Page 16 of Good Directions

Turning to Cary, she smiles politely. “Impressive.”

“There’s a reason Hayes is number one.”

“Damn right there is!” I nod solemnly but hold my arm up, giving him a high five. He hits my palm squarely with his, the loud clapping sound filling the lab.

“And what’s your role at Hayes?” she asks, looking me up and down.

The weight of her gaze on me feels good, so I stand still for a moment, enjoying the sweep of it along my frame. I probably should have put more of an effort into my appearance this morning, especially knowing we were expecting a guest, but the additional knowledge of an afternoon spent over in the packing plant influenced me to dress for comfort. Still, my jeans are clean, and my John Deere T-shirt doesn’t have any holes. So it’s not like I look completely unpresentable.

“I’m Anton,” I tell her, trying to keep it simple. Cary would have given her the rundown of Hayes, right? He must have if he told her to come to the greenhouse lab on her first day.

“Yes, I caught that part.”

“Hayes,” Cary adds on.

“Pardon?”

She looks to him, and then whips back around to look at me. I smile, trying to hold in my awkward laughter. Apparently I need to reintroduce myself. Or, well, truly introduce myself, as the case may be.

“I guess maybe third time is the charm?” I step into her, taking her hand, while fighting the urge to kiss her knuckles like some trusty knight. Instead, I give it a single shake. “I’m Dr. Anton Hayes, Vice President of Agriculture and Produce for Hayes Industries.”

Sawyer bristles, but I can’t tell if it’s because of my title, the fact that I’m a Hayes, or the bomb I dropped in that I also have a PhD. That last bit is something I tend to leave out of most conversations. It makes me sound pretentious. Which is a word only associated with my name when you search antonyms.

Squaring her shoulders, Sawyer shakes off whatever caught her by surprise. She still doesn’t smile as she squeezes my hand, but her eyes darken, meeting mine with an intensity that sends my brain reeling.

“Well then, Anton, it’s nice to meet you as well. I’ll look forward to being the one to solve your problems.”

Solving or causing?