“You think you’re so smart. I shoulda listened to Adam and smacked—”
“Ladies. Is there a problem here?”
Brady. God. I needed to hear his voice, but I didn’t want him here for this. I didn’t want my mom to know that I’d fallen for this sweet, sexy, warm, funny and loving man. The fact he had money didn’t matter to me, but all my mother would ever see when she looked at him was dollar signs. Let her think I was too bitchy to “catch” a man. Let her think I had delusions of grandeur about my job. It’d always been easier for her to believe a lie than see the truth.
“Miss Greene?”
“No, Mr. Lund, there’s no problem. I was just giving her directions and she’s about to leave.”
“Frank said—”
“I’m sorry I left my post. I’m going back there right now.”
My mother gave me a disgusted once-over, wiped her nose on the sleeve of her coat and said, “You’re pathetic.” Then she walked away.
Breathe.
“Lennox.”
“Give me a moment.”
He moved in behind me, there if I needed him.
But I could control this. I’d been doing it for years.
I watched her until she got into a cab.
Please be gone, out of my life for good.
I flinched when Brady put his hands on my arms.
That didn’t deter him. “Who was that?”
“No one.”
“Lennox, who—?”
“I told you. She’s no one to me.”
He sighed into my hair.
Despite my emotional state, I loved these little pockets of sweetness he gave me. I didn’t even mind that we were in the lobby, where any of my coworkers could see us together.
“Come upstairs with me.”
“I can’t. I’m on phone duty for another hour and a half.”
“Someone else can take over.”
I faced him and tried to put myself back together. “While I’m happy you want to be my loving, protective man, right now I need to keep up a false front. I can’t afford to fall apart.”
“And it’s too much to ask me to hold you together? That’s what I’m supposed to do, dammit. That’s what I want to do.”
“Later. Okay?”
He retreated and ran his hand through his hair. “Okay. But you’d better be on your way up to my office at five oh one.”
*
I got a text from Brady fifteen minutes before five saying that he’d be on an overseas conference call that would last a while and I shouldn’t wait around for him.
He didn’t mention me going to his place to wait, so I was at loose ends. I’d been prepared to lean on him, tell him why my mother had shown up today, but now he was occupied. I could ask Sydney if she wanted to grab a drink . . . but then I remembered she’d said earlier that she had a date tonight.
I’d decided to go home when I saw Brady’s sister, Annika, leaving the building. I called out her name.
She turned around, her eyes searching the crowd until she saw me. She smiled. I hadn’t noticed before that she and Brady had the same smile. “Hey. What are you doing down here?”
“Subbing for the desk clerk.”
She whistled. “Who’d you piss off to score that crap job?”
“No idea. Are you done for the day?”
“Yep. I was debating on whether to head for the gym or the bar.”
“I could use a drink or twenty, if you don’t mind me tagging along with you to the bar.”
“Thank god. I always feel pathetic drinking alone.”
“People act like you’re just sitting there, waiting for guys to hit on you.”
Annika nodded. “Let’s avoid the usual places around here. There’s a piano bar six blocks over, if you don’t mind walking.”
“I could use the fresh air.”
“Cool.”
We didn’t talk while we walked, but it wasn’t weird.
Or it wasn’t until we were seated in a corner with our two-for-one drinks, away from the hipster happy hour crowd, and I caught Annika studying me.
I’d never played the shrinking violet very well. It occurred to me that maybe Annika didn’t know that. I’d been quiet and efficient when I was assigned to her department. At the Lund family thing, I’d been more watchful than talkative. So she probably didn’t know what to think of me and maybe that put us on even ground.
“Let’s get the personal stuff out of the way first.”
“Shoot.”
Annika leaned in. “I like you. I like you with my brother. He’s been all business for so long I’m happy to see he’s having a life. You get him, don’t you?”
“You mean, do I call him on his shit? Yes. I see the man beneath the power suits and the haughty attitude and the math brain. But it’s only because he’s chosen to show me the sweet, sexy and kinky sides. I appreciate how rare that is for him.”
Her eyes widened. “Kinky? Umm, TMI, Lennox. He’s my brother.”
I grinned. “Just seeing if you’re paying attention.”
“Jerk.”
“I’m glad you like me. Your mother . . . not so much.”
“She’s playing a part. She’ll get tired of it, trust me.” Annika slurped down her drink. Then I watched a change come over her. The same kind of Let’s get to business expression Brady had.
Uh. Oh.
“You’ve been in the office temp department for almost a year. Is that where you’re the happiest? Because it’s something different every day?”
“That’s part of the appeal. Why?”
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Why did people in positions of power ask this question? Was it supposed to prove loyalty? “I see myself on a houseboat in the Philippines cooking empanadas and fried plantains.”
Annika laughed. “Points for creativity. Maybe you should be applying to Marketing instead of PR.”
“Applying?” My heart jumped into my throat. “This is a job interview?”
“I told you I wanted you on my team, Lennox. You’ve had almost eight months of floating to other departments. And tell me, did you feel overqualified to sit at a desk in reception and answer phones? Did you feel like your potential was being wasted?”
I squirmed.
“Truth.”
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s what I want to hear. Look, I have no doubt that you could run the clerical support program when Lola decides to retire. The money would be good. It wouldn’t be a huge challenge. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that type of job.”
“But?”
“But PR is faster paced. We have more autonomy. That’s not to say we don’t have rules—we do; it’s just no one knows them.”
I laughed.
“Let’s cut to the chase. There will be an opening in PR in three weeks. Are you interested?”
“You want honesty? Here it is. I’m not interested in the creative side. I like order. I like lists. I like checking things off my list. I like checking to see if others have checked things off their lists. I like to work with other employees, not clients. I can’t sell anything to save my life.”
Annika stared at me and I thought I’d blown it.
Until she said, “I have a crazy girl crush on you right now, Lennox Greene.” She laughed. “You are exactly what my department needs. That’s why I was vague on the details of what the job entails, because I wondered if you wanted to be on the creative side. Now that I know you are more the math brain type like Brady, I want you to come to work for me. You’ll be challenged—you’ll be the queen of lists in Post-it note creative chaos. And the money is rockin’.”
She gave me a starting salary amount that dropped my jaw.
“Now your turn for truth, Annika Lund. Is that number because I’m involved with your brother?”
“That’s industry standard salary for one year’s experience.” She sipped her second drink. “Look it up.”
“I will.”
“I understand you’ll probably want time to think it over, but don’t take too long, because the job gets listed on Tuesday. And before you ask, yes, I have full hiring and firing authority, and it is not a requirement for me to post the job opening. I can hire and promote at will.” She grinned. “It’s good to be me.”
I drained my drink. “You know what? I don’t need time to think about this. I’d be delighted to work for you, Annika.”
She clapped her hands. “You won’t regret this. And you know you’ll fit right in.”
I’d loved working in PR, and I would’ve snapped that job up except for the fact I’d wanted more experience and a more solid employment record. Now that I had that . . . look out. I glanced up at her. “Will it bother you if people in the company assume that I got the job because I’m involved with Brady?”
“Nope.”
“What if things go south between me and your brother?”
Annika rolled her eyes. “I’m hiring you, not him. I wouldn’t put it past him to do some dumbass thing to test your commitment to him, because he is a man, but it won’t be intentional. Just do me a favor—don’t tell him I hired you until you officially give notice.”
“Sure. Should I give notice tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Annika held up her glass. “To you making my work life easier.”
I touched my glass to hers. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Now. Tell me every little thing about you, Lennox.”
That’s when I burst into tears.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brady
‡
I didn’t have time for this bullshit personnel meeting. I had fifty other irons in the fire, and trying to get everything done in forty hours—okay, maybe fifty hours—a week instead of eighty hours had proved to be a serious challenge. Jenna had picked up some of the slack and had delegated her basic secretarial duties to Patrice. When Patrice heard I had a girlfriend, she’d stopped being moon-eyed over me and actually began to do her job.
Before I walked into the sixteenth-floor conference room, Jenna took me aside. “I just heard about this.”
“What? This meeting? Join the club.”
“No, the topic of this meeting. There haven’t been any whispers about it from my usual sources, which should’ve set off my alarm bells.”
“Whatever. I need to get this over with.”
“Brady.”
I froze. And turned around slowly. My admin never called me by my first name.
“You have to know this so you don’t go in there blind.” She grabbed the sleeve of my suit and dragged me around the corner. “Anita has a problem with the temp department. That’s why she ordered a thorough investigation.”
“I know. The oversight committee ended the investigation last week. I’m still waiting on the results.”
“The results are in. I just heard that from—never mind. The point is, they gave the results and their recommendation to Ash, not you.”
“Why?” I asked, even though I knew exactly why.
“Because you’re involved with Lennox. According to my source, Anita believes you can’t be impartial about the department when your girlfriend’s employment is at stake. So she requested the COO look at the report with a recommendation before it goes to Finance.”
“Which means Anita is recommending dissolving that department.”
“I would assume so.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Okay, that’s a lie. I know that’s what she’s already done because she bragged about it to Lola.”
“You’re kidding me.”
Jenna shook her head. “Lola has been talking to me for the last few weeks. As head of Personnel, Anita has access to all of the classified information regarding annual reviews and employee reprimands. Some of the documents that the temps have delivered to Lola have been mysteriously lost after Lola logs them. And it’s not a coincidence that the ones that are missing are from the admins that Anita is tight with.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“I guess Lennox figured it out. When she brought up the missing paperwork with Ash, he referred her back to his admin. His admin threw a fit about a lowly temp overstepping her bounds and Anita was going to fire Lennox outright, but Lola intervened. Since then, Lola has been giving Lennox lower-level clerical jobs until her annual review. Then her position is somewhat safer.”
“How did this get so fucked, Jenna?”
“Your girl is too smart and too much of a go-getter—that’s what this company needs, but instead of being promoted for it, she’s been held back, and that pisses me off.” Her eyes glittered. “This bullshit has gone on long enough. I don’t know what immunity Anita has through your uncle, but I’d like to think the CEO wouldn’t stand behind a woman like that who’s freely allowed to carry out corporate sabotage.”
“Can you get me proof of any of this?”
She ran her hand through her hair. “Yes. Lola swears she documented everything. There are two immediate problems, though.”
“Which are?”
“First, the meeting is happening now and I’ll need time to sort through everything so you have all the documentation at your disposal. You can’t take this on without it. Second, your impartiality will be questioned since you’re involved with her.”
“Sounds like this began months ago, before Lennox and I started dating. So it won’t be an issue—I won’t allow it to be.” Renee and Zach from my department walked by and I gave them a head nod before I lowered my voice. “I authorize overtime for you and Lola and anyone else you trust to get all the data compiled. I don’t care if it takes us all night.”
“Us?”
I lifted an eyebrow at her. “Did you forget that a large portion of my job is finding and reporting discrepancies?”
She laughed. “Yes, I guess I did.”
“Batten down the hatches—it’s about to get rough.”
I straightened my tie and grabbed the file folder from Jenna’s hands. “Make sure IT knows that no computer security changes are to be authorized for the next forty-eight hours. I don’t need Anita getting wind of this and blocking access. If anyone questions the order, tell them it has to do with a financial matter you’re not at liberty to disclose.”
She rolled her eyes while offering me a tight smile. “This ain’t my first rodeo, boss.”
I strolled into the conference room and made a mental note of everyone who was there. Anita and her secretary. Ash, his admin and her secretary. Nolan’s admin. Renee. Zach. Gaby from HR. I didn’t see Lola. I smiled, knew it looked strained and didn’t care.
“While I’m not entirely certain what this meeting pertains to, and as my department received the memo a full day later than the other departments”—I looked at Anita—“your color-coding system gets a big fail for that, by the way—I can assume this is not an emergency. Since I do have a real crisis under way with one of the banks we deal with in China, this meeting will be postponed until eleven o’clock tomorrow. Any additional questions can be directed to my admin in the morning.”
I walked out.
*
Lennox
I’d come in thirty minutes early to talk to Lola and give her my two weeks’ notice.
Her office door was closed. As were her blinds.
Unusual.
Unsure what to do, I took a seat in the hallway and tried to keep my nervous fidgeting to a minimum. I checked my phone for the fifth time—no messages, no missed calls from Brady. He didn’t seem the type to cut off all communication when he was upset. Then again, hadn’t I done that to him? Cut him off when he’d just wanted to offer me comfort?
I closed my eyes. To further complicate matters, after four cocktails the whole mess with my mother had poured out to Annika. I’d cried like a freakin’ little girl in front of the woman who would be my boss.
The defensive voice inside me retorted that I needed to talk to someone, and better her than to lay the burden at Brady’s feet. Annika had been
so warm and understanding. She’d mentioned issues with her own mother, but then she brushed them aside as trivial when compared with what I’d dealt with. It hadn’t occurred to me that Brady might be upset that I’d spoken to his sister about my troubles rather than him.
I watched the time tick away until fifteen minutes had passed.
Then the door opened. I stood and Jenna, Brady’s admin, hustled out and rushed past me without a word.
Why was Jenna down here talking to Lola?
Not my business. I smoothed the wrinkles from my skirt and approached the partially opened door, knocking twice.
The barked “Enter” should’ve been my first indication that all wasn’t well. The instant Lola saw me, her scowl deepened. “Lennox. What is it?”
I’ve come to tell you I received a great opportunity for advancement within Lund Industries. I’ll be assuming the position of office manager for the PR department in two weeks. I’ve enjoyed working with you.
But of course that wasn’t what I said. I blurted out, “I’m quitting.”
“Shut the damn door.”
I did as she asked and then lowered into the chair in front of her desk that sat a good foot below her throne.
“You’re quitting. And of all the days you decide to tell me . . . of course you choose today.”
It didn’t make any sense to me, since I’d just been offered the job last night. “Yes. That’s company policy—”
“Oh, stuff the company policy and procedure. That’s what this whole mess is about.”
“Umm . . . pardon?”
She scrutinized me. “Did you have advance knowledge of this?”
I didn’t know how to answer.
“Did Mr. Lund give you a heads-up last night to offer your resignation so you didn’t get caught in the net and go down with the rest of us?”
“Lola. I didn’t see Brady last night. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
What You Need (Need You #1) Page 26