by Claire Adams
She curled her lip and said, “You need to get married, Logan.”
“No way. That has about as much of a chance of happening as me getting into those pretty pantyhose of yours.”
“Nothing is equal to that impossibility,” she countered. I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Putting my hand over my heart I said,
“Ouch.”
“Stop it and be serious. This girl, your intern, she’s perfect. She’s twenty-four and she grew up in some podunk town in Minnesota. She’s brilliant as far as money and numbers go, according to her professors.
“She’s only had one boyfriend in her life; he was her high school sweetheart, and they were engaged. Two years ago, he broke her heart by calling it off and joining the Marines. She sees herself now as a career-focused woman. She’s not looking for a man and you won’t have to worry about one coming along and mucking this up. She’s inexperienced, so she won’t see through your fake charms.”
“My charms are not fake.” She snorted and I went on to ask, “How do you know all of this about her?”
“Two men from the security division spent the past two weeks in Minnesota.”
“So, you’ve been planning this for two weeks, and I’m just now hearing about it?”
“I was giving you time to try and sleep with Doris or Blanche or whatever the blue-haired lady’s name is. Now that you got that idea out of your system, it’s time to get real. If you’re sent back to Canada, I’ll lose my job. I like my job. I’m phenomenal at it.”
“So says you.”
“Just meet her and talk to her. You’ll see what I mean. She’s the perfect person.”
“To dupe?”
“No, to actually fall in love with you.”
“Isn’t that horrible, considering that I won’t be in love with her?”
“Only if she knows that. Turn on your charm and keep it on until Immigration is out of your life. We’ll put our heads together and find a way to make sure she doesn’t exit your life without being handsomely compensated.”
“You should be the CEO, with your evil plans.”
“I know, that’s why one of my evil plans includes unseating you one day.” I doubted she was joking. She went on to say, “For once, make your life decisions with the big head on your shoulders, instead of the small one in your pants. Women love you, and they love to fall in love at Christmas time. This girl is brilliant, but naïve – and did I mention gorgeous?”
“You failed to mention that.”
“Well, she is…albeit a little lacking in the fashion department. Her charms are more the girl-next-door type, but your money can fix that, too. Her name is Chloe. Be charming.” She was finished. She got up and turned to go. She was almost to the door when I said,
“It’s not small.”
She snorted and stepped through the door, closing it behind her. Shit. I hate when she’s right. But, could I go through with convincing some naïve, twenty-four-year-old girl that she was in love with me, knowing full well I was using her? There was a tap at my door. I straightened my tie and stood up as I said, “Come in.”
The door opened and the vision who walked through it was enough to quiet my doubts, at least for the moment. I held out my hand and said, “Chloe, I presume?”
She strolled confidently up to my desk and took my hand to give it a firm shake. She kept her caramel-brown eyes locked into mine as she smiled and said, “Yes, sir. I’m so pleased to meet you, Mr. Moreau.”
I already liked her confidence. I let go of her hand and motioned at the chair in front of my desk. I waited for her to sit down before I sat down across from her and said, “Call me Logan, please.”
She smiled again. She had a beautiful smile. Her lips were full, and she had on a layer of light-pink gloss that I wanted to lick off. Hopefully, that’s not apparent on my face. She might just run out of here before I get a chance to convince her that she loves me. “I’m really excited to be here,” she said.
“So, you’re from Minnesota, Chloe?”
“Yes, sir. This is my first time in New York.”
“Well, then, we’ll have to make sure you get to see all of the sights while you’re here.”
She cleared her throat and looked a little nervous. Was that too much? Most women would already be jumping at that chance. Maybe I’d have to tread a little lighter with this one. Damn, I wish I had more than seven weeks. Of course, I’ve only had one relationship that lasted longer than that.
About three months before my brother was killed, I’d gone home to Canada to see my on-again-off-again girlfriend Lisa over summer break from school. She was my high school sweetheart, and we’d always talked about getting married and growing old together.
But if you didn’t count sex, we had disagreed about almost everything. It had been a volatile relationship at best, but in my young mind, and body, I’d thought that was love.
Before I went back to New York that summer, I married her. Two years later, partly because I hadn’t dedicated enough time to her and partly for other reasons, it ended worse than anyone would have ever thought it could. It had left me reeling and unable to even imagine ever putting myself there again.
Chloe’s voice brought me out of my reverie. “Sure,” she said. “So, Mr. Moreau, can you tell me a little about the internship? I have to say I’m a little bit surprised to be meeting with you directly.”
I gave her what I thought to be one of my most dazzling smiles. “I like to stay hands on with my interns. I’ll hand you off to Josiah soon; he’s my most senior analyst, and I think the best person to have you working directly with.”
I’d like to get my hands on that sweater. It’s ugly, but what’s underneath it looks like more fun than Disneyworld.
It dawned on me that I’d have to make sure Josiah kept his hands off this one. He was not as much of a player as I was, but he had his moments. I’m sure he’ll be able to smell this one coming. She even looks fresh off the farm.
“Why don’t we start with a tour, and I’ll introduce you to Josiah and get you to HR so that you can begin the paperwork process.” Was this a paid internship? Shit, I forgot to ask Mel. I was guessing that paid would ensure she didn’t have to work another job at night. If I was going to woo her, I’d need her nights free for me.
I stood up, and so did she. She was about a foot shorter than me. I looked down at her feet; she was wearing flats. It wasn’t something I saw often in Manhattan with business wear, but then again, the sweater and skirt she was wearing weren’t exactly traditional business wear.
I led her out the office door and past Mel’s desk. She looked up at us and smiled. “I’m taking her on the tour and then I’ll drop her at HR,” I answered the silent question in her eyes.
“Good,” she said. “Welcome aboard, Chloe.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said. I saw Mel look her clothes over again as Chloe and I waited for the elevator and just as it pinged, she said, “Oh, sir!” I almost rolled my eyes every time she called me sir.
“Yes, Mel?”
“Don’t forget to tell HR that Chloe’s internship comes with the clothing allowance.”
Yes, one of these days Mel’s name was going to be on my door. Sooner rather than later, if I couldn’t convince this little intern I was her knight in shining armor. Hopefully, I could hide the dents and dings in it for at least the next seven weeks.
CHAPTER THREE
CHLOE
The determined professional in me had marched into Logan Moreau’s huge, plush office and with one look at the man, the young horny woman in me was rocked to her very core.
He was standing up behind his desk and for just a few seconds, my eyes were completely disconnected from my brain as they took in the breadth of his shoulders and chest and worked their way up to the strong lines of his face to those piercing, blue eyes.
His online photographs had definitely not done him justice. His jet black hair was short on the sides and long enough on top that my fingers itched to get tangl
ed up in it, and the whole package sent a jolt of desire through me like nothing I’d ever felt before.
My mind flashed back to the memory telling my new roommate that I had no intentions of sleeping with him. I still didn’t have any intentions of being the next notch on Logan Moreau’s bedpost, but damn, it was going to take everything in me to quell the desire.
I stood rigidly next to him in the elevator as people got in and out. He made eye contact with all of them, and his smile seemed easy and sincere as he greeted most of them by name. It was mind-blowing to me that in a company this size, the CEO would personally know so many of his employees. It somehow made him seem even sexier.
He joked around with some of the men, and I even heard him ask one woman how her son’s football team was doing. I’d never met a high-powered CEO, but he was not what I would have expected.
We rode the elevator all the way back down to the busy lobby from the quiet fiftieth floor we’d started on. The building had overwhelmed me slightly when I first came in an hour earlier, and now it was even busier. There were people everywhere. It was a sea of designer labels and tablets and cell phones, and I was beginning to realize I stuck out like a sore thumb.
In my defense, until I went to college, most of my dress had been for farm life and even in college, jeans, tees, and sweatshirts had been acceptable most days. Dresses were only something I wore to church on Sundays and the occasional wedding.
My father farmed a hundred acres in a little town called Brown’s Valley right near the South Dakota border, and everyone there dressed like me. I attended school on the Sioux reservation with the same kids I’d gone to school with my entire life. My graduating class was made up of only fifteen people, and I was only one of four girls. High society fashion was not a priority in our world.
Logan led me past the huge, colorful fountain in the center of the lobby toward a security kiosk that I had passed through on my way into the building earlier. Counting the airplane trip to New York, I’d now had a metal detector waved over my body three times in one week.
Logan introduced me to the large security officer at the door and told him I’d be needing a temporary ID for the Halloween party while I waited for my permanent one. It was the first I had heard of a Halloween party.
“There’s a Halloween party I’m supposed to be at?” I asked Logan.
“Well, it’s not mandatory, but our annual costume party is usually a big hit with the employees. I’m sure you’d love it.”
I’m sure that I would rather sit in my ugly bedroom and stare out at the view of the brick building next door. But since I was still trying to make a good impression, I smiled and said, “That sounds like fun.”
“Good. Okay, Bob, I’ll send her back before she leaves the building today.”
From there, we got back on the elevator and he showed me the cafeteria on the fifth floor. It was more like a full-service restaurant, and the hostess looked like she might have objected to me coming in dressed the way I was if I hadn’t been with Logan. He then took me to the tenth floor and introduced me to a woman named Sue in human resources. She told me to come back in an hour, and she’d have my documents ready to review and sign.
Logan showed me conference rooms and executive offices, and lastly, we got back off on floor fifty, but instead of going left toward his office, he took me to the right and used a key card to open the door at the end of the hall. It was a huge office with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and desks and cubicles everywhere.
Phones were ringing off the hook and people were all talking at once. The clacking of computer keyboards competed for sound. Logan walked through the chaos, nodding and smiling at people as they greeted him.
I followed him to a cubicle in the back where a blond man about my age sat with his phone tucked underneath his chin and his fingers flying across a computer keyboard. I noticed two things when he looked up at us: one, his eyes were a beautiful, jade-green color that I’m sure plenty of women had melted into, and two, they were now roaming my body. To my horror, I actually shivered.
“Josiah, this is Chloe. I’m going to assign her to you as your intern.”
Josiah mumbled something into the phone dangling near his lips and dropped it into one of his hands and set it aside. He held out his hand and said,
“Pleased to meet you, Chloe.” He looked at Logan then and said, “You’re assigning interns now?”
Logan smiled and a look passed between the men silently as he said, “It’s my company, I can do what I want.”
Josiah laughed and said, “Touché! I’m happy to meet you, Chloe. When can I start working her sixteen hours a day?” he asked Logan.
Logan laughed. “She starts Monday, but try not to scare her off on the first day.”
Josiah ran those green eyes over me again. “She doesn’t look like she scares easily. Do you scare easily, Chloe?”
“Not even a little bit,” I told him with a smile that I hoped exuded more confidence than I was feeling at the moment.
My life suddenly felt surreal. Chloe, the farmer’s daughter, now stood on the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper in Manhattan, alone in a cubicle with the two hottest men on the planet. If this was a porn movie, it would sell a billion copies. I felt my face go hot and knew I was blushing. Thank God they couldn’t read my mind.
*****
It was Friday night, Halloween Eve, and my hands were shaking as I tried to get the satin sash tied underneath my chin to hold on my witches’ hat. I finally got it half-assed tied and took a step back to look at myself in the mirror. I thought I’d made a pretty good buy, considering I’d bought the outfit at a thrift store for less than twenty bucks. If I had a green face, I’d have looked just like the witch from The Wizard of Oz.
Proud of myself, I walked out into the living room. Lilliana was sitting on the couch and looked to be in drama queen mode. I was hoping to get out of the apartment without having to hear about it.
I’d only seen her twice since I moved in, and both times, I’d had to listen to a litany of her problems. Apparently, her wealthy father had cut her off and her most recent boyfriend turned out not only to be a player, but bisexual, as well. She made me glad my life was so simple.
I gave her a half smile and tried to rush past as she said, “What are you supposed to be?”
I stopped and looked down at myself. Was she serious? “A witch… Is that not obvious?”
“Where are you going dressed like that?”
“To a Halloween party.”
“In a barn?” She didn’t seem to either know or care how insulting her tone could be.
“No,” I said as I reached for my coat and purse. I’d call an Uber when I got downstairs. I simply wanted to escape her for now. “It’s at a club called Splash in Midtown.”
Lilliana’s already huge eyes widened like saucers. “Splash? You’re going to Splash?”
“Yeah.” I was almost to the door. My hand was out for the knob.
“Oh my God. I’ve been trying to get on that list for months, and you got off your tractor in town two days ago, and already scored an invitation? And, you’re going looking like that!”
Her words were like a thousand, tiny little knives in my back. I’d have to grow a thicker skin or get a new roommate. For the moment, I said, “I got the invitation because I work for Moreau and it’s their annual Halloween party. I’m dressed like this because it’s a costume party.”
She sat straight up on the couch and smiled. It unnerved me. “Is the invitation plus one?”
“Um…I didn’t really notice.” I was lying. I was bad at it. Of course, it was plus one, but did I really want to go anywhere with Lilliana? Absolutely not. I didn’t even want to live with her.
“Let me see it.”
Damn it. I reached into my purse and pulled it out. I turned around and realized she was already right behind me. She snatched it out of my hand, opened it, and then squealed.
“It’s plus one! You are so taking me! Right?”<
br />
“Um…yeah, sure.” What was I supposed to say?
“I’m not going with you looking like that.”
“So, you’re going with me on my invitation, but not with me looking like this?” I was shaking my head.
“Right.”
I had to give her points for her confidence. “I don’t have another costume. I bought this one at the thrift store down the street.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll fix you up. Come on.”
I was whisked into Lilliana’s room — which was three times the size of mine. She all but pushed me down on the bed, ripped off my hat and went to work on my hair and make-up. Half an hour later, she pulled two dresses out of the back of her closet. They were both flapper dresses, a blue one and a red one. The blue one was so thin that I wouldn’t imagine it would even go over my head, much less my body.
I handed it back to her. “This one is not going to work.” She looked at it and then me and said,
“Pull off that awful dress so I can see your body.”
“You want to see my body?”
“You keep it hidden under those sacks you wear. I can’t even tell what size you are.”
With a sigh, I pulled the black and red witch dress off. She scoffed at my bra and underwear, but then gave me as much of a compliment as I would probably ever get out of her.
“You’re a lot skinnier than I thought you were. Put the red one on. It’ll fit.” I put it on and it fit, but like a second skin. Lilliana seemed to think that was a good thing. She fussed with a headpiece for me for another fifteen minutes and then announced that we’d have to buy me a pair of shoes on the way. I wondered if “we” meant she was going in half on them.
By the time she was ready and I was completely uncomfortable and down another fifty bucks for a cheap, on-sale pair of heels I could barely walk in and would never wear again, we were already over an hour late. Lilliana assured me that it wasn’t cool to show up to a party on time. I took her word for it.
The car took us to a dark building lit up on the outside only by a giant, neon champagne glass filled with blue liquid and what looked like sea creatures. Blue bubble lights came out of it and soared up toward the sky. When I showed the security officer at the door my invitation, we were let into the dark, crowded club.