The floor was dark and quiet. No one else was here.
Marly walked briskly to Jasper's office, reaching out for the metal knob on the door. She held her breath. Would it open? To her amazement, it did. Apparently, Jasper didn't need to lock his door since only people with the code could get to the floor.
She pulled the door open and slipped inside, slowly shutting the door behind her so it didn't make any noise. Her heart thudded against her ribs as she studied the office. Where did he keep the designs?
His office was neat and orderly. Everything in its place and no clutter. For a CEO, he didn't have a lot of places for files.
She walked to the large credenza behind his desk and pulled on one of the drawers.
It was locked.
She tried another.
Also locked.
Dammit!
The fall designs were in his office. Everyone in the company knew he kept them in here, just as his father had done when he was in charge. But she couldn't stay in here long. She had to look quickly … if she were caught in here, there was no telling what would happen. At the very least, she'd be fired, and then how would she get those designs for Tanner?
She glanced nervously at the door. The shades in the window to the hallway were closed, but she could tell it was still dark out there. Still no sign of anyone around. The ticking of the clock echoed loudly in her ears, ratcheting up her anxiety with each passing second.
Her eyes fell on the computer. There were no designs on any of the servers, and she had heard through the grapevine that once a line was completed and approved, only Jasper held the designs until after the runway shows were complete.
She eyed the two built-in cabinets on either side of the fireplace. She yanked on one, and it opened. Too bad—all that was in there was a bunch of bottles of booze and some glasses. High-end stuff, too. But that didn't help her. She was just about to shut it when a sound in the hallway caught her attention.
She froze, her eyes darting to the door.
The knob turned, and the door whooshed open, causing Marly's heart to jerk in her chest.
"Marly? What are you doing in here?"
8
Jasper stood in the doorway, frowning at her. Marly's heart raced. She tried to swallow the panic welling up inside her, ignoring the other feeling—the one of guilt or regret—she wasn't sure which—at being caught in the act.
Jasper let the door shut, and it clicked in place. He came further into the office. Closer to her.
"Oh. Hi, Mr. Kenney … I mean, Jasper. I was just waiting for you, and, err, this is embarrassing, but I wanted a drink, so I was checking if you had anything. I'm sorry." Marly hoped he would buy her lame excuse.
"Waiting for me?" Jasper frowned, and Marly was relieved to see all traces of suspicion disappear from his face. "Did we have a meeting?"
"I thought we did. Didn't you say you wanted to see me before the meeting tomorrow?" Marly asked him, surprised at how fast she was coming up with this BS.
Jasper reached past her to grab a bottle of scotch from the shelf. His scent wafted over to her—sandalwood and spice—and her stomach did a little flip. She stepped back, reluctantly.
He took the bottle and two glasses to his desk and poured them both a drink.
"I don't think I said that, but with the day I've had, anything is possible. Here." Jasper handed Marly one of the glasses. He sat in the chair and indicated for her to sit on the couch.
"I thought Veronica said you wanted to go over them," Marly said. She felt bad about throwing Veronica under the bus. Sort of. But if Jasper questioned Veronica and she denied telling Marly about the meeting, who would he believe? Oh well, she could probably cover, and in another week or so, it wouldn't matter anyway.
Jasper frowned again. "We must have gotten our wires crossed."
"Oh! Well, I'm sorry. I don't want to waste any of your time," Marly said quickly as she took a swig of scotch and tried not to cough from it. She placed the glass carefully on the green onyx coaster on the coffee table and tried to ignore the burn in her throat while she sprung up, happy to get out of there as fast as possible. "I'll just let you get back to work."
Jasper motioned for her to sit back down. "That's okay. I'd like to know what you've come up with. It's important to the company. Why don't you brief me on what you're presenting tomorrow?"
Now what was she going to do? She didn't have a briefing prepared. She'd have to wing it.
The burn of the scotch had turned into a relaxing warm glow. Maybe another swig would help. She picked the glass up carefully and swilled the rest down.
Jasper raised a brow then tilted the bottle toward her glass. "More?"
The liquid courage was helping. One more sip couldn't hurt. She scooted closer to him and held out her glass.
Jasper started to pour, then he made a funny face. His nose twitched. He put the bottle down, sucked in a breath, and let out the loudest sneeze Marly had ever heard.
Startled, Marly jumped. Her grip loosened on the tumbler full of scotch, and it slipped out of her hand, landing smack-dab in Jasper's lap.
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz! Let me get that." Marly grabbed a bunch of napkins that were on the table, and she instinctively crouched in front of his chair, swiping at the growing stain on his thigh with the napkins.
Jasper grabbed her hands. "No! I mean that's okay. Not your fault. It'll dry."
Marly stared up at him, embarrassed. Had she really just lunged to the floor to wipe the boss's crotch? He probably thought she was trying to hit on him. But instead of the hint of disgust she expected to see in Jasper's eyes, she saw a flicker of something else. Desire? No, must be the scotch. She was just glad he wasn't handing her a pink slip.
"Oh, sorry… I…" Marly didn't know exactly what to say as she still crouched in front of him like a ditz.
Before she could push up from her position, the doorknob rattled. Marly's blood froze as the door started to open, and she heard Veronica's screechy voice.
"Jasper … are you in there? Your father is on his way up."
Veronica's mouth dropped open as she pushed into the room to see Marly kneeling in front of Jasper's chair. Marly sprung up, tripped backwards over the coffee table, and landed splayed-legged on the couch. Her arms flailed in the air as she struggled to sit upright.
"Oh, err, I didn't know you were busy." Veronica eyed Marly up and down, then her eyes widened as they zoned in on Jasper's wet crotch. Marly's cheeks flamed. It figured Veronica would get the wrong idea. But she had to admit she took a smug satisfaction in the flare of jealousy she saw in Veronica's eyes.
"We were just going over something. I spilled my drink. What do you need?" Jasper's tone reflected a hint of annoyance as he dabbed at his pants with the napkin. He glanced at the green marble clock on the mantle. "What are you doing here at this hour, anyway?"
"Don't you remember? I'm making up hours because I took last Friday off. Anyway, your father is on his way up. I just wanted you to be aware." Veronica gave Marly one last pointed look, turned on her heel, and stomped to her desk.
Marly pushed up from the sofa and headed toward the door. This was the perfect excuse to get out of there before she had to ad-lib an update. Not to mention she was embarrassed about the whole drink-spilling incident.
"Sorry about the spill. I'll update you on the project tomorrow," Marly said.
She kept her eyes glued to the floor as she rushed toward the door, almost running straight into Edward Kenney, who had paused in the doorway.
"Whoa, there. What are you running away from?" Edward said it as a joke, but Marly wished a giant hole would open up and swallow her.
"Edward Kenney, this is Marly West. Marly, this is my father, and the founder of Draconia Fashions, Edward Kenney," Jasper balled up the napkin and tossed it into the trash.
Marly extended her hand to shake Edward's and caught his eyes moving from her head down her body and back up again.
"Nice to meet y
ou, Marly. I've heard a lot about you." Edward's smile was as heart-stopping as Jasper's. They even had the same dimples.
"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Kenney." Marly backed out the door, managing to avoid looking at Jasper. "Okay, I'll update you tomorrow, Mr. Kenney." She waved loosely in Jasper's direction. "Sorry about the… umm… accident."
She hurried out into the hall, fighting the urge to run and ignoring the daggers Veronica was shooting into her back with eyes. She forced herself to slowly walk to the elevator and calmly press the button even though she really wanted to stab it repeatedly with her finger.
Come on. Come on. Come on!
Marly's mind whirled while she waited for the infernally slow elevator. That was a close one.
Her stomach plummeted as the weight of her actions settled in. Snooping around in your boss's office was never a smart idea for a lot of reasons, but Marly had a more pressing reason than most. She glanced back toward his office, a twinge of guilt pinching her gut. Jasper hadn't been irate when he'd found her in his liquor cabinet. He hadn't yelled and kicked her out or fired her as she might have expected. He'd acted nice. Interested.
She was starting to get the impression that Jasper Kenney wasn't the cold-hearted monster he was reputed to be, and if that was true, it would make her job that much more difficult.
Jasper stared at the doorway through which Marly had just disappeared. Her vanilla-lemon scent lingered in the air, causing a strange and unwanted longing in his chest. And a tickle in his nose.
"Well, she seems interesting." Edward gave a pointed glance at the two drink glasses and then Jasper's wet pants before walking over to the small stocked bar in the office to pour himself a drink.
Jasper knew what his father meant by "interesting." He clearly had the wrong idea. Defensiveness flared. Leave it to his father to think that Marly had been here for more than just work.
Then again, it was after hours, an odd time for a meeting, especially one Jasper couldn't remember scheduling. Had Veronica really scheduled it? He wouldn't be surprised if she was up to something—she'd been acting very odd ever since Marly had been put on the special project.
"She is a very good employee. I'm happy with her work so far," Jasper said crisply.
"She certainly isn't like most of the young women here, though. She's a bit overweight. Is that the image you want Draconia to project?" Edward studied Jasper so intently that he felt uncomfortable.
Jasper's eyes flicked to the photo of his mother. She'd never liked the way Edward had been so hung up on appearances. Edward had run the company with an iron fist, and he'd never paid attention to anything his mother—or anyone else—said on the matter of appearances. It was, after all, a fashion company, and appearance was important.
But it was Jasper's company now. And maybe the company image needed to change—things certainly weren't going so well the way it was now.
"What image is that, Dad? The stick-thin overly expensive suit and stiletto heel image the rest of the women here portray? I'm more worried about her ability to work than her looks." Jasper barked the words at his father, which was unusual. He rarely raised his voice at Edward. Was he being overly sensitive about Marly? Why?
"Calm down, Jasper. I was merely pointing something out. You know I tend to be a bit picky when it comes to how the employees here dress and look. Looks are everything in this industry, whether you like it or not. Since you run the largest fashion house in the world, I assume you know something about looks," Edward said coldly, almost in a bored tone. "Let's go eat. I am starving."
Going out for dinner was the last thing Jasper wanted to do, especially with his father, but he reluctantly agreed. He knew Edward Kenney didn't take no for an answer without a fight.
9
Tanner Durcotte slammed his fist down on the conference room table. They had been in this meeting arguing for over an hour, and it was late. His design team at Theorim Fashions just wasn't getting it.
"I do not, again, do not care what you think of these designs. Get working on them. Modify them a little if you need to, but just do it! I am the CEO. No one else. If you don't like what I'm telling you, then you can leave. Understood?" he asked, looking around the room at the sea of stunned faces.
"Tanner, we just want to ensure we have the best fall line for the runway show." Marcy Nichols, the Vice President of Design, did not raise her voice. She had worked for Tanner for ten years and knew him well. The designs he had brought into the meeting weren't anything she or her team wanted to work with. She also knew better than to argue with him at this point, especially given the bright-red color of his angry face.
"Get to work finishing them, then!" Tanner bellowed and stormed out of the conference room. He marched into his office and slammed the door shut. Everyone thought the designs he had presented were hideous. Why was that?
A niggle of doubt manifested in the back of Tanner's mind. According to Marly, Draconia had spent three years working on them. Would they spend that much time on something that wasn't any good? But he was sure his own staff knew what they were talking about, and they'd hated them.
Something wasn't right here, and he didn't have time for a screwup. The fall fashion show was only a few weeks away. He grabbed his phone and called Marly.
Marly didn't bother to look at her phone when she heard it ring. She knew who it was.
Tanner.
She would deal with him later. After her mental breakdown over what had just happened upstairs in Jasper's office. She couldn't stop replaying it over and over in her mind.
What would she have told him about the reports if Veronica hadn't interrupted? She could have bluffed her way through something—she knew the information cold—but it had been stupid for her to risk getting caught in his office in the first place. Where was her common sense?
The corners of Marly's lips quirked up when she replayed the look on Veronica's face when she opened the door. Of course she must have thought something was going on with the way Marly was on her knees in front of Jasper's chair.
Thinking back about it made Marly's pulse race. She had to admit she'd felt… something… being so close to Jasper. But that was certainly only one-sided. Jasper had his pick of beautiful women, and most of them weren't klutzes that spilled drinks on him.
She'd heard all the stories of Jasper being a womanizer, and she knew he could have any woman he wanted. The women in the office always commented on his good looks, even the married ones. The fact he was the CEO and so wealthy made him one of the most eligible bachelors in New York.
Pushing Jasper to the back of her mind, she scooped up all the binders she had printed out and assembled for the meeting, giving them one final glance to ensure they were accurate and consistent.
She headed to the conference room and placed one at each seat. Better to get it set up now instead of rushing around tomorrow morning. The conference room wasn't going to be used until the meeting tomorrow, which worked out nicely.
She proceeded to do a dry run of her presentation to make sure she wasn't fumbling around with her laptop in the actual meeting. Even though she knew the information cold, she was worried about the slides and the mechanics of switching to the right slide on her computer. She was famous for hitting the wrong button and would be embarrassed if that happened. As stupid as it sounded, it was the little things that could make your presentation seem unprofessional.
She spent much longer than she had anticipated on her practice run and was glad because she had come across a few mistakes. She corrected them and then updated all the binders carefully.
It was almost nine by the time she finished. She knew she'd better hurry home and try and get some sleep, although sleep seemed unlikely. She had far too much on her mind.
Jasper hit the P button on the elevator. He couldn't wait to escape to the solitude of his penthouse apartment. Dinner with his father had been exhausting. It always was. Edward had droned on about buying some new properties in upstate New York, while Jasper's
mind had been on his flailing sales numbers.
His penthouse was spotless. Not a stray piece of lint on the leather sectional or a spot of dust on the mahogany-and-glass tables. The kitchen didn't have even one errant crumb. The stainless steel appliances glistened, as did the marble floor. Only the low hum of the high-end stainless steel refrigerator could be heard. Inside the fridge, Sarah had placed several prepackaged homemade meals.
Jasper pulled out a container, opened the top, and sniffed—the scent of garlic and basil hit him. Sarah's meals were always delicious, and he was grateful for all she did for him. Homemade food was much better than the usual frozen foods he had to microwave, or the sandwich meats that always spoiled and had to be thrown away because he never took the time to make a sandwich.
Sure, he'd helped her brother out once when they were desperate, but he didn't expect Sarah to cater to him to make up for it. Good thing Edward had never found out—he'd have read Jasper the riot act. Jasper made a mental note to thank Sarah tomorrow. Maybe give her a raise.
Edward would shit a brick about that. He never gave raises unless he had to. His attitude was that he was doing everyone that worked at Draconia a favor by employing them. Was Edward right? Maybe he would hold off on the raise.
He stripped off his shirt, caught a slight hint of lemon, and sneezed. Marly. The sudden image of her trying to dab at the spilled drink came to mind and made Jasper wonder what it would be like if…
Well, never mind. He didn't want to go there. The drink spill had been an accident. His fault, really, because he'd sneezed and startled her. He was sure there had been nothing suggestive in the way she'd tried to clean it up. It had actually been kind of comical. Innocent and sweet in a way.
Unlike what his father had said, Jasper didn't think Marly was overweight. He thought she was curvy in all the right places, just like a woman should be. He admired her confidence and liked that she stood out amongst the others in the company. He was excited to work with her on this project, and maybe that wasn't all due to the fact that it could help sales. And the sneeze proved it—just as his mother had always said. He'd sneezed when talking about her new designs, and that was a sign to green-light the project in a big way. Marly's presentation might be met with resistance from the executives, but Jasper was already convinced it might be the one thing that could save the company.
In Over Her Head (Corporate Chaos Series Book 1) Page 5