When I realized I’d been staring and I hadn’t taken his hand, my face flamed in embarrassment. “Oh, right, I’m Billie,” I told him as I placed my own sweaty palm in his cool one and grimaced before hastily pulling it back. “Billie Nichols.”
This was supposed to be my new start and it felt like I’d already totally ruined it. How on Earth was this guy going to take someone as nervous and clumsy as me seriously? He probably thought I was totally wrong for the job and I was going to get fired.
Oh God, I’m going to get fired, I thought as I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. I could feel my nerves jittering under my skin. The man in front of me – Quentin – didn’t look impressed at all. Although, his expression was blank, his eyes were narrowed and evaluating as they looked me over.
“Come with me, Billie,” he said after a few seconds of silence and then proceeded to move past me and toward the office door I’d been staring at just moments ago. The sight of him walking away wasn’t any better than seeing him up close. His ass looked fantastic in his slacks and I cursed myself for having already made a fool of myself.
I followed behind him meekly making short footsteps and letting out a sigh. I couldn’t believe I’d screwed up so badly already. I definitely wanted to just melt away in a puddle and disappear so I didn’t have to deal with this anymore. But then I thought about how my mom had called me brave before I left my hometown and I knew I couldn’t give up. Even if I was fired, I had to at least try, for myself and for my new start and for my mom.
“You can sit here,” Quentin told me with a gesture toward the chair opposite his desk. I did as I was told and sat down while he rummaged around in the closet behind the desk.
“Ah! Here it is,” he exclaimed as he pulled out a crisp white shirt and held it out triumphantly. “Just give me a moment please, Billie.”
I nodded and he disappeared behind a door to the right which looked like a private bathroom from the quick glimpse I saw while the door was open. Just how rich was this guy? I knew the wine business here was doing well, but I didn’t really know all that much about profits and sales. I was still a little out of my depth here and I worried that it showed.
Soon enough, Quentin re-emerged in his fresh shirt and took his seat behind the desk. “So, I’m going to guess that you’ve not even seen Peter yet?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.
I nodded my head, feeling shy and nervous. I was sure that even if I did attempt to talk that nothing would come out—or worse, I’d say something to embarrass myself further.
“Great, great, great,” he muttered to himself as he shuffled around a few pieces of clutter on the desk. Eventually, Quentin uncovered his desk phone and let out a sigh of relief. I watched as he began to dial a number before leaning back in his chair and holding the receiver of the phone between his shoulder and his cheek.
“Oh, hey, Peter!” he exclaimed with a small smile after a few seconds. “It’s Quentin. How’s it going?”
I stared down at my hands which were dangling uselessly on my lap, feeling awfully out of place. Just who was this ‘Peter’ guy? And what did Quentin want him to come here for? A chilling thought echoed throughout my mind. If Quentin was that desperate for Peter to get here, then maybe he’s a security guard.
I gulped. Oh, no. Maybe I’m going to get escorted out.
“Yeah, I’m in my office right now. Yes, she’s here. Can you come join us? Okay, see you soon. Bye now.” Quentin hung up the phone and looked across the desk at me once more. His eyes were assessing as they moved down my body and I even though I was freaking out a little, I couldn’t help but hope that he liked what he saw.
Oh my God, Billie, what is wrong with you?! I chided myself before feeling my cheeks flood with heat. As if I hadn’t embarrassed myself enough, I was actually starting to fantasize about my new boss! It was actually mortifying and I kind of wished I could just curl up into a ball and die.
My self-destructive thoughts were interrupted, however, when the door behind me creaked open. I let out a small gasp, having been lost in my imagination, and I turned to see who had entered. It was unbelievable. Not only did I have a crazy handsome man sit directly in front of me, but another gorgeous guy walked in behind me! They were different, of course. Quentin had blond hair and green eyes while the man who had just entered had dark hair and blue eyes. He also looked younger than my new boss and a little leaner, but aside from that, I couldn’t help but think that I was dreaming.
“What the hell do they put in the water up here in Napa?” I whispered to myself.
“What did you say?” Quentin asked with an inquisitive expression.
“N-nothing.”
He stared at me for a long moment before finally looking over at the person who had just entered and was waiting patiently by the door. “You’re looking well, Peter,” Quentin commented with a smile.
Of course, that’s Peter. My whole body began to tense up as I imagined being hoisted out of my chair and thrown from the building. I really didn’t want to crawl back home to my mom. Not now. Not when I finally managed to escape.
I’d managed to totally zone out and miss whatever conversation the two men in the room were having. It was only when I heard my name mentioned that I realized I wasn’t paying any attention.
“Okay, so it’s decided then,” Quentin continued. “Peter, you can escort her to her office and answer any questions she may have. Once you’re finished, make sure you come back here. I have a lot to discuss with you.”
His tone was brief and sharp. The fact that he didn’t even use my name once didn’t escape my notice. Clearly, I’d already gotten off on the wrong foot with him and I was determined not to ruin things even further. As such, I pushed up onto my feet and turned, heading toward Peter and the door.
“Nice to meet you, Peter, I’m Billie,” I said in a quiet, polite voice before offering him my hand.
“Peter Isso, I’m the Front of House Manager here,” he said as he shook my hand. “Let me show you to your office. I’ll see you later, Quentin.”
The two of us left the room without another word from the boss and I could feel my muscles relax as soon as I was out of the tense atmosphere. Peter began striding forward out of the main office and toward a door I hadn’t noticed before.
“This will be your new home away from home,” Peter explained as he pushed open the wooden door and ushered me inside. “We’ve already got a computer set up for you here with a desk and a chair as you can see, but you’ll need to adjust the seat yourself, if you have any problems with that just let me know.”
I nodded as I took a few steps inside and admired my new surroundings. The room had oak furnishings and a large window overlooking the vineyard. I approached it and peered out to see the sun shining on the green vines. The place was beautiful and I couldn’t believe this was my new workplace. It made me feel even more determined to salvage the bad start I had with my boss.
“You can leave your things here while I take you on a tour of the building,” Peter told me as he hovered near the door. “I still need to show you the fire exits and walk you through the amenities we have here on site.”
I nodded. “Sounds great.”
Even though I’d gotten a glimpse of the fields on my way in and from the view in my office, it was nothing compared to being out amongst the vines. The purple fruit hanging from each one looked absolutely delicious and I desired so badly to reach out and grab one. I imagined how sweet and juicy it would taste when I first bit into it. However, I restrained myself. The last thing I wanted to be accused of was stealing the produce.
I’d missed something that Peter was explaining while I’d been zoned out and so, I turned back to him and just nodded politely. All too soon, we were already walking back inside since Peter had only taken me outside to demonstrate where the fire exits were. Even as we walked back to the building, however, I couldn’t help gazing out over the growing fruit with a smile.
Life here just might be nice after all,
I thought. We re-entered the lobby and I looked over at Peter with an inquisitive expression on my face.
“Do you enjoy working here, Peter?” I asked after a moment.
“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” he admitted to me. “Why do you ask?”
I sighed before turning back to him with a smile. “I want to find the place where I belong and this place is so beautiful, I…” I trailed off before shaking my head. “It’s silly.”
“No, please, carry on,” Peter encouraged.
“This place is so beautiful; it all feels like a bit of a dream.”
“Well, if it was a dream, surely you’d be getting paid more,” he commented with a laugh.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.” My pay was more than fair based on my experience and compared to my previous salary, but he was right in some aspects. This place wasn’t perfect. My boss was problematic already. If it was a dream, everything would have gone smoothly. No, this was my reality and it was time to make or break it.
Peter led me back to my new office once the tour was over and I let myself relax back into my new office chair. With a quick press of a button, my computer began roaring to life and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into whatever new systems I’d have to learn in order to complete my job. I was distracted looking at the screen when I heard Peter clear his throat.
“Um, I’ll just get going back to Quentin then. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay, thanks, Peter. I’ll see you later,” I said. As soon as the door closed behind him, I breathed a long sigh of relief and closed my eyes for just a moment. This is it, Billie. You’ve got this, I told myself as I began to click through the menus on the computer to find the programs I needed to begin organizing the accounts. It was familiar and comforting though the products were different, but it didn’t matter. Numbers were numbers no matter where in the world I was and that was enough.
4
Quentin
It took longer than I expected for Peter to come back to me. I began to wonder if our new accountant had too many questions or whether Peter had forgotten about me altogether. In an effort to distract myself from thinking about the new curvy member of staff, I put my head down and focused on my work. By doing so, I’d managed to accomplish twice as many tasks in half the time. Thankfully, there wasn’t much that needed attending to and I’d completed everything that needed to be done from the office. Everything else could be accomplished from home.
It was an appealing idea to finish up my work from home. I let my gaze fall to the picture of Lincoln that I kept in a dark oak frame on my desk. It was taken on his second birthday and he was still so small in the picture as he clutched at his old baby blanket. His hair was much shorter and darker than it was now, but his eyes were still the same shade of emerald green. He’d grown almost double in size now and I kind of missed the days when he was younger.
With my child occupying my thoughts, I half-heartedly began overseeing the first mock-up of a new advertising campaign that I’d been sent by a member of our marketing team. “When you dine, do it with Wendall Wine,” I read aloud before grimacing. “No, no, no. That won’t do at all.”
After sending back a rather stern e-mail to the marketing department, I engrossed myself in my next task, then the next and the next and the next. I glanced at the clock and noticed that time had flown by. Lincoln’s day at nursery would be coming to an end in just a few minutes which meant that if I did head home, I could spend more time with him like I’d promised. It was certainly more appealing than hanging around at the office and it would keep my mind off of the newest accountant who seemed to be the last thing I needed right now: a complication.
It wasn’t like I enjoyed slacking off, but I did feel guilty about leaving Lincoln with a nanny so much. It wasn’t right for a kid to spend so much time with someone who wasn’t family, but I didn’t have much other choice. Being a single dad was hard enough already even without the guilt I inflicted on myself.
Since Lincoln was the most important person in the world to me, he came first in all my decisions. I worked hard to give him a lovely home, every toy he could ever want, and trips all around the world. Yet, I still felt it wasn’t enough.
“I wonder if I’ll ever feel like it’s enough,” I muttered to myself before flicking through more documents on my desk.
In the end, I resolved that it wasn’t very often I could sneak out like this, so I had to take the opportunity where I could. Just as I was beginning to pack my belongings back into my suitcase, Peter showed up. He knocked on the door before entering and then he made his way toward my desk. His hands were on his hips and he was a bit short of breath like he’d practically run all the way here.
“Well, I have to give it to your parents, they sure know how to pick ‘em,” he commented with a smile before rubbing at his chin.
The remark caught my attention and I looked up, worrying about what might have happened between them. Had it been a bad move to hire her? Was she already making mistakes? My heart was pounding in my chest as anger began to swell. It felt like I’d never be able to rely on an employee ever again. Not after…
“Don’t look so worried, Quentin,” Peter said, interrupting my downward spiral. “I mean, she’s clearly a little out of her depth here, but it’s nothing we can’t help her with. I’d say that she’s a little too sweet for her own good and she’s definitely timid, but if your parents hired her, I’m sure they knew what they were doing.”
I grumbled and Peter laughed. He always did find my grumpy attitude to life humorous, much to my own dismay. Still, he was the best friend I ever had, and he was serious when I needed him to be. When Lincoln’s mother left me, Peter had been the one to help keep me going. In a lot of ways, he was like a brother to me, so if I had to put up with a little bit of teasing, it was worth it.
“Seriously, Quentin, don’t run her off. We need an accountant desperately and good ones are hard to come by. Let her prove herself before you dismiss her,” he implored before sitting down in the chair opposite me. “What do you have to lose by taking a chance on her?”
Everything, I thought to myself dismally as I dug my nails into the edge of my desk.
Peter leaned in and took in my vague expression before rubbing his chin in contemplation. “Come on, Quentin, be honest with me. What’s going on here?”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Peter had been my best friend since middle school, and I knew I could trust him with just about anything. So, I scrubbed a hand over my face and leaned forward conspiratorially before speaking in a quiet voice. “Honestly, Peter, she’s gorgeous. You can’t tell me you didn’t notice,” I confessed before sighing and dropping my head into my hands.
“Yeah, she’s a looker all right, I’ll give you that,” he admitted with a nod. “I did think she was your type when I first noticed her.”
“Right?” I agreed in an exasperated tone. “I’m meant to be the boss, not some horny teenager who has trouble keeping his hands to himself. Not only is it completely inappropriate, but even if I ever did decide to do anything about it, it’s not like I really have any time to myself to do things like date.”
“Whatever you say, man,” Peter replied with a shrug.
“And what does that mean?” I questioned, feeling my hackles rising.
“You know what I mean.”
Peter’s eyes were looking right through me. He was right, of course. It wasn’t just my extremely busy schedule that kept me from getting close to somebody. I had been burned pretty badly before, but it wasn’t an easy thing to admit or talk about—especially at the office. It was part of the reason why I was so closed off and unwilling to let anybody new in.
Besides, the new girl, Billie, had really riled me up. I was already in an awful mood before she’d spilled her coffee all down my brand-new shirt. That kind of stain was going to be impossible to remove which meant more shopping and I didn’t have the time for that. I hadn’t intended to be so short with her during our fir
st meeting, but I was already hanging by a thread, Billie just happened to be the last straw.
“Regardless,” Peter began again, “she’s here now. You need to talk to her. Be nice and find out just what made your ‘rents hire her, okay?” Peter reached over the desk to pat my shoulder comfortingly. “Get to know her, but don’t sleep with this one, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied with a nod.
“I’ve got a meeting with a catering company in ten minutes, I need to go get set up. Are you going to be all right by yourself up here?” he asked with a sincere expression.
“Of course, I’m always all right,” I answered, shrugging his concern off like I always did.
“So you say.”
Before I could even respond, Peter had already stood up and headed out of the door. For a few minutes, I just sat staring down at my hands and thinking about what to do next. I’d wanted to avoid the problem so badly and now, I was conflicted. I’d been planning to head home and occupy myself with my son instead of getting caught up with Billie, but what would that really solve? If I was a real man, I’d be able to face the challenge head on and stop hiding, at least, that’s what I told myself.
With a sharp nod to myself, I lifted my phone from the desk once more and I began to dial the extension for the accountant’s office where Billie should be. As the phone began to ring, I held my breath, waiting for her to answer. After a few rings, I heard a scuffling before a surprised, “Hello?”
I’d been foolish to think that calling her would be easier than seeing her in person. I already had the image of her burned into my mind and as soon as I heard her sweet, musical voice, I was hooked again. My nails dug into the palm of my free hand and I willed myself to calm down before I totally lost control of myself.
I took a deep breath to steady myself before I spoke. “Hey there, Billie, it’s Quentin again,” I started as nonchalantly as I could possibly manage. I unclenched my fist and began to distract myself by idly tapping my fingers against the desk. “Are you settling in okay?”
Forbidden First Times: A Contemporary Romance Collection Page 41