One More Kiss (Forsaken Sons Book 1) by Elizabeth Lennox (summer beach reads .txt) 📗

“Do you have any hobbies?” Lincoln asked, fascinated by the wealth of expressions that passed over her face.

“Hobbies?” she parroted, looking confused.  “Um…I don’t really…,” she paused, then her spine straightened again.  “I crochet!” she admitted excitedly.  “I love to crochet!”

He chuckled.  “What do you crochet?”

Her shoulders wiggled, and once again, he could see her enthusiasm for her project.  “Hats!  I don’t know why, but I love to crochet hats.”

“Interesting.”  The fact that she loved to crochet hats wasn’t as interesting as her reaction.  She looked as if she’d discovered the cure for cancer.  He liked that about her.  “What else?”

Her smile vanished and he felt like a true bastard because of whatever was going through her mind now.

His eyes lowered and he noticed that her fingers were tightly clenched around each other.  “I don’t really…well, I read.  A lot.  I really love to read!”

“What do you prefer to read?”

He saw the blush stain her cheeks and wondered about it.  But not for long.

“Well, I love romance, but also mysteries and espionage.”

“No non-fiction?”

She shrugged daintily.  “I’m sure there is a lot of non-fiction out in the world that is exhilarating.  Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan.”

He grinned, but more because she looked as if she’d just failed a test.  It was fascinating to watch her, he realized.  “Fair enough.  What else?”

She tilted her head.  “Does there have to be more?”

He looked at her, wondering what she did for fun.  Besides crochet hats, he corrected.  “I guess not.  Just asking.”

“Is my lack of hobbies going to discourage you from hiring me?”

Quickly, he shook his head, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on the desk and he put the baseball down in the nest of pens and pencils that he kept in a coffee cup.  “Not at all. Just wondering.”

“Good.  Because I don’t think that one’s personal life should have much of a bearing on an applicant’s prospects.”

“I agree.  You’re hired.”  He went on to explain the salary, which was twice what she’d made at her last job, plus full health care coverage, dental, vision, and matching retirement funds.  “So, when can you start?”

Kinsley blinked, not sure what to say.  She was hired?  Just like that?  Wasn’t he going to test her knowledge of technical terms?  Shouldn’t he give her a typing test?  She’d only told him her qualifications.  Wasn’t he going to do a background check?  A financial check?  Anything?!

“Don’t you want to check my references?”

“Nope.”  He stood up and stretched his arms up over his head before handing her a folder.  “Here are the employment forms, including a non-disclosure agreement.  Out of everything, this form,” he pulled out the NDA, “is the most important.  Everything that I do here must be kept completely within these walls.  You can’t even hint to your boyfriend, husband, fiancé, mother, father, sister, brother or best friend what I’m working on.”  With that, he walked out of the office.

Kinsley grabbed the file and hurried after him.  “Um…well…”

“Read over the forms,” he called out over his shoulder. “Then be back here tomorrow morning.  I’ll take you on a tour of the place, show you your office, and explain your responsibilities.”

She blinked, then realized that he was waiting at the door for her to leave.

Rushing through the door, she glanced around, reeling with everything he’d just told her.  “Yes.  Tomorrow morning.”

“See you at eight o’clock, Kinsley.”  He grabbed his leather jacket and helmet, and followed her out. “It’s going to be great working with you.”

A moment later, he settled onto his bike, flicked some switches, and the motorcycle roared to life.  He pulled the helmet and the leather gloves on and, with barely a nod in her direction, drove away.

Kinsley stood next to her sensible Prius, wondering if that had really just happened.  She’d been hired?  She’d gotten the job?  Well, that was…anticlimactic!  She’d arrived this morning fully prepared to regale the man with her past projects, explain how she’d created a more efficient office environment, and assisted her previous employers with her skills.  But he hadn’t asked about her past work history.  Just her hobbies?

“Darn it!” she groaned, closing her eyes for a brief moment.  “And I regale him with my crocheting!  Excellent way to impress the man, Kinsley!”

With a huff, she got into her Prius, carefully setting the folder onto the passenger seat.  Then she pressed the button on the dashboard that would start her car and, with much less fanfare than the motorcycle, drove away.

She’d gotten the job but…but what had she gotten herself into?

Chapter 2

Kinsley smoothed down the navy wool skirt, eager to start her first day and make a better impression than she had yesterday.  This job was…odd, she thought.  She’d done even more research on Lincoln Meyers last night and was completely fascinated.  There weren’t many pictures of him available, and those that she did find were fuzzy and distant.  The man definitely shied away from publicity.  But that didn’t stop the rampant online speculation about what the man was like personally.  Several of his previous mistresses had given glimpses into his personality, but when Kinsley had read those descriptions, she’d dismissed them.  None were right.  It was almost as if they were talking about a different person.  The women definitely weren’t describing the enigmatic, powerfully quiet man she’d met the previous day.

Even Carl had asked about Lincoln Meyers last night as she’d cooked dinner, but Kinsley had remembered his insistence on privacy.  Oh, Kinsley knew that he’d been referring to his projects.  But Kinsley suspected that Mr. Meyers didn’t want his personal life gossiped about either.  So Kinsley hadn’t said anything.  “I barely met the man,” she’d told her soon-to-be-fiancé over dinner.  Which was the truth.  They’d had a fifteen minute conversation.  In no way did that conversation give her