Only a Millionaire (The Sinclairs #6.5)(2)

Liam had agreed to hire me before I’d even arrived in Maine, so I’d instantly had a job I could immerse myself in. Unfortunately, it came with one very hot boss, a man who would never see me as anything more than a helpful young employee.

Okay. He had one moment of weakness in almost a year. The day that he’d told me that he found me attractive. But he’d blown off that admission ever since, and I was pretty convinced he regretted telling me anything personal.

I’m a realist. I need to deal with the facts.

And the truth was, Liam Sullivan was never going to really care where I went or what I did as long as I left with plenty of notice.

I’d never been the type of woman to fantasize about men who were out of reach. I dated men who were safe, guys who fit into my no-nonsense world. My lack of imagination was probably why I was so good with numbers. Finance was concrete. There were no gray areas. Numbers were either correct or they weren’t.

I forced myself to stop obsessing over Liam and focus on the numbers for the current month.

By the time I looked up again, hours had gone by without me realizing what time it was.

I stood up and stretched once I was done with my task, my body aching from sitting in almost the same position for so long.

“What in the hell are you doing here this early?” The annoyed male voice made me startle as I turned my head to look at the source of the sexy baritone.

Liam.

I lowered my arms back to my sides, my heart racing just like it always did when Liam was around.

My body had some kind of Liam sensor, and it went off like lightning the moment he was within speaking distance.

God, he looked amazing. Even in an old pair of jeans and a Patriots T-shirt, he exuded a quiet confidence and control that took most people a lifetime to master.

I shook myself. “Nothing. Well, I’m not doing anything now. I just finished uploading everything to your accountant. The books are up to date.”

He still didn’t look happy, but that was kind of Liam’s usual expression. “What time did you get here?”

I stepped from behind the desk. “Early,” I hedged.

“How early, Brooke?”

I didn’t want to tell him I’d been in before daylight. For some reason, he seemed to think I put too many hours in at the restaurant, and maybe I did. But working was the one thing that kept me sane. “What does it matter?” I answered defensively. “The job is done.”

When I moved to stand in front of him, I had to crank my head back a little to gaze up at his face.

I was average height, but Liam was so tall that it made me feel petite.

The room was suddenly way too hot and small.

I tried to push past him to exit the office, but he easily stopped my progress with a powerful hand to my upper arm. “It matters to me, Brooke. You don’t own the place, and I don’t expect you to put in the same hours I do.”

Honestly, I was sick of having this discussion. I’d buried myself in work for a reason, and to help Liam as much as possible. He’d done me a favor by hiring me. I’d wanted to give back.

I felt tortured and tormented, so I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. “I quit. I’m giving my two weeks’ notice.”

Shrugging out of his hold, I pushed by him and out of the room. My only retreat was the bathroom, and I closed the door quickly and locked it, leaning against the wooden surface as I tried to get my heart rate to slow down.

Now all I had to do was live through two weeks of hell before I could figure out how I was ever going to get over the one guy who could make me completely lose my composure.





CHAPTER 2

LIAM



What in the hell just happened?

Had she really just said that she was . . . leaving?

Oh, hell no. She couldn’t just leave. I needed her.

Maybe having her here tormented the hell out of me, but I knew damn well that Brooke was the reason I got my ass out of bed so fast in the morning. Maybe I was a masochist, and I questioned my judgment about lusting after a female who was already taken. But not seeing Brooke at all was worse than having to act like she didn’t get my dick hard every time I saw her.

Yeah, I knew that she already had a guy in her life, and I didn’t go there, even though I wanted to. But I was used to seeing her face almost every day. I wanted her here at Sullivan’s.

I strode to the bathroom and hammered on the door. “I don’t accept your notice,” I bellowed.

It took her a moment to reply. “You have no choice. You can’t keep me here if I don’t want to stay. I thought I was being fair by giving you notice.”

Honestly, she was being fair. I was the one being completely irrational. Two weeks was a good amount of time, and it was more than enough. I’d had flaky employees who had just never showed up after they’d gotten another job. Very few people took a waitressing job as seriously as Brooke did. “Can we talk about this?” I requested in a more reasonable tone.

I heard some scuffling in the bathroom, but Brooke finally opened the door. “Liam, I have nothing more to say. You knew this gig was temporary for me. I appreciate everything you’ve done. You gave me a job when I needed it, and I’m grateful.”

I frowned at her. I didn’t want her gratitude. I wanted her ass to stay here in Amesport.

Maybe I still didn’t know exactly why she was here, but I didn’t care anymore. I’d unsuccessfully tried to get more information out of Evan, but all the bastard would tell me was that Brooke had needed some time away from the West Coast. I’d even threatened to fire her if Evan didn’t come clean. But he’d called my bluff, knowing I was never going to let go of a good employee.