The Meeting

ANNA

My breath caught as the usual sense of awe washed over me when the car pulled to a stop outside of Powell Incorporated.

It was one of the tallest buildings in Manhattan and by far the most beautiful.

I allowed myself a couple of small steps to just look up in awe as the many windows caught the early morning sun and seemed to take on a golden glow.

I loved this building. I loved this city. I loved my job.

In a lot of ways, working for Gavin had saved my life. I moved to New York City on a whim with no real plan after my dad decided to remarry two months after my mom passed away when I was nineteen.

As a girl from a small town in the Midwest, I honestly had no business trying my hand at “making it” in The Big Apple.

Somehow, it all worked out. I applied for a secretarial position with Powell Incorporated and got the job on my first day in town.

As soon as I realized there was no way I could make ends meet on that salary alone, I also got a job serving coffee at a café around the corner.

It was exhausting, and every day I sank into bed in my sleazy apartment and wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into.

I was fully prepared to slink back home to Missouri with my tail between my legs when, by the grace of God, a position opened up to be Gavin Powell’s executive assistant.

Mr. Powell was “The Guy,” as my failed date had pointed out. His name was everywhere, largely because he owned the most rapidly growing corporation in the world.

He never really elaborated on what he saw initially that made me qualified to be his assistant, but I was grateful, nonetheless.

I had held the position for a little over four years, and I loved every minute of it. Sure, my boss was a stickler, and I often worked more hours than a stockbroker on Wall Street, but I’d met people and done things I might never have had the opportunity to otherwise.

I rushed to my desk just as Nigel arrived with my coffee.

“You’re a saint,” I told him as I took the steaming cup.

“All in a day’s work as New York’s sexiest intern.” He winked, and I giggled.

“Have you seen Mr. Powell?” I asked just as I melted into the first sip of my latte. ~Thank the universe for caffeine.~

Nigel smirked. “You know I wouldn’t be standing at your desk if G-man was nearby, girl. He gets all protective when any man gets too close—even one as fabulous as me.”

I rolled my eyes. “He just wants to make sure I’m actually doing my job.”

He clicked his tongue. “Say what you want, honey, but that man would flip a table if he thought someone finally snatched you up.”

I was just about to refute his claim when a deep voice sounded behind me.

“Annalise.”

I turned to meet the dark gaze of our topic of conversation. My breath caught for a split second, just as it always did when his intense stare was focused solely on me.

At six-three, his tailored suit did little to hide the muscular physique underneath. His dark, wavy hair was slicked back on top and shaved on the sides.

His eyes were so deep brown it was hard to find his pupils, and his well-kept beard gave him a manly look. He was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome.

Few could resist his charms, myself included.

“Good morning, Mr. Powell,” I said, hoping he didn’t notice I’d been staring. “I was just heading to the boardroom.”

“Hmm.” He eyed Nigel with his usual seriousness. Under his stare, Nigel seemed to wilt.

“He brought coffee,” I offered, and Gavin’s eyes slowly turned back toward me. “Would you like one?”

“No. Let’s go.”

Nigel scurried around the corner in a hurry as I picked up my laptop.

“Do you want me to take notes?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, glaring at his phone. “This should be quick.”

I felt myself bristle slightly at his coldness. It was going to be one of those days, it seemed.

When Gavin was stressed, the entire office bore the brunt of it. There was a reason he was so successful, and a lot of it had to do with the fact that he always did what was necessary to win.

Most of his partners had already gathered around the table. I moved to take my usual chair off to the side, but he placed a hand at the small of my back.

My spine involuntarily stiffened at the unfamiliar contact, and he removed it just as fast.

“There’s a seat at the table,” he said. “Take it. You’ll be more comfortable than at that shitty desk.”

I glanced over at the spot I always used and frowned. It was far from inadequate.

“Uh, sure.”

I went to pull out a chair in the middle, and he stopped it with a firm hand.

“Sit by me.”

Finally, my curiosity got the better of me. “Is something the matter, Mr. Powell?”

His eyes narrowed, and I wondered if I had somehow offended him.

“What would be the matter, Ms. Miller?” he asked coolly.

“I, um, I have no idea. You just… You seem a little tense.”

He put a hand on my upper arm and leaned down. The contact sent a shiver down my spine that I tried to ignore.

Already, other board members were starting to filter in, and I noticed some of them glance our way.

“I just want you to sit next to me,” he murmured. “Is that a problem?”

“Of course not.” I stared up into the intense gaze he had locked on mine and felt my pulse quicken.

Gavin nodded once and gestured toward the seat to the left of his own.

I sat with a frown, unsure of what to make of his sudden change to our dynamic.

I mentally shook my head to clear my thoughts and touched my phone screen to check the time while my laptop booted up. A text from Adam caught my attention. Equally curious and irritated, I opened it.

Adam

Please let me make it up to you, sweetheart. I’ll do anything.

I snorted at his audacity before a clearing throat to my right caught my attention. I turned to find Gavin all but scowling in my direction.

“Is that business or personal?”

“It’s personal,” I told him honestly.

In the past, he never cared whether I answered non-work-related messages. As long as I kept up with my job as he expected, I rarely had to answer for how I spent my time on the clock.

“Turn it off.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, completely taken aback.

“Either put it away or turn it off,” he repeated. “I don’t like personal matters handled during my meetings.”

I glanced around and noted half of the people present were on their phones. A woman was even showing off pictures of her grandson to the man next to her.

“The meeting hasn’t started.”

His eyes darkened, and he lowered his chin.

“Annalise,” he growled. “Turn off your phone or get out of my boardroom.”

I felt my eyebrows shoot up. A large part of me wanted to march back to my desk like a petulant child. The more rational side of me bit the side of my cheek and held down the power button until the screen went black.

“Happy?”

“Hmm.” He smirked and turned toward the monitor on the other side of the room just as it lit up.

I opened the program where I normally took notes and started typing away. Despite his attitude toward me, Gavin seemed to be his normal, charismatic self with everyone else.

About thirty minutes in, I felt his arm brush mine. Worried that maybe I had encroached on his space, I scooted away.

A few minutes later, it happened again. I looked up and realized he was talking with his hands. I decided it must have been an accident—except that it happened a couple more times.

~He probably is always this animated, but I usually sit across the room.~

I shifted again and thought I saw him frown in my periphery.

I had to laugh inwardly at myself. There was no way Gavin Powell ~wanted~ to touch ~me~. There were a multitude of reasons he was commonly named the most desired bachelor in any given context.

Even I couldn’t deny he had occasionally occupied my own secret fantasies.

But I was far from Gavin’s type. I was just a normal sort of pretty.

My hair was a natural blonde, my boobs were small, and I didn’t have any sort of filler or Botox. I danced in high school and lived for my Pilates classes, so my body had a lean, athletic build.

Gavin went for more of the typical New York bombshell. Every woman I’d seen him with was slender, with huge breasts, a perfect balayage, and an outfit made for the runway. Besides, in the time I’d worked for him, our relationship had been nothing but strictly professional.

I finished the last of my annotations as the Shanghai partners said their goodbyes. Everyone started casually chatting, so I moved to turn my cell phone on again. A hand over mine made me gasp in surprise.

“What are you doing?” Gavin asked, his tone cold.

I could no longer hide my irritation. “Turning on my phone. Obviously.”

“What did I say about personal business in my meeting?”

I looked down where his hand still held my own captive and found myself oddly disappointed when he abruptly released it.

“I use my phone for work more than anything,” I argued, despite the way my heart was now racing. “Besides, you just said it was over.”

When Gavin continued to glare at me, I pushed past him toward the hallway, needing space. My cell came to life as I exited the conference room, and I quickly pulled up my text messages.

To my surprise, there was no trace of the one I’d read from Adam. I assumed I erased it by accident, but it wasn’t in my recently deleted file, either. My confusion only grew when I searched for his contact, and it came up blank.

“What the hell?” I muttered to myself.

“Problem?” Gavin’s voice spoke directly behind me.

He arched an eyebrow when I jumped with a yelp of surprise. Taking a deep breath, I shook my head.

“No, Mr. Powell.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he stared at me the same way a lion did a gazelle. Warning bells rang in my head as I turned and continued to walk with forced confidence toward my desk. The entire way, Gavin matched my strides.

I set my laptop down and spun around to face him, only to find he stood mere inches from me, almost caging me in.

My face must have betrayed my shock because he took a small step back.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Me, defiantly up at him. Gavin, with an expression I couldn’t place.

Finally, he looked away. “We need to talk.”

My heart sank.

“Okay,” I said weakly. The morning certainly wasn’t going well enough for it to be a positive conversation.

When Gavin didn’t move, I turned to walk toward his office. He caught my hand, stopping me in my tracks.

“Get your coat. We’re leaving.”