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“I believe the salary was discussed during your first interview with human resources. It says on your resumé that you’re available immediately?”
“Um, yes, and yes,” I said. I couldn’t believe it. The salary was a substantial increase from what I’d been making and I was more than happy with it. I could definitely take a cab home after this.
“Is it at all possible you could start tomorrow?” Alfred sounded like he didn’t dare to hope.
Wow. That really was immediately. I would have thought the first thing next week at the earliest. It wasn’t as if I had anything better to do, though.
“Let me see…” I trailed off and counted to ten in my mind so I wouldn’t seem pathetic. “Yes, it looks like I can do that. Certainly.”
“Then we’ll see you at the Crenshaw building tomorrow at eight.” He told me to check in with HR first to get my identification badge and fill out some papers, then report to Eli’s office.
Ugh, Mr. Crenshaw to me, now. After I ended the call and the initial thrill wore off, I wondered if taking the job was the best idea. What if he did end up remembering me?
Double ugh. Was I actually hoping he’d remember me? I was still thoroughly astonished that he didn’t. I mean, I looked hot last night. Painted on dress, mile high heels, shiny lip gloss, the works. Even today I thought I looked pretty good in a form-fitting pencil skirt and tailored blouse unbuttoned just above my cleavage to reveal the tiniest, office appropriate amount of skin. Light makeup that accentuates my bone structure.
And, I’m obsessing about my looks when I should be celebrating my new career path. Stupid Eli Crenshaw and all the prowling playboys out there. I thought about telling my friends the whole sordid story, but only texted them that I’d got the job. My poor ego was still too bruised to admit everything. Probably in a day or two, I’d be able to laugh it off.
Back at my apartment, I went straight to my closet and rifled through it, carefully picking out the perfect outfit for the next day. I pulled out my lowest cut camisole top and chose a lacy bra to go underneath it for when I inevitably leaned across my new boss’s desk. My most close-fitting skirt, with a slit up the back that went to mid-thigh. Lace-edged stockings and the highest pumps I had. A demure, cropped jacket that nipped in my waist. Perfect.
I was going to kick ass at this new job, I had no doubt about that. I was completely confident I could excel at the work. But I really wanted to make Eli Crenshaw pay for not remembering me.
Chapter 5 - Eli
After another sleepless night, I decided I should take the high road and forgive Marti. I mean Violet. Whatever her name was. If she was so used to giving men fake names, I figured I dodged a bullet anyway. I was going to be cool, calm, and collected, and around three am, felt pretty stupid for hiring someone for such an important position out of spite. This person had to be my right hand, I needed to be able to bounce ideas off them, and most of all, trust them. So I really looked over her resumé. Yes, at three in the morning. I wasn’t still obsessing about her at all. She seemed more than qualified, so I resolved to make the best of things. And one of those early morning resolutions was to keep a professional distance.
I arrived at the office earlier than I normally did, for no other reason than to wait to see if she was on time. So much for the high road if I was already looking for nitpicky flaws. A few minutes before eight, I heard her familiar, heartfelt laugh outside in the common area, and I felt something nasty wriggle around my guts. Who was making her laugh like that?
I crept through her office, which adjoined mine, and looked out over the area where some of the editorial staff had desks in a bullpen set up, with a lounge area by the windows. Violet was being greeted by two male writers, both of them seeming enraptured by her beauty. So that’s how I must have looked the other night at the bar. I probably looked that way now, lurking in her doorway.
Because she was every bit as sexy as she was that night. My eyes didn’t know where to rest. Her hair fell in soft waves and when a strand of it got stuck against her glossy, full lip, she pushed it behind her ear, all the while smiling and chatting with the writers. The guy who covered local sporting events couldn’t keep his eyes off her cleavage, which to be fair to him was well displayed in a satiny top that hugged those soft mounds. My hands itched to touch them. After I punched Jed in the face for not keeping things professional. Was he asking her to lunch already? She wasn’t even in the building for five minutes. And if she was just getting here, that meant she was technically late, because she still needed to get her…
When my own eyes traveled down over her lush figure, I saw she already had an ID badge. She must have come in extra early to get set up with human resources so she’d get to her own office at precisely eight. She would have been early to greet me if she hadn’t been ambushed by other employees who suddenly thought this place was their new dating app.
I took a major U-turn to get off the high road and called Alfred.
“Violet’s doing fine. You don’t have to come in later to show her the ropes.”
“Are you certain? Someone should introduce her around.”
Now she was surrounded by curious early birds, and Jed was offering to run down to the cafeteria to get her a coffee.
“She’s fine,” I snapped, ending the call.
Violet looked up from her admiring throng and, when she saw me, her smile wavered a little. Was I glaring? Probably. I nodded for her to come over, and she hurried away, promising she’d chat with them later, then giving Jed a quick squeeze on the arm and thanking him for the lunch invitation.
“Good morning, Mr. Crenshaw,” she said, pausing at the doorway.
She would have had to squeeze around me to get into her office, but I didn’t step aside, nor did I return her tentative smile.
“First order of business is coffee,” I said.
She nodded eagerly and took a deep breath, causing her breasts to practically spill over the edge of her top. “Sure thing. I saw the cafeteria on my way up. How do you like it?”
Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip, and she looked up at me through her long, inky lashes. Was she doing that on purpose, or was she just so sexy she couldn’t help but be absolutely irresistible? She had to be at least a little pissed that I didn’t remember her. There were a lot of ways I’d like to have her, and they were all flashing through my mind at once. I couldn’t help but wonder if her eagerness to please spilled into all aspects of her life.
“I don’t get my coffee from the cafeteria,” I said, tearing my eyes off her and turning toward my own office. “You’ll need to go to the Roastery on Murray street.” When she was silent, I turned back to see she was clicking on her phone.
“There’s a closer one—”
