Page 26 of Heartbreak & Cupcakes
ALEX
The alarmon my watch vibrated. I had a hard out every day at 6:00 p.m. I never missed dinner with Lexi, unless I was out of town.
When Ash and AJ were alive, I hadn’t done that. I’d worked six to seven days a week and twelve, fourteen, sometimes sixteen-hour days. I’d had to do what I had to do to not just support my family but also get ahead.
Now, I regretted the time I’d spent away from them. Now I knew that time was the most valuable commodity. Now I knew that time was something that no amount of money could buy. Once it was up, it was up.
“We’ll continue this tomorrow.” I stood and walked out of the conference room as my staff collected their things.
Mia was waiting by the exit.
She’d worked for me for the past nine years. When I hired her, I wasn’t sure if it would work out. In business, I had a three-strikes policy. If more than two red flags appeared you were either not hired or if you already worked for me, then you were fired. Mia had more than three very bright red flags waving before she was even hired.
I’m not even sure how she managed to get called in for an interview because she was completely unqualified for the position she’d applied for.
I’d been looking for someone with an MBA. She had a bachelor’s degree.
I wanted someone with at least five years’ experience in construction or real estate. She lacked any experience in either industry.
I was looking for someone who had been with one company for a least three years, to show dedication and dependability.
She’d never held a job for more than six months.
Oh, and she’d shown up to the first interview hungover.
And, to be brutally honest, she was too young and too attractive.
Those weren’t observations, they were facts. I wasn’t personally attracted to her. But I also wasn’t blind. Mia was distractingly attractive and, at that time, in her early twenties. Our business was a male-dominated field. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I had to take that into account. It wasn’t born out of any misogyny: I was being protective. I didn’t want her to deal with the animals that were in this industry.
But when I went home and spoke to Ash, she told me, “Don’t be an asshole. If the men who work for you and the men you do business with can’t keep their minds on business when she’s around, that’s their problem, not Mia’s. If they do something inappropriate then punish them, not her. If we had a daughter, would you want her to not get a job for that reason?”
I’d slept on it and the next day I’d hired her. Maybe it was hearing Ash’s take on things or maybe it was just my gut feeling. Or maybe I recognized the hunger that she had in her eyes because it was a reflection of my own. Whatever the reason, I’d hired her. And it had been the best business decision I’d ever made.
Her instincts were unmatched. She had an incredible gift for reading people and knowing when to make deals and when to pass. She held her own on job sites, in board rooms, and everywhere in between.
“Have you been on social media today?” Mia walked beside me, keeping up with my brisk pace as we headed down the hall.
“No.”
“Your DMs are flooded.”
I sighed. Mia wasn’t prone to exaggeration. I knew that if she said it, then they were.
“Don’t respond,” I instructed her.
“Is that yourplan?”
I stopped. Rarely did Mia ever take a tone with me, and never without cause.
Her green eyes were glaring at me in challenge. Never one to back down from a challenge, I stared back.
“Is what myplan?”
“Ignoring the attention.”
“Yes.” I continued walking into the elevator and pressed P3 where Frank would be waiting with my car.
Mia stepped into the elevator with me. “Is that why you agreed to Australia?”
