Mr. Big(13)

She drew a deep breath and looked around her. She could see why the place needed design work; it looked like no one had changed anything in it since the seventies. She could see that it was a new office to Alexander Daniels; everything looked like it hadn’t been there long and might very well be placed in temporary spaces.

“When did you start working on this?” Mia asked quietly, looking sidelong at Liam.

He chuckled softly. “I know how it looks. My team started here about three days ago, so we’re just getting things headed in a new direction. Your timing here couldn’t be more perfect, actually.” He winked at her.

She felt her cheeks warm and her heart begin to pick up speed again as they walked down a hallway past offices that were functional but not done. She glanced in several of them and saw people working in some spaces and desks empty in other spaces.

“How long will it take you to finish this redesign?” she asked curiously as they continued down the hall.

Liam glanced over at her. “Well, it depends on what we wind up doing. My original suggestion was to tear down more than half of the non-load bearing walls and open up the office space, and Alexander likes the idea, but he hasn’t given me a green light on it yet. We’re waiting on the engineer and the electrician, and neither one of them seems to be able to be here when it works for everyone. In theory, I could have this place redone in two to three weeks, barring any problems, but in reality, it’s probably going to be more like three or four weeks.” He sighed a little and shrugged. He didn’t seem too bothered by it, but Mia knew that he liked to be as efficient as he was able to be.

Liam stopped before a door at the end of the hallway and turned to look at Mia. “You look beautiful. If I was straight, I’d go after you myself. You’re a major catch, and he’s lucky you’re interested in him. Keep that at the forefront of your thoughts, okay?” He gave her a serious look and she blinked in surprise.

“Now? I’m meeting him now?” she asked, her heart leaping into her throat. Liam opened the door and her mouth went dry as she followed him in, feeling her heart beat so fast that she was certain she might get dizzy and pass out.

“Mr. Daniels, good morning,” Liam said, walking over to the large dark wooden desk.

Mia followed Liam in and stood with her chin up and her heart pounding as she stopped beside Liam. The man behind the desk looked up at them and smiled, his eyes moving from Liam to Mia. He took her in for a long moment, and she knew that he was reading her as he gazed at her. He was reading everything about her. It was something that she herself did when she met new business clients or possible dating prospects. She gave him a smile as his eyes stayed on hers and then flicked swiftly over her body and back up to her face.

She could not believe how closely he resembled Mr. Big on the television show Liam had mentioned. It was uncanny. He was broad-shouldered and well-built. He had thick, dark hair that came down in a slight widow’s peak at the top of his forehead. His eyes were warm and brown, though his eyebrows were thick and black like his hair. He had a straight nose and a passive smile on his mouth. There was one lock of hair that fell over the widow’s peak in a single curl, and it reminded her of Superman in a way.

He stood up and moved his eyes from Mia to Liam. “Good morning Liam, how are you doing?”

“I’m very well, thank you. I came to introduce you to my friend Mia James. Mia is here to assist me with some consultation work on the redesign today. You’ll be seeing her around today, and I wanted to make sure you were familiar with her. Mr. Daniels, this is Mia James. Mia, this is Alexander Daniels,” he said with a nod of his head and a smile.

She reached her hand out to him, absurdly aware of herself and of him. She tried to seem as professional and casual as she could manage, knowing full well that she might be coming across as trying too hard. “Please, call me Mia.” She smiled at him sweetly.

He took her hand and shook it firmly though gently. “It’s a pleasure to have you here with us today, Mia, and please call me Alexander.” He tilted his head slightly as he regarded her. “Do you know if you’ll be here at any point after today, or will this be your only working day here?”

She wanted to speak, but her throat closed up the moment she heard his voice directed at her. She had no idea how she was going to seduce him when she could barely speak. Liam smiled at them both and came to her rescue. “Well, Alexander, that depends on how close she gets to her goal.”

His double meaning made Mia’s stomach tighten just a bit more and she turned to look at him, giving him a sharp look along with a toothy smile. He ignored her subtle death glare and looked back at the man standing before them.