First is a retired general I’m familiar with who’s in for his regular morning coffee—we’ve chatted on a few occasions—and I ask him how his day is going, as I usually do. On top of that is a lady I know from my social circle; she’s here with her dog and a few of her friends. They aren’t all as high up and important as she is, but they’re still good to know and let’s be honest, who can resist petting a cute pooch? Last but not least is a government official I know through a few people, and we chat it up for a few minutes.
I can see that Ashton is getting more and more irritated by the minute so I roll my eyes, chuckling.
“Listen, folks, I’ve got to go before my coworker blows a gasket here.” I chuckle, earning a few laughs and smiles from the others. “But why don’t you and some friends join me for a dinner party, three nights from today? I’ll have my office send you the details, alright? It’s going to be a blast and I can’t wait to have you all there.”
They say their goodbyes and head off, and when I turn my gaze back to Ashton I can’t help but smirk at the way he’s glaring at me. The guy clearly isn’t used to not having control over the situation, nor is he great with groups of people.
“What the hell was that?” He snaps, gesturing to the group walking away. “How can you even think about something as trivial as throwing a dinner party when we’re in the middle of a crisis? This case is important and if you can’t get your head in the game, then maybe I need to get a new partner assigned. Your social life does not trump work, and I’m not going to deal with this.”
I take a deep breath and lean forward, lips pursed together in a curt smile as I reply.
“Listen here, Ashton. That elderly gentleman that I was talking to? He still has high level contacts in the Pentagon. The government worker? They work for the Military Police, and they’ll already be looking out for the leak, which I can exploit. And the girl with the friends and the cute dog? She is the brains behind her father’s computer security company, which means she’ll be the one who’s called in to check for any possible digital leaks.”
I lean back with a satisfied grin on my face as I watch him realize that I was indeed right, and I take another sip of the glorious, perfect beverage in my hands.
Before he has a chance to say anything more I stand up and start to leave, nodding at him as I walk by.
“I may have just solved this scandal before I even finished my morning coffee.” I chuckle, shrugging. “What have you done, besides find me somewhere where I don’t want to be found? Again?”
And with that I stalk out of the coffee shop and head towards the office, determined to get on with the rest of my day. I leave the jar of cookies with Ashton so hopefully that keeps him busy for a few minutes before he catches up with me.
Thankfully I’m almost at the law firm building when he does catch up to me.
It’s bad enough that I’ve got to work with the guy on this, so I’d rather drink my morning coffee in peace.
7
Ashton
I catch up with Emily as we walk into the building of our law firm. It’s an ornate lobby and I can hear her heels clacking on the marble floors.
I struggle to keep my temper in check as I reach for Emily’s arm. I grab her gently enough so that she doesn’t spill her coffee or drop the accordion binder in her hands. She whirls on me, her eyes wide like she can’t believe I have the audacity to touch her.
“Take your hand off me.” There’s a smile on her lips but her teeth are clenched. She truly does work hard to keep up appearances. Unfortunately for her, I don’t care as much.
“What else did you expect?” I ask. “I’ve been trying to talk to you since the coffee shop. I thought you upheld good manners in your dealings. My mistake.”
“Let go of my arm.” Her voice is sickly sweet with unmistakable venom behind her words.
“Only if you agree to listen to me,” I say.
“I’ll make a scene. You know I will.”
“What are you, a soap opera star? This isn’t the country club and I’m not your cheating husband.” She jerks her arm back. She doesn’t jerk it hard but I let her go anyway.
“Thank you,” she says.
“Don’t thank me. Security won’t let us go through security like that.”
I place my briefcase and the jar of cookies I somehow got swindled into carrying for three blocks down on the inspection table. Emily places her briefcase and binder in front of mine and cuts in front of me.
“I didn’t expect such a dirty move out of you,” I say through my smirk.
“Then you don’t know me very well.”
Our eyes lock. The double meaning of our words simmers between us. She looks away quickly and hurries through security. I hurry right after her, ripping my briefcase away from the security guard before he’s done scanning it. I almost forget the cookie jar. I scoop it up, ignoring the confused looks from everyone else.
Emily’s already made it to the elevator. Lucky for me, she has to wait.
“It’s cute that you thought you could get away,” I say when I pull up beside her.
“Say that a little louder, why don’t you?” She turns to me with a suspiciously sweet smile. “All it takes is one concerned staff member to hear that and you’re booted for sexual harassment and I can get on with my life.”
“That’s extreme. Even for you.”
The elevator doors open. People flood out, each one of them in a bigger rush than everyone else. I stand to the side and hold the door. Someone’s briefcase strikes me in the thigh. The offender doesn’t notice. I’m tempted to call after him and make him aware of the situation, but that would only give Emily more ammunition against me.
I know people aren’t my strong suit. I personally don’t have a problem with that. I don’t need to be good with people to do my job well. Emily can’t seem to accept that so it’s just another insult to hurl at me.
“At this point, I’m willing to say whatever it takes to get you to move away from this conversation.” She phrases her words carefully as other people pile into the elevator with us. God forbid any of the strangers in here realize we’re having an argument.
“I wouldn’t need to keep pressing the issue if you would only fix what needs fixing.” That’s my attempt at proving to her that I can be tactful. It’s not that I’m incapable, I just don’t see the point. Why spend hours dancing around something when I could just come right out and say it? It saves time which saves money. Though, if we’re being honest, I’m more concerned with time than I am money. I have enough money and will continue to have enough money. I only get a limited number of moments on this earth and I don’t want to waste too many on pointless niceties.
“Oh.” Emily tips her chin up and lets out a polite titter. Some of the people in the elevator smile as if they’re in on the conversation. “I’m sorry but I’m going to need some clarification. What needs fixing?”
The elevator stops on a floor below ours. A few people get out.
Emily arches one brow. She’s daring me to push the limits of civility. Doesn’t she know me better than that? I guess not.
“Allow me to clarify. I need you to fix the attitude problem you’re having.”
Her head jerks around. She fixes me with a withering glare that’s actually rather unsettling. A look like that is the result of years of practice. I can’t tell if she perfected it through work or through being a mother. Probably a mix of both.
I don’t give her the satisfaction of looking away first.
“That’s how you want to play this?” She challenges.
“I’m playing this honestly.” I shrug. Now everyone in the elevator tries to avoid looking at us. I try not to laugh at them.
“Oh, you want honesty?” Emily squares her shoulders. “I’d honestly appreciate it if you wouldn’t show up at my home in the middle of the night or stalk me to the coffee shop in the morning.”
A few of the people in the elevator gasp but try to hide it. One or two of them
give me dirty looks.
“Believe me, the last place I want to be in the middle of the night is your home. It was an emergency and you know it.”
She glowers at me.
“It wasn’t an emergency. Nothing bad has happened between the time you knocked on my door and now. Oh, except for the fact that my daughter woke up after all and neither of us got any sleep. So, thank you for that.”
More murmurs from the people in the elevator.
“Christ, this is the slowest elevator on the goddamned planet,” I grumble. “Do they have someone in the shaft turning a crank to power it?”
I press the button for my floor a few times.
“Right, press it more. That’s exactly how elevators work,” Emily scoffs.
“At this point, I’m willing to try anything to get away from this conversation and get back to my job.”
One floor below ours, the elevator stops. Everyone else gets out. There are people waiting to get on, but an elderly lady stops between them and the doors.
“Take the stairs,” she whispers, loud enough to make sure we hear. “Trust me on this.” She looks over her shoulder at us. She looks at me like I just deflowered her granddaughter on a Sunday.
“Couldn’t you have at least pretended to have manners?” Emily snarls as soon as the doors close.
“I have manners. You were just as rude to me as I was to you. That’s called playing fair. No one else in the elevator has control over the situation. It doesn’t matter if they hear or not.”
“It does matter!” She insists. “I’m trying to build a reputation here. I don’t need you going around and destroying all of my hard work.”
“Build your reputation by doing a good job, not inviting everyone and their postman to a dinner party,” I snap.
“Need I remind you that I’m going to curate valuable pieces of information that could help us with the case.”
“I have a better idea,” I say brightly, which immediately makes her suspicious.
“I doubt it.” She picks an invisible piece of lint off her immaculate blazer. For the briefest of moments, my gaze rests on her cleavage. Even though she pisses me off more than anyone I’ve ever met, I can’t deny that she’s a stunning woman. Sharp as a whip, too. I’m almost having fun with this argument. Almost.
I look away before she notices. The last thing I want is for her to use my resting gaze against me.
“You already have a lot on your plate. I’m sure taking care of Jade keeps you busy. I know you value your time with her.”
Emily looks at me from the corner of her eye. I keep going.
“So, how about this? Just let me handle everything for this case. When we wrap it up, you can even take credit for the aspects you would’ve handled. We won’t have to work together, we won’t have to fight every morning, and you get the glory without sacrificing your time with your daughter.”
How’s that for diplomacy?
Emily folds her arms over her chest. As she turns to smile at me, the elevator door opens.
“I bet you think that’s a good offer,” she says.
“I’d take it if I was in your place” I shrug.
“That’s the difference between you and me.” She strides out of the elevator. I follow her out.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snap.
“It means that, unlike you, I wouldn’t dream about taking credit for something I didn’t do. I earn everything I’m given. And how dare you use my daughter in an attempt to manipulate me?”
It’s obvious that I’m not Emily’s biggest fan. Her kid is pretty damn cool, however. I haven’t spent much time with Jade. I don’t think we’ve said more than hello to each other. But that little girl makes the best cookies I’ve ever had in my life. A kid who can pull that off is a kid who’s going places.
“I’d never use Jade against you like that.”
“Well, you just did!” Her voice reaches a volume I guarantee it’s never reached in a professional setting. Everyone in the office sticks their head out of their respective offices and cubicles to see what all the commotion is about. They’re probably gathering fuel for the gossip fire. Emily’s always careful about that sort of thing. I’ve never heard her gossip. I’m not one for gossip either but that’s because I don’t do office talk.
“Look, I’m just trying to avoid arguing and getting food shoved into my mouth,” I snap.
“And I’m just trying to avoid being woken up in the middle of the night and getting stalked at my coffee shop,” she shot back.
“Emily. Ashton.” Our dickhead boss, Jeremiah sticks his head out of his office. He looks furious. If that guy didn’t sign my checks, I wouldn’t care about him. Emily, on the other hand, quickly collects herself.
“I apologize,” she says quickly. “We’re just-”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Jeremiah holds his hand up to silence her. Emily isn’t used to being silenced. I’m certain that if Jeremiah was anyone else, she’d tell him to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. “I want you both in my office in ten minutes. I don’t want to hear another word out of either of your mouths until then.”
“Yes, sir,” Emily says quietly. But she’s not cowed. She’s far from it. Once Jeremiah’s back is turned, she fixes me with a glare and storms into her office. I’m still left holding the cookie jar.
8
Emily
Standing here in Jeremiah’s office being chewed out for something that isn’t my fault isn’t exactly how I’d planned for my morning to go, but hey, what can you do, right? Especially when you’re working with someone like Ashton, who can’t seem to grasp the fact that a woman—namely me—can in fact do her job just as well as he does, without needing him to hold my hand the entire time.
“Listen, Jeremiah,” I say with a sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m tired of men telling me what to do. I graduated at the top of my class at Yale and I worked my way up here to the top just like everyone else in this firm. And, I did it in half the time, I might add.”
I uncross my arms and gesture to Ashton standing next to me, shaking my head as I feel myself start to get frustrated.
“I don’t need him to show up at my house at an ungodly hour, or to find me in the morning at my favourite coffee shop and berate me before I’ve even had a chance to have a cup of coffee. I wouldn’t do it to him, and the fact that he’s taken it upon himself to do so is frankly insulting.”
I watch Jeremiah and he sighs, dragging his hand down over his face as the frustration of the situation works itself through his features, the annoyance of having to deal with this practically coming off of him in waves. He’s a busy man, and he’s got a thousand things to do today—I know that, so does Ashton—but it isn’t my fault that Ashton can’t seem to figure out personal boundaries.
He looks over to Ashton and frowns, much to my delight, and starts to tell him exactly what I hoped he would.
“Ashton, I’m only going to say this once, okay?” He huffs, leaning forward on his desk. “You’re a senior partner, and this is beneath you. Showing up at her house in the middle of the night and then finding her before she’s even come into work? Come on man, that’s messed up.”
Ha! Take that, stalker man.
Ashton starts to defend himself but Jeremiah cuts him off with a wave of his hand and I can’t help but smirk, smug at the fact that I got to see him being chewed out by our boss. That’ll teach him.
“And you.”
Well, that little celebration was short lived.
My brow furrows and I frown as Jeremiah looks over to me with a scowl, shaking his head.
“I’m disappointed.”
Ouch.
“You know better than to go AWOL. I understand you have a family and obligations. But a quick email to say you’re online is all I’m asking for in cases of extreme emergency.”
I open my mouth to defend myself but he simply shakes his head with a firm ‘no’ and then puts his hand up. I hear Ashton
snicker next to me and Jeremiah shoots him a fiery glare, promptly shutting him up.
“I understand.” I say calmly, forcing a smile as I swallow my pride. “It won’t happen again.”
“You’re damn right it won’t.”
He huffs and he drags his hand down over his face again, the vein in his temple finally starting to subside.
“Listen, you two; you’re going to figure out how to work together and you’re going to figure out how to do it today, or I’m going to put both of you on admin desks. Paralegal work for a month doing discover and then contract completion for a year.”
He grumbles and curses under his breath, scoffing as he gestures and waves between the two of us.
“I hired you both onto this and assigned you two as partners so that you could cover each other’s weaknesses and play to each other’s strengths, not fight over toys on the playground and argue over who can do their job the best!”
“Of course, Jeremiah.” I say with a sigh. “We’ll do better.”
“Good, because I wasn’t kidding about what I said; I’ll stick you on a desk. You got me?”
I nod and I can see Ashton do the same next to me, and I can’t help but feel a little defeated. All that bull that I dealt with from Ashton last night and this morning, only to be snapped at by our boss because I dared to stand up for myself. Though, to be fair, he did have a point about the playing politics thing. I know how to do my job and I do it well, but I suppose I could tone it down a bit more and focus on the facts instead of hunches and PR.
He tells us to go and I stroll out of his office feeling like a child who’s just been scolded by their parents—I’m not mad I’m just disappointed, why does that always hurt so much more?—and Ashton huffs beside me.
“That was bullshit,” He snaps, shaking his head, “We aren’t children, we don’t need to be told to play nice. We’re adults; he should treat us like it. And who does he think he is? It’s not like he can do what we’re doing right now.”
Office Fling (Manhattan Bad Boys BWWM Interracial Romance) Page 4