AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The doors of the elevator barely slid open before I squeezed between them and raced down the hall. My heels clacked against the tile floor, strands of my windblown hair flying behind me.
I was going to be so late. There was no doubt I’d be fired. On my way to work, my car had gotten a flat. It took me longer than I wanted to admit to figure out how to change the stupid thing.
It was winter, so not only had I worked myself up into a sweaty mess, but I was also freezing, my cheeks too rosy to be cute.
Because of the flat, I was now thirty minutes late to my first day at my new job, and I was sprinting toward my execution—okay, that was dramatic. I was running toward being fired, at least.
I could leave. I should leave. I didn’t know if I had it in me to grovel and beg my new boss not to fire me. There were other companies out there…like the one Aiden owned. I could just ask Alex which one it was and try to get hired there. To work, of course, not as an excuse to see him.
I should’ve just given him my number at the wedding. Obviously, I hadn’t heard from him since that night, and it was clear I’d ruined everything when I ran off like a fucking weirdo. It wouldn’t have mattered if my mother tried to ruin things or not. It wasn’t like I was speaking to her anymore, anyway.
I continued toward the office doors at the end of the hall. Slowing a few paces, I threw my shoulders back and wrapped my hand around the cool metal door handle. The gold-lined black letters stuck to the glass mocked me as I stared. My life boiled down to those letters—to this moment.
With a deep breath, I pulled the door open and walked inside.
I didn’t know where to go, but glancing around, I saw a pretty blonde woman sitting behind a large, semi-circle desk, her eyes trained on her computer monitor.
Walking toward her, I tried to keep my breathing even and steps light. I plastered a smile on my face, trying to look cheerful and not as flustered as I felt.
“Good morning,” I chirped. She continued typing, her eyes still locked on the screen. I shifted uncomfortably and chewed on my cheek as I scanned the office behind her, where miles of cubicles sat. Slowly, I lowered my eyes back to her. “I’m Danica West, Mr. Rhodes’ new assistant.”
Finally, she turned her eyes up to me and ran her tongue over her teeth, making a popping sound. Her perfectly groomed brow lifted as she scanned me.
“You’re late,” she said in a voice like ice.
“Yeah.” I wrung my hands together, feeling anxious. “My car had a flat, and I had to change it.”
“I don’t care,” she sneered, and my eyes widened. “And Aiden—I mean, Mr. Rhodes won’t care either. You’re late.”
Aiden?
My stomach dropped. A lot of people were named Aiden. It didn’t mean this was The Aiden.
“I couldn’t help it.” My shoulders slumped. “If I could just see Mr. Rhodes, I can explain everything.”
“He doesn’t tolerate tardiness.”
“If I could please—”
“He’s not in yet.” Her jaw flexed as she bit out every word. I didn’t want to point out the hypocrisy of him being late, too, so I kept my mouth clamped tightly shut.
“Well, that’s perfect then,” I said, smiling as fake as I could. “He won’t even know I’m late.” She scowled, her nostrils flaring.
“He’ll know.”
“I was joking,” I mumbled. I looked around again, my eyes lingering on a closed door behind her. “Could you just show me where my desk is?”
“You might as well just leave,” she sighed and turned her eyes back to the monitor, dismissing me. “You’ll be fired, anyway.” I let out a long breath.
“I’ll just wait until he gets here,” I said, and she rolled her eyes.
I heaved out a breath and turned toward the chairs in the lobby. Just as I took a seat, the door opened, and a man strode in, his broad shoulders back and chin tipped up. His confident steps faltered when our eyes met, and my mouth fell open.
“Good morning,” the woman chirped, then sent a glare my way. “Your new assistant was late.” She spat the title out like a slur.
“You’re kidding,” he breathed, his eyes as wide as mine.
“I know,” she said, oblivious to our shared shock. “I thought Morgan had better judgment—” He held his hand up, but she didn’t stop talking. “She was thirty minutes late.”
