Ella though, deserved better. A better man would have never started this with her, but now that he had, he intended to see where it went. If that meant feeling like a damn teenager on his first date, then so be it. He had been in meetings out of the office all day and hadn’t seen her since the night before. He had called briefly to confirm their plans for the evening, half afraid that she had changed her mind, but the happiness in her voice had reassured him that she wasn’t having second thoughts.
He still didn’t know how the hell he had ended up at her door. After talking to Nick at the office, the idea had taken root. Why should he give Ella the green light to date another man when he wanted her and she wanted him? If she was that determined to get some experience, then shouldn’t it be from someone who actually cared about her? The thought of another man putting his hands on her had been more than he could stomach. She was wildly eager and responsive for someone so innocent and he had no idea how he was going to control himself with her. Dating was probably the only thing that would save him because if they were alone for any time at all, he would have his hands all over her feminine curves.
Declan tensed as a knock sounded at the door of his apartment. Glancing at his watch in impatience, he noted that he only had about fifteen minutes before he had to leave to pick up Ella. When he saw Brant standing on the other side, he cursed silently. His older brother was constantly trying to bring what was left of their family together. He wished he would save all of his attention for their sister and leave him for the lost cause that he was.
Swinging the door open, Declan motioned him inside before shutting it behind him.
It was ironic that even though Declan had turned down a position working in the family business, he still ended up working with his brother and sister at Danvers. Stone Electronics manufactured a component that Danvers International used and Jason Danvers had been very interested in acquiring the small, but solid, company as a part of his company’s expansion. Gray and Nick Merimon had come on board at Danvers when Jason also acquired their company, Mericom. Declan thought that Brant and Ava were relieved not to be running the company on a daily basis any longer. Jason had kept the siblings on in vice-president roles since Danvers remained short staffed after its explosive growth and because they were damn good at their jobs. Declan’s grandfather, who started the company, would probably have another heart attack if he knew the company was no longer family owned.
He was surprised to see his brother looking visibly ruffled. “What’s up, Brant?”
“Do you have the folder for the Reynolds contract?”
Giving his brother a puzzled look, Declan asked, “Why would I? That’s your baby.”
“Yeah, no shit, but my new assistant has all of my paperwork f**ked up. Did she pull the Myers file for you?” Declan nodded his head. “Where is it? I looked on your desk, but didn’t see it.”
“It’s in my briefcase. I grabbed it on my way out this morning, to thumb through later.”
“Can you look and see what you have? I think she mixed up the files and I’m flying out tonight to meet with Reynolds tomorrow.”
Declan rolled his eyes and walked over to his briefcase. Sure enough, when he sorted through the stack, he found the missing file. He almost felt sorry for the woman who had made the mistake. His brother was a perfectionist and would lose sleep over something like this for days. “So, what is this, like the third assistant to bite the dust since you’ve been at Danvers?”
Brant looked at him in surprise. “I’m not firing Emma over this. I’m not happy about it, and she will know it, but I don’t think it warrants termination.”
Now Declan was the one looking at Brant with a surprised expression. “Emma, huh? I’ve never heard you call one of your assistants by her first name. Maybe I need to come up for a visit and meet the famous Emma.”
“Screw off and stick to your own damn office.” Seeing Declan look at his watch again, he asked, “Were you going out?”
Declan shifted uncomfortably, “Yeah, I have plans soon. I’ll walk down with you.”
Seeming much too interested, Brant asked, “What kind of plans? Is there someone left in Myrtle Beach that you haven’t bedded yet?”
Declan slammed the door shut behind them and flipped off his brother. “Very funny. Don’t you have somewhere to be? I’d recommend going to the airport early, just in case your assistant booked you the wrong flight as well.” With a smile of satisfaction, Declan saw his brother’s face go white and he took off for his car at a fast clip. Declan laughed, unlocked his Porsche Cayman, and settled in the driver’s seat. It might be a bit of a stereotype, but he loved his car. Of course, he also owned a truck. Sports cars didn’t make that much sense other than the rush you felt when driving them. He was also pretty sure that if Ella wore one of those dresses that she usually wore, the odds were good that he might get an eyeful of leg when he helped her out of the low-slung car. Yeah, in the end, he was just a guy.