Chapter Photo credits: Unsplash.com / Ricko Pan

Zachary Steele missed his friend, Ann. Ever since his mentor left, things had felt off. Maybe the problem wasn't Ann being gone, but him.

Some things have been going extremely well. Ethan Cunningham signed on as his newest client. At his lunch with Kendall, Roche-Sumner finally agreed to negotiate with him for Tina Mauer's first book. He had spent the afternoon going back and forth, trying to hammer out a deal. His compensation was commission based, so it was in his best interest to negotiate as much money as possible. Prior to signing Cunningham, he didn't make significantly more than his base salary. It was more than when he was Ann's assistant, but he was grateful to have other funds to supplement his living expenses.

Lilli was a mystery. She baffled him, because she was at ease talking to everyone except him. He had really made a mess of things with her. Then he insulted her sharp tongue. He found her wit entertaining. Worse than the insult, he let his guard down and acknowledged how beautiful she was. Her confession had baffled him while she was out on Saturday night. He didn't know what kind of bar she was in, because every guy in the place should have bought her drinks.

Zach remembered the first time he laid eyes on her. He knew about her, because Ann returned from her meeting at Roche-Sumner Publishing, telling him the story of Kendall chastising her assistant in front of her. The odd thing was, he had spoken to her occasionally as Ann's assistant. She was professional, but ended every call quickly. He imagined her older and was surprised when Ann said she offered her a job, because DMLA assistants were always eager new graduates. For one thing, they didn't pay enough for an experienced person to want the job.

When he strolled into Ann's office on Lilli's first morning, he was certain he drooled. She stood with her back to him. All he saw was a narrow shirt and legs that never ended. She pinned her hair up, which highlighted her long neck. He shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. She turned and stared at him as if he were an imposter.

"I'm just going in to see Ann. She's expecting me." He was so rattled he didn't even introduce himself. He shut Ann's door, and she asked what was wrong. They had never met behind a closed door. "You didn't warn me." When Ann failed to respond, he blurted, "About those legs."

Ann laughed and teased him for having a schoolboy crush. It was not a crush; it was a grown man's lust. Over time, she became an enigma. She was highly proficient at her job, a skill his assistant lacked and the one after. Chelsea was the third in a string of assistants, and she was better than the other two put together. All the clients loved Lilli and Ann only had praise. Zach always witnessed the quirky side of her. She was the total package — looks, competence, kind and quirky. She was every man's wet dream, and he had the privilege of seeing her five days a week.

He regretted asking for Lilli to be his assistant. Not because she wasn't good, but because he kept upsetting her and causing her undue stress. She was fixated on Olivia when he kept wondering about the guy who hugged her at Ann's cocktail party. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Her dress highlighted every blessed curve she had. Olivia teased him nonstop and tried to tell him she was looking at him, too. A lucky son of a bitch got to feel her curves against his body while Zach looked on. It was probably the guy with the British accent who called her phone.

He told himself he was thinking irrationally, because she had complained about being ignored by a bar full of men. If he wasn't making a mess of things with Lilli, he was busy obsessing over the online author who rejected them. He didn't have to ask himself why he liked her story. The answer was obvious. It was the story about his personal fantasy — a boss and his assistant. While there was no agency policy against a relationship between staff, he couldn't tell Lilli how he felt. The girl acted weird enough around him without the uncomfortableness of finding out her boss mentally undressed her at every opportunity, like when she bent over to put on her high heels in the morning. The list was long, but the image he struggled to forget was the one he saw only once. It should be the black dress she wore to the party, but it was her jeans and tee shirt she wore to pack Ann's boxes. The cotton shirt highlighted her breast and her ass looked better than in her tight narrow skirts.

He stood to stretch his legs, while he was waiting for a response from the people at Roche-Sumner. He was beginning to be addicted to Leo's chocolate but liked it best when Lilli brought him a piece. Could she be any sweeter? He walked into Chelsea's office and was surprised to see her working.

He heard voices as he reached for a milk chocolate. "Is he meeting with someone?"

"Yeah, but it's just some guy with Lilli."

He felt a clenching in his gut. But as of a few days ago, she had no boyfriend. "Some guy?" As in a boyfriend? That couldn't be right.

Zach told himself not to because it was rude, but he stood in Leo's door. He liked his new colleague. Leo was older with kids, but he didn't treat Zach like a kid. Austin remembered when Zach was an assistant.

"Sorry. I was just going to tell you I've made progress since lunch yesterday."

"Good. Do you know Matthew Clark? Lilli was a gem and arranged an introduction."

His synapses clicked, and he saw a kid's adventures series. "The author?"

The man nodded. "Guilty."

He was the British Matthew who had phoned Lilli. "I didn't realize the two of you knew each other."

Matthew smiled. "She's been my mate, ever since my editor sent her to keep me in line on a book tour." He laughed. "More like the right side of the road. Then I moved to her hometown. I know her quite well."

Leo said, "Matthew's agent is in our London office, but we've been discussing my LA connections. I was just about to ask him to sign my daughter's books."

"My pleasure."

Leo said, "Your Lilli is Zach's assistant."

Zach formed a fist at 'your Lilli'.

Matthew nodded. "You're in excellent hands with Lilli One."

"Lilli One?" They had nicknames? Zach didn't want to think about that. Here he had assumed she was single.

Matthew wore a wide grin. "Did you know your Lilli was my first friend in America?" Zach liked the phrase better when it referred to him. "I'll sign these books and find Lilli. Leo, I'll be meeting with Imogen on Thursday. We can sort something out, I'm sure. What's your daughter's name?"

Zach stepped outside. Chelsea was looking at her phone. "Working hard."

"I keep waiting for my favorite author to announce she has an agent."

He shook his head. He needed to figure out how to convince her.

Matthew appeared. "Could you take me to Lilli?"

When the two men stepped into her office, Lilli looked at them with a frown. For a happy girl, she often frowned, especially when deep in thought. She recovered quickly and flashed Matthew a bright smile that caused Zach to tighten his fist.

Turning to him, she asked, "Where were you? You missed your call."

He had stepped away for five minutes, ten tops. His business mind kicked in, and he wondered what it meant if they were replying to his latest counter so quickly. He would have to find out.

"Matthew, nice meeting you." He held out his hand.

Matthew firmly shook his hand. "You should come have a drink with us."

Zach's gaze moved to Lilli, who had her frown again. He desperately wanted to know what made her frown, but was afraid it was him.

"Maybe, if I finish this business first."

"Brilliant." As he walked into his office, Matthew said, "Nice guy. I like him, Leo too."

Zach couldn't hear Lilli's response. He could hear her laughter from time to time as he waited on hold for the publishing company's lawyer to take his call. He was just as glad it wasn't JJ. Negotiating with an old friend would be awkward. Maybe JJ was staying away from DMLA negotiations for the reasons Zach was uncomfortable. The relationships in and between Roche-Sumner Publishing and Dwyer Mitchell Literary Agency were incestuous.

Zach would like to think it was his hard work and skills that gave him his position, but he used his connections to get the corner office and the best assistant. Austin knew it, but was too laid back to care. The older man specialized in nonfiction and looked more like a professor than a businessman. He wore v-neck sweaters to the office. Zach needed to prove to more than just himself he could succeed as an agent. He would take a first step and do something he normally wouldn't do. He planned to contact Rejectedwriter directly.

Zach had used his influence to get Lilli for his assistant, but he had only made a mess of things with her. Maybe he should go for a drink. A relaxed atmosphere with a third party might be exactly what they needed.

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A/N I never follow the rules. I should have brought you Zach's POV long ago, but here it is at chapter 14 😊