by J. P. Comeau
Relief washed through my veins. “Great. That sounds fantastic.”
He smiled at me, and I ignored the butterflies in my chest. “Any questions?”
“Several. But, those can wait until I go see H.R.”
He walked over to the door and put his arm out. “Wonderful. Head back to the elevator and take it to the ninth floor. Then, follow the signs. I’ll call down and let them know you’re expected.”
I looked up at him. “Need anything else before I leave?”
His eyes found mine. “Like I said, we’ll speak once you get back up here.”
I noticed an unsettled flutter in the pit of my gut as he stared at me. Zane’s eyes were as mesmerizing as they were that night, and I had a bad feeling about all of it. It seemed weird taking the job, given our history together. But, at the same time, it was a fantastic opportunity. I didn’t live in a world where I could turn down a job like this in the hope that something else less confusing might come along.
Suck it up, Karina. You officially have a job. Celebrate that.
I figured, just because I was an asshole to him, and just because he flat-out embarrassed me at my best friend’s birthday party, didn’t mean we had to have a tense work relationship. We were adults. We could both get past that.
Right?
“All right. Well, I'll head out and be back as quickly as I can,” I said.
He nodded. “You do that. I’ll be in my office. Just knock on the door twice.”
I paused. “Twice?”
“Yep. Twice. It helps me to distinguish between you and Brenden.”
“Good to know.”
“See you soon, then.” He smiled.
Stop staring at him, idiot. “Right. Yes.”
I turned away and hurried to the elevator, exiting his sight as quickly as possible. Oh, God, how am I going to do this job? Will he be an asshole boss to me because of what I did? Or is this his way of secretly getting back to me?
I felt myself growing sick to my stomach as I pushed the button and summoned the elevator. As it rose up the shaft toward me with a soft hum, I took a second to glance around the top floor. Up here every office was lined with tinted windows and along the back wall sunlight flooded into the space. But while I’d usually enjoy that, I almost felt exposed.
Here I wouldn’t have an office like I had back home. My desk was out in the open for everyone to see. The white-and-black-swirled marble flooring had a harsh element to it that contrasted the matte-black painted walls. And the doors to every office were the same matte black as the walls, except for the stainless steel doorknobs. The space wasn't anything like Zane's office.
It was plain.
Almost as if someone had worked to keep it that way.
Huh.
The elevator dinged, and I whipped back around. I slipped inside and watched the metal doors close before pressing the button for the ninth floor. It was obvious from the smell that someone had brought egg salad for lunch. It was what I was used to smelling in an office, unlike the top floor that seemed to have a constant scent of fresh flowers.
Guess some things never changed.
I tried to focus on all the good things about the position. The salary was about fifteen grand under what I made as the head of H.R. at my old job. But, I had double the paid leave. Plus, sick leave! I’d never, ever had sick leave before. And the idea of retirement accounts? I needed to open one of those most definitely. The only thing I had was my savings account, and even that had dwindled substantially since I had moved to Vegas. I smiled to myself. It was going to be a good thing. It sounded like I’d get to travel, and the overtime would be well worth it.
If I played my cards right, that overtime might push me up to the fifteen grand I was losing out on.
I can run numbers when I get home tonight.
The elevator doors slid open, and the ninth floor greeted me. It was just as harsh, though. Same marble flooring. Same matte black walls. Only, this floor had some pictures on the walls along the hallway, and the people working kept their office doors open. The smells of decadent food delivered from up the block wafted down the hallway, teasing my stomach. I had woofed down half a container of fast-food fries before rushing my way into the office earlier in the morning.
My mind fluttered back to my space above me in the building. I wanted it to feel comfortable as quickly as possible. Anxiety always stifled my learning curve, and Zane made me nervous. Maybe I’d put a couple of pictures on my desk upstairs.
“Karina Rosehill?”
I turned around. “Yes?”
A beautiful woman beckoned to me with her hand. “Come on in. Mr. Hearthstone said to be expecting you. My name is Ava.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I think I got caught up with the artwork on the walls.”
Ava grinned and nodded. “It’s easy to do around here when the colors are so boring. Come on. We can get you situated with the basics first.”
I walked into the beautiful, busty woman’s office and sat in the chair in front of her desk. Ava’s ruby red lips were perfectly painted on, and her eyebrows had been shaded in. Her dyed red hair curled wildly around her head, and her clothes were a bit too tight. I looked down at my own outfit and was suddenly conscious of how tight my pencil skirt was.
Do all of the women who work here look like Ava?
“So! Congratulations on the job. Zane’s been looking for a new secretary for a few days now,” Ava said.
I blinked. “Zane?”
She sat down at her desk. “Sorry. Mr. Hearthstone. Though, down here? We don’t take those kinds of considerations into play unless we’re face to face with him.”
I nodded. “Any reason why?”
“Zane’s easier to say than Mr. Hearthstone.” she shrugged.
“Very true.”
Ava typed away on her computer. “Working for Zane is definitely a chore. I ended up taking a job working as Brenden’s secretary after some… interesting interactions. So, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you’re going to need a strong gut for this job. He must see a lot in you or he wouldn’t have offered you the position.”
I paused. “I’m sorry, interesting interactions?”
“Oh, you know how Zane is.”
“I don’t think I do.”
“Well, you’ll definitely figure it out soon, then.” She looked over at me and winked, and I wondered if Zane had slept with her, too.
Am I not the only one?
“Anyway, a word of caution? Don’t talk to Zane on his bad days. If he comes in grumpy, try to do as much from your desk as you can. It’ll make everyone’s day a bit easier until he snaps out of it.”
I nodded mindlessly. “Noted.”
Ava stopped typing and looked up. “And… here we go! Okay. You’re going to fill out these next three pages. This is your health insurance paperwork, and you can choose from three tiers. They’re not much different, except for copayments and deductibles. But, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. After this, we’ll get your W-2 stuff filled out and chisel away at your retirement account next.”
Ava turned a laptop in my direction and pushed it toward me. I kept studying her, raking my eyes over her prominent bosom and tiny waist. She was gorgeous. Every single part of her was breathtaking. It made me want to take a look at the rest of the women that worked here. I felt something akin to anxiety rush up my spine. On the one hand, I didn’t look like any of the women I had seen at desks in this building. Did Zane expect me to dress and look like these women? However, on the other hand, I felt anger percolating in my gut.
“Miss Rosehill?”
I swallowed my frustration. “Yes? Sorry. Just thinking through some things.”
The woman’s face softened. “Don’t let him intimidate you. If he offered you the job, he thinks you’re capable. And don’t take my word for it. I just don’t do well with moody men.”
“Ah.”
“Plus, if he really becomes an ass? I can teach you how to make his
favorite after-hours drink. That usually loosens him up a great deal, especially if you’re working overtime.”
I had to hold back a grimace. “Thanks for that.”
She smiled. “Anytime! Girl, we have to be here for one another. Because those boys upstairs are insane some days.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
She nodded. “Shoot.”
“What percentage of the employees here are women?”
She giggled. “I like you. You have a sense of humor.”
I blinked. “I don’t follow.”
Ava giggled again, and my eyes shifted back and forth between her and some papers on her desk. Finally, she looked up and nodded at the computer. “Anyway, go ahead and get started on that while I fill out your basic information on your W-2. That’ll make all of this go a bit faster. Chop chop!”
I plucked the laptop from the desk and settled it against my thighs. I tried not to let her blossoming perfume distract me, but it was hard. I tried to ignore the fact that she was beautiful. I tried to ignore the sneaking suspicion that she and Zane had slept together.
But it was hard.
“All right. Here you go,” I said.
She took the laptop. “A fast worker. I like that. He’ll like that about you, too.”
“I’m sure,” I replied trying not to roll my eyes.
“I’ll give you the W-2 information and the retirement account stuff. Knock it out, and you’re free to go!”
My fingers had never flown so quickly over a keyboard in my entire life.
“Wait,” I said.
“What’s up?”
I pointed. “This number is wrong.”
“What number? Let me see.”
I turned the laptop to her. “I’m supposed to be salaried forty-five grand a year. Not seventy.”
She furrowed her brow. “That’s not what Zane told me.”
“What do you mean? That’s what he told me?”
“Well, in the email Zane sent down after calling, he has your base salary at seventy grand a year.”
I blinked. “Are you sure?”
“I can take another look, but I’ve already looked at it three times to enter it in on all this paperwork. I’m sure.”
“Oh. Well, that will affect the percentage of pay into my retirement account, then.”
“Do you want to adjust it?”
I nodded my head. “Yes. I’d like to max it out at six percent each paycheck.”
She smiled. “Great! I can get that changed. Leave it to me.”
Before I left Ava’s office, she handed me the official list of my duties and responsibilities along with copies of the other paperwork. And still, I was stunned. What in the world happened between the time we talked and the time I got down here? I needed to ask him about it. Not that I wasn't grateful for the surprise raise. But, it seemed like an odd hike.
A little over two-thirds of what he initially offered me.
As I rose up the elevator to go back to the top floor, my eyes scanned my list of responsibilities. It was extensive. It was almost as if I’d be a personal assistant as well as a secretary. Which I didn't mind, but that would definitely come with overtime. I grinned to myself. If I could get the hang of that job and hold onto it for a few years, I’d be in a much better place financially. No debt, I could save for a down payment on my own home, and the skills would transfer wonderfully if I chose not to stay in Vegas.
“You can do this,” I whispered to myself.
The elevator dinged, and I found my heels clicking along the flooring as I made my way to Zane’s office, back down the muted, soulless hallway that led straight to his door at the end. As I passed by my new desk, I ran my fingertips along it. The smooth, glazed, blonde hardwood was a bright contrast against the wall. And the top shelves were practically begging for some flowers. I smiled to myself as I knocked twice on Zane’s office door and stood there, waiting for him to respond to me.
But, I had to knock twice again before he answered, “Come in, Karina.”
I opened the door. “Hey, hey. I’m back.”
He crooked his finger at me. “Shut the door behind you.”
I did as he asked before turning to face him.
“So, how do you feel about everything?” Zane asked.
I watched him stand from his desk before he buttoned his suit coat around his waist.
“I feel… good,” I said.
“Miss Dale is in the process of making you a company log-in for your computer. Once that’s up and running, we can get you settled in with your email and set up your profile however you’d like.”
I blinked. “Miss Dale?”
“Yeah, the woman in H.R. you just saw. Miss Dale.”
Ah. Right. “Yes. Sorry. She introduced herself as Ava. Excuse me. It’s been a bit of an overwhelming day.”
“I hope that’s not an accurate portrayal of how you work under pressure.”
My face fell. “No. It’s not.”
“Good. Follow me. I’ll walk you through the buttons on your phone as well as your intercom.”
“Are you always this demanding at work?”
“Stick around long enough, and you’ll find out.” He chuckled and grinned.
I wasn’t sure how to take his interactions, but I decided to brush them off. I ignored the alluring scent of his cologne as he walked past me, only to open the door he told me to close. Then, we made our way toward my desk. It was about twenty feet from his office, and there were three or four chairs that lined the hallway. Probably for people waiting for an appointment with him, I figured. But, they looked spic-and-span like they were never used.
So strange.
“This stainless steel-looking mound is your intercom. It goes two ways, but only connects to my office. Press the black button to speak, then release to hear my response.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
“The phone over here is a bit more complicated, but some of the buttons are labeled. The top one is ‘hold.’ The second one down is to transfer to me. The third one down, entitled ‘The Man,’ is to transfer to Brenden.”
I lifted a brow. “I take it, he labeled that?”
“Don’t you know it. And then each button down after that are all of the department heads, starting from the main floor.”
“That will take some time to learn.” I wasn't really talking to him, but it came out anyway.
“If you want to label them, you can. I don’t know why my prior secretary didn't, seeing as she always transferred to the wrong department eighty percent of the time. You’ll find an outline of the buttons in a file folder once you can log-in called ‘Basic Information.’”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
His eyes shifted up to mine. “And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
He reached down and pulled out a drawer that looked to need a key to access it. “There’s a key to this drawer as well as a laptop in here. That’s your work laptop. Take it with you everywhere you go. When you work from home, you use that. It’ll take the same log-in credentials as your laptop here.”
“And the key goes to the lock on that drawer. Right?”
He closed the drawer. “Right.”
“Anything else?”
And like clockwork, the phone started ringing. To which Zane grinned at me. You know, before he turned to walk away.
“Be as polite as you can on the phone. But, between the hours of two and four, I don’t take calls,” he said over his shoulder.
I reached for the phone. “Noted.”
He poked his head quickly back out of his office door. “Oh! Also, we’re leaving for Hawaii in three days. I need you to check your email, cancel the reservation we currently have and book a new hotel from the four I’ve sent to your work email.”
I paused. “Wait, what?”
He peered over his shoulder. “The phone is still ringing.”
I picked it up mindlessly. “Stonewater Realty, this is Karina speak
ing. Mr. Hearthstone’s new secretary.”
He grinned before pointing back to my desk.
“Headset’s in the top drawer,” he mouthed.
And then he disappeared back into his office.
16
_____
ZANE
THREE DAYS LATER
Me: One last thing. Before you get to the airport, stop and pick us up a couple of coffees. Whatever you want, and a hot coffee with a shot of white chocolate for me. Thanks.
I set my phone down and turned my sights back to some last-minute work. My cab was due any minute at my place. It was almost time to head toward the airport. I had a lot of important projects in different stages of development in Hawaii, and I needed to make sure things went off without a hitch. A lot of issues regarding the set-up of our international hub hinged on me being able to make healthy and lasting relationships with others there. And that meant putting my best foot forward.
My phone dinged, and I picked it up to see a text response back from Karina.
Karina: Will do. Hungry, too?
I grinned as my fingers flew across the screen.
Me: Either one of those large cheese muffins or one of their breakfast wraps. Whichever looks fresher. And get yourself something, too. Use the company card.
Karina: Trust me, I wasn’t going to be using money from my savings account.
A horn honked outside, pulling me from my trance. So, I packed up my laptop and headed downstairs. I already had my bags set outside waiting for the cab. When I walked out, I noticed the driver was already carrying my suit bag to the yellow car. So, I picked up my to-go bag and my toiletries and made my way down the sidewalk.
“Want to stop anywhere else before the airport?” the driver asked.
I hoisted my things into the back. “Nope. Just the airport. We’re going to the private tarmac.”
“We’re about thirty-five minutes out. What time does your flight leave?”
I closed the trunk. “Whenever I get there.”