What kind of name was Beck anyway?
I rode the elevator up to the top floor. The office was abuzz with commotion as my staff worked over the details of our latest acquisition, the Astor, a towering pre-war building in the Village that would be gutted, redone, and sold. It was the biggest project the firm was taking on this year and I hoped to make a small fortune off it. That was what I wanted to focus on today not—
“Mr. Callahan! Tom has been waiting on the line for you to get in.” Janice materialized at my elbow, looking harried. Janice typically assisted Cordon, my vice president, but she’d taken over for Carolyn after I’d fired her. Cordon was lucky to have her; Janice was a great assistant, reliable and professional. But handling both our workloads was stretching her too thin and today I’d be losing her to a replacement.
“Ugh,” I said. I’d hoped to avoid talking to Tom, the head of my board of directors, until at least after my first cup of coffee. “What the hell does he want?”
“He wants to talk about the Astor renovation. There’s been a hiccup.”
I sighed, pushing open the door to my office. It took up a large chunk of the northwestern corner and was decorated in dark grays and glass. A powerful man should have a powerful throne.
“We’re a week away from starting construction,” I said. “What the hell is coming up now?”
Janice, a middle-aged, slender woman who always wore a rotating wardrobe of pastels and print, shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t the faintest idea, Mr. Callahan, but he seems rather angry.”
“That’s just Tom,” I said, taking off my jacket and throwing it over the back of my office chair before sitting down on the dark leather. “Patch him through. I’ll take care of it now.”
“Very good,” Janice said. “As for your new assistant—” She shuffled around the files she was holding and pulled one from the mix. “This is her resume. She’s already here. I can send her in once you’re done with Tom.”
I took it and tossed it to the side of my desk. “Okay, thanks, Janice.”
She gave me a smile and left to go patch Tom through. I turned to the screen on the wall, glancing at my bar and wondering if a small tumbler of whiskey would brush away the groggy feeling or just make it worse. Best not to risk it. I needed a clear mind today. The Astor renovation had been the largest buy of this quarter and whatever “hiccup” Tom had better be able to be solved with a firm slap on the back.
There was a metallic beeping noise as Tom’s call came through. He appeared on my television at his desk, an older man with gray sideburns and a long, thin face.
“Tom,” I said. “What’s wrong now?”
“Good of you to show up today. It’s practically noon.”
“It’s nine thirty. There was traffic.”
His scowl deepened. “It’s Manhattan. There’s always traffic.” He waved away my retort. “It doesn’t matter. We have an issue and the shareholders aren’t going to be thrilled about it.”
“What now?” I asked. As confident as I was that the Astor was going to make us all a lot of money, there had been a never-ending stream of issues and we hadn’t even started construction yet. Just a few weeks ago, we’d finally gotten the papers in order to buy the dilapidated building for quite a bit more than I wanted to pay for it. But I’d made the argument to the board of directors that it was worth it. They’d seen it my way, but now something was rustling their feathers again.
“This,” Tom said. He shifted some papers before pulling up a picture of a crumbling apartment building.
I squinted at it. “Is that the Starling? What about it?”
“It’s across the street from the entrance to your new luxury apartment complex,” Tom said. He sounded exasperated. “Are you telling me you knew about this?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but so what? It’s in the Village. Lots of the older buildings look like crap there.”
“Well, the investors are spooked by it. They think it’s going to bring down the asking price.”
I sat up straighter. “What are you talking about? Do they have any figures on it or is this all projection?”
“Thirty percent.”
“Fuck off.”
“I’m serious and so are they. You might want to start taking this seriously too. That’s the number they’ve been told and that’s enough to raise a whole lot of questions. About this project, about this company, and about you.” Tom’s sullen face stared me down through the camera.
“That’s insane,” I said. “This is New York City. There’s no way that old place would bring down the price that much. None of our renovations are on the market for longer than two weeks!”
“Wishing doesn’t make it so. I’d figure something out quick because you’ve already got a hell of a lot of money sunk into this place and every minute we don’t start construction is costing more of it.”
I looked away, out my window and across the city. Then I nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll think on it this morning and I’ll call you back in a few hours with something to tell ‘em.”
“It better be good, Sam,” Tom said and he hung up the call.
Well that was shit luck. I stood up and walked the length of my window, looking down at the street. How the hell could one building bring the asking price down so low? Whatever. I’d deal with it, even if I had to buy the Starling too and tear it down. I leaned against the glass. That actually wasn’t such a bad idea. Though maybe not rip it to the ground. Just remodel it too and sell it as well. It’d take more money, but there was always money floating around. If I had to back it myself, I would. In exchange for a better cut of the profits, of course.
I’d get the figures on that this afternoon and hopefully this entire deal would be settled by the evening. I went back to my desk, put my suit jacket back on, and sat down.
“Janice, you can send her in now,” I said over the intercom.
“Right away, Mr. Callahan,” Janice replied.
I flipped open the file Janice had given me. Rebecca Harris, twenty-three. It looked like she was new to the city. She’d come here from… Kentucky. My brow furrowed, trying to understand the twitch of unease that fact aroused in me. Rebecca… Kentucky… Wait a minute—
The door opened and my head snapped over, hoping my eyes could reassure me that what I suspected wasn’t true. They couldn’t.
Beck stood in the doorway, just as beautiful in business attire as she’d been last night in that little red dress, and she looked just as shocked to see me. She stayed frozen in the doorway, as if she was considering turning around and running in the opposite direction.
I recovered quickly. It was my job to stay calm, even under immense surprise.
“Beck,” I said. “You didn’t say goodbye this morning.” Her blue eyes bulged at my words, that last confirmation that she wasn’t, in fact, seeing things. “Would you come in?” I asked, standing and indicating the chair in front of my desk.
She hesitated, but then walked stiffly forward and sat, straight-backed, in the chair. She was looking at me like she was in a nightmare world, one she might wake up from if she looked the monster in the face long enough. I hated to disappoint her. As surprised as I was myself at the incredible amount of chance that my one-night stand would wind up in my office hoping to be my new assistant, I couldn’t suppress a bit of sadistic glee that she was back and forced to stay. She was just as beautiful in the daylight as she’d been last night.
I sat back down and reclined in my chair, steepling my fingers as I observed her. She fidgeted under my intense gaze, cheeks reddening, no doubt remembering what I’d done to her last night. My eyes traced her golden skin, tanned from the Kentucky sun. I wanted to touch it again, feel the soft warmth of her beneath me. I felt myself stiffen at the thought. Now was not the time or the place.
“Did you know?” she burst out. “The entire time?” There was still an intoxicating whiff of vulnerability there but some of the spark I’d seen at the bar last night was returning as she got over the sho
ck of seeing me again.
I considered lying, just to see what kind of reaction that got, but even I’m not that cruel. So I shook my head. “I had no idea. Not that it would have changed anything though,” I said.
Her mouth dropped open. “How the hell can you say that?” she asked. “This is the complete opposite of professional.”
I shrugged. “I own the company. I don’t need to be professional. And there’s a virtual sea of assistants in New York. Girls that are good in bed though? Significantly less.” I couldn’t help myself and her cheeks reddened to a fiery hue.
She stood, fast. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time, Sam,” she said. “But obviously I can’t take this job. I’ll be going.”
“So you’re just going to quit? That attitude won’t take you very far in New York, country girl. And that’s Mr. Callahan,” I added.
“You were inside me!” she hissed. “I can’t work for you! And I’m sure as hell not calling you Mr. Callahan.”
I couldn’t help but smile. This girl was perfect.
“Is that really a good enough reason to walk out that door though?” I asked. I glanced at her resume. It wasn’t long. “Let’s see. A unfinished degree in design. Not great. That might fly if you had recent work experience or a good portfolio, but I’m not seeing either here. In fact, it looks like your last work experience was from last year.” I let out a low whistle. “A year at Aunty Sal’s Porky Pickings? What the hell is that?”
Beck paused and a shadow of embarrassment passed over her face. “That’s a restaurant in my home town,” she said finally.
“Ah. And does Aunty Sal pick good pork?” I asked.
She scowled at me and opened her mouth to retort, but I waved it away and moved on. “The point here is that, yes, you can walk out of my office. But who in this city is going to hire you? I can assure you that the restaurants in this town see a busier rush before noon than anything that might haunt dear Aunt Sally’s nightmares.”
Beck crossed her arms. “Well so what if it’s hard?” she asked. “Why do you care?”
I closed her file. “Honestly, I don’t. But I’m also an incredibly busy man and I don’t want to go another day without an assistant just because your country sensibilities can’t accept working for a man you hooked up with. Once.”
She paused, still debating, but the fact that she hadn’t left the moment she saw my face told me just how badly she needed this job. I checked the time on my Rolex. I needed to talk to Cordon before I called Tom back, and every passing moment was another few seconds off the old man’s life.
“Tick tock,” I said, tapping my watch.
“Fine,” Beck spat. “But I don’t want anyone in this place to find out we slept together.”
“I’m sure nobody would care,” I lied. “But fine. Go out and talk to Janice. She’ll get you set up at your desk. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.”
She walked quickly toward the door like a rabbit fleeing a lion’s den. When she was at the door, I looked up. “And Beck?” I said. She turned. “You will call me Mr. Callahan.”
The scowl returned, but she didn’t argue. She left, trying to shut the door firmly behind her, but it caught on its mechanics and closed smoothly.
I sat back in my chair and stared after her. Was I an evil man to do this? Dangle some poor country girl’s dreams of success in the big city over her head like a piece of cheese? Maybe. I couldn’t suppress a smile any longer. I was already going to hell. What was one more sin?
CHAPTER FOUR
Beck
I tried to slam the door behind me, but it must have caught on some kind of mechanism because it stopped an inch away from the frame and smoothly shut. Damn it. Even exiting I couldn’t make a point.
I stood in the hall for a moment with my back to the door, trying to gather myself before I went back to the main office and reported to Janice. What were the odds that, in a city of eight million people, the one guy I slept with would also turn out to be my boss? It had to be astronomical. Somewhere there must be a deity laughing at me as it yanked the strings of my life. Because seriously, what could be another explanation for this horrifying turn of events?
I truly thought that I had been seeing things when I saw Sam sitting behind that massive desk. Then I thought that maybe Mr. Callahan just looked incredibly similar to the man whose bed I’d shared last night. But no such luck. Sam was too handsome to have a look-alike. Those piercing blue eyes coupled with jet black hair, the way that one strand still hung loose over his forehead. His features were too unique to share with anyone else in the world, let alone a single city. Even as I fumed on the other side of his office door, I hated myself for still finding him ridiculously attractive.
You were just a quick lay to him, I scolded myself. He fell asleep without even saying another word! While it might have been the best sex of my life, Sam probably fucked a random every other night. The encounter had meant nothing to him. It was obvious in his blasé reaction to seeing me here.
A thought struck me. Was this considered normal here? Running into past hookups around every corner? No, it couldn’t be. But then again, I didn’t really know anything about the city. I’d have to ask Alice, get her reaction and proceed from there. Still, I suspected that Alice was going to be just as horrified about this turn of events as I was.
Should I have quit? Was it insane that I didn’t? It sure felt that way.
I considered turning around, marching back into his office, and telling Sam that I couldn’t do this. It was too weird. But then I thought about Alice and how kind she was to let me live on her couch. She worked hard to have her own apartment and right now I couldn’t even help with rent. I pictured having to start the job hunt, pictured potential employers scanning my pitiful resume and laughing before tossing it in the trash. I couldn’t mooch off her for however long it took to find someone in this city who took me seriously.
Alice had said that it was only a matter of time before he fired me anyway, right? This wasn’t a career commitment and once he was done with me, I could walk away from Sam Callahan with New York experience on my resume and what would probably amount to a mixed bag of confused emotions and memories. If I could handle walking away from everything — my hometown, my friends, my fiance — then I could handle this. That decision still reined supreme as the hardest thing I’d do this week, hell probably this entire decade. Working for a man I hooked up with once shouldn’t even make the list.
It shouldn’t.
With that comforting thought in mind, I walked back down the hall to the main office where Janice’s desk sat. When I emerged, she glanced up and held up a finger, indicating that she was on the phone. I nodded and waited, looking around at the office. Janice sat in front of a closed door with blinds drawn over the glass walls. That had to be Cordon Hills’ office, the vice president of the Callahan Company. His office headed a large, open room lit with tall floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a beautiful view of the surrounding city. It was sectioned off into other offices and conference rooms, all with glass walls that were either open or shut off by shades. Sam’s office lay on the opposite end of the floor, accessible through a hallway and cut off from the rest of the employees. And if he was isolated, then that meant I would be too.
I was just wondering if I was going to be making any friends at all when a voice sounded behind me.
“Are you June?”
I turned to see a woman around my age dressed in a cute business suit and heels that were a bit excessive for a job spent entirely at a desk.
“Um, no,” I said. “My name’s Beck. I’m Sa— Mr. Callahan’s new assistant.”
“Of course you are!” the girl said. “I’m Harriet. I work in marketing.” She waved a stack of files, her curly brown hair bouncing with the gesture. “Just running some stuff up to the bosses. How’s your first day going? I love your accent!” All of this was said in one breath.
Of course you are? What the hell does that mean?<
br />
“Thanks,” I said slowly. “And yeah, first day. Still getting the swing of things. Janice is about to show me around.”
Harriet suppressed an eye roll at the sound of Janice’s name, but maybe I was imagining things. “Cool, cool, cool. Listen, we all have lunch at noon. Some of the girls go to the deli downstairs. You want to join in?” When it took me longer than a second to respond, she added with a wink, “We can give you all the hot gossip.”
I really didn’t have the energy to try to figure out Harriet right now. I had hoped to get lunch with Alice. I hadn’t gotten the chance to see her this morning as she’d already been gone when I arrived back at the apartment. But even though Harriet was a bit abrasive, it was nice of her to invite me. And it would be good to get to know some of my coworkers other than the boss I’d just slept with.
“Sure,” I said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Aw, you Southerners are so polite. That is so cute. I love it. Okay, I’ll grab you before we go down. Bye!” The sentence was exhaled over me and then Harriet disappeared before I had the chance to react. I wasn’t a fan of the condescending tone, but she was trying to include me. She couldn’t be all that bad. Although maybe I should save that judgment for tomorrow when I saw if she invited me to come with them again. I got the distinct impression that this invitation was a test-run to see if I was adequate for the office clique. I wasn’t sure what the consensus would be, but I found that I didn’t really care all that much. I wasn’t going to be here for that long. If they didn’t like me, they could join the club.
“Beck.” I snapped around to see Janice had gotten off the phone. She looked weary. Not a great sign at ten o’clock in the morning. “I assume since you’re not in tears in the elevator that Mr. Callahan approved you,” she said bluntly.
The Boss (Billionaires of Club Tempest #1) Page 4