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Naamah scrutinizes me for a second, studying my face. Then she nods. “Yes, I think you are. Most people are scared shitless even after they land a job here. You at least look like you have a backbone, which is more than I can say for my PA.Alonzo!”
The name comes out like a bark. A nervous looking man full of muscles, good looks, and confusion scurries over. He tips his head at her, almost bowing. Then he notices Lucas, and panic overtakes his features. He starts to bow, then tries to shake Lucas’s hand, reconsiders, considers again, and does the whole thing in reverse.
Naamah and Lucas watch him with twin expressions of languid amusement. After a second or two, Naamah puts the poor guy out of his misery with a snap of her fingers. Relief washes over him as he turns his full attention on her. “Alonzo, this is Sophia. Lucas’s personal assistant.”
The human puppy dog beams at me and shakes my hand enthusiastically. “Oh, you’re going to love it! Mr. Hale is the best, but Naamah is the best too—ah… the best is only one, isn’t it?” Alonzo’s rounded eyes shift between his two superiors and then back to me with an over-the-top smile. “Somehow, they areboththe best. Ha ha. I-It’s a great job, great people, all good. Best place to work in L.A. Welcome to the team. Glad to have you.”
“I’m glad to be here,” I tell him, yanking my fingers out of his grasp as politely as possible. Is that anxiety or eagerness on his face? Is one any better than the other? Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?
“Good job, Alonzo. Now, there’s a huge problem that you need to deal with. Do you know what it is?” Naamah gives him a sassy look before holding out her empty hand like she’s holding a cup of coffee.
He stares for half a second, then snaps his fingers. “You need coffee! Double mocha quad shot, no whip, extra sugar, coming right up. Anything for you, Mr. Hale? Sophia?”
Lucas and I both decline, which seems to excite him just as much as his initial success at interpreting Naamah’s instruction, and he hurries off. Naamah watches him leave and shakes her head, huffing a wry laugh.
“Not the brightest, maybe, but perfectly suited for what he does.” She flashes me a grin. “Of course, my PA needs aren’t nearly as complex as Lucas’s. I mostly keep Alonzo around because he’s just so goddamn happy to be included. Enthusiasm is good for morale.”
She winks at me, which makes me think it’s more Alonzo’s ripped body that boosts her morale than anything else.
“Pardon me, Mr. Hale?”
A different man approaches, somehow the complete opposite of Alonzo. Slim, serious, and radiating intelligence. He’s frowning at the tablet he’s carrying.
“Yes, Salesh?” Lucas greets him flatly.
“In comparing this morning’s data from the same day last year, I encountered a worrisome anomaly. I haven’t had any luck explaining it, nor compensating for it in next year’s projections.” He offers the tablet to Lucas, which my new boss takes while making a loopy gesture at Naamah with his other hand.
She smiles and turns to the newcomer. “Salesh, meet Sophia. She’s Lucas’s new assistant.”
Salesh’s green-brown eyes are intensely focused, but he arranges his expression into a semi-friendly one as he greets me. “Welcome. Good luck.”
And that’s apparently all the brain space he has to spare for socializing, because as soon as he finishes speaking, he turns back to Lucas, going over the numbers that were troubling him. While he and Lucas talk, a few others come up to greet us, and Naamah handles the introductions.
There’s a burly redhead with a surprising overbite and nine and a half fingers.
“Eagan, head of security. He and Jestie also head up our logistics team,” Naamah explains.
Jestie is a walking contradiction. Her expression is poised, she moves and speaks with confidence, her clothes are as expensive as mine, but her frizzy brown hair is crisscrossed with more pens and pencils than I can easily count. It gives her an edge of neuroticism that I can’t otherwise explain.
“It was nice to meet you, Sophia,” Salesh says as he takes his tablet back. He’s smiling now, looking completely content. Lucas must have helped him solve whatever numbers problem was troubling him.
Lucas checks his watch and winces. “Enough introductions for now. You’ll meet everybody else as we go along, I’m sure. If I can’t introduce you, I’m sure I can rely on Naamah to do so.” He gives her a glance which turns his assumption into a command.
“It’s not like he doesn’t already rely on me for everything else,” Naamah snidely remarks out the side of her mouth. She flashes me a grin before she continues, speaking normally. “Of course, I will. Don’t you worry, Sophia, you’ll get the hang of this place in no time. I’ll make sure of it.”
Alonzo returns with her coffee at the same time a frazzled woman rushes up to Naamah with a stack of papers. Lucas ushers me back into the elevator before the rising tide of chaos can suck us in.
As the elevator doors close, his tension disappears without a sigh or a breath or much of anything. He just shifts from one state to another seamlessly. I, on the other hand, am completely overwhelmed and spend the short ride to the top floor just focusing on my breath and the cityscape falling away below us.
I’ve been trying to ignore my anxiety about being back here, in this building where I nearly committed a crime—grand theft, probably, considering how much Reese thought the thing was worth. But as soon as the elevator dings at the top of the building, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I clench my clammy hands so I won’t leave sweat spots on my expensive new skirt and suck in a breath against the rolling in my gut.
I briefly hope Lucas won’t notice, but his raised eyebrow as he gestures for me to leave the elevator ahead of him tells me otherwise.Shit.Okay, roll the shoulders back, shake out the hair, saunter. There we go. Fake it till you make it, or something.
His secretary stands up when we walk in and gives him a huge smile. “Good morning, Mr. Hale! Can I get you anything? Your coffee? Some breakfast?”
“Thank you, Sherri, but no. Sophia will be tending to those errands from now on. I’ve hired her as my personal assistant.” He gestures to me.
A dark look crosses her face, just a flicker, but enough for me to catch it. Then she pastes on that same icy smile she greeted me with yesterday. “Oh, how nice. Welcome to the building, Sophia.”
