AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m not talking about this again,” Jerry warned.
I sighed and nodded. I lifted my hand and touched my fingers to the pendant that hung around my neck.
I’d joined Wonderprise Pharmaceuticals because I had wanted to make a difference, but so far, all I seemed to do was either irritate my boss with questions that were actually related to my job, or give him something to fantasize about when he was alone.
It was tough to keep my eyes on my goal—helping people—when I felt so stuck in the daily grind. It didn’t feel like I was going anywhere. I was stuck in the mud with spinning wheels that had no traction.
I’d worked at Wonderprise Pharmaceuticals for the past six months; they’d offered me a job almost the moment I received my degree in pharmacology. I’d specialized in toxicology along with the degree, and that had given me the edge. They’d hired me despite not having a lot of experience in the field after I’d done my intern year.
Jerry had been the one to do the interview. Lately, I wondered more and more if he’d just hired me because he liked what I looked like and how I smelled, rather than that he’d thought I was a good fit for the job.
“We have a meeting soon, and you’re not prepared,” Jerry said.
I frowned. “What meeting? I didn’t know I had something to prepare for.”
“Come with me.” He turned on his heel and marched out of the office area where I worked.
I turned to follow Jerry, but turned back and grabbed the file I’d been working on out of my bag. If Jerry wasn’t in the mood to look at it today, at least if he had it, he would look at it eventually. Maybe I could throw it on his desk at some point or something.
“Are you keeping up?” Jerry asked over his shoulder when I ran down the hallway to join him. I fell into step next to him.
“Yeah.”
“Good. I want you to sit in on the meeting we’re having with the big guys upstairs.”
“What?” I asked, blinking at Jerry. “Are you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m fucking kidding?” he snapped.
“Not at all,” I said.
Jerry marched on, and I had to double-step to keep up with him. He was a tall man with long legs and no patience.
Inside, I buzzed with excitement. A meeting with the big guys, and I was invited to join in? Maybe this time, I would have a chance to make my suggestions. I had so many great ideas, and I’d done a lot of reading and research on a case study that looked like it could guide us in the right direction. Jerry had asked me to work on blood disorders for a couple of months now.
“When we’re in there, I want you to keep your mouth shut, you hear me?” Jerry said, as if he knew what I’d been thinking.
“What?”
“You’re not there to be clever or have an opinion. Coffee and taking notes, that’s what you’ll be doing.”
My heart sank. Coffee and notes?
“Why didn’t you ask Denise?” I responded, trying subtly to remind Jerry he had a secretary.
“Are you telling me how to do my job?”
“Not at all,” I said. “It’s just below my paygrade to—”
Jerry stopped and turned to me so fast, I nearly bumped into him. It put me almost right up against him, and Jerry leaned down to me. His face was uncomfortably close, and I leaned back a little, but I didn’t dare step away from him.
“I’ll tell you what’s included in your paygrade,” Jerry said. He lifted a hand like he wanted to run my dark brown hair through his fingers, but he held back. It looked like it took a lot to do that. He dropped his voice low. “Whatever I ask of you.” His eyes pierced mine, and I forced back the urge to recoil from him. “Do we understand each other?”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
Jerry’s eyes slid down my face to my neck, but not lower than that. I swallowed hard and wrapped my fingers around my pendant, holding onto it as if it was a buoy that could keep my head above water.
He leaned in a little closer and took a deep breath through his nose. He let out a breath, and his eyes rolled shut. I could have sworn his gray eyes turned black just before they did.
