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Chapter One

Getting caught reading Fifty Shades of Grey in the parking lot at asn’t the best way to meet her boss A boss she didn’t know she had A boss who now had the job she had been waiting to apply for (and win) for the past year

So Lydia Charles was having a very bad day And it was only 7:32 am

Tap tap tap She looked up, startled, to find a pair of bright green eyes, shaded by his hand, peering in her theof her little red Honda Fit He caught the book cover and s her car key in the ignition and turning it on so she could roll down theAs if it weren’t bad enough being caught reading Mommy Porn (and she wasn’t even a mom), her last fifteen minutes of freedo bothered by soht brown hair with a nice wave to it and those crazy-green eyes A perfect nose Broad shoulders set off by one hand on his forehead, one on his hip,his forearms pop a bit, thelike an athlete’s It was like looking at one of those guys on television, an actor in a show you watch not for the plot, but for the eye candy with a spark of shter or a detective, she’d believe him He had the look of a man who takes care of himself because he has to in order to function well at his hands-on job

He works out, she sur business casual uniform of Dockers and a button down shirt Couldn’t see his shoes but she guessed soe her teeth, she wondered what this was about

"Hi Could you please move your car?" A deep baritone voice ay too ut, an internal reaction out of proportion to his request That voice He sounded like a ship’s captain, or a commander in coe, the asshole who thought that he was co in the restaurant Olympics for every shift and expected the moon for 263 plus tips

And yet she couldn’t help but begin to react, the breathless "Yes" nearly popping out involuntarily Holding back, she wasn’t even breathing for fear she would co in deference to the incredibly unfounded request Co spot? He s what to say next as seconds ticked by and she did nothing but stare at hi Don’t let hi spot?

"Why?" she asked, carefully cultivating a neutral tone, one of reasonableness without too ive a fuck what he wanted but would be polite about it She invoked her irl with parents ere from the midwest, the voice of newscasters and docuovern requirements videos Perfect

"Because it’s mine" He threw a thuned it to uess his next ement types, like a real-life version of Gary Cole’s character in Office Space Next, he would lean on the car and do that douchey "Yeah, well, I really need you to" spiel

Lydia was having none of it She ht be just an administrative assistant, the corporate equivalent of a dishwasher or a toll taker, but two years of this was enough A ht be useless in the workplace, but here in the parking lot itHe had no right to order her around and, by God, she wasn’t going to let so lot before she’d seen had hercoffee and kick her out of her da spot? They’re nun defiantly His face re on the car, he reached one golden arht hand Of course he was perfectly, evenly tanned Of course "I’m Matt Jones The new Director of Social Media And this is my numbered spot"

Director of Social Media? "But, but, what? There is no Director of Social Media job here Not yet, at least They’re announcing it soon, and – " A wave of cold horror hit Lydia Director of Social Media Director of Social Media? That was the job she was supposed to apply for! Except no one had told her that the job had been created yet, and now here stood the new hire?

He cut her off with that sa," he shook his head and looked around with an expression of exasperation, "is a ridiculous problem here, so while I respect your need to stay and, uh, read, I need this spot" Leaning forward, his eyes twinkled as he s to s The scent of his aftershave filled the car’s interior Musk andwith spice, an expensive scent that was far too sophisticated for a guy as one parking spot ahead of her in the food chain at Bournha silence hang between them

He hat her friend Krysta called a "playah"

And oh, how Lydia wanted to be played She hated herself for it, but right now Mr Director of Social Media, a guy who had, apparently, just gotten the job she had spent the better part of two years trying to prepare for, was stealing her parking spot, too

All he needed to do next was piss on her skirt and he could achieve the trifecta of hu ave you the Director’s job and handed offspot?" she squeaked The voice that can Tame Rattled She brushed a stray lock of her dark-brown hair and wished she’d spent a session she just showered, threw her hair in a quick up-do, and tossed on her version of ad J Jill outfit she got off the clearance rack and her ancient Danskins She looked like a preschool teacher at a posh tot place instead of an a for the Director of –

Ah, hell

He pulled back and set it And I didn’t even have to buy you a coffee"