There was a time I would have loved to hear him say that, but while I was flattered, his choice of words concerned me. The way he’d compared me to Tom made me wonder if he was planning to play me off against my brother.

I held eye contact. “Where are you going with this?”

“Here’s my suggestion.” His tone was low and rumbly. It sent a shiver through me. “Work here for a month. If, at the end of the month, you don’t agree that your father’s company would be better off in my hands than Tom’s, then I won’t take it over.” He stacked his hands one on top of the other on his desk. “That simple.”

“Excuse me?” What on earth was he up to? “What makes you think I’d agree to work for you?”

Ronan

I nearly had her.

“I made the reason clear enough. You want to keep the company in the family because you think that’s the best thing for it. I respect that, but I believe I’m the best person to run Lennox Securities—as an extension of King’s. I think you’ll come to see that too, if you give me a chance. I’m willing to take the bet.”

Her nostrils flared, and I could see her warring with herself. If she were completely certain Tom was managing the company well, then she wouldn’t have been struggling so much internally because it would have been a no-brainer. The fact she was watching me with mistrust showed her lack of faith in her brother, whether she realized it or not. I studied her, wondering if Tom knew she was here.

“Do you actually have work for me to do?” she asked, as though that was her biggest concern. Perhaps it was the only one she could articulate. She straightened her back, and her jaw squared in determination. Fuck, that was sexy. “I think you’re playing games, but if you’re not, and you’re telling the truth, then you should know that I value my job, and I’m good at it. I don’t want to leave Lennox Securities—even temporarily—just to run errands and get coffee. If this is about humiliating me, fine, but come out and say it.”

I smiled, enjoying her spark. “It’s not. We don’t have any social media, and I’ve been meaning to arrange for someone to set up accounts and build a following but I haven’t gotten to it yet.”

It was true, although I could’ve happily left it for another year or so. We got plenty of clients by word of mouth—especially once Tom had burned them.

Her lips pressed together. “Okay, yeah. I could do that. But don’t you want to hear my qualifications?”

I raised a brow. “I already know them.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but then she nodded. “I should have expected that.”

She nibbled on her lip, drawing my attention to the plush pink bow of her mouth. Damn, she was beautiful when she wasn’t in a cleaner’s uniform. Her clothes were tidy but demure. Nice, but not designer. The exact kind of thing I’d expect from someone who worked in her position, but not what I’d expect from the Lennox heiress. But then, I was beginning to realize that Willow wouldn’t fit neatly into any of the boxes I’d tried to assign her.