Ronan Maddox.
I try very hard to hide my surprise as Ronan shakes hands with Brad. I can feel my face flushing, and I desperately hope I’m sporting enough of a tan to hide it. I haven’t seen Ronan in five years. Not since his last night at Tech Solutions, our former company. A bunch of us from the office went out for drinks—a little going-away party celebrating Ronan’s last day. The night ended with Ronan and me sleeping together in his hotel room.
And I never heard from him again.
Fuck. This is bad. This is so, so bad.
I have a very staunch no dating coworkers rule. My dating life might be a disaster, but that’s one choice I’m sure of. Dating people at work never turns out well. I made a very ill-considered exception for Ronan that night, both because he was leaving—so technically we didn’t work together anymore—and because he was extraordinarily convincing. Looking at him now, I remember why, and my heart beats a little faster.
He’s … gorgeous. Tall and lean, with high cheekbones and a chiseled jaw. He looks every bit as incredible as he did five years ago. More, in fact.
“Everyone, this is Ronan Maddox,” Brad says. “He’s been running Edge Gear for the last several years, and took them from a small firm with less than a million in sales annually, to a powerhouse with one hundred million in annual sales last year, and on track to double that this year. I assure you, VI is in excellent hands with Ronan.”
Ronan nods, tucking his sunglasses into his shirt pocket. I want to crawl under the table and hide. I flip my hair forward a little and look down at the table, hoping he doesn’t notice me, knowing that’s incredibly unlikely.
“Thanks for the introduction,” Ronan says, and his voice sends a shiver up my spine. Damn him, he even sounds better than I remember. “I’m sure this is a surprise to everyone, but let me assure you, nothing is going to change at this point. I’ll be meeting with you individually over the coming weeks to get a better feel for your departments and your roles here, but I have no plans to make sweeping changes right out of the gate. VI isn’t going to be absorbed by Edge. I see this as a distinct set of brands, and you are all my experts. I need you to bring me up to speed and help keep things running smoothly while we make this transition.”
I lift my eyes just enough so I can see him. Perhaps his little speech should reassure me that I won’t be laid off this week, but hearing his voice is doing nothing but make my heart race. That night was…
I really need to stop thinking about that night. It was years ago, and if Ronan has held to his reputation I’m sure there’s been a long line of women who came after me. In fact, I doubt he even remembers me. We didn’t know each other well when we worked together. The most we ever spoke was at that cocktail party. He hit on me at work, but I always shut him down. I suppose he thought he might get lucky that night, since he was on the way out, and had a way around my rule.
Of course, he was right.
He keeps talking, answering a few questions. He doesn’t seem to notice me. I stay quiet, my eyes on the table, so I don’t attract his attention. I’m so glad I sat at the far end of the large conference table. Maybe I can get through this meeting without him realizing I’m here. I’m torn between hoping he doesn’t remember me, and feeling prematurely offended that he could have forgotten.
“Excellent,” he says when the questions die down. “Thanks, everyone, for coming.”
I look up, hoping everyone will stand and I can keep a few people between myself and Ronan while I sneak out the door. He opens his mouth as if he’s going to say something else, and his eyes meet mine.
I see almost nothing on his face, save a slightly lifted eyebrow. People get up and he turns to greet someone approaching him.
I breathe out a slow breath, trying to calm my thundering heart. If he recognized me, it’s obviously not fazing him in the slightest. I’m both relieved and mildly insulted. I slept with the man. It would be nice to think that was enough to make me stick in his memory.
And I clearly did not forget him.
We all file out of the conference room. Ronan is in the far corner, talking to several other people, as I leave. I get back to my office and sit down, wondering what the hell just happened.
It had to be Ronan Maddox. Of all the people in the world who could buy out the company I work for, it had to be a man I spent a night with.
A stupid, reckless night.
A hot, sweaty, unforgettable night.
But I am not dwelling on that. I am a professional. This doesn’t change anything.
I will do my job, and that’s the end of it.
4: Ronan
People leave the conference room and some guy whose name I’ve already forgotten corners me. I say the right things and give him the right smile, but my attention just walked out of the room on a pair of mile-long legs.