2. Hugo

2

HUGO

T he irritation I felt that Dad had sent a minder to escort me back to Maple Springs and the office is slowly melting away as I watch Zoey across the cafe table.

She sips delicately at her cappuccino, leaving pale lipstick marks on the cup. Her dark eyes watch me like a hawk.

She’s a curvy woman, which is what I like. Not that her prim and proper secretary outfit does anything to show off her figure.

I wonder what she’d look like with the top button of her blouse undone and her hair let out from the tight chignon at the base of her neck.

I take a sip of my coffee and decide that before the day is out I’m going to accomplish those two things: undo the top button of her blouse and let her hair down.

I grin thinking about it, and she eyes me suspiciously.

“Is something funny?”

She speaks sharply, like a schoolteacher. I’m used to women fawning over my every word, but not this one. She seems oblivious to my charms, which is why I flash her my most devastating smile.

“So tell me, Zoey. How did you come to be working in the furniture business?”

The smile doesn’t seem to have any effect. She’s still looking at me like I’m an inconvenience, getting in the way of her busy day.

“I was doing temping work; going into different offices, and the agency sent me to work for your father.” She takes a sip of her cappuccino before continuing. “He said I was the only assistant he’d found who he could bear to work with, so he offered me a full time job.”

That sounds like Dad. Goes through assistants like other people go through cornflakes.

“You like working for him?”

She looks away, which makes me think she doesn’t always. “He can be a hard boss sometimes, but he’s always been kind to me.”

She’s loyal, which is good. I may not get along with the old man, but I don’t like other people speaking badly of him.

“So where have you been?” she asks.

I’m happy to change the subject. “Mexico. I’ve been living on the beach.”

“Oh.” She looks wistful.

“You ever been?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve never traveled. Unless you count Montana. I went there once when I was a kid.”

“Montana? That’s the extent of your travel?”

She sits up straight, and her face darkens. “Not everyone has had a privileged upbringing, you know.”

She’s right. My vacations as a child were to Europe, South America, and one time to China, although that wasn’t much of a vacation. I followed Dad around factories talking to textile suppliers.

“You don’t need a lot of money to travel. Dad cut off my allowance when I headed off.”

She looks away. “Poor you.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re right. Poor me, having Daddy’s allowance cut off.”

I’ve tried hard to shrug off the prep school boy image. I got the tattoos, grew a beard, and started hanging around with people who follow their passion rather than follow money. But I guess to someone like Zoey, I’m still her boss’s privileged son.

She checks her watch for the umpteenth time. “I’d like to get back to the office now. There’s some work I need to finish up before the party tonight.”

“Party, what party?”

She stares at me, her mouth open. “Didn’t your father tell you about the Christmas party he’s holding tonight?”

Her words trigger something familiar in my brain. I vaguely remember a text mentioning a party.

“That’s tonight?”

“Yes. He’s invited our top clients and their families.”

I run my hands through my beard. The last thing I want is to be paraded around at one of Dad’s client parties.

“You’ll have to drop me off at a hotel.”

Her face falls. “What?”

“I’m not going to the party.”

“But you have to go. He’s told everyone you’ll be there. The heir to the company.”

My stomach clenches at her words. When I left three years ago, I told Dad I didn’t want to run the company. He said I’d change my mind after a few years out in the world. He thinks I’m coming back to take over, but I’m not.

“I’m not going to the party, Zoey.”

Her face falls. “But I’ve been instructed to bring you back. Mr. Walker will go nuts if I don’t bring you back to the office.”

She looks genuinely worried, and the last thing I want to do is get this beauty into trouble.

“Okay, okay. I don’t want to get you fired. Take me to the office if you must, and I’ll go to the goddamn party.”

“Good.” She stands up, like she can’t wait to get rid of me. “We’d better get going then.”

From this angle her black skirt hugs her figure, and I feel a stirring down below. Damn, this woman is hot. If she thinks I’m going to let her drop me off without trying to take advantage of her, then she doesn’t know me at all. Which she doesn’t, so yeah, I’m going to do everything I can to spend more time with her.

I stand up slowly and sling my backpack over my back. “What’s the dress code for the party?”

“Black tie.”

Of course it’s black tie. Only Dad could be so stuffy on Christmas.

I suck in my lips. “We might have a problem.”

She looks at me sharply. “What’s the problem?”

“I didn’t bring my tuxedo to Mexico.”

She eyes my backpack. “Won’t your dad have something you can wear?”

I shake my head. “You know Dad. He doesn’t like to be bothered with details. We’d better stop off somewhere and pick something up.”

“You want to go clothes shopping?” She looks incredulous, which makes me smile.

“Yeah. Tuxedo shopping.”

She shakes her head. “But I have to get you back. I said we’d come straight back, and we’ve already wasted time having a coffee.”

“Relax, Zoey.” I put a hand on her shoulder and almost jump as a warm shock jumps between us. I wonder if she felt it too, but her face is expressionless.

“I know just the place to go. We’ll make a quick stop in Portland, and then we’ll be on our way back to Maple Springs.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “One quick stop. That’s it.”

She points her finger at me and I have an urge to pretend to bite it off, but I don’t think that will win me any points with the serious Zoey.

“Just one stop.”

“Fine.” She turns and marches out of the cafe, her hips swaying as she walks. This is going to be a fun day.