CHAPTER 3

　　　ROME

　　　“Good morning, Mr. Langston,” Carly greeted me with a huge grin on her face. She even opened the door to my office. 

　　　“Morning.” 

　　　But that was not what surprised me. My desk was arranged and neat. The files were aligned, and the pencils were in the holder. Even the magazines on the coffee table were perfectly set, like the one you see posted on Instagram. 

　　　“Your coffee and you prefer black, right?” She took the coat off of me.

　　　I stopped her. “Storm, you are not my maid. I won’t ever ask you to take off my coat, buy me coffee, take my dry clean, send flowers to my girlfriends—”

　　　“Girlfriends?” She shut her mouth quickly as if she wasn’t supposed to react.

　　　I turned to her. A brow arched at me. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” I didn’t know why I had to defend myself. Somehow, it was the right thing to do.

　　　“Oh, because I just heard—”

　　　I squeezed my eyes shut and exhaled. “You get my point.”

　　　“I was just messing with you.” She raised her hands somewhat in a surrendering gesture. “I dropped by the coffee shop and bought for myself.” Not convincing enough. “So I thought it was just proper to order one for you, too. Most guys prefer black.”

　　　“Here’s what I want from you—”

　　　“Let me guess, less talking, more working.”

　　　“Storm.” I clenched my jaw hard and raised my finger. “Don’t talk while I’m still talking.” I hated when people interrupted me while I was not done. “Not only to me but anyone.”

　　　“You reminded—”

　　　I gestured to stop her. “Storm, go back to your desk if you have nothing important to say.”

　　　“Right away, sir.” She smiled again. This time, the kind of smile that she was telling me she enjoyed pissing me off.

　　　Fuck me. She was infuriating as fuck—with a fine ass and nice tits.

　　　The phone just rang. 

　　　“Yeah?”

　　　“Adley Creed is on the line, sir?” Damn it. Even her voice was infuriating—infuriatingly sexy and sweet, like we could talk all night. I wouldn’t get tired of hearing it.

　　　“I’ll take it. Thanks.”

　　　“Hey, Romare.”

　　　“Early in the morning, huh? Am I you’re your first call?”

　　　“Don’t flatter yourself. I just talked to my husband.”

　　　I smiled. “So I am the second then. I’m still flattered.”

　　　“You got a new assistant, huh?”

　　　“Yeah. She’s annoying as fuck.”

　　　“Wew. Let me guess. She’s a knock-out. Not your type, but she’s perfect. She annoys you, yet you want to sit down and annoy her back. How am I doing so far?”

　　　“I hate you, Adley. Why are you calling, pissing me off early in the morning?”

　　　“Tell me about her?”

　　　“Not a chance. On the other hand, I’m meeting my blind date this weekend.”

　　　“So, I’m right then. The sudden interest is what you call distraction. Not a chance, Langston. I will meet your new hot assistant whether you like it or not.”

　　　I let out a long shaky sigh. “Either way, I’m coming over this weekend.”

　　　“That’s good. Bring her with you if what I said is wrong.”

　　　“I’m not taking my assistant with me. It’s her day off,” I whispered when the door swung open and covered the mouthpiece.

　　　“You have a conference call in ten minutes, sir.” She smiled before she left. 

　　　“Romare, are you still there?”

　　　“No way, Adley.”

　　　“Fine. Have it your way. But I’m going to meet her one way or another.”

　　　***

　　　The conference meeting with other branches in Asia and Canada went well. 

　　　I noticed a few things about Carly Storm. She was a multitasker. She liked to play with pen and pencil. She pursed her lips while writing down. She raised an eyebrow when it caught her interest. She met you in the eye when talking. 

　　　And I also noticed one thing—those viridian eyes held many things—secrets and pent-up emotions. I knew people withheld something in their eyes and hearts, but I could feel that Carly Storm had deep secrets hiding in those beautiful orbs that I wished she could talk to me about it.

　　　I went out to lunch for an hour before I went back to my office. 

　　　“What do I owe this pleasure?” Gabe Linden sat across mine.

　　　“I need your help.”

　　　“You can just call me.”

　　　“You’d pass a free lunch?” I stubbed my pasta. The prawn was perfectly cooked, not chewy or dry. What I hated was overcooked—it destroyed the flavor. Not that I was a food connoisseur or something. I just enjoyed the excellent meal.

　　　After he had ordered his lunch, he rubbed his hands together before he crossed his arms over his massive chest. “What kind of help?”

　　　“I want you to run a full background check on my new assistant.”

　　　His brows met, eyeing me suspiciously. “Why?” He waved his hand. “Never mind. What’s her name?”

　　　“Carly Storm. I’ll forward her bio to your email later.”

　　　“You noticed something?” He stared at me intensely with a hint of suspicion, coloring his tone.

　　　“I don’t know.”

　　　“Rome, if there’s a red flag, you better tell me now.”

　　　“Not that kind of red flag. Besides, I believe Florian handpicked her from many applicants. She’s like my mother and would never do me any harm..”

　　　“Is she pretty? I mean, not Florian.” A smirk appeared on his lips, causing me to frown.

　　　He then slowly nodded in understanding, still wearing a smirk.

　　　“Don’t go there, asshole.”

　　　“I get it. She’s attractive—”

　　　“The company has governed a no fraternization policy. So it’s not what you think.”

　　　“People say that all the time, but the lack of eye contact, sudden movements of arms, creasing of brows, and clenching of the jaw. Man, you like her and wish there was no FP at work.” He chuckled before he started eating his lunch.

　　　“I don’t like her. I’m just cautious. Everyone’s eyes scrutinize my every move, and I don’t want to mess this up. Dad trusted me until his last breath. I don’t want to be a disappointment by destroying his legacy and hard work.”

　　　“Brother, I may not know the pressure of filling his shoe, but this is your business now. You are running this and not your father. Make a legacy on your own. Make a difference. Be Rome Langston and not Sterling Langston’s son.”

　　　I nodded. Somehow, Linden’s words struck me like lightning, recharging those dead feelings I had in a while. 

　　　“To Rome Langston.” He raised his glass.

　　　“To success.”

　　　When I came back from lunch, Storm was working something on the laptop, and she did not even notice me.

　　　I went to my office to see a huge bouquet on the coffee table. “Storm!”

　　　A few moments later, she appeared behind me. “Sir?”

　　　“Why there’s a bouquet on the coffee table?” It was beautiful. As weird as it may sound, I liked flowers. It helped calm me.

　　　“Oh, there’s a card attached, sir.” She went on to pick it up, and her skirt raised a little higher above her knee. She really had nice toned legs, and her ass was—damn it. 

　　　She then offered it to me.

　　　“From whom?”

　　　She opened it and smiled. “M.C? A lover? Not that any of my business.” She shrugged.

　　　“Yeah? Lover, my ass. It’s Mykel.”

　　　“Mykel? The Mykel Creed?” I wanted to roll my eyes. Of course, every woman in this country probably knew him. He was a notorious playboy before he met Adley.

　　　“A fan?”

　　　“You’re very polite, Mr. Langston. But the answer is no.” She chuckled and rolled her eyes. I thought it was cute. “I read his story in the magazine. His wife, though, I loved her works at K & B Designs.”

　　　“Would you like to meet her?”

　　　Her big eyes literally lit up. “Wow. Really? You would do that?”

　　　“I can make it possible.”

　　　“You two are closed?” she asked as she got closer to me.

　　　“You can say that.” I slipped my hands into my pockets and fought the urge to swipe her hair falling into the neckline of her dress. Storm also had great tits. Jesus.

　　　“I’d love to.”

　　　“Great. I’ll let you know.”

　　　“Thank you, sir.”

　　　I dialed Florian’s number when Carly left my office. She picked up after a few rings. She was probably picking some flowers in her garden.

　　　“What is it, Rome?”

　　　“Why her? I know you have something to do with approving assistant applications. You handpicked her, didn’t you?”

　　　“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, young man.” Her answer made me more suspicious. What would she get in this?

　　　“Oh, common. Like I believe you right now.”

　　　“Did she push your buttons already?”

　　　Probably more than my buttons right now. Maybe my zippers too. “So you’re not gonna tell me?”

　　　“What you need is not someone who can follow your bark.”

　　　“I don’t bark, but what’s the point if she’s not good at following my orders? And that’s precisely what I want. I want a reliable and resourceful and less talkative assistant.”

　　　“No, you don’t. I worked with your late father for decades.” I rose from my seat, abandoning my desk, and went to the window as I listened to her. I missed my father, and sure she did too. “We didn’t have the boss-assistant relationship. I disobeyed his orders many times. We fought a lot. I said what I wanted to say. Miss Storm is the opposite of what you are looking for, making her the best executive assistant. You’re still honing your skills, young man. What you need is a challenging partner. I know there are many more qualified applicants, but you also need a lot of pushing, encouragement, and a little inspiration.”

　　　“A little inspiration?” I snorted. “You mean, I will have a heart attack at thirty, thanks to you.”

　　　“Yes. You can’t just work and work. You need a life outside that building, Romare.”

　　　“I have a life.”

　　　“Not anymore. And she’s a fine woman, isn’t she? Smart, opinionated, and an alpha female.”

　　　Carly came in to put the file on my desk. She turned and walked out of the door. Before she disappeared, my gaze landed on her ass again. Yeah, I got that now, but nothing more inspirational about it than a complete distraction and a constant hard-on.