I shook my head again, more firmly this time. “It’s not my fault if you’re spending your money too fast. I’m not giving you any extra.”
I could see the anger come into her face, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I needed to walk away for good. Now. I stood up. “I don’t have to stay here and deal with this,” I said succinctly. “We’re not married anymore.”
When I made it back home, I couldn’t help but feel hollow. I yanked off my shirt and pants and flopped down on the couch in my boxers. I turned the TV on and then turned it off again. I felt antsy and restless, like I couldn’t focus on anything. My mind spun in an endless loop as I considered what I could possibly have done differently.
Was there anything I could do to make myself happy in light of all of this? I just didn’t know. At the end of the day, I had always expected that there would be more to life than this. But I didn’t believe that anymore, no more than I believed that Kelly had ever loved me.
5
Mindy
“So how are things going at the job anyway?” Risa asked as we waited in line at the taco truck that parked between our respective workplaces. I was on my lunch break; she was just about to head in for the early shift at the bar. We had made plans to get tacos together because it felt like we had been missing one another constantly since I had started the job.
“Can you believe I’ve been interning for almost two weeks now?” I asked, shaking my head. “It’s flying by.” I knew she could probably hear the trepidation in my voice when I said it. Six months would be over in no time at all, and if I didn’t manage to impress my bosses, then there would be no more design job for me. I was trying not to think too hard about that, at least not during my waking hours, but I kept having semi-panicky nightmares that I was doing something wrong.
Risa rolled her eyes. “Come on, I know you’ve got this,” she said. “Unless there’s something that you’re not telling me?”
I shook my head. “Nah, things are going pretty good.” I paused. “I’m kind of nervous about how today is going to go, though. I have a meeting with Adam Parker this afternoon.”
“The sexy boss?” Risa asked, her eyebrows climbing toward her hairline. “What did you do to swing that? And is this a professional meeting or a personal one?”
I gave her a look. “Professional, of course,” I said. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my internship. No matter how sexy he is.”
Risa sighed. “And that right there is your whole problem,” she said, shaking her head mournfully as she bit into one of her tacos.
I laughed. “Maybe,” I allowed.
“So come on, are you working on a project with him or what? Why did he call you in?” Risa pressed.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “That’s part of why I’m freaking out. I think it’s just that he wants to get to know all of us. Like, everyone that he has working for him. From what I can tell, he doesn’t really like delegating. He likes to be hands-on with everything that’s going on in the company.” I wrinkled my nose. “He’s a bit of a workaholic.”
It was something I had noticed over the course of the last week. I hadn’t seen Adam really at all, but I had noticed that no matter how late it was before I was heading out of there, the light was always still on in his office. A couple of times, I had gone to the bar to get a drink and had seen him come in way later than me, just about when I was on my way home each time.
One time, our eyes had met, and I thought I’d seen the barest hint of a smile there, like maybe he’d recognized me? But I couldn’t tell for sure.
“Anyway,” I continued, not letting my fantasies get the better of me, “Vera met with him the other day, but whatever happened, she refuses to say anything.”
Risa laughed. “I’m not surprised,” she said. “I liked her all right, but I can tell she’s definitely trying to compete with you for that job. Not that anyone can compare to my brilliant roomie, of course. She’s going to be disappointed.”
“I don’t know,” I said nervously. “Don’t you think it says something that she got to meet Adam first?”
“If it means anything, it’s that he’s saving the best for last,” Risa said confidently. She peered at me. “I’ve never known you to be this down on yourself before. What’s up? Is it the job or the guy?”
“The job, not the guy,” I retorted. “This could be my big break into the design world. Jobs like this don’t come around every day.”
“Sure,” Risa said, but I could tell she wasn’t buying it.
As though I needed anything else to worry about. I was already afraid that I was going to make a less than stellar impression with my work; the last thing I needed was to be worrying about my likability as well. Still, I decided to let the conversation lie there. I changed the subject, and even though I was sure that Risa knew just what I was doing, she graciously allowed me to do so.
Lunch was over all too quickly. I felt like we had barely had a chance to catch up at all. Things would calm down soon, I was sure. Soon, I would get into the rhythm of things with work and maybe stop having to work so many late nights.
I hugged Risa goodbye and then headed back to the office, mentally running through a list of all the things I had to do that afternoon other than meet with Adam. As I walked into the office, I swiped a pile of papers that needed filing off the printer, figuring that would give me something to occupy myself until my impending meeting with the president of the company.
I flipped through the papers in my hands, already beginning to sort them. I was so engrossed in my task that I ran headlong into a solid wall of muscle.
I stumbled backward in shock, thankful that I’d managed to hold onto everything I was carrying. And the only reason I didn’t end up flat on my ass was a strong pair of arms catching me and steadying me.
I started apologizing before I looked up, and then I had to fight not to swear. “Sorry, sir,” I stammered, staring up into the piercing blue eyes of none other than Adam Parker. Of course. Of all the people that I could have run into, it was him, and on the day that I was supposed to officially meet him, too. I felt like an idiot. But I couldn’t seem to get another word to come out of my mouth, my tongue frozen and my brain numb with panic.
Adam peered at me. “It’s all right, miss.” He paused. “You’re one of the interns, yes?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes. I’m Mindy, Mindy Keller.” I coughed lightly. “I’m supposed to have a meeting with you later, actually.”
He smiled slightly down at me before nodding his head. “Well, I guess I’ll see you soon, then” was all he said, before stepping around me and heading for the elevator.
I stood there staring at the now-empty space in front of me, wondering what the hell had just happened. I glanced over my shoulder, but Adam had already disappeared. Paying more attention to where I was going this time, I scurried back to my desk. I had another hour to go until I was supposed to meet him, assuming that I didn’t die of embarrassment between now and then.
“Whoa, what happened to you?” Vera asked the minute I got back to my desk. “I’ve never seen you look so frazzled before.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You didn’t…” She trailed off, but from the way she waggled her eyebrows at me, I had a feeling I knew only too well what she was insinuating.
She had seen the way I looked at Adam, after all. But no, what I had done was even more embarrassing than hitting on him.
I shook my head. “I don’t see Adam until later,” I said, forgetting for a moment I shouldn’t admit that I knew what she was insinuating. It was only going to make it more obvious that I was developing a bit of a crush on my boss.
Vera snickered and shook her head. “Well, come on, what happened?”
“I was sorting through these papers so that I could get them filed, and I literally walked around the corner into Adam,” I said. “And of course, instead of making a great impression on him when I meet him in his office later, he’s going to remember me as th
e space cadet who can’t be let loose in the hallways without running into things. Or people.”
Vera stared at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. “I mean, at least you made an impression,” she gasped, looking like she might start crying with amusement.
I shook my head, feeling my face flush even brighter. There was nothing I could say in response to that, though. Maybe it would be a good thing, to at least make an impression on him? I thought back to the expression on Adam’s face. He hadn’t been angry, at least. Maybe it wasn’t the end of the world to run into him like that.
One thing was for sure, I felt a lot calmer now as I contemplated my meeting with him later. Whatever embarrassment I may have suffered, and might continue to suffer, at least I had broken the ice.
As it got closer to the time I was actually supposed to meet with him, I finished up the work I was doing at my desk, leaving everything clean and tidy to come back to. I couldn’t stand having a messy workspace—and that attention to detail, that drive, was something I wanted to make sure that everyone there knew about me, even if I was just an intern at the moment. It was the little things like that which I hoped would help to net me a long-term job.
I headed up the elevator to Adam’s office, taking a deep breath before the doors slid open on the correct floor.
And if the thoughts in my head were more centered around how attractive Adam had looked with that amused smile on his face, well, no one knew except for myself.
6
Adam
I looked up at the knock on my door, then glanced automatically at the clock. I winced as I realized it was time for my meeting with the other of the new interns. I had lost track of time, and I wasn’t exactly at a good stopping point with the project I was currently working on. But something made me not want to keep her waiting.
I called for her to come in, and she entered. There was only a hint of timidity about her—in her posture, rather than her gaze. No, her bright, green-eyed gaze met me head-on, a hint of challenge there. I liked that.
Same as before, I found myself thinking about how pretty she was. She had medium-length brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, allowing those green eyes to shine out from beneath her bangs. She had on a striped sweater and jeans. Lovely in a sweet, girl-next-door kind of way. It reminded me that there was a huge power imbalance between us.
She was an intern; I was the president of the company. I couldn’t look at her like just another woman. I couldn’t give her any sort of special treatment because I found her appealing.
I glanced over at her company file and then closed out of it. Before I had forced myself to get some actual work done prior to this meeting, I had been checking into who she was, spurred on by running into her in the hall.
She intrigued me, I had to admit. I hadn’t been part of the intern-hiring process, and although it was my standard policy to get to know everyone who was working for me, I normally didn’t look at any information on them prior to meeting them. When I had met the other intern, Vera, a few days prior, we had had a very simple conversation and that was all. I could tell she was fishing for what would make me give her a long-term position with the company, and it had taken all I had to hide my irritation at the prodding.
I didn’t want a staff full of people who only had their jobs because they’d managed to kiss the right asses to ensure their stay with the company. I wanted to give the long-term jobs to people who deserved them. That was what being an intern was all about: proving your worth.
As for Mindy, I wondered what her worth would be. She was smart, I could tell that based on the notes in her file. They also listed her as a hard worker. Now, I was going to see how her interpersonal skills were, firsthand. How would she handle the aftermath of an embarrassing event like running headlong into me in the hallway?
Not that it had been all too big of a deal on my end. There had been no spilled coffee involved—not even a dropped pile of papers. And I knew what it was like to be so focused on a job that you were blind to all else. In fact, that was just the kind of passion I was looking for in my staff.
Still, I knew that in her eyes, it had to be sort of mortifying.
Which made it even more interesting that she would walk in here with that challenge in her gaze. It was all I could do to hide my smile, to continue to act impassively toward her as though she were simply any other intern at the company, rather than an incredibly attractive young woman.
“Mindy, is it?” I asked her. “Come on in and have a seat.”
I could see her stand a little straighter, and all I could think was good girl. And if I could picture her straightening up down on her knees in front of me, those green orbs shining as she stared up at me, her mouth…
No, I couldn’t go there, not now. Not ever. It was totally inappropriate.
Mindy didn’t seem to notice the path that my thoughts had taken, however as she sat down across from me. “It’s good to formally meet you,” she said. “You know, it says a lot that someone of your esteem would make time to meet with the interns in his company.”
“It’s important to me to get to know the people that I have working for me,” I said evenly. “I like getting to know who they are and what they’re up to. Some people accuse me of not delegating enough. I don’t micromanage, though.” The admission about delegating slipped out almost too easily. I probably shouldn’t be confessing things like that to an intern.
It seemed like that was all it took to get Mindy to open up to me, however. She started to explain everything that had been assigned to her so far, telling me what she’d already had access to, and what she’d like to do with the rest of her time here. I had to admit, although she had somewhat lofty goals as an intern, they were all projects that I’d like to see her on.
I liked her passion. Based on her track record, all the information that I’d seen in her file, it was all stuff she would be able to handle as well. Even more attractive than a worker who had passion was one who knew her limits as well. But one who clearly liked to push those limits as well and see how flexible they were, really spoke to me.
“Tell me about school,” I said when she started winding down. “What made you want to become a designer? What are your career goals?”
Mindy’s explanation in response to those questions was no less put-together. I could see why she had been hired. I was already making a mental note to consider her for long-term positions, if we had any available.
I told myself that it was strictly about her professionalism and her exemplary work and not because I’d like seeing her face in the office every day. What the hell was wrong with me? I had no time for these sorts of thoughts.
“And you?” Mindy suddenly asked me. “What made you want to get involved with design?” She immediately looked embarrassed to have asked, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the expression on her face.
There was something attractive about someone who asked such a bold question, even if she thought better of it as soon as the words had left her mouth.
Boldness deserved a reward, I decided. “To be honest, I originally wanted to be an artist, but then I realized that I also wanted to pay the bills. The thing that I like most about my company is that we get a little bit of everything: advertisements, web design and logos, all of it. It makes every day exciting.”
Mindy smiled. “Sounds like you really love what you do,” she said. “I really hope to have that one day.”
“I have a feeling you will,” I couldn’t stop myself from saying. I hoped that she didn’t think that I was promising her a job with those words, but I really did feel certain that she would find a way to do something that tickled her fancy. She was too smart and too certain of who she was to not.
She didn’t respond, but I could tell that she was starting to feel a little more uncertain, maybe feeling a bit of residual embarrassment from our earlier meeting or maybe just not sure what else to say. In any case, she and I had already chatted for nearly twice as long as
Vera and I had, and I knew that it was time to let her go.
“I should let you get back to work,” I told her, even though to be honest, I would have happily chatted with her for longer. I couldn’t help wanting to know more about her. I wished I could invite her out for a beer, just to find out what made her tick.
But I knew where that would lead, just as surely as I knew that I couldn’t sleep with an intern. Besides, I still wasn’t looking for anything more than a one-night stand, and she was the antithesis of that lifestyle. She was sweet, the girl next door, the last person you took home for a quick and nameless fuck.
Especially since she was never going to be nameless to me again. Not just because she worked for me either. I wouldn’t be able to forget her if I tried.
After she left my office, I stared at the work I had been in the middle of when she’d arrived. Something told me that I wasn’t going to be able to get any of it done now, though. I just couldn’t seem to focus. I couldn’t seem to forget about those green eyes fixed on mine, or the dirty fantasies that had flitted through my mind while Mindy was there in front of me.
It was all I could do to keep from looking her up on social media or seeing what other information I could find out about her online, to supplement what I knew about her from her file and from the things she had said to me. Except that would definitely be crossing some lines.
I stood abruptly. The first step was to get out of the office. Nothing I had been working on was too pressing, and anyway, I had worked late often enough since the divorce that it wasn’t like anyone would say anything if I wanted to head out of there early for a day. I still didn’t want to go home to my empty home at this hour, but I had to find some other way to occupy myself because work definitely wasn’t going to cut it for once.
Boss’s Secret Baby for Christmas Page 3