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Luke gave me something I thought might have been lost forever. He helped me reclaim my body. He helped me reclaim my heart and my soul.
I owe him as much as I do the Wolfes.
If only I knew what to do.
Zee is still on maternity leave. Can I even talk to her about this? She’s loyal to the Wolfe family. She’s part of the Wolfe family. Would she truly understand if my loyalty were split?
How could she?
I actually have an office. Surprised the heck out of me. It even has a small window. It’s far from the corner office of an executive, but it’s an office with a window. It’s right next to Reid’s corner office, and Alicia has an office next to me.
A personal assistant and a personal secretary who have their own offices.
This is pretty cushy, and I don’t deserve it.
Alicia is standing over me, showing me how to work my computer. “Your schedule is here.” She taps a key. “And here’s Mr. Wolfe’s schedule.”
“We call him Mr. Wolfe here?”
“We do. Although in more social settings I call him Reid.”
“Good to know.”
“You get used to it. Apparently Mr. Wolfe Senior—”
I cringe.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned his name.”
“No, it’s okay. Despite what he did to me and others, he is the person who built this company.”
“True. And apparently, he liked things to remain formal at the office. Once he died, things changed a bit, but we still call the Wolfes Mr. and Ms. over here.”
“So I need to call Zee Ms. Wolfe when she comes in the office?”
“She’ll probably make an exception for you. She considers you a friend.”
“I consider her a friend as well. My best friend right now.”
“I understand.”
But does she? Probably not. It’s not hurtful. I certainly don’t wish anything bad on Alicia. She’s a big reason why I have this job. Reid offered it to her first.
“Lunch is from noon to one,” she says, “but nobody punches a timeclock here. You’re on your own and on your honor. No one will care if you have to leave early one day. We just all have the expectation that the work will get done, and it does.”
“I’m sure I’ll be burning the midnight oil the next first couple weeks,” I say, “since I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Alicia says. “You’re going to do just fine.”
I give her a weak smile. “I appreciate your confidence in me.”
“I understand where you’re coming from,” she says. “The Wolfes do feel responsible for you, but they also have an incredible work ethic. If Reid didn’t think you could handle this, he wouldn’t have given you the job.”
“Not even to appease his wife?”
She smiles. “Not even then.”
Alicia has no reason to lie to me. After all, she could’ve had this job but chose not to take it.
“I will do my best,” I affirm with as much strength as I can muster in my voice.
“Do you have any questions?”
“No. I think I’d like to just get to work.”
“Well, the first thing you need to do is go down to HR. They’re going to give you an orientation tour of the entire office.”
“Isn’t there something a little more important for me to do?”
“There are a ton of more important things for you to do,” she says. “But all new employees have an orientation tour on the first day. It’s standard around here.”
I stand. “Okay. Lead the way.”
Alicia walks me to the elevator. “Go down to the sixth floor. They’re expecting you.”
“Got it.”
I get on the elevator and press six. Within a microsecond, the doors open on floor six. Right into the human resources department. I check in with reception.
“The HR manager will be out in a moment,” the receptionist says. “Go ahead and have a seat.”
I turn. A handsome young man sits in one of the chairs.
He stands when he sees me. “Hey, how are you?”
It’s Lance Stone. The man I met the other day who was on his way to an appointment with legal department at Wolfe Enterprises.
“Good morning,” I say. “I guess this means you got the job.”
“I did. I’m really excited to be working with Ms. Wolfe and her staff.”
“Ms. Wolfe?”
“Yeah, Lacey Wolfe. She’s Rock’s wife, head of Legal.”
“Right.” I knew that, of course. My mind is just…not where it should be on the first day of work.
That needs to stop now.
“I guess we’ll be on the same orientation tour,” he says. “I can’t think of a greater companion.”
His smile is sincere. Sincere and rather breathtaking.
Still… No tingles at all.
“You want some coffee?” Lance asks, nodding to the beverage station.
“No, thank you.” I’ve already had two cups, and my heart is beating like a hummingbird’s. No more caffeine for me, thank you very much. Besides, I don’t want to have to excuse myself to hit the bathroom during some integral part of the tour.
