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THE FIRST

I follow Michelle through to the boardroom, where the staff meeting is being held. This is the first time I have attended one of these meetings as they only happen quarterly, and I am somewhat surprised to see so many people in the room. So many in fact that the partition walls have been slid back from two of the meeting rooms to turn them into one huge space. As we file into the back, I glance around and realise that I definitely did not make enough cakes. But people seem to be happily sharing, so I breathe a sigh of relief.

I am just about to dart off to grab a coffee off the table when a voice catches my attention. There, standing at the front of the room is my mystery man. All eyes have turned towards him as he welcomes everyone to the meeting.

My heart plummets. This can't be good. I feel the heat starting to rise in my cheeks. Taking a deep breath, I lean over to Michelle’s ear and whisper, "Who's that?"

Michelle looks over at me incredulously. "That's Taylor Hudson, you duh-brain. You know, like the owner of the company?"

Oh shit. This is really bad. Not only does he know that I am the 'diet assassin', but I realise that the guy who turned me on so completely fifteen minutes ago is my boss. Well, technically not my boss because Eddy is my line manager, but now we are just about splitting hairs.

I am finding it hard to breathe, and I am sure the temperature in the room has just shot up by ten degrees. Michelle looks at me, curiosity burning in her baby-blue eyes. She may look sweet and innocent with her blonde curls and cute smile, but I know that she can be a shark if she smells blood in the water. And now I am her prey.

I desperately try to focus on what Taylor is telling us about market share and profit dividends in an effort to calm down. Not once has he looked my way, and I start to breathe normally, thinking that I can get through this okay.

"So thanks to all of you for making the effort to come in today, particularly all the sales guys who I know have come in from far and wide," says Taylor. Ah well, that explains all the faces I don't recognise. "And special thanks to our 'diet assassin'," he continues.

Oh my god! My breath catches in my throat, and I feel like I am about to throw up. It is all I can do not to bolt out the door, but that would make things too obvious. My eyes are glued to Taylor's face, trying to assess whether he is going to 'out' me. It is then that I notice he is purposely not looking at me.

"Without her, or him—I don't like to gender stereotype here…" Taylor continues with laughter in his voice, "Our Fridays would not be as tasty and we wouldn't get a chance to try such interesting concoctions." Phew. It takes me a moment to realise that I am safe.

"Well, that's about it for today. I have an open door for anyone who needs to see me this morning, so line up, line up," Taylor jokes, putting on a ringmaster's voice. As everyone starts to file out of the room, I glance across to Taylor, and there he is looking directly at me with a smile on his face. Giving me a quick wink, he then picks up some papers and leaves the room.

"What the hell is going on, Abby?" hisses Michelle in my ear.

"Not now," I murmur back. "I'll tell you at lunch." With that, I bolt back to my desk as fast as I can without actually running.

I slide into my chair and reach for my bottle of water with shaking hands. Sexy mystery man is Taylor Hudson, owner of Hudson International. An importer of exotic spices, teas and coffee, Hudson has made a mark supplying celebrity chefs, high-end restaurants, boutique shops and even royalty with unique blends not found elsewhere in the world. A relatively young company, Hudson has been operating for five years and in that time has grown to be a multimillion-pound business employing over 150 staff worldwide. This I know from the corporate literature, but I now realise that I never actually thought about the man behind the company. There are no pictures of Taylor anywhere, not even on the website, and I guess I figured he would be older, maybe in his forties. Certainly not the young man I encountered in the kitchen.

I find myself picturing his face. The dark chocolate brown eyes that stared so intently into mine. The gorgeous lips that made me want to stand up on my toes to kiss. The strong jaw. His spiky black hair, just that tiny bit long for the corporate world.

Get a grip, I scold myself. Yet even as I steer myself to start responding to my morning's worth of emails, my hand has a mind of its own, opening Google and typing his name. Milliseconds later, everything I wanted to know about Taylor appears before my eyes.

His biography informs me that he is twenty-five years old. Wow, only twenty-five and a millionaire with his own global company. I read about how his gap year and passion for exotic foods inspired him to start his company, Hudson International, with backing from his grandparents. I feel a stab of jealousy for having such a supportive family. As I scroll down, I come across images of Taylor with numerous girls, all with one thing in common: flowing silky blonde hair, tiny waistlines and legs that go on forever. In short, gorgeous, everything that is completely the opposite of myself.

Angry at myself for indulging in my cyberstalking, I quickly close down the window, which is just as well as Eddy chooses this moment to walk up to my desk.

"Morning, Abby," Eddy sighs, the bags under his eyes signalling another sleepless night in the Jones household.

"Hey, Eddy," I reply. "Bad night with Sophia, then?"

"Yeah, she pretty well screamed till 1:00 a.m. and then was up again at 4:00. Meg is shattered, and so am I." Eddy rubs his eyes, and I give him a sympathetic smile. A two-month-old baby with colic must be a nightmare.

"Anything I can do? I can go over and watch Sophia for you if you and Meg need a break," I offer. Eddy is a great boss, and I want to do anything I can to repay him for being so kind and helpful when I started three months ago.

"That's so kind, Abby. I will speak to Meg," he answers, a smile lighting his face. "But what I really need help with is a report. I have just been in with Taylor"—at the mention of his name I feel my spine stiffen, and my heart starts to beat a rapid tattoo in my chest—" and he is looking to start sourcing some nut mixes from Costa Rica." Eddy continues talking, oblivious to my inner turmoil. He outlines that Taylor has a last-minute meeting on Monday with Fortnum & Mason and pretty much needs a report on the global nut market as soon as possible.

"Could you give me a hand compiling the basic data today so that I can come in tomorrow to write the report?" Eddy asks.

"Um, aren't you going to Meg's mum's this weekend?" I ask Eddy, remembering Eddy's excitement at organising a surprise birthday night out for Meg. Eddy's face falls as the reality of the situation sinks in.

"Look, I have nothing on this weekend"—nor any other weekend, I think to myself—"I don't mind doing the legwork and pulling the report together and then emailing it to you so you can tweak it. That's if you think I am ready…" I trail off.

"Abby, you are a star." Eddy grins at me. "You are more than capable. If you don't mind, that would be great." With that, Eddy sits down and outlines what he needs me to research and how the report needs to be laid out.

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