into yet.
“You’re not usually up for another couple hours, so it’s early for you,” I finally said.
“You sound disappointed.” He turned and leaned against the railing, lifting his coffee mug to those carved, sinful lips.
“Nope, not at all,” I lied, ripping my gaze from his and focusing extra hard on the words “lunch appointment” in my planner as my brain chanted abs, abs, abs. Given the amount of time he’d spent dragging me to the gym this week, it was easy to see why he was so cut.
Focus, Zoe.
“And why the hell are you dressed for church on a Friday?”
“I’m sorry?” I glanced at my classic, navy linen sheath and matching sweater.
Ahh, and so it begins. Another day of Nixon pushing every button I had. I guess it was better than him trying to get in my pants, but I wasn’t exactly his type. Nixon liked tall, model-thin lemmings who never asked questions in the morning. I wasn’t any of those things, which was exactly why Ben had charged me with this assignment.
The payoff would be well worth it.
“You heard me.” He tilted his head and gave me an appraising once-over.
“I’m dressed for work, not church. Because I’m working. You may have blown off your producer every day this week, but I can’t exactly do the same when it comes to Ben. Hush Note doesn’t just run on its own, you know.”
The skin between his eyes wrinkled. “So, you have to dress like Jackie Kennedy at eight in the morning while working from home?”
God, I hated him. Hated that smug look on his stupidly attractive face.
“First, that’s not an insult, and second, what would you prefer I wear to work? Something to match you?” I gestured from his toes to his torso.
“I’m cool with you going shirtless. I mean, you’re not exactly my type, but—”
“God, just go back to bed!” I snapped. Shit.
He chuckled, knowing he’d gotten to me, and my stomach tightened.
I never won with him.
“So really, what do you do out here every morning?” he asked.
“I check over my day, and yours.” Because how else would I know to let in the cute little blonde masseuse he’d scheduled for a ten p.m. massage?
“In a paper planner? You may as well break out the stone and chisel,” he challenged and took another sip. “And besides, it’s already in your phone. How many planners does one woman need?”
I scoffed. “The calendar on my phone is accessible to everyone at Berkshire Management. So even Been-here-two-days Tommy can log in and move things around. But this baby?” I pointed to my leatherbound love. “I’m the only one in control of it, so I know the why’s and when’s of an appointment being moved.”
He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“What?” I raised my brows at him. “When the service and Wi-Fi go out, I’ll be the one who makes my meetings. Watch and see.” There was nothing wrong with organization, especially when I spent all day working with creatives who had none.
If anything, I was making up his deficit.
“Riiight.” He sipped his coffee. “So now that you’ve been torturing me for a week, why don’t you go ahead and tell me why you drew the short straw.”
I blinked. “The short straw?” Every assistant at Berkshire had begged for this job.
“You hate me.” He rubbed his hand over his light beard. He’d stopped shaving three days ago.
“I do not.”
“Liar. You can’t stand to be around me, any more than I can you, so why sign on to be my nanny? You into S&M? Figure a little pain is good for the body, Shannon?”
I bristled at his use of my last name. That was the crap Ben did because he thought it kept his relationships with underlings impersonal, making it easier to fire people. Which he did. A lot. I was the first of Ben’s assistants to have lasted an entire year, and definitely the only one to reach four years.
“Well, Winters, my sexual preferences include anyone who isn’t you, and the rest is none of your business. But since you asked, I was the best option, and I’m dedicated to the band, so here I am.” My sexual preferences hadn’t mattered in the last four years since joining Berkshire Management. It wasn’t like I had a lot of time for a relationship, and I’d never been into one-night hookups, not that he’d understand.
His eyes narrowed. “You’re seriously telling me that you’re putting yourself through all this because you’re dedicated to the band?”
“What