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“The one who looks like he would jump anything in a skirt.”
Lana stops writing and gives me a look. “You’re talking about Darren Hall. My personal belief is that he has managed to jump nearly half the females here. I’ve never seen women lose their shit over a guy like this before. He must be a smooth talker.”
“How long has he been working here?”
Lana stares at me. “Why the sudden interest in a simple data entry analyst? And to answer your question he’s one of the employees we retained from when Caleb took over the company.”
I throw my head back against the back of the couch and stare at the ceiling, murmuring, “He looks very familiar.” I hear the scratching of the pen once again as Lana gets back to whatever she’s doing.
“Well, considering you work here, I’m sure you must have run into him at some point or another.”
I draw mindless patterns on the ceiling with my eyes as I try to recall his face. “No, it was somewhere else.”
Hearing the thud of the pen on the desk, I look up.
Lana is glaring at me. “Don’t you have an office somewhere around here? Why aren’t you in it?”
I grin at her. “I was missing you.”
“Likely story,” she scoffs. “What’re you really after?”
I finally let out a long-suffering sigh. “How’s Elise?”
Lana puts aside her work and levels a glare at me. “What is wrong with you?”
I blink. “I just asked—?”
“You follow her around like a lovesick puppy for an entire year and then when you see her in a little dirty clothing, you run away?”
“Wait, what?” I’m floundering at this accusation. “When did I—what?”
Lana clearly doesn’t intend to give me any room to speak as she scowls. “She told me you came to see her and then when you saw that she was shabbily dressed, you left almost immediately. She thought you were her friend!”
Baffled, I try to make sense of what’s happening here and I remember the way Elise had turned red and mumbled something about getting changed and how I had waved it off and then left. “I didn’t even look at her clothes, Lana!” I groan. “I thought I’d crossed a line by going to her place and she looked so uncomfortable that I left.”
Lana is silent for a full two minutes before she shakes her head. “Well, then. You’ll have to explain that to her. You didn’t call her after that, not even a message. God only knows what she thinks.”
“We’re not texting buddies,” I grumble. “I hardly know where my phone is half the time.”
“Fix this,” Lana orders. “And get out. Take the stupid with you too, when you leave.”
Just as I’m leaving, my pager vibrates and I check it. Since I misplace my cell phone on almost a daily basis, Roger, my highly efficient assistant has resorted to getting me a pager. Feeling a rumble of hunger in my stomach, I make my way to my office.
Roger is neck deep in paperwork and when I open my mouth to ask him about lunch, he points towards a paper bag on the seat across from him.
Grinning, I open it and bite into the burger, as I go into my office and gear up for a hectic schedule of meetings. Once the video conference begins… gone is the grinning man who can’t manage to keep track of his phone and often forgets to eat. In his place is the stone faced top tier corporate lawyer, who is called ‘The Shark’ in business circles because of his ability to close any deal he sets his eyes on.
2
Elise
“Now you have to promise to be a good girl, Sophie.” I wag my finger in front of my six month old, who just kicks her arms and legs excitedly, her brown eyes laughing as she gurgles in response to the plea.
I’ve chosen to come in early to set up a place where I can keep my daughter out of sight. Caleb had told me that the office daycare, while it is a brisk five minute walk from the office building, is still in the midst of hiring and vetting potential employees and it would still be a month until it will run properly. So, for the duration of this one-month, I’ll be bringing Sophie to work with me.
“Well, this will be fun.” I smile at my daughter, my heart bursting with love.
A year ago when I found out I was pregnant, my entire life had been turned upside down. I hadn’t known the first thing about babies. Could I even afford a child?
