The One Left Behind (The One Series) by Lena Nicole Page A

self-consciously.
    “So what you’re saying is you would like a bowl of lettuce with Italian dressing?” he’s really smirking at me.
    “What can I say? I’m a picky eater,” I say shrugging my shoulders.
    Pierce quietly chuckles and places his order. “I’ll have the roast beef on rye and a salad with ranch dressing.”
    Pierce grabs my menu and hands them back to the waitress and thanks her.
    “So Pierce, I have to say I feel at a slight disadvantage when it comes to you.”
    “Meaning?” he gives me a quizzical look, I’m sure wondering where I’m going with this.
    “Well, you know so much about me. My job, my accident, where I live…”
    “Don’t forget how you only eat lettuce in a salad,” he says teasingly.
    “Haha very funny, I’m serious. You know so much already and I hardly know anything about you.” I look down and start to fiddle with my fork.
    “Ask me anything you want to know. Consider me an open book when it comes to you. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know as long as it doesn’t involve embarrassing stories about me,” he squints his eyes to emphasize his point as I look back up to him and it makes me smile.
    “Really? Anything?” I look at him skeptically.
    “Anything, I have nothing to hide, so ask away,” he leans back in his chair looking completely comfortable with whatever line of questioning is coming.
    “Okay, well you know I’m twenty five, about to be twenty six, how old are you? When is your birthday?”
    “Well, my birthday is April 17th so I just turned twenty nine last month.”
    I remember his business card said CEO. Twenty nine seems awfully young to accomplish such a title. He said I could ask him anything, so I guess that will be my next question.
    “I couldn’t help but notice the card you gave me that day on the beach said CEO. How did you become so successful by the age of twenty nine?”
    “Well, it was my dad and grandfather really. They were the ones who created Whitmore Enterprises.”
    “What exactly does Whitmore Enterprises do?”
    “It is a hedge fund company.”
    I blink a few times and say, “I’m sorry, but I’m not exactly sure I know what that entails. Can you give me a quick rundown on what that is?” I bite my lip trying to conceal my bewilderment.
    “Hedge funds are private, actively managed investment funds. They are open ended which allows the investors to either make withdrawals or additions to their investment. Investors can diverse in a range of markets. Our aim is to achieve a positive return on the investments no matter if the markets are sky rocketing or plummeting.”
    “I see, sounds stressful.”
    “It has its moments. Anyway, as I was saying my father and grandfather started this company together. When my grandfather passed, all his shares were left to my father, and when my father passed away, all his shares were left to my mom, Lexi, and myself. It was stated in my father’s will that I have one year to prove that I can handle the pressures of running a company solo before I get to properly take over as CEO of Whitmore Enterprises.”
    “So, you are like a CEO in training?”
    He looks at me in delight at my attempt to simplify his job title. He slightly chuckles which, in turn, makes me giggle too.
    “I guess I am. I never really thought about it that way. Jimmy, my dad’s right hand man, is running the company right now until my year is up. He is a very close family friend and tried handing the title over to me right away. He said he knew I would make my father proud and only make the business better. He said I had already proved myself in his eyes with all the work I’ve been doing to expand our offices to New York. I wanted to respect my father’s wishes though, so I’m doing it the way he wanted. Jimmy took it upon himself to have business cards made up and said it will save us money in the end by just putting CEO on it now, instead of having to order new ones in a year.”
    “I see. Jimmy sounds