Marrying the Billionaire - Macie St. James Page 0,7

clear Tim was reading that verbatim. It didn’t surprise Charlie, but the others in the room seemed pretty awed by the accuracy of her guess. She was getting quite a few wide-eyed stares similar to Tim’s expression.

“I’m curious to hear how a few others answered that question.”

Nicholas went around the room, having each pair speak to what inspired them. Finally, he looked at his own notepad.

“What do you think inspires Charlie?” Nicholas asked.

“Lists!” someone called out.

“Schedules!”

“Facts and figures.”

Nicholas turned, glancing back at Charlie. He gave her a half-smile before turning back to the group, holding up the notepad.

“She said you inspire her. The employees she helps every day. And that’s something I want to talk about.”

He walked over to the podium, setting the notepad down before heading back to the center of the room. Charlie could see his face from this angle, and she was struck, once again, by how good a speaker he was. All he had to do was stand there. His presence filled the room, making it tough to take her eyes off him.

“It’s about people. People are what inspire other people. You can say all day that you’re inspired by the thrill of fixing a piece of code that’s just not working. Or the excitement of seeing your paycheck show up in your bank account. But, when it comes down to it, what really motivates people is the impact their work has on others.”

Nicholas began pacing, and Charlie was suddenly aware that she was still seated in front of everyone. Still on full display.

“Let me ask you something.”

This was directed at Justin, who had been staring down at his screen again. Justin looked up as though he’d forgotten where he was. It was a little rude. Charlie knew all about her boss’s strict “no cell phones in meetings” policy, so she was surprised he was doing this to his good friend.

“How easy would it be to share those stories with your staff?”

Justin frowned, sliding his cell phone into his front jeans pocket. “Pretty easy.”

“Okay. We’re going to take a break and gather that information. Everyone, be back here in fifteen. Charlie, do you want to help?”

4

“Long day, huh.”

It was a statement, not a question, made to Charlie as they stood at the elevator. Nicholas had hoped to have dinner with Justin since they hadn’t spent time together in weeks—today didn’t count because it was work. But, not surprisingly, Justin had plans with Brooke. Brooke, whom he actually saw every single day.

Nicholas knew he was jealous—not of Brooke taking his friend away, but of Justin having someone he was so into that he’d rather spend time with her than anyone else. Nicholas wanted that for himself.

“Yes. Thanks for all your hard work. I think it made a difference.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors slowly slid open. Charlie stepped inside. As he followed, Nicholas couldn’t help but think, again, about how poised she was. Her confidence and grace were just…fascinating. It was hard to take his eyes off her.

“Usually it does.”

As soon as the words were out, Nicholas wanted to take them back. Just snatch them out of the air between them. The last thing he wanted to do was sound arrogant. But the reason Justin called him here was that his workshops often got results. There was even a series of videos online. To the world, he appeared to know what he was doing up there, but inside, he always felt like he was an actor playing a role.

“So…got big plans for the evening?” he asked Charlie as the elevator began its descent.

She looked at him. It was a look he couldn’t quite interpret, and he usually was pretty good at reading body language.

“Just the usual.” She faced forward again.

Okay, he had to ask. “What’s that?”

“I take my dog for a walk, have some dinner, and watch a little TV. Then I read until it’s time to go to sleep.” She shrugged. “Nothing all that exciting.”

She wasn’t kidding there. Nothing even the slightest bit exciting.

“It’s Friday night,” he said. Just in case she’d forgotten.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t go out on weekend nights?”

Maybe he shouldn’t make her feel bad about that. He definitely didn’t want to shame her. He’d planned on grabbing some pizza from the hot-and-ready place near his condo and heading home for a night of watching baseball until bedtime. He’d actually be less ashamed to admit he was going home to watch TV and read. At least a book would be involved. He couldn’t remember the last