Page 16 of Trade It All (The Barrington Billionaires 3)
Expelling a harsh breath, Emmitt grunted, “I flew up from Texas because I was told you had a situation on your hands.”
“I do,” Lance said with a self-deprecating smile. “But it’s nothing you can help me with.” With that, Lance walked away from a very pissed-off-looking Emmitt. Normally he wouldn’t have treated anyone that way, but he was irritated Dax had gone against his wishes. And he was at a loss for what his next step should be with Willa.
In the past he’d chosen to withdraw from the politics of his family and steer clear of emotionally messy situations. He’d been raised to keep his head down, his thoughts to himself, and to put peace within the family above his personal needs.
That was about to change.
He strode to the elevator and punched the button to his floor. He was still glowering as he walked through his secretary’s office. She went three shades of red.
“I’m so sorry. I never would have. Please don’t report this to the temp agency. I’m paying for college on this salary. God, I’m so sorry.”
Lance waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not going to say anything.” The last thing he needed was something else to feel badly about. His tie was suddenly too tight. He loosened it. “Am I a complete asshole?” he demanded.
With huge round eyes, the young woman answered, “I’m not qualified to answer that question, sir.”
Lance paced in front of her desk. “She said the best thing I could do was leave her alone. You’re a woman. Did she look like she meant it?”
The woman made a pained face and looked down at her desk.
“I left her alone the last time she asked me to. It made things worse. This time I’m handling it my way.” A euphoric thought accompanied his decision. God, she’d tasted so damn good. If she’d felt nothing toward him, she would have never kissed him the way she had. No, she was holding back for some reason, and he intended to find out why.
In a weak voice, his secretary said, “If you don’t tell me, I won’t know anything if anyone asks.”
Lance looked at her and realized she’d gone pale. He replayed his last words in his head and smiled wryly. “I’m not going to kidnap her.” He arched an eyebrow. “Unless you think that would work.”
The woman accidentally knocked her keyboard off her desk, bent to retrieve it, and looked sweaty and nervous when she met his eyes again. Her mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish trying to catch its breath.
I should probably tell her I’m kidding before she faints or calls the police. “How about you just order an insanely large bouquet and send it to this address.” He wrote Willa’s address on a sticky note. “In fact, have a bouquet sent there every day until I tell you to stop.”
With that, Lance returned to his office. He answered several emails regarding the Capitol Complex project. Work always calmed him. It also gave him time to think before choosing his next step with Willa.
At half past eleven, he woke Clay with a phone call.
“Who is this?” Clay asked groggily.
“Lance.”
“She’s not here,” he mumbled.
“Good. We need to be clear about something. Willa is mine. She can work for you if she wants to, but if you so much as flirt with her I will feed you your front teeth for lunch. I don’t care if you’re Dax’s friend.”
With just a hint of sarcasm, Clay said, “Got it. Don’t fuck Willa. Anything else?”
Lance knew how to use a weakness, in buildings or people, to his benefit. If Clay was looking for a pet project, Lance could work with that. “I need to spend more time with her.”
“Are you asking for my help?” Clay sounded pleased with the idea.
Better to have him working with me rather than against. Lance had gone over all the possible ways he could spend more time with Willa and this still made the most sense. “Yes. I want you to bring her with you when you meet with me.”
Clay laughed. “I’ve never played matchmaker. Sounds fun.” In a much more serious tone, as if he had just thought of something important, Clay asked, “What are your intentions?”
“My intentions?” Lance asked in disbelief.
“I’m not setting the two of you up for anything less than the real deal.” He made a contemplative sound. “I feel responsible for her. She’s my first personal assistant.”
How is this ridiculous man Dax’s best friend?
“Just bring her with you later today.”
Lance hung up and stood. What the hell am I doing?
What I should have done a long time ago.
A thought occurred to him, and he buzzed through to his secretary. “Did you already send out the bouquet?”
“Yes, sir.”
Shit. “I forgot to tell you what to write on the card.”
“I improvised.”
“What did you say?” Do I want to know?
She cleared her throat nervously. “I’m here when you’re ready—Lance.”
“I guess that’s better than—I’m done being patient, it’s time to fucking forgive me.”
There was a light feminine laugh. “I thought so.”
“What’s your name?”
“Miss Oliviera.”
“Miss Oliviera, when my regular secretary comes back, apply for a position in my office. We’ll find something for you.”
“Thank you, sir.” After a moment, she added, “I still won’t lie to the police for you.”
Lance laughed without humor and hung up. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
Chapter Eight
Three minutes before noon, Willa stood next to the desk of Kate, Dax’s secretary. “I’m meeting Mr. Landon. He’s using an office here.” She smiled apologetically. “I tried to call and confirm the location but . . .”
Kate smiled back in understanding. “Mr. Landon lives by his own schedule. Is today your first day?”
Willa nodded and adjusted her suit jacket. After leaving Lance’s office that morning she’d gone for a long walk. Despite how her feet protested the high-heeled abuse, she felt calmer. Now that she knew her feelings for him were still there, bubbling below the surface, she would make sure she didn’t put herself in a vulnerable position again. All she needed was distance for things to get back on track, to keep the past contained. “Do you know which office we’ll be using?”
Kate referenced a notepad beside her computer. “Looks like the one right next to Mr. Marshall’s.”
Only because Kate was so easy to talk to, Willa said, “I get the feeling he wants to keep an eye on us.”
Amusement twinkled in Kate’s eyes. “He’s becoming quite the family man.”
Family. Until recently Willa would have said hers consisted of only Lexi and Kenzi. When Kenzi married Dax, and there was no doubt that it would happen, it would make him a brother of sorts. “I’ve never had a big brother watching out for me.”
“Not even all those Barringtons?”
Willa shrugged. It hadn’t been like that. Kenzi used to avoid her family as much as possible, so Lexi and Willa had also. Even after moving to Boston to be closer to Kenzi, actual interaction with her family had been minimal. That had changed this past year after she met Dax. Kenzi was doing more and more with her family. It was good for Kenzi, but it did make things uncomfortable sometimes for Willa. None of that was appropriate to share with Dax’s secretary, so Willa didn’t.
“I suppose I should go see what the office looks like,” Willa said.
Kate snapped her fingers and stood. “I can’t believe I forgot about it. A box came this morning with your name on it.”
“Mine? Really?”
They walked together to the office beside Dax’s. On the desk there was indeed a huge wrapped box with Willa’s name on it. Willa turned to ask Kate for a pair of scissors to open it and discovered that the other woman already had a pair with her. “I figured you might not have one yet.”
There was a card taped to the outside of the box. Willa tore it open. In beautiful cursive writing it
said, “Congratulations on your new job! Sophie and Dale.”
Willa read it aloud, trying to hide her surprise, then added, “Kenzi’s parents.”
“That is so sweet,” Kate cooed. “What do you think they sent? Do you mind if I stay and see?”
“Of course not,” Willa said. Kenzi had said her relationship with her mother had become much closer recently. Was this an olive branch? A sign that Kenzi’s parents wanted to get to know Kenzi’s friends better as well? Strange, but after all the time she and Lexi spent with Kenzi, she didn’t feel she really knew Kenzi’s parents at all. She and Lexi had interacted with them as little as possible for Kenzi’s sake. The idea was disconcerting.
Willa didn’t let herself think about how much she missed her own mother. That sorrow was also buried deep within her. She cut the ribbon that held the box closed and ripped the paper away. As Willa took out each item she said the name of it slowly. In all her life she’d never received such a thoughtful gift. “There’s a personalized desk calendar, stapler, letter opener. There’s even a lunch bag with my name on it.”
Kate clapped her hands together happily. “It’s like school supplies you get every year when you start in a new class, isn’t it?”
“I guess,” Willa said after lining up the items on the desk. “My parents passed away when I was young. We lived at boarding school after that. The school supplied everything. We didn’t get things like this.”
