He wondered what it would look like down.
His dragon even took notice, which never happened at work. Pretty, he said.
Eli cleared his throat. Now was not the time for him to get turned on. “Dr. Johnson sent you?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Please take a seat,” he said.
She sat on the edge of the seat and crossed her legs at the knee. Her heartbeat was quicker than it would have been if she were feeling relaxed, but she didn’t look nervous. She looked him right in the eye as she perched there, waiting.
“He mentioned your paper. Tell me about it,” Eli said.
She began to describe the details of her paper, and Eli listened, taking notes. He didn’t have to pretend to pay attention—he was enthralled by her ideas and the way she saw the topics.
It had been a while since he’d had an assistant who was just as interested in the work as he was. As soon as she stopped talking, he stared at her, completely captivated.
Not only was she into genetics, but she was smart, articulate, and passionate.
He did not tell her thank you and dismiss her. He found that he did not want her to leave his office. He wanted her to stay. He didn’t even care if they kept working. For the first time in his life, he was distracted enough to take a break from work.
He wanted to hire her right then. But that wasn’t professional. He’d only asked her one question. He got back on track, asking her the standard set of questions for anyone who wanted to work in his lab. She answered each one with confidence.
She was the perfect candidate.
“When can you start?” he asked.
She blinked a few times. “You’re hiring me?”
“Yes. You can start as soon as you’d like.”
A bright smile lit up her face. “Thank you.” She stood up and put her hand out. Eli did the same, and their hands met. “I appreciate the opportunity to work with you,” she said.
The feeling of her hand in his was electric. Her small hand felt just right in his larger one. He made himself let go. He was going to be her supervisor and hopefully her mentor.
Reluctantly, he stepped back. “I look forward to it as well.”
4
Ava
Back when she saw him speak at the lecture, Ava had thought that Dr. Bennett was gorgeous. But she had never been so close to him before. Now, she was in a small room with him and she couldn’t stop staring.
Even seated, she could tell how tall and broad he was. He’d taken his lab coat off and the sleeves of his cotton shirt were rolled up, showing off his forearms. His dark eyes were sharp, and they shone when he listened to her talk. His black hair was thick and shiny, and it touched his collar, curling just a bit. She wondered what it would be like to touch it.
Ava! He’s your boss now! Get over yourself. You’re never going to touch his hair.
Right. She wasn’t going to be touching him anywhere at all, other than his hand. And just shaking his hand was enough to send her heart racing even faster than it already had been. She’d been riddled with nerves when she arrived, but he’d given her an unexpected gift when he asked her to explain her recent paper. Talking about her work put her at ease. A sense of calm flowed through her body as her nerves faded away.
But as soon as she was done, the awareness came right back.
She would have thought he was good-looking even if he wasn’t the scientist she respected the most. But knowing that he was an expert in the field of genetics and that he’d dedicated his life to studying rare disorders made her infatuation all the worse.
Was it really a good idea for her to work directly with him?
Probably not. But she wasn’t going to give up this opportunity. She would learn so much from him. The opportunity was truly one of a kind, and she wasn’t going to squander it.
She even liked his office. The building was modern, but Dr. Bennett obviously wasn’t a minimalist. He had books and journals crammed together on every surface. Once she got to know him better, she’d have to ask if she could look through them. There were a few titles she hadn’t read yet.
“Would you like to meet the rest of the staff?” he asked.
“Of course.” She had finished all of her work for the day. She had an evening biology lecture, but that was hours away.
He moved to the door, opening it for her. “Thank you, Dr. Bennett.”
“Please call me Eli. All of my staff do.”
She nodded. That was going to be odd, but she would do her best.
He led her around the laboratory, introducing her to the receptionist and the secretary. Then, she met the other doctors and assistants. They were all friendly to her, but a few smirked. One of them, a fellow student at the university named Ashley, actually laughed out loud.
While Eli was talking to a colleague, Ava went to stand next to her work station. “What’s so funny?”
Ashley just shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”
“I really do.”
“Eli is so hard to work for.” Ashley glanced over toward him. “Don’t get me wrong, I really respect him. I even like him. But I wouldn’t want to be in your place.”
Ava snuck a look in his direction. He was speaking in an animated way, waving his hands around. “Why not? What does he do that makes it so unbearable?”
“If he sees you looking at your phone, he’s going to lose it.”
Ava frowned. “I won’t be looking at my phone.”
Ashley leaned in and whispered. “But you know, if someone texts or calls, you might.”
“I doubt it. Unless I’m expecting a pretty serious call, I’ll keep my phone put
