Imperfect Match (Elixir Bachelor Billionaires #1)

“I told them only because I was in an ethical dilemma.”

“Of course you did! Why would you talk to me about ethics? Since I don’t have any.”

She’s about to turn around and storm out of the room, when I tug on her forearm, pulling her back. I didn’t anticipate the move, and she smacks right against my chest.

A puff of her breath lands on my neck, and it sends a pulse shooting down to my cock. I immediately pull back, dropping my arms from her body as if touched by fire, and for a second it feels like so.

She feels like fire, igniting all the unfamiliar emotions within me. But I realize my mistake the moment I look at her wide eyes.

“I don’t have cooties that you can’t be near me.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I don’t care what you mean.” She stomps.

“Daisy, wait.” This time, I carefully hold her hand, keeping a safe distance between us. “You’re misunderstanding me.” She’s about to say something, when I add, “Sorry. I mean, I’m not explaining it right. Just hear me out for a second. Please.”

“Are we in one of my dreams where you behave like a gentleman, since you’re apologizing and saying sorry and please all in the same sentence?”

My lips twitch. I stow the information that she dreams about me for later, even if it’s not the real me in her imaginations.

“Unfortunately, it’s all real.”

“Why hasn’t Jimmy released a press statement, then?” She perches on the edge of the couch.

I hate that my palms turn clammy. This is the first time I’ve been in a meeting without preparation. In this moment, I miss the pink Post-it notes that she attaches to meeting files, scribbling details about clients in her flowy handwriting. They always come in handy when I want to turn a meeting going south in my favor.

“Why do you leave me Post-its with personal notes about the clients? I don’t remember asking for that.” The question escapes my lips before I can fully process it.

“What?” Her dark brows pull together.

When I don’t say anything and simply wait, she shrugs.

“When I joined the company, I noticed you get tense on the first meeting with a new client, so I started researching them online and making notes for you. They seemed to make you calmer, and since you never objected, I assumed you found them helpful.”

My head hangs low before I look back at her. “I…I can’t believe I never said this until now. Thanks.”

Her eyes widen to a concerning degree before she says, “Can you just stop being this polite? You’re weirding me out!” Her gaze flies to the blank TV screen. “Plus, what does that have to do with all that?”

I shake my head and take a deep breath. This is Daisy. The person I’ve spent most of my time with in the last four years. I don’t need notes on her. I should fucking know her already.

“Is your mental monologue over?” She tips her head to the side, and I can’t keep my lips from twitching.

“I didn’t know you know me so well.”

“Unfortunately, more than I want to, boss.”

“Okay, here it goes. You’ve already seen how the media believes you’re either my secret love interest or fiancée?”

“But I am neither.”

I’m hoping you’ll be much more.

“But everyone else, including the board members of Hawthorne Holdings, thinks otherwise. In the next board meeting, they all want to vote in my favor for the next CEO position. It seems my committed status has much more value to them than my capabilities as a businessman.”

Daisy leans back in her seat. If anyone outside my family understands the significance of this for me, it’s her. She’s worked with me all these years, making sure all the business deals have been successful, inching me a step closer to take over the family business. And now it seems everything is within my grasp, but only when I’m reaching out to get it with her by my side.

“Wow. I…I can’t believe this. This is huge, Charles. This is what we’ve been wanting for…forever.”