just disappointing. Most of the female staff around here are breathless with anticipation at his arrival. And you act like it’s an ordinary day. You gotta give me something. Some small detail I can throw to them.”
“That’s just silly. He’s just the other Hammond heir.”
“Right. A mere handsome millionaire who not only has claim to half the largest retail toy company in North America but also made gobs of money on his own.”
She did have a point there. Justin’s life story so far was a bit on the exceptional side. She was about to begrudgingly admit to that when a small commotion outside her door drew both their attention. Looked like Jocelyn was about to find out firsthand what she was so curious about. Justin had arrived. And he was causing quite a stir, no doubt with most of the female staff. Carli heard “can I get you anything, Mr. Hammond” more than once.
Jocelyn jumped to the door. “Ooh, he’s here.” She gasped. “And he’s heading right to your office.”
A strange sensation spread through Carli’s chest. Despite seeing several photos of him throughout the years, she had to admit he wasn’t what she’d been expecting. All the pictures hadn’t really done him justice. They hadn’t captured the soft, tawny hue of his eyes. Or the way his hair fell sloppily over his forehead. She hadn’t realized she’d noticed so much of him during those brief moments in the Hammond foyer earlier.
A quick knock on the door, and then Justin stepped into her office. He blinked in surprise when he saw her. “You?”
What was that supposed to mean? Did he want her out already? Genuine surprise registered on his face. Was he here to lay claim to her office, having expected her to vacate it for him already?
Too stunned to speak, Carli was relieved when Jocelyn stepped up to him. “Mr. Hammond, I’m Jocelyn Sumner. We weren’t expecting you so early. The meeting isn’t until nine thirty.”
He hadn’t taken his eyes off Carli. She resisted the urge to look away from the intense stare.
“I figured I’d get started,” he answered Jocelyn. “I’m looking for the person who put this together.” He held up the file of papers Carli dropped off less than an hour ago. “I was told this is their office.”
Carli finally found her tongue. “It is.”
He blinked at her. “Can you tell me where to find him now?”
Him. “You have,” she answered, deliberately omitting further clarification. Let him hang in the wind a bit.
He lifted an eyebrow.
“I’m the one who put it together. I was dropping it off this morning when we...met.” She added some emphasis on the last word.
Justin’s eyes grew wide as understanding clearly dawned. Jocelyn stood between them, her gaze switching back and forth as if she were watching an exciting tennis game.
Justin cleared his throat. “You did this?” he asked, indicating the file in his hand. “It’s, uh, very thorough. Very impressive.”
Carli tried not to bristle at his surprised tone. How very insulting. This man didn’t know a thing about her. But he’d made his initial judgment already. She wasn’t surprised. Men like Justin always came to the most obvious conclusion when it came to her.
How disappointing that he was so typical.
GREAT, JUSTIN THOUGHT as the woman across the room shot daggers at him. He hadn’t realized this morning that she worked for the company. He’d managed to offend one of Hammond’s employees on his first day back in town. No, make that his first hour back.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Well, you needn’t look so surprised. I’m a project manager at Hammond. I can put together a business report.”
“That’s not what I meant.” But what was she doing coming down from his father’s suite at that hour? He couldn’t be blamed for having jumped to the most obvious conclusion. And he still wasn’t sure he was totally wrong. But clearly there was more to the circumstances. “I’m just surprised to see you here, that’s all.”
“This is my office. Of course, I’m here.”
“Not here, in this room. Here at the company.”
She merely quirked an eyebrow. A gesture that seemed to add a haughty quality to her features. Her almond-shaped eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Several tendrils of hair escaped her tight bun and framed an olive-shaped face.
Not classically beautiful, but she was striking in an unusual and rare way.
And her figure—he didn’t even want to go there.
“Never mind,” she declared, and stepped around her desk. “My name is Carli Tynan. I’m regional project manager for Hammond Retail. James hired me, but I work more closely with Jackson.”
He reached his hand out to shake hers just as she said, “You, of course, need no introduction.”
Her tone suggested she didn’t mean that in a complimentary way. “Nice to meet you.”
She pointed to the file he still held. “Is there anything you’d like to go over?” This woman was all business. Regardless of what she’d been doing at the mansion earlier, he had no doubt she was an efficient employee who clearly had things under control.
“I made a few notes, things that I wouldn’t mind some further clarification on.”
She indicated the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat. We have some time before the meeting.”
Justin hesitated. He wasn’t used to being ordered around; the feeling made him uncomfortable. As did the incessant echo of Christmas music playing in the lobby.
“Would you mind if we closed the door?” he asked her, already walking to it.
“Any particular reason?”
“I can’t focus with the cursed Christmas tunes playing in the background.”
He shut the door and turned back to find her studying him with curious eyes. “You have something against Christmas music?”
“Christmas is one day. But for some reason the whole world is burdened with listening to those blasted tunes for weeks on end. That doesn’t happen with any other holiday, now does it?”
“Christmas is hardly like any other holiday.”
“Only because the whole world insists on dragging it out. It’s one day, yet we insist on calling it the holiday season.”
“Some would argue it’s at least twelve days,” she countered.
Clever, she’d referenced another Christmas carol. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those types. The ones who make their shopping list in October. You pull out the tree and decorations as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is consumed. Am I close?”
“And what would be so wrong about it if I was?”
He shrugged. He wasn’t going to try to explain it. Christmastime around his house as a young boy had usually meant the start of weeks of arguments followed by loud, drunken fights. With his father working long hours and his mother growing more and more resentful at his absence. Of course, there were problems throughout the year, but the holiday season seemed to bring out the worst in his parents. An excuse to purge their anger and throw everything in the open. By the time Christmas morning rolled around, he and his brother were more than ready to have it all over with. Even the toys weren’t enough to make up for the turmoil and chaos.
How had they even gotten into this conversation anyway? Justin wondered. All he’d asked was to shut the door so he didn’t have to hear the music from the lobby. He