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“Okay, that’s her. Please, for the love of God, just behave.”
Throwing her my most winning smile, I replied, “No worries, Lauren. I’ll be my usual, charming self.”
“No! No, donotbe yourself. Beanyonebut yourself. You know what? Just don’t talk. That would be smart. Just sit there and play mute.”
Before I had a chance to act properly offended, she called for the person on the other side to come in. The door opened slowly and I caught my first glimpse of shining, honey blonde hair that had me holding out serious hope for the rest of what was hidden behind the door. I had a serious thing for blondes with mile-long legs that I could wrap around my waist—or shoulders—with ease. However, all my hopes were dashed as she stepped into the office, my visions of wrapping my fist in that long, thick mane of hair went up in a puff of smoke with the snick of the door closing behind her.
Don’t get me wrong, she was cute… but I didn’t docute. I did hot, I did sexy, I did exotic. Nevercute. Cute got clingy. Cute wore their hearts on their sleeves and could never differentiate between love and really good sex. Cute was a pain in my ass. And the woman—more aptly, thegirl, because that’s exactly what she looked like—standing before me in an ill-fitting, shit colored suit didn’t have an exotic bone in her barely five-foot-tall body. For Christ’s sake, she looked like one of those damn china dolls. She might as well have hung a sign from her neck that read,Warning, Extremely Fragile. Handle with Care.
I hadn’t the first clue how to handle anything with care. And I certainly didn’t do anything in the bedroomwith care. I couldn’t fathom what my publicist had been thinking when she brought this girl in for an interview. No way in hell would she last two seconds as my personal assistant. She’d probably break down in tears within the first week.
Yep, it was official. Lauren had just fucked me… and in none of the ways I enjoyed.
You got this. You got this. You got this.
The internal pep talk, along with the mental fist bump I was giving myself, went a long way in calming my nerves as I lifted my hand to knock on the heavy wooden door. When the feminine voice called out to come in, I shook out my slightly sweaty hands, squared my shoulders and lifted my chin.
I’ve so got this, I thought as I pushed the door open and stepped into the large, expensively decorated office of Lauren Brown at Enterprise PR.
My eyes quickly scanned the huge expanse of the office before landing on the most handsome man I’d ever seen up close. I took in his nearly jet black hair and penetrating ice blue eyes.Oh, hell,I so don’t got this.
It took all of five seconds to scan the entirety of his face—full, dark brows tipped down; strong, defined jawline covered in a bit of scruff; full, deliciously pouty lips pulled down into a frown that did absolutely nothing to take away from his stunning good looks. Jesus Christ on a cracker, the man looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine…all of them. As his chilly gaze trained on me, seeping through my skin and causing me to shiver, it took everything in me not to melt into a puddle of goo on the carpet. The man sitting before me was what every female fantasy was made of, and there was no doubt, whatsoever, he was going in my spank bank.
But then, because luck was a fickle bitch who hated me for some apparent reason, he opened his mouth and all that hot, rugged, manly man-ness went right out the window.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Lauren. You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Excuse me?” I asked, my forehead creasing in confusion as my gaze bounced between Sir Hotness McPotty-Mouth and Lauren.
“Rowan, I’ll kindly ask that you keep your comments to yourself for the duration of this meeting,” Lauren told the man with a scowl so fierce it looked like it could melt paint off the walls. As she turned back to me her smile was genuine. “Ms. Collins, please come in and have a seat.”
I took the last few steps toward the empty chair next to the man, who was currently staring daggers at me for some unknown reason, and sat down, rubbing my damp palms on my skirt anxiously.
“Ms. Collins, this is Rowan Locklaine. I apologize in advance for his… demeanor. I was just telling him what a valuable asset you’re going to be as his personal assistant.”
The sound of brakes screeching to a halt echoed through my head for more reasons than one.
“Personal assistant? But, I thought the position was for a senior administrative assistant with the company.”
Rowan let out a rough, gravelly sound, something between a snort and a scoff, as Lauren fidgeted just slightly behind her desk. “Yes, well, that was the original position you applied for. However, after meeting with you, I was convinced you’d be a perfect fit as Mr. Locklaine’s assistant. You’ll still be employed by Enterprise as a part of my team, but you’ll be working directly with Rowan as opposed to me.”
“Wait…” I shook my head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs. I was having trouble keeping up. “So, I already have the job? I thought I was coming in today for my second interview.”
“After our initial interview, I saw no need to drag out the process any further. I think you’ll make a wonderful addition to the Enterprise team. And I feel confident that you’re exactly what Mr. Locklaine needs.”
While the words were complimentary, the narrow-eyed glare she shot to the man next to me as she spoke them caused my hackles to rise.
“Now, here is all the paperwork. You’ll need to fill that out so we can get it to HR. Your salary and benefits package is enclosed, as well. This position pays more than we had originally discussed, so please take a chance to look that over. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to call me. I’m here if you need anything at all.”
I’d just walked intoThe Twilight Zone. I came prepared for a second interview, only to find out I’d already been given the job. Granted, it wasn’t the job I’d originally applied for, but it was still a job, nonetheless. As I looked down at the packet in my hands, my eyes grew wide at the dollar amount listed on the page. That couldn’t have been right. There was no way a personal assistant made that kind of money.
I felt like I was missing something really important. With the looks Lauren kept giving that Rowan guy, his obvious bad mood, and the dream salary, I couldn’t help but think I was being left out of the loop on something important.
Quit your bitching, Navie. You need the job and the money!
Despite my reservations, there was no arguing with the pushy voice in my head. No matter what hurdles came with the job, I was determined to be the best damn personal assistant who had ever existed.
“Thank you so much, Lauren. Mr. Locklaine,” I said with a nod to the frowning yet insanely handsome man. “I look forward to working with you.”
