Free Forsaking Gray (The Colloway Brothers Book 1) by K.L. Kreig Page B

talked.
    Umm…didn’t they have those clicker things for that?
    But that’s not why my body’s revolting against me. No. It’s not the fact that I’m not capable of hitting the little forward arrow on the computer when Wes is ready to go to the next slide. It’s not the fact that I’m sitting in a room of very powerful, very good-looking men, where I am completely out of place, because not only am I the only female, I’m also the only assistant in attendance. And it’s not the fact that this is the very first important business meeting I’ve ever attended.
    Nope. It’s none of those things.
    It’s the fact that Gray Colloway’s two brothers, Asher and Connelly, now sit across from me at this long table, staring. Fire’s blazing out of Asher’s sockets so hot, I wouldn’t be surprised if I spontaneously combust. And Connelly’s sitting stock still, concern and confusion wrinkling his forehead. The tension in the room is so thick it hangs like a dark, menacing raincloud, threatening to blast me with ten thousand volts of death wielding electricity any second.
    When Asher and Connelly walked in together a few minutes ago, they were laughing and bantering, as I’d always fondly remembered, but the minute they saw me, they both froze. As did I. Asher’s loud voice made me jump when he yelled, “What the fuck is she doing here?” Um…ditto.
    Connelly, always the more laid back of the two, quickly calmed him down. I heard him quietly tell Asher this wasn’t the time or place.
    So while all of this was nightmarishly bad, what had me feeling like I could spew the bowl of Wheaties I had this morning for breakfast was that if Asher and Connelly were here, the chances were high that Gray wasn’t far behind. And why were they here to begin with? In my research, I knew HMT was recently acquired by a holding company. And then suddenly it hit me. Gray, Asher, Connelly, GRASCO Holdings. Holy Jesus.
    “Where’s Gray? He’s never late to these meetings,” Asher asks, accusing eyes never leaving mine. Everyone senses that something is wrong between the three of us, but no one dares ask, including Wes.
    Connelly pulls out a cell phone and dials quickly. “Bonnie, where’s Gray? He’s late.” After a short pause, he adds, “Okay.” He shoves the phone back into his pocket. “He’s finishing up a call, then he’ll be here.”
    Holy hell.
    I break Asher’s stare and look down at the table, but I can still feel all eyes upon me. I can hardly breathe. This cannot be happening. This is both everything I’ve wished for and my worst possible nightmare all at the same time. I’ve thought of nothing else but Gray’s heated stare and the warmth of his hand on my bare skin since I saw him at the fundraiser. And any second now he’s going to walk through that door.
    I have to quit. Or I’ll be fired. Either way, this is my last day at HMT Enterprises because after Gray walks in and sees me here, there is no way he’ll let me stay. Or that I can stay. I can’t possibly work in the same building as he is every single day and wonder each time I walk around the corner if he’ll be there. Or every time I walk into the gym, if he’ll be shirtless, pumping iron. Or when I step into the elevator, if he’ll be waiting inside.
    Gray is the most persistent man I’ve ever known. My defenses will hopelessly crumble at my feet, and I’ll do something foolish, like tell him everything. And I can’t do that. He can’t know.
    Oh God. Blood thumps loudly in my ears, and it’s hard to pull enough oxygen into my lungs. My life was finally looking up and suddenly it’s crashing down around me into a million shattered pieces again. Reluctant tears sting my eyes. I fight with everything in me to hold my shit together.
    “Livia, are you okay?” Wes asks softly, placing a hand over mine. “You look white as a ghost.”
    I swallow hard, unable to answer through my constricted airway. Just then, the light chatter in the room