For breathing?
I snap my mouth shut and I swear to God the corner of his mouth twitches.
Not likely. The man hasn’t smiled in the history of ever.
It’s just as well. Nick Hart is hotter than the hinges of hell, and if he actually smiled? Well, it’s not a stretch to imagine some panties going up in flames, mine included.
Why do the sexy ones always have to be jerks?
Because the universe is a dick, obviously.
The guy is literally the definition of tall, dark, andhornedhandsome with thick, artfully styled hair, hooded umber eyes, and the kind of chiseled jaw that looks like it was sculpted in a quarry. Throw in the scruffy five o’clock shadow, and,meow, the man is my catnip.
Or he would be if he weren’t such an ass.
Without another word, Nick Hart turns his attention back to the room. I open my laptop and pull up a fresh document as he dives into the same canned greeting he’s recited at every other meeting. The one I memorized weeks ago. It’s like someone gave him a script to follow, and he doesn’t dare deviate from it.
Whether it’s from fear of losing control or something else is anyone’s guess.
Honestly? I couldn’t care less. I hate these kinds of meetings, the ones where my entire purpose is to take notes and pretend to be invisible. It doesn’t matter that I’m just months from completing my master’s degree. No one takes the opinions of an executive assistant seriously. The last time I tried to speak up during a meeting, one of the middle managers thought I was offering to refill his coffee.
Which, okay, I did because it was easier than making a scene, but that’s hardly the point.
And the point is?
It’s insulting. And it smacks of patriarchal bullshit.
Still, it pays better than the coffee cart, so I keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself.
It’s temporary.
Once I finish my master’s, more doors will open. In the meantime, there are worse ways to spend an hour than listening to Nick Hart’s sexy voice.
“Mike, can you give our investors an update on the latest from operations?”
The Vice President of Operations sits up straighter, puffing out his chest. “Yes, sir. Ops has been focused on the low-hanging fruit this period. I’ve encouraged my people to pivot and think outside the box to ensure the Epos launch raises the bar, creating best practices for all future product rollouts. We’ve identified cross-departmental synergies, and it’s all hands on deck to ensure we’ve got the proper bandwidth for success.”
I suppress the urge to roll my eyes—hard. Mike is the epitome of every obnoxious, self-important office stereotype ever. The guy is a fountain of meaningless buzzwords and speaks endlessly without saying anything.
All we need is a bottle of tequila, and we could get wasted with a round of Bullshit Bingo.
Don’t the other executives see it?
Focus, Scarlett.
Right. My fingers fly over the keyboard.
Operations—Mike (aka The Human Buzzword)
Ops doing the bare minimum at their illustrious leader’s direction.
Relying on support teams to ensure launch success because what does the company’s largest department even do all day?
I type steadily, recording Mike’s worthless report and every other mundane update on the Epos launch as the meeting drones on.
If I’ve learned anything about the executive team, it’s that they love to hear themselves talk. Which is problematic for several reasons, the most pressing being that I have a hard stop at five o’clock.
I scan the meeting agenda, anxiety unfurling deep in my chest. We’re just over halfway through the list of topics. There’s no way we’re going to finish on time, and I can’t duck out early because…designated notetaker.
