No Kissing Allowed (No Kissing Allowed #1)(7)

“Yeah, intensely hot.”

I did a double take. “He’s what?” Did she say hot? I pictured an older man, graying, with a slight hunch. Then again, maybe Alexa was into sixty-year-olds with back problems.

She peered over at the closed door and then leaned in closer. “You have no idea. Rumor has it he’s the reason for the no-fraternizing policy.”

“No fraternizing…you mean he’s…?”

“Not is, presently, but yeah, certainly did. A lot. That’s why there’s been such turnover. They couldn’t get a female on staff below the age of thirty to stay away from him, so the partners issued a strict no-fraternizing policy, and Aidan hasn’t touched a Sanderson-Lowe employee since. Not that I could blame the girls.”

Just then Gayle walked in, and I had to fight to rein in my crazy beating heart. The last thing I wanted was for Gayle to hear us talking about Aidan like that. “Good, Cameron, I was looking for you. Are you ready? The meeting’s about to begin, and I wanted to introduce you to the staff before it gets started.”

“Of course,” I said, a little too loudly, but Gayle was already leaving the lounge, me following quickly behind her.

I peeked through the glass to the group already seated around the long rectangular table. There was a mix of men and women; each dressed so differently it was impossible to know what was appropriate. Hell, one guy was even wearing a T-shirt. Gayle stood behind a pair of open chairs, and suddenly all eyes were on me. “Everyone, this is Cameron Lawson, our newest account manager. She’ll be assisting on all my accounts.”

We sat down and one by one the people around the table introduced themselves. I tried to follow their names, but I’d always been a faces person, the names disappearing into the cracks of my memory.

I reached across for a notepad and pen in the middle of the table, and a man sitting just in front of it—Brody?—pushed the stack my way to make it easier for me to grab. “Thanks,” I said, smiling.

“You’re welcome.”

The table sectioned out into different conversations. The men discussed the game from the night before. (I had no idea which game they meant.) The ladies at the opposite side from Gayle and me were talking about some preservative that caused cancer. I opened my mouth to say that everything but bananas and water seemed to cause cancer these days, but closed it back, sure I’d sound like a know-it-all, which wasn’t a stretch of the truth. Still, today was an observation day. Learn the team, pay attention, try not to piss anyone off.

Gayle turned to me then, clearly sensing my unease. “They’re all nice. Don’t worry.”

“They seem great.”

“And Aidan is brilliant. You’ll learn a lot from him.”

“I didn’t think I would actually work with him much.” Dammit. Why didn’t I research Aidan Truitt?

“You won’t really, but he likes to be very involved with our team. He leads all the meetings. Likes to have a hand in everything. Some say he micromanages, but I think he just wants us to know that we’re not in the thick of it alone. Plus, he’s really young for the job and I think a part of him misses the creative side.” Her gaze shifted to the door. “And speaking of…”

I turned just as the door opened. A man stood inside the doorframe, his head facing away from us as he said something to Alexa. He wore an impeccably tailored navy suit, his dirty-blond hair styled back with a hint of gel. I could see why Alexa said he was hot, even from behind. She nodded to him, then he stepped into the room, and suddenly my world turned on its axis, like I’d entered some alternate reality.

My heart jumped into my throat, my pulse speeding up as my stomach flipped. A memory hit of warm breath on my neck, and I jolted back, my hand colliding with my coffee cup and sending its contents across the table. “Shit.” I leaped up at the same time as everyone else, one of the guys grabbing a pack of paper towels and blotting the mess. The women smiled encouragingly at me like they’d all been here before. But they had no freaking idea.

And that’s when his gaze landed on me. He froze just as he was setting down his iPad, his eyes wide, his mouth slack. Another traitorous memory slipped through, that mouth on mine, his teeth biting my bottom lip just before his tongue—

“You.”

I drew a breath, ignoring my shaky hands and wobbly knees. “Me.”

Gayle was at my side in a second. “I’m sorry,” she said in an attempt to save me. “It’s Cameron’s first day. I’m sure she’s a little nervous.”

If only that were the problem.

Collecting himself, he straightened, licking his lips once, his eyes on me. “Easy mistake. Could happen to anyone.” He grinned, a hint of amusement crossing his face at the double meaning. My teeth ground together as I fought to rein in my emotions.

“Well, introduce me to our newest team member,” he said to Gayle.

Gayle smiled at me. “This is Cameron Lawson, our newest account manager. She will be helping on all my accounts, including Blast, which was why I requested she attend our meeting today. Cameron, meet Aidan Truitt. Our chief creative director.”

I lifted my eyes to his, my heart now wallowing on the ground, never to emerge again. Aidan Truitt. My boss. My boss’s boss.

Aka—UT Guy.