Beginnings (Brady Trilogy) (2 page)

Holly hell
. It’s like cupid had backhand slapped her hard right across the face. She couldn’t remember ever facing a man this gorgeous oozing with sex appeal. She quickly became embarrassed by her own racing thoughts and uncontrolled breathing. Luke felt a quick pang in his stomach as the odd yet very attractive woman breathlessly stared in his eyes. From a distance he hadn’t noticed how beautiful the brunette with the strange behavior was. She had the largest brown eyes he had ever gazed upon and long brown hair. She stared up at him with her hair half blown in her face and her lips lightly parted. For a brief moment they just gazed at each other with their breaths caught at their throats. Isabel’s heart started beating faster when she realized the man with the God-like face still held his arm tightly wrapped around her waist. As if reading her mind Luke released her quickly. She was stunned by her instant attraction towards a complete stranger.

“You should be careful what you leave out in the open around here
.” He gave her an easy smile quickly wanting to ditch the awkward moment of just standing there and holding her. “These seagulls are more like vultures with the first sight of anything edible.”

Isabel looked at her destroyed bag of
snacks the so called vultures had demolished. Still feeling a bit dazed she didn’t reply right away. Just great, her first encounter with a stranger in a new city just had to be with a strikingly good looking man.
She didn’t have a social life, how was she to speak to Mister Sex Appeal. And why the hell is he in a suit?

“
You ok? You still seem pretty shaken up by it.” Luke asked in concern.

       
              “I’m ok I just had forgotten about the cardinal rule when it came to seagulls. It’s been a while since I've been at the beach.” She finally managed to give a friendly smile back.
              He suddenly realized she had a warm pleasant smile but her eyes remained intense. “Not from around here?”
              “I guess you can say that.” Isabel laughed trying to cover her embarrassment as the stranger gave her a quick glance from head to toe. “I moved to San Diego two days ago.”
              “Oh? Where from?” Luke had to get back to his office ASAP and couldn't understand why he was so interested to make small talk with the brunette. He was known for romanticizing beautiful women without much effort but he never let anyone, especially a woman, take away valuable time from his responsibilities. Other than his family, there was nothing more important than B. Pentagon. But for some reason he wasn’t rushing back to his duties.

“
I moved from L.A. Long story short quite my job, put my condo up for sale, packed my bags and now here I am.” she smiled nervously. Then panic hit her hard when she realized once her condo was sold there would be no going back. She also didn't know why she was standing here telling a perfect stranger her personal business. But perfect he was. The more she looked at him the more she realized how utterly attractive he is. His green gaze could burn holes anywhere he looked and they were currently leaving burn marks all over her face.
Wow this man was intimidating
. But he suddenly looked familiar. She had seen this face before she thought as she concentrated to place a name with the face.

"
Oh wait. Wait I know who you are." She spoke a bit too loudly. So she
had
seen this face before. A girl didn’t see a face like that and forget. She dived, hands first into the salvaged pile of magazines, grabbed Times Corporate Man and began flipping through the pages frantically. "Here it is. That's you isn't it?” Isabel held the article up for him to see.

Luke
grimaced as he stared at the article his PR manager had convinced him to do about America’s top young corporate leaders. And way at the top he was. Luke was still annoyed with Rick for convincing him it would be good PR for the company. Maybe it was after all. “Uh yeah that would be me.” Luke gave Isabel a wide grin.

“Wow that’s amazing.” Isabel replied. “You must be proud of your success.”

“Well yeah it has its advantages.” Luke laughed. “I’m sorry I didn’t even introduce myself even though it seems there’s no need now. But none the less I’m Luke.” He offered his hand.

Isabel shook his hand enthusiastically “I’m Isabel. Sorry about the whole seagull thi
ng I overreacted running here. It’s great to meet you.” She laughed even though she was mortified knowing she must have looked like a mad fool.

              “No problem it’s no big deal. So you said you quit your job?”
What the hell was he doing?
Why did he even care to ask? Rick was going to be in his office with their new client for a meeting in about an hour and he was standing here, in his suit, making small talk with a half-naked woman.

              “Yes I did. Now I’m unemployed and don’t know what the heck my next move is.” He could tell she was tense from saying it. She seemed like the type who organized her life down to the very last detail. Now she had made an impulsive judgment to leave everything behind and start somewhere new.

              “Well I guess it’s a good thing I ran into you then. I’m currently left to find an immediate replacement for my assistant. You can come to my office with your resume for a quick interview.” Luke was surprised at his own impulsive judgment.
Did he just offer a job opportunity to a woman in her bikini?
And not just any job but the position of being his personal assistant? Which required spending every waking moment of his office time with her. The sun must have fried his brains because he much rather have asked her out to dinner.

Isabel
’s stare showed she was just as stunned. “That would be wonderful actually. Wow, yes, yes that would be great thank you.” She silently cursed herself for sounding like a blabbering idiot instead of the professional woman she actually was.

“
It’s settled then. Come by my office tomorrow, two in the afternoon and we can go from there.” He said as he pulled out his business card and handed it to her. “My building is walking distance from here.”

“Ha. That explains the suit.
” Isabel snorted and turned blood red. Luke bit the inside of his cheek to not laugh. She seemed a bit quirky but he liked her honest reactions.

“Oh and even though our office is a few
steps from the beach it’s still business attire so leave the bikini at home.” He knew his comment might embarrass her but felt a little entertained at the sudden way her cheeks burned red again. He stuck his hands back into his pockets and strolled off the beach. Highly inappropriate comment he thought. Luke shook his head as he headed back toward his building. What was it about the beautiful brunette that made him act absurd? 

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The
following afternoon Isabel debated if she should take Luke’s offer. Was it smart to work for a man she was outrageously attracted to? It was ridiculously bizarre considering she’d barely had a few minutes with him. Just what exactly was he implying with that bikini comment she wondered as she stood in front of her closet fussing through her clothes. She couldn’t tell if he was hitting on her or being serious.
This is ridiculous
she told herself. It was probably the easy going lingo at San Diego. She was too accustomed to the stuffy old farts she worked with at the law firm that she forgot what a sense of humor sounded like. Obviously she knew how to dress for an interview. The man showed up to the beach in suit pants for crying out loud. She sensed two very different personalities from that man. Easy going yet strong minded. Whichever form it was that decided to offer her the job interview she was grateful. It’s not as though she needed the money right away. She had saved a bundle and would be getting a nice chunk once her condo was sold. Not to mention her mother was excessively wealthy and Isabel had a massive trust fund since a young age. But none the less she had to work. Not only to make a living on her own but also to occupy her mind from the loneliness she felt deep inside. She remembered telling Joanne, her mother’s real estate agent, she didn’t care to wait to find the highest bidder and to sell it to the first person with a reasonable price. She wanted the condo sold as fast as she wanted to forget L.A and put it behind her. First thing would be to keep busy with a new profession and leave the last one buried deep where it belonged. She was twenty-six years old and had never been more eager for a new beginning.

“Time to get your life back on track Isabel.”
She looked in the mirror and smoothed out her navy blue pencil skirt that lay a few inches above the knee. The cream colored silk blouse she had chosen made a marvelous contrast against the dark blue and fit snugly against her skin. Appearance mattered a great deal to Isabel. She always made sure she was in her best business attire before heading to work.  One of the perks for working at a high-status law firm was the salary allowed her to splurge on shopping frequently. With her daily exercises and balanced diet she maintained a very good physique. She’d recently shed a bit of weight due to her lost appetite but she was determined to become healthy again. She needs to develop a healthy appetite and not lose any more weight. And her sheer smooth skin she could thank her mother for the great genes. Combing her long layered brown hair with her fingers, it laid passed her shoulders. Making last minute touches to her makeup she grabbed her keys and resume and headed out. Fifteen minutes later Isabel found herself standing in front of the sky scrapper B. Pentagon building. She walked into the enormous lobby with polished gray marble floors and was greeted by the receptionist who informed her Mr. Luke Brady was located on the top floor.  The massive B. Pentagon logo dominated the wall behind the main desk.

Walking out the elevator
on the top floor, Isabel notices the modern design of the entire office. For one thing the room was brightened with exquisite colors. The walls were draped with enlarged magazine front cover ads and framed pictures. The office was pleasingly loud, workers on the phones arranging deals, others hovered around desks laughing and discussing plans as papers were passed from hand to hand. She felt as if no one had noticed her walk into the room. Then all of a sudden she noticed a young woman with a curvaceous body, long black hair and a wide smile hurrying towards her.

“You must be Isabel.” The woman said and
swiftly took Isabel’s hand in both of hers. “Hi I’m Rachel Greyer, Mr. Brady’s assistant. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Isabel
Stamos, pleasure’s all mine.” Isabel smiled back at the enthusiastic woman.  So this is the person she is hoping to replace.

“Mr. Brady is finishing up a conference call.  Why don’t we walk to my desk and I can get you some coffee in the meantime.” Rachel led Isabel down towards the back of the building. There were two long rows of desks, no cubicles, leading to one main office in the back center with large double doors closed. Isabel assumed it must be Luke’s.  Rachel’s desk was the closest to Luke’s office she realized.

“No thank you Rachel I’ll pass on the coffee.” Isabel smiled and looked around the rest of the top floor. It was nothing like the quiet, conservative firm she was used to. 

“Mr. Brady your two o’clock appointment is here. Great thank you.” She heard Rachel hang up the phone. “He’s ready to see you Isabel. You can just walk through those double doors.”

Isabel took a deep breath while her hand hovered against Luke’s door. She quickly knocked and entered once she was welcomed in. Stepping inside she saw Luke sitting behind a large dark wood desk. He gestured her to come in as he hung up the phone, rose from his desk and walked towards her. “Hello Isabel. I apologize for the wait.” He shook her hand and pulled the chair in front of his desk. “I hope you found our location easily?” He asked as he returned back to his chair. The playful man on the beach from the day before was gone and replaced by a stern serious one.

“Yes it’s actually
quite close to where I live.” Isabel took a seat and placed her resume for Luke to view. She took a quick glance around his office and noticed the only thing that wasn’t of modern design was the large oak desk he sat behind. The entire back wall was a window view of the grand Pacific Ocean. Isabel was taken by the view of the beach behind Luke. She wondered if he stares out to the sea from his office the way he did yesterday afternoon. The rest of his office was quite spacious. On the left corner was a massive conference table. And on the right corner were black leather couches and lounge chairs placed around a glass coffee table. Near the couches was a fine built in bar with contemporarily styled stools.
Did anyone need this much space in their office?
She looked at Luke who easily belonged where he sat. He was wearing trim black slacks, black dress shirt and a nicely fit charcoal vest looking ever divine. He looked even more domineering in his office surrounded by the extravagant furniture. The place just screamed dominance and control. She wondered how many clients or women he entertained here and how often. He’d yet to make eye contact with her.

“Isabel Nicolette
Stamos.” Luke read the top line. His green gaze finally flicked towards her. “Greek?”

“Half.
From my father’s side.” Isabel said and got a faint look in her eyes. She usually did in mention of her father. Luke caught the look but thought it best not to inquire.