He was a tall man. Around six foot two, and all of it honed without an ounce of fat to be seen. Broad shoulders, slim hips, dark hair cropped short and with a distinct wave in it. His mouth was wide with a full lower lip, his teeth even and white. He had a straight nose that flared at the end.
And those gorgeous green eyes beneath winged brows. Eyes that seemed to watch the world with a combination of intensity and guardedness that Fiona found…compelling.
Employee to employer, that was. She found him compelling as a brand new employer. ‘It will be nice to meet everyone, Mr MacKay.’
‘They’ll all be excited to hear you’re coming on board,’ he said. ‘And please call me Brent. You’re going to be all over a work site with me Monday morning getting grubby, so I think we can do away with the formalities. I suggest you wear jeans for that, by the way.’
As he spoke, a worker stepped through the front door of the building. A brisk May wind followed the woman in. Winter would officially arrive in another month. Out here in this suburb, further from the Sydney coast, it would get cold. For now, the weather just had a slight edge.
Fiona glanced at her employer. He had dressed for that edge in a tan button-down shirt over charcoal trousers. Business-casual. He should have looked less compelling than he did, but an aura of leashed strength and intensity came from him, was stamped on his face.
Please let me be equally strong and focused so I can do well here.
At almost twenty-six years of age, it shouldn’t still matter so much to Fiona that she be able to prove herself. Perhaps if her family had been a little more supportive, or believed in her at all, it wouldn’t have.
‘Thank you…Brent.’ Fiona breathed in the sharp blue tang of his aftershave and tried not to notice the warmth radiating through her clothing from his fingertips.
Brent led her deeper into the open-plan office area. ‘You’ll want to move out here to live, I assume, rather than try to commute? From the address on your résumé, I gather you lived in central Sydney while you attended your course.’ He paused before the first desk, introduced Fiona and waited while she exchanged a few words with another employee.
As they moved on again, Fiona nodded. ‘That flat-share in the heart of the city was convenient while I attended the graphic design centre. But I’d prefer to live close to my work here.’ She liked the idea of migrating to this outer suburb. It would be an adventure.
It would bring her closer to several of her friends who came from out this way, too. And of course it would take her further from her family, who were all based on Sydney’s North Shore, but she couldn’t do anything about that.
The thought gave her a hint of something rather close to guilty relief. ‘I’ll start searching for a place immediately. Hopefully there’ll be something available through a local real estate agent, or a listing in a shop window—’
‘We’ll discuss that once you’ve met everyone.’ Brent guided her through the room, pausing at this desk and that desk to present her to his other employees.
She did her best to remember names and position titles as each person was introduced.
Finally Brent led her to the kitchenette at the rear of the open-plan area. Two men stood almost shoulder to shoulder there. The youngest wore a business suit, the older outdoor clothes. They both watched Fiona and Brent’s progress across the room.
‘Fiona, meet Linc and Alex MacKay, my brothers.’ Brent gestured to each of the men in turn. ‘Boys, I’d like you to meet Fiona Donner, the company’s new graphic artist as of about—’ he glanced at the watch on his wrist ‘—ten minutes ago.’
The way he addressed the men held pride and deep affection. She hadn’t known he had brothers, but then her research for this job application had yielded very little of a personal nature about Brent MacKay.
‘I’m pleased to meet you.’ Linc shook Fiona’s hand and let go. ‘I run the chain of nurseries that, among other things, acts as Brent’s key supplier.’
Linc was a tall man with dark hair, grey eyes and the same lean build as Brent.
No. Not the same build. He was deeper through the chest than Brent, thicker set all over. The impression of a shared leanness actually came from something in his expression, in a measure of guardedness in the backs of his eyes that Brent had also revealed.
Fiona murmured a greeting. ‘I’m having trouble guessing who’s the eldest. You seem very close in age.’ As she said so, the lack of true genetic similarities between the men occurred to her.
‘Brent’s the eldest. Most people don’t pick up on how close we are in age…’ Linc gave her a slightly surprised look as he trailed off.
Before she could think about that, the youngest brother extended his hand.
‘I’m Alex. I run an export business near here, but I’m also a shareholder in Brent’s company. I hope you enjoy working here.’
‘I can’t wait to start.’ Fiona shook the young man’s hand and released it. The third brother was substantially younger than Linc or Brent. Early twenties, she’d have guessed, though that was young to be running a business.
Blue-eyed like Fiona herself, Alex had a square-cut jaw, broad forehead and mid-brown hair and looked nothing like either of his brothers. He also had a glint in his eyes that probably had women chasing after him.
Fiona wanted to know the nature of this family, how they all fitted together.
As for eyes, and glints therein, she only had eyes for her employer.
Well, she meant she was only focused on him. She was focused on her new job! She didn’t have ‘eyes’ for men generally, anyway. Her role was that of ‘everybody’s friend’ and she liked that just fine. It was much less stressful than getting into a relationship that would only end up disappointing her. Or, worse, disappointing the man involved. Been there, not interested in repeating that. It was enough having her mother’s criticism of all the faults in her ability to appeal.
Fiona turned to Linc. ‘Maybe I could take photos at one of the nurseries some time soon. I’d love to get some background material to use when I start working with my computer designs for Brent.’
Linc’s shrewd gaze examined her as he inclined his head. ‘That can be arranged for you.’
‘When there’s time for us both to go,’ Brent inserted, and fell abruptly quiet. His head twitched to the right and a frown swept over his brow.
Linc’s eyebrows lifted and Alex stared at his older brother before both he and Linc looked quickly elsewhere.
Brent’s entire body seemed to freeze then.
Uncertain of what she was sensing in him, Fiona said slowly, ‘I don’t need to visit the nursery if that’s not convenient. It was just a thought.’
‘It’s not a problem.’ Brent pushed his hands deep into his trouser pockets. ‘I was just—’
‘Distracted,’ Alex put in.
‘He lost his concentration,’ Linc said at the same time, and clamped his lips together.
‘I was just thinking,’ Brent stated, and frowned again. ‘I’ll make a day for us to visit Linc’s nursery, Fiona.’ Brent seemed to make a conscious effort to move on from whatever that reaction had been. ‘I’ll make sure you get to do that. It’s a good idea for you to take those photos, and I visit the nurseries regularly anyway to inspect the stock, keep the inventory fresh in my mind and see what new things Linc’s managed to find for me. It’ll be convenient for us to go together, that’s all.’
‘Well, thank you. I’ll look forward to that when it happens.’ Fiona nodded and relaxed a little. She hadn’t committed a faux