Chapter One I walked into the kitchen, inhaling the aroma of freshly baked bread. It was calming for me to be in here, watching the dough rise and then punching it down. I loved making pastries and all things sweet. Baking was my way of relaxing, of burying myself in something that made sense and couldn’t be broken. My mother had been a baker. She’d taught me all her secrets when I was growing up. We’d spent hours in the kitchen creating new recipes and talking about everything. I could tell her anything. She was my rock and my best friend. And then she’d died when I was fifteen, and my world had crumbled. I missed her every day. I didn’t know why she’d had to leave, but it wasn’t fair. She’d been healthy and strong. One day she was there, laughing and smiling, and the next she was gone. I would never forget that day as long as I lived. My dad had told me she was in a better place, that she was watching over me. But I didn’t want that. I wanted her here with me. I wanted her to see me graduate high school, go to college, get married. I wanted her to be there for everything. Instead, she was gone, and life went on. I’d worked hard to get a scholarship to college so that I wouldn’t have to depend on my dad for money. He’d given me everything I’d ever needed, but we’d grown apart after Mom died. We weren’t close anymore, and I couldn’t wait to leave. Which was how I came to be at my internship at McKinley Enterprises, a major consulting firm in downtown Chicago. I was majoring in business analytics at DePaul University, and this summer internship was going to look great on my resume. I’d just started working here a few weeks ago, but so far, I loved it. The pay was amazing, and the people were nice. Mr. McKinley himself was kind of mysterious, but he seemed nice enough. He was tall with dark hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through you. He hadn’t paid much attention to me so far, but that was okay. I didn’t need attention from anyone. I kept my head down and did my work to the best of my ability. When the bread dough was ready, I put it into a loaf pan and set it aside to rise again while I went to do some work for my dad. He owned a car dealership on the outskirts of town and hated doing his own paperwork. So he paid me to do it for him. I logged onto my computer and checked my email first. I had one from Mr. McKinley telling me that he needed me to meet him at his penthouse suite in an hour, which was strange since he never asked anyone to go there. It wasn’t part of our office building, which meant that either he lived there or he used it for something else. I frowned as I read the email again. Why would he want to meet with me? Was I in trouble? I couldn’t think of anything I could have done wrong. Mr. McKinley, I will be there as soon as possible—Julia I hit send on the email and then got to work on the files my dad had given me. When I finished with them, it was time for me to leave and meet Mr. McKinley at his penthouse suite, which was on the top floor of the office building, overlooking Lake Michigan.

Mar 13

Scenario: Julia Adams, a reserved data analyst who loves to bake, encounters Ryan McKinley, the mysterious owner of McKinley Enterprises, and their mutual attraction leads to unforeseen twists and turns in their relationship.

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Julia Adams, a reserved data analyst who loves to bake, encounters Ryan McKinley, the mysterious owner of McKinley Enterprises, and their mutual attraction leads to unforeseen twists and turns in their relationship.

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Chapter One

I walked into the kitchen, inhaling the aroma of freshly baked bread. It was calming for me to be in here, watching the dough rise and then punching it down. I loved making pastries and all things sweet. Baking was my way of relaxing, of burying myself in something that made sense and couldn’t be broken.

My mother had been a baker. She’d taught me all her secrets when I was growing up. We’d spent hours in the kitchen creating new recipes and talking about everything. I could tell her anything. She was my rock and my best friend. And then she’d died when I was fifteen, and my world had crumbled.

I missed her every day. I didn’t know why she’d had to leave, but it wasn’t fair. She’d been healthy and strong. One day she was there, laughing and smiling, and the next she was gone.

I would never forget that day as long as I lived. My dad had told me she was in a better place, that she was watching over me. But I didn’t want that. I wanted her here with me. I wanted her to see me graduate high school, go to college, get married. I wanted her to be there for everything. Instead, she was gone, and life went on.

I’d worked hard to get a scholarship to college so that I wouldn’t have to depend on my dad for money. He’d given me everything I’d ever needed, but we’d grown apart after Mom died. We weren’t close anymore, and I couldn’t wait to leave.

Which was how I came to be at my internship at McKinley Enterprises, a major consulting firm in downtown Chicago. I was majoring in business analytics at DePaul University, and this summer internship was going to look great on my resume.

I’d just started working here a few weeks ago, but so far, I loved it. The pay was amazing, and the people were nice. Mr. McKinley himself was kind of mysterious, but he seemed nice enough. He was tall with dark hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through you.

He hadn’t paid much attention to me so far, but that was okay. I didn’t need attention from anyone. I kept my head down and did my work to the best of my ability.

When the bread dough was ready, I put it into a loaf pan and set it aside to rise again while I went to do some work for my dad. He owned a car dealership on the outskirts of town and hated doing his own paperwork. So he paid me to do it for him.

I logged onto my computer and checked my email first. I had one from Mr. McKinley telling me that he needed me to meet him at his penthouse suite in an hour, which was strange since he never asked anyone to go there. It wasn’t part of our office building, which meant that either he lived there or he used it for something else.

I frowned as I read the email again. Why would he want to meet with me? Was I in trouble? I couldn’t think of anything I could have done wrong.

Mr. McKinley,

I will be there as soon as possible—Julia

I hit send on the email and then got to work on the files my dad had given me.

When I finished with them, it was time for me to leave and meet Mr. McKinley at his penthouse suite, which was on the top floor of the office building, overlooking Lake Michigan.

When I got out of the elevator, I looked around the lobby. One of Mr. McKinley’s security guards, Alec, was there waiting for me. I knew him from when we used to work at the same consulting firm in Chicago. He’d been one of Mr. McKinley’s bodyguards for a while now.

“Hey, Julia. He’s expecting you. Follow me.”

I nodded and followed him onto the elevator, which he made go to a floor that I’d never been on before. It was like the elevator was going to a private floor that had only one door. The doors opened, and Alec motioned for me to follow him again. I didn’t like this at all. I was used to going into an office with cubicles where everyone could see if you were there or not. This was creepy.

Alec knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, it opened. Alec motioned for me to go in first, but Mr. McKinley was standing right there, so I walked in. The door closed behind me, and I heard Mr. McKinley tell Alec that he’d call him when he was ready to leave.

I looked around the room in amazement. It was huge. The walls were sky blue, and there were gold sconces on the walls that held white candles. There was a grand piano in the corner and a huge fish tank full of colorful fish in the other one.

“What can I do for you, sir?” I asked Mr. McKinley as he came out of the hallway in a black suit with a red tie.

He didn’t answer me right away as he looked me over. He seemed nervous as he adjusted his glasses and looked down at his watch. “I asked you to come here because I need your help with something,” he said finally.

“Of course.” I nodded.

He motioned for me to sit on the couch, so I did.