by T Gephart
“Sorry, yes, of course. Thank you so much for this opportunity.” My cheeks hurt as I forced the smile and tried to remove any trace of animosity from my voice. “You will not be disappointed for taking a chance on me.” And you’ll both have front row seats when I wipe the floor with this asshole.
“Sarah, I know you might be a little disappointed, but working as part of a team is really important here,” Olivia looked at her husband, her eyes softening with what was possibly adoration. “We all have to work together, no one can manage by themselves. It’s not a sign of weakness.”
“Yep, team work.” I maintained my smile. “I can do that.”
I was lying through my teeth, but I couldn’t very well tell them both I had plans to annihilate my soon-to-be co-worker. No, I had to bide my time, and then prove that I could do it all on my own.
“Sarah?” Noah eyed me cautiously, possibly because it wasn’t the first time he’d called my name. I’d been too busy plotting to notice.
“Sorry.” I shook my head—and hopefully my mood—as I lifted myself out of my seat. “I was just making some mental notes, things I can show him when he gets here. I want to make sure he feels welcome, made to feel part of the process even though we’ve already started.”
“Well, that’s really admirable of you.” Olivia smiled, her hand resting on Noah’s arm. “I knew we made the right decision.”
“Thanks again.” I straightened my skirt. “I’ll get back to my desk and start working on our next proposal.”
I didn’t give them time to respond, shuffling out the door before my façade cracked and it became obvious I had no intentions of being nice.
It was only when I was in the safety of the hall that I allowed my shoulders to slump in disappointment.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
They could dress it up as an opportunity and a promotion, but to me, I felt the sting of rejection. And this was supposed to be the one place I didn’t feel that way.
My personal life—if you could call it one—was in the toilet. While I was glad I hadn’t married my boyfriend/fiancé at that debacle of a wedding, I couldn’t help but feel cheated out of the time I’d invested in him. In us. Time that could have been better spent elsewhere. Maybe if I hadn’t been so preoccupied with being part of a couple, I might have shown Noah and Olivia I was capable of doing this solo.
And this new guy they were bringing over from Chicago.
The one I’d been so enraged about I hadn’t even asked his name.
I hated him.
I hated him and I hadn’t even met him yet.
He could be a wonderful man. He could be considerate and hardworking, who knitted scarves for homeless people and I would still hate him. Nothing he could do or say would change that because he was the enemy.
“So did you get it?” Kennedy cornered me in the hall where I was still loitering, her face so full of expectation.
Kennedy was one of my closest friends and definitely the only person at work I felt comfortable talking to. She, like I, had assumed that my afternoon meeting with Noah and Olivia was me finally getting to sit at the grown-up table.
All morning we had carefully watched as the few other internal candidates marched out with slightly less bounce than when they marched in. It was this line of thought that lead us both to believe they had either chosen me or I’d been beaten by someone from the outside.
“Kind of.” I eyed the closed door I had recently walked out of, conscious that our voices might carry. “Let’s go make a cup of coffee.” I tipped my head toward the direction of the kitchenette hoping she’d take the hint.
“Kind of? What does that mean?” she whispered as we walked past co-workers, trying not to draw any unnecessary attention to us.
It wasn’t until we’d made it into the kitchenette and I closed the door behind us that I let the fake smile drop.
“So, I have to share the position with some new guy from the Chicago office. We are going to co-manage. Together.”
“A new guy? From Chicago? But why?” Cue the wide-eyed, open mouth I had probably displayed when I was told a few minutes earlier.
“Because I don’t have the experience, and he does.” I tried not to sound petulant even though I desperately wanted to stomp my foot. “Apparently we’ll make a great team.” The word tasted bitter in my mouth. “This is such bullshit.” This time I didn’t fight the urge, my stilettoed heel tapping on the linoleum as I paced. “He has no business trying to take what’s mine.”
“So what are you going to do?” Kennedy asked, her eyes narrowing cautiously.
“Ruin him and run him out of town.” I half laughed, hearing the words out loud sounding more ridiculous than they had in my head. “I have no choice.”
“Awesome, you know I’m going to want in on this.” Kennedy straightened, her hands on her hips as she flashed a devious smirk.
“Kennedy, I couldn’t ask that of you. This could go really bad, I mean what I am essentially saying is I plan to undermine and sabotage someone I’m supposed to be working with. Noah and Olivia, they could fire me. I’m not going to have you risk your job for my vendetta.”
“Pftt, you aren’t asking, I’m offering. And you won’t lose your job; they love you. If anyone leaves it will be the new guy. So, let’s hear it. I want to know everything about him. The more we know about him the easier it will be to find a weakness. Give me his name and few hours on the company server and I’ll have a file compiled.”
Kennedy had brought up a very valid point, the more we knew, the easier it would be, and at that point I knew almost nothing. Not even his name, which would have been helpful.
“I don’t know. I was so riled up that I didn’t ask. Not that it matters, we have two weeks before he gets here.”
“Awesome. That gives us plenty of time. So, here’s something that will cheer you up.” She rubbed her hands together in villainous glee. “Your ex got arrested yesterday. Allegedly,” she did the quotation marks in the air with her fingers, “he was involved in some insider trading scandal at Bracks and Barnes. He wasn’t directly implicated but he knew, which, as far as the SEC is concerned is collusion. You dodged a bullet with that one. Best thing you ever did was leave him.”
Ok, so that wasn’t entirely accurate. It was him who left me but I was in no mood to correct her. Not to mention it was literally two days before we were supposed to get married, which had prompted my trip to Vegas.
Of course I hadn’t told Kennedy—or anyone else for that matter—that I went through with the wedding with some random guy I’d picked up in the hotel bar. No, that would sound tragic and pathetic, of which it was neither. Instead, I kept my stand-in husband/night of debauchery to myself and replaced it with an alternative recall of events. Ones where I sat by the hotel pool and drank mimosas and I didn’t have hot sex with a man I’d just met.
“Maybe it’s a sign that my luck is changing.” I tried my best not to be pleased at my ex’s misfortune. Not that I was sadistic and wanted him to suffer or anything, but if karma saw fit to punish him then who was I to argue.
“Sure is. And believe me, this whole new guy thing will end up the same way. It’s your time, Sarah.”
“It’s my time.”
Chapter 2
Sarah
It seemed business as usual around the office as I glanced up from my desk. I had arrived early, determined to start on my secret pitch for Skyline Action Wear. They were a huge athletic apparel company that specialized in women’s exercise wear that not only fit great, but also empowered women of all shapes and sizes to love their bodies and not be scared to work up a sweat. It was femininity with assertiveness, which is why I wanted them in the worst way. Not only because they were a huge fish—the biggest account any single team member had brought in—but because I identified with their brand. Women feeling good in their own skin who were not afraid to get dirty when it was required.
Plus I liked getting in early when it was quiet and I could t
hink. I only had two weeks before the asshat from Chicago arrived, so I had to make each one of them count.
People had started to arrive around nine, grumbling under their breaths with oversized coffees in their hands as they walked to their offices, but it wasn’t until almost ten that the buzz really picked up.
“Oh my God.” Kennedy fanned herself as she sat down on the edge of my desk, her excitement level higher than usual. “The hottest guy I’ve ever seen just walked in for a meeting with Noah. Sarah, I am talking out of this world hot. God, I hope whatever business he is pedaling, Noah closes him because I want a chance to work on that.”
“Kennedy, you can’t sleep with clients.” It earned her a half smile because I knew she wasn’t serious. Although, there was no harm in looking.
“You didn’t see him. Trust me, this is worth breaking company rules for.” She tugged at my arm. “Let’s go take a trip up to the executive level so we can check him out when he leaves.”
“Are you serious? We’re not going to go check out some potential client like a piece of meat. Did you forget what I needed to do? I have bigger problems, like landing Skyline and proving we don’t need the asshole from Chicago here.”
While I could probably use the distraction, filing into the hallway on the hopes of seeing the “hot guy” didn’t seem like a solid plan. And I had an agenda, one that dictated I bring Skyline to Tate and Cane solo and prove what an asset I was. One that didn’t need a partner.
“Yeah, yeah. We can still do all of that, but if you don’t come see this guy with me, I’m going to be very disappointed.”
I could have argued, but that would have taken longer. So instead I just rolled my eyes and conceded it was easier to humor Kennedy and watch this poor guy leave so I could get back to important work.
“Fine, but don’t say I don’t do anything for you.” I abandoned my laptop and rolled out from behind my desk.
Kennedy jumped up and down like an overexcited Jack Russell as she followed me into the hall.
“So do you have a plan beyond just gawking at him?” I pressed the button for the executive floor as soon as we’d entered the elevator. “Might help if we have some reason for being up there.”
“We need a file from HR,” she lied with ease, as the metal doors closed behind us. “You’re looking to see there’s no conflict of interest with the new client and our existing portfolios. Due diligence.” Kennedy bit her lip to hide her smile.
“So you did give this some thought.” I laughed as the elevator came to a stop, the doors opening on the upper floor. “Let’s hope we aren’t up here waiting too long considering I actually have work to do.”
It seemed we weren’t the only ones who had the same idea.
“Have you seen him?” Maggie from accounting leaned in, her hand discreetly hiding her shy smile. “He’s gorgeous.”
“I was downstairs when he walked in,” Kennedy announced proudly. “He shook my hand and everything. He has really, really big hands.” She laughed as Maggie joined her.
“You know what they say about the size of a man’s hands.” Crystal, from IT had slid in beside us, the audience growing with each passing minute.
Kennedy laughed as her brows rose. “He must have a really big—”
“Shit.” It flew out of my mouth as the door opened and revealed the mystery man, the one we’d all been dying to see.
He was gorgeous. Tall, wearing a suit so impeccably cut it showcased an amazing body underneath. His beautiful green eyes caught mine, those dark lashes widening as they took in the view. Or maybe it was because I not so discreetly swore. But deep down I knew that he recognized me.
It was him.
There standing in the open doorway, next to Noah was the man I had married in Vegas.
Kyle.
My stand-in husband.
I blinked, convinced that maybe it was just a guy who looked remarkably like him, but wasn’t him.
“Sarah.” He smiled, the same perfect smile he’d worn when he’d met me in the bar. “How lovely to see you again.”
He didn’t seem fazed—cool, calm and collected, exactly how I remembered him only even more blindingly handsome than the memory. Me, I wasn’t so calm and if not for the stellar job by my skeletal system, I probably would have been a puddle on the floor.
“You know each other?” Noah looked between us, probably surprised the man he had just had a meeting with was on a first-name basis with a member of his staff.
“Yes, we do,” Kyle answered before I had a chance to say we didn’t. “Although it’s been a while since I’ve seen my wife.”
Bam!
It was like the air had been knocked out of me, with the single word hitting me square in the chest. And I wasn’t the only one who’d gasped, the choir of sucked air coming from all sides disturbing the silence.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Kennedy laughed, the first to react as she shook her head.
“He is joking,” I threw in, adding a little laugh of my own. I sounded nervous and not at all convincing. “Kyle just has a crazy sense of humor.”
“I don’t remember you being so shy, darling.” He laughed, not even attempting to let me off the hook.
“Ladies, is there something you needed?” Noah gave Kennedy, Crystal and Maggie the get-back-to-work look that made them all scatter.
“Um, I’ll grab that file from you,” Crystal called after Maggie awkwardly, following her down the hall.
Kennedy joining them for what seemed like moral support. I knew I was going to be grilled later, and I wasn’t pleased about being deserted.
“Not sure what’s going on here.” Noah waited, looking to Kyle and then to me. “Either of you want to fill in the blanks.” Though probably intended as a question, it wasn’t.
“We met in Vegas, when I took some personal time a few months ago.” I attempted something in the way of an explanation. “We barely know each other, really. We just, you know . . . Vegas.” I wasn’t doing a really good job of it.
“We pretended to be married, it’s really not that big of a deal. It was for entertainment value.” Kyle’s voice had all the confidence I didn’t have. “I just helped Sarah keep away unwanted advances. You know how it can be. Sometimes it’s just easier having a man around.”
Oh, I was going to kill him.
It was one thing to throw me off guard but it was a completely different ball game to insinuate I was a damsel in distress in front of my boss. That would not fly, not even by a long shot.
“Funny, I remember it differently.” I smiled, trying to keep the venom out of my voice. “It wasn’t me who needed any help. You just seemed so pitiful, drinking alone at the bar. I felt sorry for you and thought pretending to be your wife might help you save face. You know, with the ladies.”
He threw back his head and let out a big guttural laugh. “That’s cute. But we both know I don’t need help in that department, sweetheart.”
“Sounds to me like there are going to be some complications here.” Noah’s jaw tightened, his smile not as bright as it was a minute ago. “And I don’t like complications.”
Noah wasn’t a man who liked surprises and I wasn’t going to allow my poor judgment from a few months ago to reincarnate into my worst nightmare. Nope, whatever business they shared could be done without an issue and then Kyle could go ahead and move out of my life like he had the first time.
“Honestly, there is no problem. Not on my end, that’s for sure.” I smiled calmly, lying through my teeth. “Everything is just fine. We were just sharing a laugh, nothing untoward at all.”
I hoped I wasn’t overdoing the sickly sweet, or that either of them would see through my act.
“Exactly,” Kyle responded, unwilling to let me have the last word. “Nothing at all complicated going on here. In fact, I have nothing but extreme respect for Sarah.”
Damn him for trying to out nice me. He couldn’t have just smiled and agreed, nooooooo he had to go in there and sa
y how much he respected me.
I really did have such poor judgment when it came to men, especially when it came to husband material. He had seemed like such a nice guy, sure probably one who was acting that way because he wanted into my panties, but he was just like the rest of them. A mistake.
“That’s great.” Noah’s lips broke into a smile. “Might make the transition a little easier considering the amount of time you’re going to be spending together. Meet your new partner in crime, Sarah, Kyle Drake.” He slapped Kyle on the shoulder.
“What—”
The word wheezed out of me thankfully leaving off the few curse words I was thinking as I struggled with being able to breathe and talk at the same time.
No, this couldn’t be happening.
Playing nice for a prescribed period of time was one thing, working with him? Nope, that couldn’t happen.
“I thought you said there wasn’t a problem?”
“Oh, there isn’t. I’m just surprised. It’s all fine. Good. Great. It’s excellent news.”
Inside I was dying. Fighting the urge to run or scream. This was my worst nightmare come to reality. It was bad enough I had to “share” my new promotion, but doing it with a guy that had seen me naked? How does that even happen? This had to be a mistake. A practical joke. Something, anything where the truth would be revealed and I wouldn’t have to work with him.
“I don’t think I could be any more excited.” Kyle’s eyes actually gleamed, like he was enjoying the whole thing.
“This worked out great.” Noah smirked before taking a step back into his office. “Kyle, I’ll email the rest of the paperwork later. Thanks for stopping by.” He then turned his gaze to me. “Sarah, show our newest team member the way out, will you. You can probably use the time to get reacquainted.” He didn’t wait for a response, leaving me alone with Kyle as Noah closed his office door.
Without thinking I grabbed his arm and pushed him into the vacant meeting room, needing more than just a minute to compose myself before I walked him out.
“If you want private time with me, sweetheart, all you have to do is ask.” He throatily laughed as the door closed behind us. “I’ll be honest, the idea of you on this boardroom table—very very hot.”