Chapter 9. Sam

Mr. Whitaker was the sort of man who commanded the room without saying a word. Sitting behind his desk, his face freshly shaven, his dark hair perfectly styled, he seemed to fill up every space in the large room without opening his mouth, taking all of the oxygen away from Mia as she stared at him from the entryway.

She’d remembered to knock—that was something. He couldn’t be angry at her for that. So why was he staring at her with such a narrowed gaze? Mia cleared her throat and said, “You wanted to see me, sure? I’m Mia. The new secretary.” She wasn’t even sure if he had had a say in hiring her. She hoped he had. It would be odd if he didn’t even know he had a new secretary.

Sam leaned back in his chair and yanked on his royal blue tie, though it didn’t seem to loosen any. “I know who you are, Mia. Come here, please.”

Mia came over, not sure what she should do when she got there. Two chairs sat on the side of the table closer to where she was standing, but he had