The Two Week Arrangement (Penthouse Affair #1)(5)

Actually, they’ve only spent time getting to know me on paper. They might know I had a full-ride academic scholarship to Brown, and that I graduated at the top of my class while working two jobs, but they don’t know me. Not really. I pull a much needed deep breath into my lungs.

I recognize the man standing at the center of the room as Dominic Aspen, but wow is all my brain can come up with. Seeing him in person is so much different than reading about him in a business journal or seeing his photo online. He’s well over six feet tall with broad shoulders that fill out his suit jacket perfectly and a trim waist, but it’s not just his physical presence that overwhelms my senses, it’s the amount of confidence he exudes. Dear God, he could bottle the stuff and sell it. He’d make a fortune. Maybe it’s because his dark hair is perfectly styled, and there’s an appraising gleam in his eyes, like he knows something we don’t. Or maybe it’s because I can’t help but picture how his inky hair would look rumpled after sex. Either way, it tugs at something in me, and I can’t take my eyes away from him as he speaks. His jaw is square and shaved close, and his lips are full and soft looking. In his hands are two things—a smartphone and a small leather case.

The way the tailored black suit stretches over his muscular chest and wide shoulders is distracting, to say the least, and I can’t help my gaze from roaming, taking stock of him. But the guy’s a twenty-six-year-old billionaire. I’m sure he can afford the best personal trainer, tailor, and nutritionist money can buy. But you can’t buy confidence, and this guy has it in spades.

I think back to this morning at the apartment when I told myself I was ready for anything. Apparently, anything didn’t include the heart-racing near panic attack I have when Dominic Aspen opens his mouth to speak, welcoming us personally to the company. And I definitely wasn’t ready for my panties to become soaking wet when he fixes me with that heavy, dark blue stare of his.

What the hell? I take a deep breath and appraise his companions in an attempt to distract myself from his raw masculinity and my body’s unwelcome reaction to it. His lips part, then come together again.

Two women flank his sides, both the very picture of professionalism. One is an older blonde wearing a gray suit, her hair in a tidy bun, and the other is a brunette who looks to be in her mid-thirties in a knee-length black dress. Neither offers any sort of smile.

The man at the end is the only one of the group smiling. His dimpled grin is almost infectious. He’s tall, but not as tall as Dominic.

I suddenly feel foolish for not researching the executive staff more thoroughly online. I should know who they are, where they studied, their pet peeves. Everything. Then again, I had no idea I’d be paired to work with someone so important and vital to the company. I assumed that as an unpaid intern, I’d be assisting some low-paid grunt worker. But I guess it goes to show they really are taking this internship seriously.

I have no idea who my mentor may be, but I can’t wait to find out. Then I realize that if Mr. Aspen himself is here, does that mean he’s one of the mentors?

That can’t be fair, can it? The intern who has direct access to the CEO would surely be at an advantage. Unless Dominic Aspen was direct witness to a screwup, and then you’d be out of here on the first elevator down. So maybe it’s not an advantage after all.

Beth smiles warmly at Mr. Aspen before she starts again. “Wonderful. Now that we’ve discussed our expectations of you, I’d like to introduce you to your mentor for the next three months. Jenny, you’ll be working with Pamela Brightworth.”

The older blonde woman smiles and comes forward to shake Jenny’s hand.

“Aarav, you’ve been paired with Renee Hildreth.”

The brunette crosses the room and gives Aarav’s hand a firm shake. “Go, Blue,” she says to him, and Aarav smiles. They must share the same alma mater.

“Presley,” Beth says, and then Dominic places his hand on her forearm to stop her. He leans close and whispers something to her in a hushed tone. Her eyes meet mine and she nods, whispering something to him in response.

“Presley, you’ll be paired with Dominic,” she says.

My stomach jumps.

I feel all the other interns eyeing me as this little announcement is made, and I can’t help but wonder if they’ll judge me, or think I’ll have an unfair advantage being matched with the CEO himself.

Nerves twist inside me as Dominic approaches, pocketing his smartphone. He extends one large hand toward me, and I reach out to accept his greeting. The moment my hand is enclosed in his, chills skitter down my spine.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he says.

When his deep voice washes over me, I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Thankfully, Beth continues without missing a beat.

I don’t even hear the remaining introductions, but Jordan is paired with the man—Oliver something, I think she says. It’s impossible to hear much or to think clearly when my heart is thumping so hard that blood is roaring through my eardrums.

When everyone stands and begins to file out of the room, I rise to my feet, determined to put my momentary lapse in judgment behind me.

He’s just a man, a very attractive man who runs a very big company. But at the end of the day, he puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else.

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea to picture Dominic without pants, because suddenly he’s standing in front of me and my cheeks are flaming.