Resisting Mr. Kane (London Mister #2)(21)

A well-dressed man is waiting at the lifts.

“Hi, I’m Elena Andric.”

He holds out his hand, which I reluctantly take, weary of my sweat glands working overtime. “I’m Jeremy, one of the HR leads.”

We exchange niceties in such a manner that tells me Jeremy is tired of greeting the new recruits. I follow him into a room where about twenty people are milling around, some looking as nervous as I am.

I’m not good at networking. I can’t work a room the way Megan can. I need to warm up and focus my energy on a small number of people until I feel safe in numbers. So I stand awkwardly in the corner, smoothing down my dress. There’s another girl with the same tactic taking refuge beside the coffee stand. We play the shy game, smiling at each other and looking away until I have the guts to walk over.

“Hi, I’m Elly.”

“I’m Amy.” She looks relieved.

“Are you on the trainee programme too?” I ask. Stupid question, of course, she is.

She nods. “Everyone in this room is. Are you nervous?”

“Terrified,” I admit.

“Me too,” she whispers. “But we have lots of presentations today as part of the employee induction programme, all the admin stuff, office tour, welcome to the company, et cetera. I think it will be a gentle start.”

Her words make me relax a little.

There’s a dull roar around the room as we wait for something to happen. The same conversation echoes through every huddle. What’s your name? Oh, that’s nice. What university did you go to? Oh, that’s nice.

Jeremy clears his throat loudly. “We’ll be heading into boardroom five now to kick off the induction programme, 9 a.m. will be the Madison Legal introduction, 10 a.m., mission and corporate values, 11 a.m., our CEO and Managing Partner, Mr. Kane, will be saying a few words to welcome you to the firm.”

It sounds like Amy’s right, today will be easy. Just relax, listen and take notes.

“Count yourselves lucky,” Jeremy continues. “Mr. Kane rarely has the time to do this. We are extremely honoured today.”

“Oh.” Amy digs me in the ribs with her elbow. “Tristan Kane is talking to us!”

Ugh. I hate that name. Still, I can’t hold one man’s mistake against them all.

Two hours, and a corporate vision presentation later, my attention is waning. We have two full days of people talking to us to get through. Amy and I bagged seats in the front row. I take a large sip of coffee to perk up as I have to appear extra attentive for the CEO up next. We've been waiting fifteen minutes for him so far.

There’s a knock and a woman pops her head around the door. “He’s ready now.”

Jeremy beams at us. Every head turns to the back of the room to get a good look at the man entering behind the woman. I can’t see his face from the front row. As I strain my neck, I catch sight of stubble shaped around a chiselled jaw. It’s not until he is halfway up the aisle that my blood runs cold.

Oh. My. GOD.

It can’t be.

It’s him.

He can’t be…

“Our managing partner and founder of Madison Legal, Mr. Tristan Kane.” Jeremy claps his hands earnestly, and the room follows suit.

I move my hands together, but no sound comes out.

This makes no sense. He told me he worked in property.

But he was a liar.

Fear seeps into every pore of my being. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Something like eight million people live in London, one of them is bound to look like him.

He’s closer now.

No, it’s definitely fucking him.

The source of my three-day production line of orgasms that sent my oxytocin levels off the charts. My natural Viagra. The guy I thought was a fling, then thought was a love interest then realised was a lying cheating bastard.

The guy that fucked me hard then fucked me over.

My fight-or-flight response kicks in for the second time around Tristan, who I now know as Tristan Kane, CEO. And for the second time, flight wants to win. I need to escape, hide, combust, fast-forward time, pull a fake fire alarm, bomb scare. Something. Anything.

Instead, I sink into my chair, but in the front row I will be right in his line of vision. What’s he going to do when he realises it’s me?

Terminate my trainee contract?

This is so messed up.

I clutch my notepad to my chest like armour. I wonder if I could put it in front of my face and pretend to take notes. By the time the owner of this 8000-employee strong global company arrives at the front of the room, I'm feeling full tremors in my hands and legs. Breathe, Elly. Breathe. He might not even recognise or remember me. He’s probably had a million one-night stands since then.

Gone are the jeans and T-shirt and in their place, is an expensive tailored dark blue suit. It moulds perfectly around his athletic physique. I imagine my fingers running across it and mentally slap myself. I wasn’t building him up in my head. He is drop-dead gorgeous. Sometimes, I think I imagine him differently, better.

When those intense blue-grey eyes that haunted my dreams collide with mine, my heart stops.

Oh. He recognises me all right.

It's as if we're caught in a vortex, our eyes pulling towards each other.

His eyebrows rise, a slow smile spreading across his face.

I look down at my feet, unable to keep eye contact. A deep blush soaks into my cheeks spreading outwards until my ears feel impossibly hot. Maybe I am going to combust after all.