Troublemaker (Songbird #6)

by Melissa Pearl

  “Excellent.” I nodded and smiled, but actually wanted to throw up all over her.

  “Let me show you around.”

  My head was acting like one of those bobbing toys people put on the dashboards of their cars. I stiffened my neck to try to control it.

  “Morning, Kelly.” A pleasant male voice greeted me from behind. There was a familiarity to his tone that was almost comforting, but then it wasn’t… because it was Marcus.

  I spun on my heel and smiled politely. He was wearing black pants with a grape-colored shirt tucked into them. His tousled hair was a stylized messy that actually suited him. It was a far cry from the fifties comb-over he used to love in high school. I always thought he was trying to be quirky and different—he’d definitely achieved that goal, but totally missed it on the cool factor.

  Gazing into his smiling eyes, I was transported back to the hallways of Beverly Hills High. He’d often linger with his friends outside my homeroom, goofing off in the corridor like he was supposed to be there when really he was just waiting for a glimpse of me. It had been creepy and weird, yet…oh all right, it was a little bit cute, and on the days he wasn’t there, I always noticed.

  “Hello, Mr. Chapman.” I went for formal, hoping to deter any weird advances from the guy. Tousled, stylized hair or not, I couldn’t handle a repeat of the gooey-eyed Marcus Chapman era.

  He grinned, his mouth a little lopsided. “You can call me Marcus if you like, everybody else does.”

  “Okay,” I squeaked then cleared my throat. “I’m just gonna…” I pointed over my shoulder and turned away before he could say anything else to me.

  Marcia had this curious smirk on her face but was nice enough not to say anything when I caught up to her. I pressed my lips together and kept my expression bland and unreadable.

  I had no idea what Marcus may have said to her. Hopefully she didn’t know anything about our history. Ugh. That would have been so humiliating.

  Marcia spent the next half hour touring me around the lower executive floor. All the big wigs were on the floor above us—the CEO, Mr. Torrence, plus his team of talent scouts, the finance department, and of course his personal assistant. On my floor were the marketing department, legal, and artist managers. The company was sizable, but being the daughter of Enrique DeMarco, I was used to powerful people with lots of money. By the time I’d done the rounds, I figured I was on the “nuts and bolts” floor of the company. The people I was used to associating with were above me. Was it weird that I felt more out of my depth down here than I probably would have up there?

  “Okay, so we’ll share incoming calls.” Marcia sat down at her station and spun her chair around to face me. I glanced at the area I’d be working in. My side was bland with a desktop computer, an empty set of trays, and a pencil holder with three pens and a highlighter in it. Marcia’s was the opposite—a cluttered cacophony of stationery, papers, and photos pinned on the wall beneath the high counter. All the pictures were of her, a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, and two little girls. I checked her ring finger and noticed a simple gold band. Funny, I’d assumed she was my age. She looked too fresh-faced and vibrant to be a working mother.

  I took my seat and looked at the black phone with a million buttons on it. “Most calls are fielded by the main reception area on the ground floor. All the calls that come through to us are either from them, or the caller has specifically been given this number. Our job is to field the calls for our departments. We’re kind of like the gatekeepers. If any of the departments are in a meeting, they’ll let us know and we’ll take a message. Your main priority is Marcus, Bryce, and Edie. Although, Edie’s a really hands-on manager, so she’s hardly ever here. She likes to stay mobile, so you’ll mainly be working for Marcus and Bryce.”

  My head started doing that bobbing thing again. Marcia failed to notice my anxious stare as she pulled the phone toward me and explained how it worked. Different flashes meant different things. I had to press some hash button and then punch in a three-digit code to check if the person was free before putting the call through. No caller should get through without giving the receiver a heads-up first. Everybody in the office had a code for his or her phone.

  “You’ll learn them really quickly, but refer to the list as much as you need to. It’s better to take your time and get it right than send someone through to the wrong person.” I scanned the list of names and numbers, rubbing my slick fingers together.

  “Hi there.” A tall man with dark eyebrows and jet-black hair leaned against the reception desk. He looked like he’d wandered into work late. He had a superior air about him.

  Hot damn, he was gorgeous.

  His face was sharp and chiseled, his eyes a dark cyan. The immaculate charcoal suit he wore fitted him perfectly, and the midnight-blue shirt beneath told me that this man knew how to dress well and take care of himself. Attraction pulsed through me thick and strong.

  I couldn’t stop looking at him.

  Marcia stiffened and cleared her throat. “Good morning, Bryce.”

  He gave her a cursory look before training his gaze back on me. I met his flirty smile with one of my own, stretching out my hand. “You must be my new boss. I’m Kelly.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you.” He shook my hand, his eyes sparkling. “Once you’re finished up here, pop into my office and I’ll give you a little rundown of what I’m expecting from you.”

  “Sure.” I smiled and he winked at me before ambling away.

  I glanced at Marcia and mouthed, “Wow!”

  She rolled her eyes and went back to talking about the boring telephone.

  The lesson wrapped up and I stood, collecting my notepad and a pen.

  “Where are you going?” Marcia asked.

  “To Bryce’s office. He wanted to see me.”

  Marcia studied my expression, her lips twitching like she wanted to say something, but wouldn’t. I narrowed my gaze, daring her to be honest. The phone rang, making me jump. Marcia lifted the receiver like it was the easiest thing in the world. “Torrence Exec, Marcia speaking … Sure, can I ask who’s calling? … Okay, let me check.”

  I watched her fingers carefully as she pressed the right buttons.

  “Hey, Marcus.” She grinned then paused, listening, before starting to laugh. “Don’t worry, it’s the arena. I think they want to talk Chaos logistics. Are you free?” She laughed again. “Yeah, that’s the one. I’ll put her through.”

  There was something so light and happy about the exchange that I almost felt jealous. It was completely insane. I studied Marcia’s fingers again as she transferred the call then scribbled down the order she did things in.

  “I’ll let you get the next one if you want to practice.”

  “Uh-huh.” I nodded but didn’t mean it. I never knew a telephone could be so terrifying.

  Spinning on my heel, I was about to make a dash for hot guy’s office when a sweet girl with a pixie face and short hair blocked my way.

  “Hi.” I stared down at her.

  “I’m just here to set up your email account and make sure your computer is working.”

  “Sure.” I moved out of her way and she took my chair. Her fingers flew over the keyboard while she stared at the screen and set up my Torrence work account. I watched over her shoulder, trying to memorize as I went. For someone who had never worked in an office before, it was kind of overwhelming, but I was determined to hide that behind a confident smile.

  “And you’re set.” The woman stood from her chair and told me to sit down.

  I pulled it into the desk and rested my fingers on the keys.

  “So, just choose a password.”

  I fumbled my way through the task, scoring a surprised look from both my coworkers. As the tech girl walked away, Marcia gave me another one of her scrutinizing gazes.

  “What?” I snapped softly.

  “Do you not know how to touch type?”

  “Of course I do, I’m just…out of practi
ce.” I didn’t want to admit that I’d spent the last six months on vacation, moping around and feeling sorry for myself. The closest my fingers had come to typing was controlling the television remote.

  Marcia shook her head and turned back to her work, obviously annoyed. I had no idea why. I wasn’t working for her. I was working for the managers. She wouldn’t even be affected by my incompetence.

  I thought of Bryce and was about to rise from my seat and go find his office when an email from Marcus appeared. I would have normally cleared it later, but the message was marked important, and because Bryce hadn’t given me a specific time, I felt I had to deal with Marcus first.

  Sigh.

  I double-clicked the message and a song started blasting out of my speakers.

  “This is…” some guy sang. I scrambled for the volume, nearly knocking my stationery cup over as “Absolutely” by Nine Days blared from my workstation.

  Marcia started giggling and a hot anger rose within me. Why the hell would Marcus prank me on my first day at work? What an asshole. He’d always prided himself on being funny in high school, and I’d never bought into his goofy charm (well, mostly never). The point is, it was embarrassing and here I was, five years later, being humiliated by him once again.

  I quit out of my email to shut the song up and muttered, “Jerk.”

  “What did you say?” Marcia leaned toward me.

  “Oh, nothing.” I shook my head.

  “Sorry, I should have warned you.” Her smile was tentative. She’d totally heard me say ‘jerk’. “If you see an important email from Marcus in the morning, always put your earphones in, because it’s going to be a song.”

  “What?” My head snapped in her direction.

  “Yeah.” She giggled. “He does that, every day. We all get it. Like a little good-morning gift. He likes to send us something upbeat so we’ve got a catchy tune in our heads while we work. It really does help improve your mood.”

  I made a face. “He…sends a song to everyone in the morning?”

  “Not everyone…just…” She shrugged, an affectionate smile glowing on her face. “Like, exec wouldn’t get it. It’s just for the, you know, people who have to work in an office all day, who don’t get to go out and schmooze with the rich and famous.”

  I didn’t know what to say. It was so…sweet and…ugh, typically Marcus.

  The guy obviously hadn’t lost his weird factor, but as long as he didn’t embarrass himself (and subsequently me) with relentless, lame-ass flirting, then things would be fine. Knowing the email went out to everyone helped me forgive him.

  Marcia turned to her work, and I glanced at the back of her head before reaching for my earphones. Plugging them in, I opened my email and double-clicked Marcus’s message again. The song was a good choice—upbeat and cheerful. I just hoped he wasn’t thinking about me when he picked it.

  Cutting the song short, I pulled the plugs from my ears and grabbed my notepad. I had a meeting to get to. Working for multiple managers could prove to be challenging, but I had a feeling I was really going to enjoy working for one of them in particular.

  A smirk tugged at my lips as I strutted down the hall to Bryce’s office.

  Chapter Seven

  Marcus

  I’d managed to make Kelly smile five times in four days—not the full-beam version I used to live for, but flashes of spontaneous pleasure that made me feel like a million bucks. Keeping a tally was stupid, but I was doing it anyway. My dad always said that if you can make the woman you love smile each day, then you’re doing something right.

  I wasn’t about to shout from the rooftops that I was in love with Kelly DeMarco, but I was happy to admit that I was crushing big-time. Being around her again reminded me of all the things I’d fallen for in high school.

  All my friends, and especially my older brother, Griffin, thought I was completely insane for liking a girl who had no interest in me, but they didn’t get it. All they saw was a rich snob. But I’d studied that girl, and I saw the sweet smiles she gave her friends, the way she stood up for that quaking freshman girl when Mrs. Higgins was going at them, the way she managed to hold her dignity intact when one of the guys she rejected started a flurry of sordid rumors about their antics in bed together. It’d all been lies. I’d happened upon her and her two friends—Scarlett and Isla—one day and hidden round the corner while she blubbered about her humiliation and what had really happened.

  She’d never know it, but I tracked down that asshole and tried to beat the shit out of him. He was twice my size and cut my cheek open with one punch, but at least I’d given him a fat, bleeding lip before he downed me. We both got suspended for fighting and everyone assumed he’d been bullying me. He wasn’t about to tell the school that shorty Marcus Chapman had gotten two solid punches in before he’d had time to react. He went into hiding and swooped back into the school with high-fives and fist-bumps. A freaking legend.

  Idiot.

  I ran my finger over the scar below my left eye. My mother had stitched it up with a grim frown. I sat in her doctor’s office, my eyes transfixed to the wall as I tried to hide how much it hurt. Her long, hard looks were doing their best to wheedle the truth out of me, but I was taking that nugget to the grave. She never would have understood why I’d taken a hit for some girl who didn’t want to know me. But I just couldn’t live with the fact that no one else was willing to stand up and defend her honor. Sometimes, it felt like I was the only guy in the school who really gave a shit about her…about the real her.

  Thankfully, Kelly seemed to be fitting in at Torrence. She looked pretty nervous on her first day, but her smile was growing more genuine as each day passed, and I was pretty sure she’d go into the weekend having enjoyed her first week.

  The weekend.

  Jitters went to town on my stomach as I picked up my phone and called Kelly into my office. I’d decided the night before that there was no point being in this position if I wasn’t going to do something about it. Bryce had been flirting up a storm with her since Monday. As far as I knew, they hadn’t gone out yet, and I wanted to get in before that happened.

  Kelly knocked on my door.

  “Come in.”

  She appeared, looking stunning in a fitted navy dress with a big belt accentuating her slender waist. Her shapely legs were made long and inviting by a pair of high shoes that had a thick strap around the ankles. As always, she walked with a supermodel quality that was hard to look away from.

  “What can I do for you?” Kelly held an iPad in her arm, ready to take notes. I’d seen her walking around with a pen and notepad on the first day and arranged for tech to organize an iPad like Marcia’s. Torrence was trying to go paper-free, but it was taking time to make that final change. Bryce was still old school, so anything to do with his work always had paper attached to it.

  I slipped off my reading glasses and played with the arms, opening and closing them while trying to work up the courage to ask her.

  “Uh, so I just wanted to check in and see how your first week is going?” I smiled, happy with my move to build slowly into the big question.

  Kelly’s tense stance relaxed slightly. She tipped her head, causing a thick waterfall of dark hair to cascade over her shoulder. “It’s going well. I think I’m doing okay.”

  “As far as I can tell, you’re doing great.”

  “It was good of you to hire me.”

  “Yeah, well, I know quality when I see it.” I winked.

  Her grin faltered and she looked to her iPad screen. “I…” Her perfect nose wrinkled, and she made a little face before sighing. “I remember who you are from high school. I wasn’t going to tell you because I was worried that’s why you’d given me the job.”

  I sat back, feigning surprise at the suggestion. Sweat beaded the back of my neck, and I lost the ability to speak.

  “Anyway, I’ve had a great first week, and I can see myself enjoying this job, so thank you.”

  A smile grew on my
lips.

  Kelly tapped her nail on the edge of the iPad. “And I know that things were kind of weird in high school, and I really appreciate the way you’ve been so professional. I have to admit, I was a little worried that maybe you’d try to ask me out or something and I just… you know, that would be way awkward.”

  My smile faded. “Of course.” I shuffled in my seat. “Yeah, that would be totally weird. I wouldn’t, um, yeah…” I pulled a face. “Way too awkward, right?”

  Kelly laughed, but it was a strained, thorny sound. “I just thought it would be better if I didn’t date anyone from work.”

  It was a small comfort. At least she wouldn’t be hanging out with Bryce.

  Desperate to save face, I sat up and glanced at my computer screen, leaning forward as if the world’s most important email just landed in my inbox. Reaching for my glasses, I held them up in a farewell wave and forced what I hoped was a genial smile.

  “I’m glad things are going well for you, Kelly. I really hope you enjoy being here.”

  “Thank you. The morning songs are a nice touch.” She pointed at me, her sparkling gaze making my stomach do a belly flop into my intestines.

  She was trying to be nice and soften the blow of her preemptive rejection. I could see it in her eyes. I grinned and nodded, grateful for her effort.

  “I’ll keep sending them.”

  “Is there anything else you need?”

  You, in my bed every morning, opening your eyes and looking at me like I matter.

  “Uh, no, I was just doing the boss thing and making sure my new assistant was happy.”

  “Well, I am.”

  “Great.” I didn’t mean to accentuate the T. Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice and spun for the door. I watched her leave, the stone in my throat sinking down and lodging in my gut.

  How the hell was I supposed to make my move now?

  I couldn’t. She’d made it abundantly clear not to go there, and I had to respect her wishes or turn into Marcus the lovesick freak again. She didn’t appreciate that in high school. She wouldn’t appreciate it now.