Free HIS Desire: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 1) by Sheila Kell Page A

behind her and takes her hand-me-downs.” She raised her eyebrows at the agents following Kate. “Ariana’s in her office, but she’s with someone right now.”
    Kate nodded. “I’ll just visit with some of the staff on my way to see her. There’s no need to announce me.”
    She enjoyed her visits with the staff at Ross. They were good people who had devoted themselves to the success of the business. She couldn’t thank them enough.
    “Go on up. Everyone will be glad to see you. I hope your hand heals soon.”
    She thanked Grace, and then took the stairs to the third floor and the executive offices. Her first stop being Lee Genovese, Executive Vice President, and Ariana’s right-hand man. He was a middle-aged man, average height with thinning black hair and beautiful olive skin. He had a small belly that Kate knew his wife Valerie was on him to get rid of. You could always count on Lee to lighten the mood in a room. He was intelligent and the most impressive man she knew.
    She entered his office and smiled brightly. “Hi, Lee.”
    A large smile stretched across his face. “Kate, it’s been too long. What’ve you been up to? Besides getting shot at.”
    She mentally shook her head. Did Ariana send out a company memo about it? “Just catching criminals.”
    “When are you coming to work here? We’d love to have you run things with Ariana.”
    Lee could run Ross Communication much better then she could.
    “I’m thinking about it.” More and more since I’ve been shot and may not have a choice .
    She chatted with him for a few minutes, laughing at his young daughter’s escapades.
    “Let me take some time to visit with others before I see Ariana.” They stood. “I’ll see you later. Tell Valerie hello for me.”
    “Bye, Kate. Don’t be such a stranger.”
    She pondered on her visit with Lee. He’d been extremely curious about whether they had any leads on who had shot her. She hadn’t realized her getting shot would affect everyone so deeply.
    Kate visited with the rest of the executive staff. They would be an enjoyable group to work with. They excelled at what they did and had fun doing it. But would it be enough for her? She sighed. It may have to be.
    “Ariana’s in a business meeting. Another station is making a pitch for her to purchase it. She’ll be glad for the interruption.” Tamara, Ariana’s assistant reached for the phone.
    “Don’t interrupt her if she’s in an important meeting.” It upset Kate when someone interrupted her during an interrogation. She wouldn’t do that to her sister.
    “Kate, you know her. If she doesn’t want to break up her meeting, she won’t. Besides,” Tamara frowned, “she wasn’t looking forward to this meeting.”
    “Well, okay. Let her know I’m here.” She moved to the elegant waiting area, admiring the two antique chairs that had been with the Ross’ since they’d founded the company. The scent of the lilies in the large floral arrangement drifted to her, bringing back memories of Kelly Ross. No matter what time of the year, her mother had required the florist to have lilies in every bouquet.
    In a few minutes, Ariana exited her office ushering a tall, thin, unhappy man out the door. Either he hadn’t swayed her into the purchase of his station or he had the worst pleased expression she’d ever seen.
    She walked him to the elevator before she returned to Kate. “Thank you. I thought that man was going to cry when I told him I wasn’t interesting in his station.”
    “Ariana, you can be so mean,” Kate teased.
    “Mean has nothing to do with it.” Ariana waved her hand. “It’s about business. I’ll read his proposal, but it’d best be better than his pitch if he wants me to buy it.”
    If Kate came to work at Ross Communication, she’d leave these types of meetings to Ariana. She didn’t think she’d be able to say no to someone who looked like they were going to cry. Maybe she was too soft for corporate America.
    “Are we