clipped.
I sighed. “You’re still mad, aren’t you?”
She stared at me, but she didn’t answer beyond folding her arms over her chest. Incidentally, that pressed her flesh together even higher above her neckline.
Is that on purpose? Is she trying to send a message with that dress?
If she was, I was having trouble deciphering what it meant. Was it seductive, or was she trying to taunt me with what I couldn’t have?
It was difficult enough sitting across the table without the coldness radiating from her. Ten years ago, it had been impossible to imagine anyone more attractive than Addy, but this older version of her was so much hotter that it was hard to believe.
&nbs
p; “In case you’re wondering, I had no idea you worked here.”
Addy’s eyebrow rose. The disbelief was so strong that she didn’t need to voice it.
“It’s true. I told Nick a long time ago that I didn’t want to hear anything about you. It just made me sad. Although he pressed me hard to take this job, and I wonder if this is why.”
Nick had changed his tune when it came to Addy and me. After the revelation had time to sink in, he kept pestering me to call her up and mend things until I issued a total block on the subject of Addy.
Still no response.
“Tell me about your work, then,” I said.
It’s a good thing I sent Annie away. She would have had way more questions seeing this than I want to answer.
“I oversee the financial analysts for the entire corporation and report to Rose. It’s my responsibility to set their priorities and assign their work, and I also make sure their numbers are accurate. Then I package it up and make recommendations to Rose toward what the overall strategy for the company should be, as well as each individual department.”
I frowned. “So you’re not involved with the planning side of the team, but you still make strategy recommendations?”
For the first time, a small smile found its way onto her face. “That’s right. And if I can brag a little, Rose almost always uses what I say—taking credit for it as if it was her idea.”
That jived with what Thomas had said about the corporate environment. I made a mental note to look into it more closely. The CEO had been impressed with Rose and her track record, but what if there was more to the situation than met the eye?
“I’m glad you’re leading the analysts,” I said. “That will make my job much easier. You already know the models well and are familiar with how they work.”
That caused Addy to tilt her head to the side, a gesture I remembered fondly. I fought down the resurgent emotions it dredged up. “That was a long time ago. I would have thought the models changed a lot from those early days.”
All through the conversation so far, a feeling rose within me. I missed Addy more than I’d ever let myself admit. Having her here in front of me and listening to her voice again made me more and more certain.
I wanted her back.
She was more mature, and so was I. This time, I knew what was in my grasp and I wouldn’t let it slip away again.
“They have, but it’s mostly been surface refinements and the introduction of higher-quality data. The underlying code is mostly the same. You helped shape the models into what they are.”
I put a bit of extra warmth into my voice.
Addy looked away.
“I was doing my job.”
I chuckled. “You were doing a hell of a lot more than that.”
A pink flush crept over her cheeks, and she shifted in another signature move—I always knew when she was uncomfortably turned on when she squeezed her knees together like that and adjusted her position on a chair.
Jackpot.
Addy may play at having an icy exterior, but I could melt that shell. I would melt that shell. A few pesky rules won’t stop me. Not for something this important.
“Are we done?” Addy asked.
I nodded with a small smile. “Thank you for your time, Addy. We’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”
“I hope not. It’s never a good sign to have to talk to your boss’s boss.”
With a carefully calculated nonchalant shrug, I rose to my feet to get the door for her. “You’re leading the implementation of my new strategic models. If you didn’t want to see me, you picked the wrong position.”
Chapter 10
~Adeline~
The longer I looked through Landon’s models, the more I realized that he’d been telling the truth. My fingerprints were all over it.
It was bittersweet, looking through the lines of code and seeing contributions I’d made. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to remember those times without recalling the searing heat of our affair. Most people never experienced the out-of-control passion that had defined my first year at Harvard.
I can’t believe the things I would do for him.
No man since Landon had ever dared to order me around like he had. And none had come close to bringing forth the same level of emotion and sensation he could. It was a dirty, shameful secret of mine that every time I touched myself, I thought of the man who had shattered my heart.
That included eight times just in the week since he’d resurfaced into my life.
But I’m totally over him. Right.
A knock at my door made me flinch.
“Addy? How’s it going with that model? Come up with a strategy yet?”
Landon slipped into my office, leaving the door cracked behind him.
I’d been daydreaming about the past for so long that my screen had changed to the screensaver. With a scramble, I wiggled the mouse and coughed, knowing it was already too late to appear like I was being productive.
“Just thinking about which analyst I will assign to each aspect of the project,” I said. My voice was a little raspy—it always got that way when I thought about Landon for an extended period.
He cocked an eyebrow as if he saw right through my lie.
“What are you doing this weekend?”
I stared at him for a second. Was he really asking me that? After our history and the way I’d been keeping him at arm’s distance, he thought he’d just stroll into my office and ask me on a date?
The fucking nerve of him…
“I’m busy,” I said flatly. “Plus, I’ve got a boyfriend, and seeing each other is against corporate policy anyway. I know you wouldn’t want to violate that. Some of us have moved on, Landon. Sorry if I haven’t spent the past ten years pining after my first-year economics professor.”
I leaned back in my chair, mentally patting myself on the shoulder for standing up for myself and not just caving to the man who made my knees weak and my breath scarce. As accomplished as I felt, a huge, hidden part of me wasn’t happy. That part wouldn’t let me have a moment of satisfaction before picking apart my own words.
It’s not like Rich is really your boyfriend. You’ve been on four dates with him. And you most definitely have spent ten years trying to pretend you wouldn’t be happier tracking Landon down and getting him back at any cost.
Landon frowned. “There’s a small machine learning conference in San Francisco this weekend that I was thinking of taking key members of the team to. It would be a useful introduction to the topic for a lot of them. It’s not mandatory, though, and I know you know your stuff, so if you’re busy then you can skip it.”
He didn’t even address the rest of what I’d said, and my cheeks burned as I absorbed his words.
“Oh. Uh… well, I mean, if it’s for work…”
All expenses paid business travel was never something I turned down. There weren’t too many opportunities for it at Woolven Kleist unless in senior management, so a paid trip across the country to California wasn’t something I wanted to give up for no reason.
“I’ll see if I can shuffle my commitments around. I wouldn’t want to miss out on a team trip. It’s important that I’m there with my people.”
It’s not like I actually had plans for the weekend. Except for dinner with Rich, but that didn’t matter.
Landon shrugged. “It would be best, but it’s up to you. Let Annie know before the day’s out if you can make it so that she can make the flight and hotel arrangements.”
“I’ll do that.”
Then Landon leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. The position highlighted the breadth of his shoulders, and I had to shift in my seat to stave off the automatic response of my body at the sight.
“So… tell me about this boyfriend.”
Crap.
In a panic, I’d thrown out every barrier I could think of. I should have known he wouldn’t let it go.
“Well, Rich is a bartender at a cockta
il bar midtown. He works late hours and I work during the day, so we don’t get to see each other much, but it’s good.”
More like he was a Tinder match that I had gone on a few mediocre dates with. But Landon didn’t have to know that. Not eager to have to make up any more details, I flipped the question back at him.
“What about you, Landon? Who are you dating? Or are you married yet?”
The questions didn’t alter his mild expression, but his eyes grew intense. They reached that fiery quality I vividly remembered. It was the look he got when I was about to be completely dominated.
“I don’t date much,” he said. “Not since a princess set my standards too high for most women to match.”
He didn’t wait for my reaction before walking away, closing the door behind him with thunderous care. It was a good thing, because I jerked as if shot by the sound of that word coming out of his mouth in that tone of voice.
~Landon~
I shoved the rest of my clothes into the hotel room closet and shut the door with more force than I intended, the door handle vibrating in my hand as the boom echoed through the room.
Easy, Landon. You’ve got things under control. No need to go overboard.
It wasn’t that I was pissed. I was just frustrated.
Sitting next to Addy on the six-and-a-half-hour flight from New York to San Francisco had been both amazing and far too difficult. Telling Annie to book us beside each other so we could discuss work was the easy part. Spending so long in Addy’s company had only solidified my desire, the burning need to be with her.
With so much face time, she hadn’t been able to play standoffish the entire time. Even after all this time, I knew how to read Addy. She’d loosened up and allowed the talk to progress from polite conversation to the type of witty banter and back and forth that had made me fall for her.
I pushed the boundaries as much as I could with innuendo, dirty jokes, and seemingly innocent questions that had been carefully designed to remind her of times that we’d snuck off to a random public place to do something naughty. Judging by the constant flush on her cheeks, it had worked.
Extracurricular Page 11