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As I lowered the phone from my ear, Mary Ann click-clacked her way across the floor of my office and stood in front of my desk before the receiver was back in its cradle. Once she stopped, a hint of her perfume drifted in my direction. It was a scent that drew me to her in my chase but now seemed more like a repellent.
“Well, Grey?”
I looked up at her. How had I done this to myself again? Every time I hire a good assistant, I go and screw it up by, well, screwing them.
“Listen, Mary Ann,” I began.
“No Grey!” she snapped, interrupting me. “I want an answer, now! Am I going with you to Los Angeles or not? I’m tired of whatever this is we are doing. I want to be more than…”
I nodded, raised my index finger in the air and silenced her mid-sentence.
“Mary Ann, you know I enjoy your company but, like I told you in the beginning, there’s nothing to this. You won’t be going anywhere with me. I've got no interest in doing anything more with you than what I already do. If that’s not sufficient, you’re welcome to leave. But I’m warning you—don’t say something you’ll regret later because you misinterpreted what is happening between us. Or, not happening as the case may be.”
As I spoke, I noticed the jagged lines of her angered expression begin to dissolve into the beginnings of a tear-filled meltdown. Moisture pooled at the corners of her eyes as she attempted to stop their advance. She made careful strokes under her eyes, preventing them from spilling forward and ruining her makeup.
“Grey,” she begged. “Please don’t do this.”
“Do what, Mary Ann?”
“Treat me like I’m nothing.” She waved her arms and spread them open as she continued, “I knew this would happen. I don’t know why I thought I would be any different. That’s what women are to you, aren’t they? I'm just like a business deal, aren’t I? Once you’ve gotten what you want, that’s it.”
While she spoke, I rubbed my forehead and hoped somehow I could magically put this genie back in its bottle. I pinched the bridge of my nose between my eyes with my thumb and forefinger as she rambled.
“I won’t be ignored, Grey,” she continued. “I'm not going to let you throw me away like you do every other woman in your life. I have feelings, deep feelings, for you and…”
I’d heard enough. Whenever a conversation took this turn it was time to put an end to it, no matter what the cost.
“Stop. Mary Ann,” I said. “Stop speaking right now before you make a complete fool of yourself.”
I placed my hands on my desk and pushed myself into a standing position. Looking down at her, for a moment I felt what I always do in these situations. Pity. No matter how many times I tell a woman like her to expect nothing from me other than a bit of my time, they always mistake it for more. I rounded my desk, walked towards her and wrapped my hands on her upper arms.
She trembled as I held her. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me.
“Grey,” she uttered. “I love…”
“No,” I interrupted her. “You don’t. I never promised you anything. I never lied to you about what this was. Isn’t that true?”
She turned her head away from me and sniffled as I finished. A single tear streamed down her cheek but she didn’t reply. Without turning to look at me, she said, “So now what? Are you just going to fuck me and fire me?”
It’s amazing how putting your dick in someone can change how they behave towards you. I’d treated this woman damn well and that’s the way she’s going to act? That level of disrespect coming from a man would have deserved a punch to the jaw. But her fairer sex spared her from such an outcome. Instead I shook my head in disbelief, released my grip on her and walked back around my desk.
“That will be all for now, Mary Ann. You have my word I won’t fire you but as far as you and I are concerned, this is the end of our time together.”
Then, in a performance I’d seen once or twice or a hundred times, Mary Ann twirled in a huff and stormed towards the entrance to my office.
“Go to hell, Grey Sinclair!” she yelled as walked out. “I hope you die alone! And I quit!”
I exhaled, shook my head and eased back into my chair. After a brief moment of reflection, I realized that could have gone much worse. Satisfied it didn’t, I turned my attention to my computer monitor. After confirming the travel arrangements I’d discussed with Katy earlier that day, I scanned the top of my inbox for Randolph’s background check.
“Let’s see what Katy has in store for me,” I muttered as I finally located it. “Ah, here we go. Madeline Olsen. Twenty-three, aspiring actress and model and hello, hello, what do we have here?”
I double clicked on a photo of her and felt an immediate pulse in my lower extremities.
She’d do.
Oh sure, I’d seen her type before. Your garden variety, blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty. They were everywhere in Los Angeles. Nothing special, but definitely worth a few hours of my time.
I leaned back in my chair and interlaced my fingers behind my head. It looked as if this trip wouldn’t be purely business after all. And after what had just happened with Mary Ann, I could use a bit of mindless distraction for a few days.
MADDIE
By the time I finished the conversation with Katy my mind was clouded with a mish-mash of to-do’s.
Frantic, I pulled up the proposal I’d sent, grabbed a pad of paper, a pen and immediately began to scratch out a list of calls I’d have to make all over town. I rolled the hard plastic of the pen back and forth in my fingertips as I brainstormed. However, only a few minutes into my note taking, my email notification chimed once again.
“Uh, now what?” I groaned.
Knowing I’d never get anything done with it incessantly alerting me all day long, I picked up my tablet to silence the distraction. But before doing so, I checked to make certain nothing urgent needed my attention. As it turned out, the email was a notice from my bank that the deposit went through.
Thank God.
Now at least I would have the money I needed to put down on his transportation and hotel not to mention grease a few palms at some of the better restaurants and nightclubs around town, if required.
I was hoping it wouldn’t be necessary but since most of the people holding those jobs were Trevor’s friends to begin with, I needed every little bit of help I could get. God forbid there was somewhere Mr. Sinclair wanted to go and I couldn't make it happen. That would probably be the end of my entire business right there. Too much was at risk not to take whatever measures I had to, even if that meant cutting into my profit margins to do it.
With that bit of financial reassurance now in hand, I spent the next few hours making what seemed like a million calls. For whatever reason, things were going my way and because of that, time flew by. In fact, it was past one o’clock by the time I realized I still hadn’t eaten anything all day. In the wake of my breakfast disaster and the ensuing conversation with Katy, I’d worked straight through the morning. Now famished, I’d reached my low blood sugar limit.
The kitchen stool groaned on the linoleum floor as I pulled it up to the counter and sat down to grab a quick bite before I made the final arrangements for transportation to the airport. And last, but certainly not least, I had to figure out what the hell I would wear when I picked up Mr. Sinclair.
Like an idiot, I assumed I would have time to shop for an outfit or two before I got my first job. But now I’d have to throw something together I could get away with wearing during the day and night, if it came to it. Hopefully it wouldn’t. In any case, I had to come up with something and quick.
With that, I plopped down over a savory meal of canned tuna and crackers. As the salted fish lingered in my mouth, I looked at my list and checked off the items I’d managed to get done. To my surprise, I’d made some decent progress.
Maybe Katy was right after all. With a little hustle I could pull this off.
Just then, my phone rang. With my mouth half full of crumbs and bits of fish, I grabbed it from the counter and flipped it over.
It was Katy.
I swallowed a dry, hard bite and pressed talk, “Hey.”
“How’s it going? You doing okay?” Katy asked.
I spent the next few minutes recounting my series of minor achievements to her and finished by explaining the dilemma I now found myself in when it came to what I would wear.
Unfortunately, even though she and I had similar styles, we didn’t have the same shape whatsoever. Katy was quite a bit shorter and curvier than me, which meant wardrobe sharing was out of the question. About the only thing she could offer me was my pick of her abundant accessories. Before we hung up, I thanked her and promised not to lose or break any of her things I chose to wear.
As I disconnected, I glanced down at my pitiful excuse for a lunch and decided I’d had enough. Besides, by that time it was closing in on two o’clock and I needed to get moving if I was going to get the car and get myself ready in time to meet Mr. Sinclair's private jet at Van Nuys airport.
