it was, there was no one else suitable for the job so it had to be her. A bubble of excitement rose up in her chest.
Emma stood up, slapping her on the shoulder. ‘Come on. It is so about your promotion. It has to be.’ She grinned. ‘And now you have no excuse to get serious about that part of your life you’ve put on hold while you got your career all solid and stable.’
A chill raced down Tahlia’s back.
She smoothed down her suit jacket, shaking off the feeling. It would be fine. ‘Yes, not a problem,’ she stated casually to her friend. A relationship didn’t have to mean disaster, as long as it didn’t involve rash decisions, irrational emotions or incredibly embarrassing interactions with too-cute guys.
‘You don’t sound so sure.’
Tahlia raised her eyebrows, forcing a smile to her mouth. ‘I’ll handle it like I’ve handled everything—with criteria, a plan of action and safeguards.’
You could never have too many safeguards, as her mother had shown her. Her mother hadn’t considered any were necessary, that love was enough…and it was so not enough.
‘O-kay,’ Em offered, shooting her an odd look, moving out of her cubicle. She glanced at her watch. ‘So are you ready for the meeting?’
‘Absolutely.’ She was ready for her dream to come true and Em was right—what else could it possibly be about?
Nothing she couldn’t handle.
Tahlia pushed open one of the conference room doors and slipped inside with Emma behind her, weaving through the throng of people, keeping to the wall side of the large room.
She concentrated on the acceptance speech that she’d been practising for months and not on the expanse of glass and views of Melbourne on the far side.
She looked behind her but couldn’t see Emma.
Her stomach churned with butterflies. This was going to be the highlight of her year and she damned well deserved it. Why Raquel had waited until now was beyond her.
This was it.
She smiled and her mind filled with all the congratulations that everyone would offer, the sweet proof that Raquel acknowledged her skills and her potential, the incredible thrill of telling her mother she’d finally made it another rung up the ladder.
Raquel cleared her throat, dropping a large folder on the table.
The room fell silent.
‘Okay. Thanks for coming, staff,’ she said in her trademark nasal bellow. ‘Of course you all know that the position of Marketing Executive has been open for some time and is long overdue being filled. I am pleased to announce that a decision has been reached—’
Tahlia held her breath, searching the crowd for her best friends, finding friendly faces with smiles as wide as her own must be.
Emma had been right. This was it—her dream realised, her goal achieved, vindication for endless overtime and a landmark achievement that would ensure that she’d never have to do it hard like her mother.
So what if Emma was getting married and moving to New York to a new job with the love of her life and Keely was taking maternity leave—she would have her promotion.
She swung her attention back towards Raquel.
Sapphire-blue eyes caught hers.
Her heart missed a beat.
It was him.
The cute-suit looked taller, dwarfing the staff around him at the head of the table near Raquel the Rottie, standing out all the more in that tailored black suit, the strong lines of his face resembling more a Greek god than…was he an employee of WWW Designs?
What was he doing here? She hadn’t heard of anyone being taken on lately, especially a tall, dark and devastating thirty-something.
‘Let me introduce to you our new Marketing Executive…’ Raquel paused for effect, shooting Tahlia a tight smile, sweeping her hand past Tahlia to the cute-suit. ‘Case T Darrington.’
Tahlia’s heart slammed against her chest and sank to the pit of her belly where all the butterflies dropped dead, adding to the weight.
Her vision blurred, her throat closing over. It couldn’t be. No. It wasn’t possible. There had to be a mistake.
Not him.
Not anybody.
It should have been her!
Raquel put up open arms, her smile wide, avoiding meeting Tahlia’s gaze. ‘Welcome to the great team here at WWW Designs.’
Tahlia dragged in a slow ragged breath, fighting the sting behind her eyes. How…?
The man behind Raquel sidled out into the open, putting his hands up and rotating slowly like a prize-fighter who’d just knocked out the competition. And he had. Effortlessly.
Her.
CHAPTER THREE
All men are created equal.
But what about women? And are we talking sexism here or feminism-gone-crazy? Has Raquel hired this cute-suit because there are just too many women in the company? Or just because she doesn’t want me?
CASE moved to the head of the table, smiling at the new faces around him, taking in the pause after Raquel’s announcement, the hesitant applause, the expressions being cast from face to face.
It was to be expected. They had probably figured the position would be filled in-house by someone they already knew who wouldn’t question or threaten their way of doing things. And he’d just thrown them out of that comfort zone by being thrown into the mix.
A new face. A loose cannon. Someone who they weren’t sure of. If only they knew.
‘Thank you, Raquel,’ he offered the woman who the vision-from-the-lobby had mentioned earlier.
And then there she was, in the audience. He tore his gaze from her, the fact that she worked for him sending warning signals.
‘Hello, everyone,’ he said smoothly, moving up beside Raquel. ‘I’m thrilled to be here and look forward to working with you all. I hope in the coming days to meet you all personally.’
Case glanced towards the beauty again; her face was a mask of professional curiosity. He straightened his tie. Yes. It was time to get serious. He wasn’t here to get distracted by a pretty face. He was here to sort out one-hell-of-a-mess.
The challenge was what he needed, had needed since his marriage breakdown, and he’d excelled at finding them. He’d gone out of his way to be involved in the most complicated business deals, play the most exacting sports and pursue the most beleaguered companies.
Since his marriage, women were the one area where he went for simple. Easy, light liaisons
