Page 49 of Rival Hearts

I opened my laptop and saw Miriam Anderson’s reply, sent before I’d picked up the phone to talk to her in person. She’d turned me down, telling me I wasn’t going to be able to work with her.

She wasn’t missing the point, of course. I was pissed off that it hadn’t worked out the way I’d wanted it to, and I was pissed that she’d seen right through me. Because that was exactly what I was trying to do—get involved with the right people and ride on their positive image instead of going through the steps to make our image positive.

I sat back in my chair and swiveled it to the window, looking out over the ocean. The sky was incredibly blue, and it was hard to tell where the sky stopped and the ocean started. Days like this, I wanted to be out on a yacht with the sea spray on my face and the tang of salt in the air, not stuck in stuffy suits in an office, trying to prove to the world I was worth my salt.

“Is everything okay?” Marina asked, coming into my office.

I turned to face my secretary. It was apt that she was called Marina since we were in the yacht business. I hadn’t ever told her that to her face, though. Ever the professional.

“We can only hope that eventually, it will be,” I said with a sigh. “What do you need?”

“I’m finishing up for the day. I just wanted to check you don’t need me to do anything else before the weekend.”

I shook my head and glanced at the time. I hadn’t kept track; I’d meant to let Marina go earlier. “No, go ahead. Have a good weekend. We’ll tackle this again on Monday.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said with a smile. “Try to have a good weekend, too.”

I nodded, and she left the office.

A moment later, I heard voices—another woman—and frowned.

Marina poked her head around my door.

“A visitor for you, sir. I told her you’re busy, but she’s insistent. A Miss Charlotte Reynolds?”

I stilled. “Here?” She’d just missed Gabe. Had she run into him on her way up?

She nodded. “Shall I ask her to leave?”

“No,” I said quickly and then cleared my throat. “No, you can send her in.”

Marina frowned slightly. “Okay… do you need me to—”

“No, I’ve got this. You can go, don’t worry.”

Marina hesitated, but then she nodded and pushed the door open a little wider.

Charlotte walked in. Marina shut the door behind her, and we were closed in my office, alone.

Shit.

Maybe I should have told Marina to send her away.

Because she looked like a vision, wearing a bronze gypsy top that shimmered a little in the last rays of the sun that fell through the window, and her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders in honey waves. Her eyes were warm, and I could drown in them.

“What are you doing here?” I sounded hostile. I hadn’t meant to, but I was flustered that she was here. What the hell was she doing in my office, looking like…that?

“I wanted to talk to you.”

I gestured toward one of the chairs, and she stepped forward and sat down. She looked around.

“This is a very nice office. Incredible view.”

I nodded. It really was incredible. I’d gotten used to it, but seeing it through the eyes of a stranger, it was breathtaking.

“It’s good to be reminded why we started all this,” I said.

Charlotte frowned at me, her perfectly manicured brows pulling together, and I looked away. She had no business looking this good in my office.