She still wasn’t sure how and why he’d gotten the promotion over her, but it was obvious he didn’t know what the hell he was doing and was working her to death to make himself look good. He piled project after project on her, and she wasn’t taking it any longer.
“Yes, I need to see you, Mr. Matthews.”
That was another thing she had to get used to. He’d once been her peer, and everyone in the office had called him by his first name. As soon as he’d been promoted, he’d met with everyone individually to let them know he wanted to be called Mr. Matthews.
“Please, have a seat,” he said, checking his watch while doing so, as if the thought of her even being in his office was infringing on his precious time. To do what? Close himself in his office to practice his golf shots, like it was rumored that he did all day.
Kennedy sat down on the chair in his office. Glancing out the window, she thought the same thing she did every time she came in here — he had a nice view of downtown St. Paul.
“So, Ms. Bennett, what can I help you with?” he asked, smiling, although his expression looked more pretentious than genuine.
“I just wanted to hand you this in person,” she said, taking a single sheet of paper out of the folder she was holding.
He read the document and suddenly, one of his bushy blond eyebrows shot up. “You’re resigning?”
“Yes.”
“But, why? How?” he asked, seemingly quite flustered. “There are a number of projects you’re working on. Projects that will be due in a couple of months or so. Important projects. You can’t leave.”
She could and she would. Kennedy refused to let him work her to death and then take all the credit any longer. She hadn’t left the office at a decent hour since he’d become her boss. She dreaded coming to work every morning because she never knew what new project he would unload on her, even before she’d finished the last one. Enough was enough. This job wasn’t worth losing her peace of mind over, no matter how well she was being paid.
“I am leaving. I start my new job next month,” she said. The truth was, she didn’t have another job lined up yet, but he didn’t have to know that. She’d sent out resumes to several companies. So far, the only interest had come from a relatively new agency. The starting salary was a lot less than she was making here, but at this point, money didn’t matter. She had enough in her savings to tide her over for a while.
Thankfully, the bank had quickly gotten the error corrected in that credit report and had financed a new car, so she had dependable transportation. Her father had even suggested that she open her own advertising company, even offering to come on board as an investor. She appreciated him believing in her abilities.
“Where will you be going when you leave here?”
As far as she was concerned, that was none of his business. All he needed to know was that she was leaving Rivers. “It doesn’t really matter where I’ll be working, Mr. Matthews. All you need to know is I won’t be here.” Standing, Kennedy added, “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get back to work.” She turned to leave.
“I expect all your projects completed before your resignation date.”
He’d assigned five projects to her, and there was no way she could finish all of them before leaving. For her to even try meant she’d be working day and night. They both knew that. She turned back to him, coming close to telling him where he could shove those projects. But she didn’t.
Instead, in a very professional tone, she said, “That’s why I’m giving you four weeks’ notice instead of the customary two weeks’, Mr. Matthews. I will finish the Mayer project since it is due before my last day. However, I suggest you reassign the others.”
He glared at her for a long time and then asked, as if grudgingly, “Is there any way I can get you to extend your time? At least until all the projects are finalized? You have a very good relationship with those clients. Most want to work with you and no one else.”
“I feel certain they will accept whoever takes my place. And there is no way I will extend my time. Good day.” Without saying anything else, she walked out of his office, relieved that her days working here were limited.
As she rounded a corner, she bumped into what felt like a solid wall. She dropped the folder in her hand, and her papers went scattering to the floor. “Sorry about that, miss,” a deep male voice said, before a masculine body stooped down to gather her papers.
“That’s okay. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she said, staring down at a broad back covered in a nice business suit.
“Neither was I.”
The man stood, and when she looked into his eyes, she suddenly felt dizzy. He had “his” eyes — the eyes of the bank robber she thought about a little too often. “Here you are,” he said, handing her back the folder.
When she continued to stare at him, he asked, “Are you okay?”
She blinked, trying to clear her head. “Sorry, you remind me of someone…it’s your eyes.”
He lifted a brow. “My eyes?”
“Yes, I know that sounds crazy but…” She thought it best to stop while she was ahead. It did sound crazy. A lot of people had dark brown eyes, so why had this man’s reminded her of the robber she hadn’t been able to forget.
“Nothing sounds crazy these days,” he said, offering her his hand. “I’m Haddison B. Wolf, head of security here at Rivers.”
She nodded. So, this was the guy all the women had been whispering about, the new guy to head security. It seemed the whispers claiming he was an extra dose of eye candy were true. He was tall, definitely well-built, looked good in his business suit, and was undeniably sexy.
His features were sharp and accentuated his smooth mahogany-colored skin. And she definitely liked his neatly trimmed beard. It seemed to make his lips that much more pronounced…and tempting.
Jesus, how could she think such a thing! She quickly glanced at his hand. When she didn’t see a wedding band, she breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t been fantasizing about some woman’s husband.
She took the hand he offered and did her best to ignore the feel of blood surging through her veins when their hands touched. “Nice to meet you, Haddison B. Wolf. I’m Kennedy Bennett. I’d heard Theo was retiring. We’re going to miss him around here. He’s such a nice man.”
“Yes, Theo will be a hard act to follow, but I intend to do my best.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m on my way to a meeting. Again, I’m sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he said.
“I’m to blame, as well. No harm done. Thanks for gathering up my papers for me.”
“No problem. I hope to see you around, Ms. Bennett.”
He then quickly walked off. Kennedy couldn’t help but turn to study him as he went. He even had a purely sexy walk and looked even more imposing from behind. Now she understood why the women were calling him “Mr. Sexy-on-Legs” behind his back. He was definitely one impressive-looking man.
And he had “his” eyes.
She’d become physically turned on by them. There was no denying it. The moment she’d looked into Haddison B. Wolf’s eyes, she’d felt something immediate and spontaneous. Just like she’d done with that bank robber. Was her body programmed to come alive whenever men with that particular eye coloring looked at her? That couldn’t be the case — she knew other men with dark brown eyes. Nothing happened when she looked into them. What was so unique about this guy’s eyes, and those of that bank robber’s?