Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 71(@200wpm)___ 57(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 71(@200wpm)___ 57(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
“What can I do for you?” I ask, trying to be polite but also wanting to know what the hell he wants so I can get him to leave again.
“No, nothing like that; I just caught a glimpse of that new marketing girl, and woah,” he says, as though we’re something more than work colleagues, as though I’m the kind of guy he thinks will appreciate his gross comments. “How are we supposed to focus on work with that walking around here, right?”
Anger flares through me, bright and hot. How fucking dare he speak of Faith like that? Sure, I was just having similar thoughts. But it’s different.
It’s different because … Fuck, it just is!
I have to physically bite my tongue to keep my thoughts to myself, though, because as dick-ish as his comment was, he hasn’t technically done anything wrong. And I can’t be bothered with an HR meeting about in-fighting right now.
So instead, I just pin him with a death glare until he takes the hint and sulks off, muttering something under his breath that I don’t care enough to try to make out.
I pick up my half-finished coffee as I stand, tucking my phone into my suit pocket. There’s still five minutes until the scheduled meeting time, but I know there’s no chance I’ll be able to get any work done with the possibility of seeing Faith distracting me.
The meeting room is just down the hall, so it takes me all of three seconds to get there. I expect to have to wait a while for Faith to show up, but to my surprise, when I push the door open, the blonde bombshell is already commanding an empty meeting table.
She looks up the second the door opens, her blue gaze sharp and piercing. I’m struck dumb by it for a brief second, standing stock still in the doorway. I pride myself on my professional, unrattled demeanor. Even in emergencies, I’m composed and unshakeable.
But with Faith’s narrowed eyes analyzing me?
I can’t remember how to breathe properly.
It’s like she’s hit me in the chest, a physical reaction blooming beneath my ribs.
My head is empty of everything I’d come in here to discuss, three words ringing through my mind on repeat.
Faith is mine.
2
FAITH
Iget to the meeting room fifteen minutes early to prepare my notes. I know the office grump, also known as Ford Grant, will be looking to do anything he can to deny my request. I like to refer to him as a gargoyle in my head since he’s made of stone. Although, it would be so much easier to deal with him if he looked as monstrous as his stony counterparts. But no, that would be far too easy. Instead, Ford looks like he’s cut straight from a muscle magazine or something.
If he weren’t my office enemy, he’d be my office crush.
Who are you kidding? He’s already both, my brain says. I shove the thought away with a frown, refusing to acknowledge that unhelpful comment.
Refocusing on the matter at hand, I read through my notes again. I wasn’t here when the budget was agreed upon at the end of last quarter, and whoever the last marketing manager was clearly didn’t care about pushing the company forward because there’s no way I can make this abysmal number stretch to do what we need to do.
I plan to tell Ford exactly how I feel about it.
I have a lot to prove here, and Ford poses a big threat. I need to prove to him that I know what I’m talking about, that I deserve my place here, and that I deserve a decent budget to blow them all away with. He clearly doesn’t like me; I can tell from his cold stares and silent treatment, and that just makes me want to prove myself even more.
I exhale slowly, squaring my shoulders as the door swings open.
My head snaps up the second Ford enters.
It’s like the whole world shrinks until nothing is left but Ford and me. The air between us crackles with unspoken energy, sending sparks and goosebumps along my skin. I try not to react, clenching my jaw and hiding my hands under the table so he can’t see the way I’m fidgeting.
Keep it cool, Faith, I tell myself.
But it’s impossible to ignore the attraction simmering in my chest. Impossible to ignore the craving in my bones, the hunger burning low in my stomach. As hard as I try, I can’t deny the way my whole being begs for him.
I hate him, right? So why do I want him so damn bad?
I try to find a place of calm inside myself because there’s no point in me wasting energy snapping at Ford or winding him up. He never rises to the bait, and that’s just as annoying as everything else about him.