One Little Mix-Up
Office Escapades Book Three
A Second Chance, Office Romance
By Robin Edwards
© Copyright 2018 by Robin Edwards
and Second Chances Press
All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited, and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher. Names and persons in this eBook are entirely fictional. They bear no resemblance to anyone living or dead. To protect the privacy of certain individuals the names and identifying details have been changed. This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
More Books by the Author
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Prologue
BETH
I want to give it to you straight because I don’t want to lie to you. I really don’t believe in happily ever after, fate or someone being the ‘one.’ Seriously, who started that shit? I read somewhere once that it was the 12th-century French poets who invented the concept of love based unions instead of spiritual based ones but it’s more than that. If you take into account all of the books, films and everything else in the world you’d notice everyone was utterly brainwashed. We practically have a holiday dedicated to it. There is no escaping from their spheres of influence.
In life, I only followed two rules: 1) Always have fun and 2) Don’t let anyone get too close when it comes to matters of the heart. I’m sorry Danny, but you’re asking me to break Rule #2 and as you can see I cannot do that. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed our time together, and we’ve had a lot of fun but what you’re asking me to consider is something I won’t ever do. I’m not a rule breaker, and I will not make anything official because it seems we were on two different trajectories the entire time. You were looking for someone to be with, and well, I was just having a good time. So this is where this ends. Sorry to cut it short but I have to get back to work, ever since I got this promotion my workload has increased by two-fold.
Good luck to you and I hope you find someone that wants the same thing as you do. But hey, if you ever want to hang out...just call me, but I can’t offer you anything more than that and definitely not anything long-term.
Xoxo, Beth
Clicking send to that Dear John email last month should have been the toughest thing I’ve had to deal with this year, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had to send something like that, and it wasn’t the first time this year either. I’ve never had a hard time meeting new people, and I’ve always had this knack for winning over people instantly, yet I had the most trouble with letting them go as smoothly as possible. Every single time.
Whenever I dated someone new, there was a point where I could almost sense it happening right before it actually did. It was always the same scenario, the guy I spent time with would casually start to hint that he was trying to make more room in his life for me and it was at that moment I knew he also dropped whomever he was also dating, to be with me exclusively. What men didn’t understand was that they made the mistake of assuming I was doing the Same thing without even asking me about it.
They never asked me what I wanted when in reality, I was just having fun as long as the opportunity presented itself. If they had asked me upfront what I wanted or what I expected, I would have been honest and upfront with his time instead of it being wasted.
Once in a great while, I’d meet a guy who wanted the same thing as me: nothing at all. The only problem with those types of men is they had a lot of women waiting in the wings so you couldn’t get them to commit to even casual dates. They were always hard to pin down and sometimes they barely remembered your name. At least I was somewhat organized and confirmed plans with other people, I was never indecisive. I always knew what I wanted and how available I was to spend time with other people. When the time came, I was upfront just in case I had to let them down gently.
I don’t know where the lack of faith and belief started, let alone what happened in my life to cause me to detest romantic comedies and any chick flicks that centered around ‘meant-to-be’ themes but they always ended in happily ever after.
Don’t get me started on romance novels (this is where I roll my eyes) and I definitely didn’t believe in Prince Charming, victimized princesses and the magical force of true love that’s supposedly stronger than anything else on the planet. I mean really, gag me with a spoon!
So remind me again where the idea of relationships and unions came from? Oh, that’s right, the Ancient Greeks or those French Poets in the 12th century. Damn all of them, they ruined it for the rest of us, but no one destroyed me as much as Trevor Whitfield. He was a bad boy with a capital B (or was it two B’s?).
Up until Trevor arrived, I had a good life with amazing friends and a career that was on an upward trajectory until he changed the game. The game where no matter how independent, secure and self-assured you thought you were, he could shake things up.
You see, Trevor was the nephew of my boss, Vince. Vince owned the marketing company I worked for, and I spent the past year working my way up, and I was promoted to Marketing Coordinator a short time ago. While I was worked hard, Trevor was a cocky, wealthy asshole who had everything handed him on a silver platter. He also turned heads whenever he walked into a room which only caused women to do things for him on a frequent basis.
He didn’t belong here, he had no idea what we did nor what he could do to assist any of us. He pretty much didn’t care. Most of the time he just sat there waiting for instructions he had no intention of following. While some people had ambition in life, Trevor relied on his family his entire life.
The funny part of it all was he didn’t want to be here, but he had to be. His parents thought he didn't appreciate the privilege he’d been given and how lucky he was. They believed he didn’t understand the value of a dollar because he was born into his wealth, so they wanted him to understand what it was like to work hard towards a goal for once.
What did they do? They told him if he wanted to keep money flowing into his bank account he had to get a job. Not only did he have to get a job, but he’d have to keep it for at least thirty days and work hard during those thirty days. They enlisted Vince to take him under his wing and ensure that Trevor worked hard for his paycheck and learned something. If he wasn’t a changed man by the end of the thirty days, he was out of luck.
I remember the day he arrived all too well. He showed up to our suite in what must have been thousand-dollar Armani suit and dress shoes with wing tips from Spain that probably cost more than the car I drove, and I drove a BMW. He waltzed into the office acting as if it was any other day but little did he know he was in for the ride of his life.
The day before Trevor arrived, Vince called for an emergency meeting notifying all of us that his nephew would be working for NSK 101 on what would probably be a temporary basis. We were to make sure we sat with him and update him on what we did at the office so that he could catch up as quickly as possible. He also wanted us to make sure we fully engaged him. He didn’t want Trevor to be bored and just sit there.
This was going to be fun and interesting.
Chapter One
TREVOR
As successful and financially endowed as I was, it enabled me to be successful in other areas of my life, especially with women. They were my specialty. I didn’t have to do much to get their attention, they came after me. All I had to do was walk into a room in my most sophisticated suit, and they approached me in droves. It made me feel like a freakin’ rock star.
I was lucky to have lived the kind of life that I’ve had thus far, and it was all because of my parents who worked hard their entire lives to give my brother, sister and me the best life possible. A life where we didn’t have to lift a finger because we had people who were paid to do things for us. It left us with a lot of time to travel and party with our friends most nights.
My parents accumulated their wealth over time and gave us whatever we wanted growing up, and we were set to have a fortune given to us when we turned thirty. Given the fact that I was the youngest, I was the last one to reach this monumental occasion, and it felt like I waited a long time.
My sister used her inheritance to help those who couldn’t help themselves and my brother used his to buy a house in a good neighborhood his children and wife could grow old in. He put the rest aside for his daughters’ college education and their retirement. Me? I wanted to put it to even better use and travel with all of my friends, and we would party in every country possible.
My parents were disappointed when they found out what I intended to do. They felt and believed I didn’t appreciate how lucky I was and didn’t like how I spent their money in the past on women, booze, trips, and cars. They said it was a waste of money and my future and I should have used it to do more honorable things like my brother and sister.
If they gave me my inheritance, they weren’t confident that I’d do the right thing. They didn’t seem to realize how I spent my inheritance was my choice as I saw fit.
When I told them as such, my parents didn’t agree with me and threatened to stop giving me the money I deserved if I didn’t learn to appreciate what I had. I laughed at what I thought were empty threats but turns out they weren’t.
It’s amazing how even at thirty years old they still tried to control my life and believed they had every right as long as they were supporting me. If I had my inheritance, they wouldn’t have to. In fact, I shouldn’t have had to wait this long, I should have been given it when I turned eighteen. We’re practically adults at that age. I went off to college in another state and took care of myself, and I managed to graduate, but it wasn’t enough for them.
Their rule was if I managed to be employed for at least thirty days before I turned thirty, then they would go ahead with the proceedings necessary to transfer the inheritance. If I continued to squander my days away, they were going to cut me off as planned.
I had to think fast, so I called my Uncle Vince quickly seeing as he owned a marketing firm, and I told him about my plight and how desperate I was to prove to my parents that I wasn’t a kid anymore. Fortunately for me, he was willing to give me a shot as long as I took things seriously and didn’t see it as a smooth ride to fortune. He wanted me to learn at least one thing while I worked for him.
So here I was standing in front of the tall, glass building on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard in Downtown Los Angeles. It was late fall, and there was a slight chill in the air accompanied by grey clouds that foretold a possible storm brewing. Despite the slight darkness that filled the sky, it was barely 7:30 in the morning.
I hadn’t been awake this early in nearly a decade when I would get up in the morning to go to class when I was still in high school. Even when I was in college, I purposely took courses in the afternoon so that I could sleep in but also have time to party in the evening. I took a sip of my tall Caffe Americano, the warmth radiated throughout my body. It was what I needed to prepare me for the first day of the longest month of my life.
A bright haired beauty with a peppy stride, passed in front me towards the office building that housed my uncle’s company. Her golden blonde hair lit up the dark morning. I jogged over to catch the door before she could reach it. If we were already going into the same building, why not benefit from the situation?
I pulled open one of the sturdy glass doors before the beauty was able to let herself in. “After you,” I gestured towards the bustling of busybodies inside.
“Thank you.” she smiled at me gratefully and walked briskly towards the elevators off to the side.
As I walked into the lobby after her, I noticed the space was already filled with patrons waiting as they sat down in the guest chairs while building employees walked in and out of the elevators and the dual receptionists at the center of it all.
Everything was colored in chrome and black slate and to anyone on the outside they would think it was cold and calculated, but I knew in the design world, it meant polished and powerful. Anyone with money to spend went with those choices if they were trying to compensate for something. The colors were an exaggeration of the image they were trying to portray.
After checking in at the front desk and flirting with one of the receptionists who I think said her name was Sandy or Vickie and getting her number, I sat at one of the charcoal gray chairs in the waiting area.
Sitting there under the weight of the chrome, slated lobby; I looked around the feverish space. It seemed cluttered within their own small, unharmonious details. Sitting on the sidelines, it appeared too tumultuous for my peaceful lifestyle.
Everyone moved at a rapid pace, looking as if they either had somewhere to be or were leaving where they had just been. My father used to say, ‘Anyone who’s anyone always had somewhere to go.’ I couldn’t disagree more, and I didn’t think it was true, at least from my perspective.
Anyone who had any sort of prestige was worth envying and were also someone that was never controlled by time. They could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted to do it. They had the power to make those kinds of decisions. If I were ever going to work hard for someone, it would be someone like that.
Someone that dictated the terms and set the standards of how things should be done. They didn’t have to develop road rage because they were running late to work or move their schedule around to get to the airport at a specific time because it was the cheapest flight they could afford. I didn’t want to be controlled by time or money, I wanted my choices to be made because that’s how I wanted the circumstances to be played out. My life was my life, and I’ll be damned if someone or something else had power over it.
These were thoughts and ambitions my parents didn’t understand. They worked hard, sometimes under less than ideal circumstances so that we didn’t have to. Admittedly, there were other ways of doing that, but those were the choices they made.
As I sat here in the lobby, I tried to figure out how I was going to prove I was serious about my future and that this predicament I was in sucked, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had to listen and abide by their rules for now, even at my age. If I had to last a month at some stupid job, then I was going to do whatever was necessary to get me out of it as fast as possible. All I had to do was last a month, and then I could party to my heart’s content.
“Trev my boy! Is that you?” a familiar, booming voice called out.
I looked around the lobby as I stood to see my Uncle Vince making his way through the crowd exiting the Same elevator he rode down in, “Yes. It’s me. You know what I look like.”
“Nonsense! It’s been years since I last saw you. Come here.” he demanded as he pulled me into a
tight embrace before slapping my back. Standing at 6’4” and built like a linebacker, my uncle still towered over me like he did when I was a kid.
“It’s only been three months. I saw you over the summer at the family reunion.” I corrected him.
“Well, it seems like forever. Come, let me take you up to our suite and give you the grand tour,” he said ushering me towards the brass, reflective elevator doors.
“Sounds great. I’m anxious to get started.”
“Are you now? That’s an amazing suit by the way. Armani?” he looked me up and down.
I tugged at the lapels and grinned, “Of course it is. There’s nothing else I’d rather wear.”
Vince smirked before continuing, “I must admit, when I received your phone call about needing a place to work, I had my doubts about your sincerity.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Well, you are my brother’s son, and he’s the hardest working man I know. Besides myself of course, but like father like son right? No doubt you have as much potential and drive as your father.”
“I hope so.” I sighed as we stepped into the empty elevator. Vince pushed the button to the 14th floor, and the elevator chugged with an upward force in response.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, I think your father had the right idea.” he let out a quiet chuckle.
“Right idea about what?”
“Demanding that you take the time to discover what it is like to be a productive member of society. To find out what it is like for the rest of us, even if we had the choice not to, you'd find plenty of people who work because of their sense of responsibility. Even when they didn’t have to. Some do it because they see a need to be around people to share ideas with.”
The elevator came to a screeching halt and dinged as it reached the requested floor. Its deep moan echoed throughout the confined space at the doors slid open revealing a champagne colored open space revealing a second receptionist desk strictly for NSK 101.
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