AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rested my arms on the table, letting it bear some of my weight, and I gave my closing argument. “I’m positive you have other candidates for this role, some you’ve most likely already interviewed. What sets me apart? I could say my experience, maybe. Most people in director-level roles have an impressive list of bullet points and achievements that match mine. What I’m going to say instead is my work ethic. I will treat this company as though it’s my own. You can count on me to show up, you can count on me to be here and be present, and you can count on me to fight my hardest for you as owners and for the empire you’ve built.” I glanced at my hands for just a moment, and when I looked up, I continued, “If you call any of the references I’ve provided, my direct reports at Faceframe and the CEOs and managers I’ve worked with during my consulting, that’s the first thing they’ll say about me. The second thing they’ll say is that I won’t let you down. Ever.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Drake
“Drake Madden,” Easton, my new boss, said as he walked into the elevator but stopped in the doorway so it couldn’t slide shut. “Your expression tells me you’re having a moment with that Diet Coke you’re guzzling. Should I leave you two alone, or do you mind if I join you?”
I swallowed, almost choking on the carbonation as I laughed. “Oh, we’re definitely having a moment. Only I wish this soda had a few shots of rum in it—and I don’t even drink liquor.” I waved him forward. “Come on in. Please join us.”
As he moved to the far side of the elevator, checking that the button to our floor was already lit, his scent hit me. That same burnt-citrus aroma, almost spicy, that I’d noticed during my interview tugged at my memory, hinting at a time when I’d smelled something similar.
“I’m assuming you’re having quite the day?” he asked.
I nodded, sighing. “Nothing has gone right, but it’s okay ... I don’t quit. I fight back—with soda.”
“This is, what”—it appeared that he was mentally calculating—“the end of your second week? Everything is kicking in and kicking hard, totally normal.” He reached inside the small brown bakery bag that he was holding and took out a piece of something that he popped into his mouth.
I chewed the corner of my lip. “Are you having a day like me?”
“See, you go for soda, which is commendable. My poison of choice is doughnuts.” He held the paper bag in my direction. “There are three in there. Two I plan on devouring and an extra in case things get wicked hairy in the next hour. Help yourself to it.”
I shook my head.
“Trust me, that doughnut will turn your whole day around. I was in your shoes six years ago, when we were trying to figure all this shit out. I swear, I was ordering these by the dozen.”
I smiled. “If you get me hooked on these, you’re dead.” I reached inside the bag, the dough and sticky glaze immediately gluing to my fingers.
“Attagirl. Enjoy.”
I took a bite, practically moaning as the glaze dissolved over my tongue. “Yep. You’re dead.”
His smile grew. “But it’s so worth it.” He looked up at the monitor that showed our progress as we passed each floor, the most recent number telling me we were halfway there. “How’d the move go? I don’t think I even asked you.”
He hadn’t. That wasn’t to say we hadn’t spoken in the last two weeks. We’d done plenty of that. And even more—like the smiles as we passed each other in the hallway. The small talk whenever we crossed paths in the kitchen. The way he lingered a little longer at the end of each executive-level meeting so he could say a few extra words to me.
Nothing Easton did went unnoticed.
In my eyes, at least.
But it washiseyes that I couldn’t get out of my mind.
His lips.
His personality, which reminded me so much of someone from my past—I just couldn’t place him.
“Ahhh, about as fun as a cross-country move could go,” I told him. “Which includes a broken bed frame, and my entire box of bathroomstuff went missing. I didn’t realize that until I got out of the shower and had to air-dry and then rush to the store to get myself some deodorant.”
“Damn those movers.”
I waved my sticky hand in the air. “I needed new towels anyway.”
“But the bed frame, that’s a real bummer.”
“Eh.” I shrugged. “Maybe I needed a new one of those too.”
“A new frame?” His brows rose. “You must have a pretty active bed.”
Active?
