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Deciding to be the better person, Haley didn’t give him the bird as he turned to leave.

Her hands shook as she took out the specs she had made in a bid to garner his compassion at the immediate need Moonbeam required in the next sixty days. Removing the paper clip from the corner of the sheaf of papers, Haley fiddled with the paperclip anxiously. How would she know if Nadia was going to be able to come without her phone? Would Mr. Beck count Nadia’s arrival as an interruption? Freaking hell, this meeting was going from bad to worse, and it hadn’t even started yet.

Minutes ticked past, each building her hopes that Nadia would arrive to take the meeting and she could slink away without being seen by him, right after she made Nadia get her phone back from the prick. Mr. Beck could take as much time as he wanted; the longer the better.

She patted her suit pocket to make sure her inhaler was still where she had stashed it, the ingrained habit giving her a small hint of confidence without knowing why.

At the sound of door opening, Haley stood, placing a hand on the conference table to brace herself when she saw who had entered. The man could never be mistaken for Nadia.

Preparing herself to start apologizing for accidentally shutting the elevator door in his face, Haley watched Desmond Beck cross the carpeted floor. Her mouth went dry in nervousness. Haley prayed her knees would support her weight as he gave her a charming smile, which Haley was aware didn’t reach his eyes.

A cold shiver slid down her spine.

“Mr. Beck,” Haley rushed out before he could speak, “I apologize for accidentally hitting the close button—”

“Ms. Clark”—Mr. Beck held out his hand—“I am aware it was an accident. I’ve had nightmares about those doors.”

The charm and humor in his voice didn’t fool her for a hot second. The debonair philanthropist might be rich as hell, yet a warning tingle right behind her shoulder blades had her unconsciously taking a step back, forcing her to awkwardly take the chair behind her as Mr. Beck came closer with his hand still out, waiting for her to shake it.

“I didn’t think you meant to shut the door on someone you were about to ask for a huge amount of money.”

Haley forced herself to take his hand at the reminder of why she was there.

“You knew who I was?” She quickly removed her hand from the heat of his.

“Of course. You knew who I was, as well.”

Using her legs, she scooted the chair back an inch to give herself breathing room. Haley hoped he didn’t notice the movement under her long dress. The charismatic man put off a vortex of heat that had her considering asking his assistant for that fire extinguisher, despite the promise she had made to herself.

While Desmond Beck didn’t have the huge muscles of his secretary, he did have the awesome height. At five foot two, she envied anyone above six feet. Both men were dressed in designer suits, which thanks to the males in her family, she knew cost enough to house one of the teenage runaways for a year.

His secretary’s suit had been indistinctive, his shirt designed to blend into the background, while Beck’s clothing dragged eyes to him. The dark navy color emphasized the physical shape he was in. The purple silk shirt and blue tie exhibited the athletic body he had to work diligently for. Every single thing about Desmond Beck was appealing, designed to make anyone who came into contact with him drawn into his sphere, as if they were already friends.

In less than a minute, Haley had pegged and classified the man standing next to her. She wasn’t taken in by his charismatic demeanor, nor the suit he used to camouflage himself. Her whole family had the same intangible It factor, except for her. Her It had skipped her hard.

Wealth and appearances were the main focus of every moment within her family’s life, and her side of the family were the least wealthy with the Clark name. Watching her parents, brother, and sisters use every opportunity to increase their own wealth and gain their own share of fame had Haley determined to remain in the shadows, beyond anyone’s notice.

Haley’s guard had gone up when she had spotted him striding toward the elevator, and if she were to admit the full truth, her shutting the elevator door on him had not been an accident; it had been an act of self-preservation. Now that he was closer to her, there was nothing about Mr. Beck that dissuaded her from the first impression he had given her—an air of danger that she could see from a mile away.

Concealing her tenseness and wariness had never been easy for her. So, patting her suit jacket, she again tried to decide if she should give a feeble excuse to leave and run. Her breathing escalated, kicking in her fight-or-flight response. Then, perfectly willing to admit she was a coward, Haley started to lift herself from the chair, deciding to leave at the same time Mr. Beck took a chair at the table. Nadia might kill her, but she would have to catch her first.