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“And you know thatmyjob pays our bills, has paid our bills for the last four years, and I can’t just leave my boss in the middle of a merger meeting to go apologize as you,” she counters, and hell, I do know that, better than anyone I knowhow awesome she is and everything she’s done for me since our parents died. “Any other time and I’d do it, but not tomorrow. There’s no way I can do it tomorrow.”
“Can’t you just call in sick for one day?” I ask, slumping down on the bar, my face falling when she shakes her head no my way again. I know I should just drop it, but I can’t lose the one potential career I might enjoy. “You always complain about the meetings because you never do anything during them. So why can’t you miss just one?”
“Because it’s my job to sit there, Gabi. Even if I’m bored out of my mind I’m still required to be there. This meeting is one that I’ve worked for the last six weeks to get set up and I’m not about to risk something happening to it because I’m not there. I have to get the room set up, make sure we have coffee and pastries…”
“I could do that,” I say, stopping her short. “Seriously, it’s just like setting up a catering, which I handle all the time at the restaurant. I could pretend to be you for a morning, and then switch at lunch.”
“I don’t know, Gabi.”
“We’ve never had an issue with getting caught before, all you have to do is tell me what I need to know to get through the morning, and then we’ll meet down at that little café on Main at lunch, and switch back. If this meeting is supposed to last most of the morning, and all I have to do is sit there, it’s not like I’ll mess it up,” I add seeing her wavering. “I promise, I’ll even wear your dowdiest outfit and screw my hair up on top of my head if you want.”
Five more minutes of pleading, assuring her that I can handle one morning as her has her caving. I smile more than ever, promising myself that I’ll behave. No matter what any of the stuffed shirts that work in the office says, I’ll be on my best behavior. Hopefully Mr. Wilmont will be too focused on themeeting to notice anything amiss, and that the meeting will take up the whole morning, so I won’t have to speak much.
I wake with a smile on my lips, and I don’t let it fall even when Dani tries to convince me to not wear the lingerie I slipped on. That’s where seventy percent of my paychecks go to since Dani handles the rest of the bills. It’s certainly not what she buys and wears, but if I have to spend the morning in her frumpy black skirt and blazer set, I’m wearing what makes me feel sexy underneath it. Not even the red blouse makes up for the boring office wear in my opinion. It might be bold in color and silk, but it’s still blah, a high-neck button-up that has no pizzazz or sex appeal.
My closet is definitely the opposite of Dani’s. Hers is professional and comfortable, mine is fun and tempting. I have a few outfits that she might think are too much, but they’re for going out to the club and having a good time. Who doesn’t wear micro-minis and crop tops to the clubs, especially with bodies like ours. Who knows how long we’ll have to show them off.
I keep my mouth shut when Dani does my makeup for me. It’s softer than I usually wear. Not that I coat myself in it or wear bright colors unless I’m going out to a club, but I usually do some contour and a heavier eyeliner, than Dani’s more natural look. The only thing we ever really agree on is our lipstick. We look good with the bright red and she doesn’t argue when I coat my lips with it, letting me get out the door without her noticing I ditched the shoes she left out for me.
The kitten heels weren’t doing it for me. Not with the lingerie set I chose for today. It’s red and with a nude lace over it, and the slight rub of the garters against my bare thighs, before my legs are covered with the stockings put a smile on my lips as I move into Dani’s office building. There’s a soft click from my stilettos, but the place is fairly empty, and I hurry down thehallway into the office suite I recall from one of my only trips here to visit Dani.
Her boss wasn’t there that day, so I’ve never actually met him. Dani mentions him to me enough that I should be able to get through four hours of this. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve ever worked in an office. I’ve worked in plenty, temp jobs mostly, while trying to figure out what to do with my life.
Dani wanted to go to college right after high school, but I hated school, so the thought of four more years made me shudder in disgust. I was living at home with Mom and Dad when they died, flitting from this job to that, the same as I’ve done until I started working at the restaurant with Chef Tyler. I was hired on as the front-end manager somehow, instead of as hostess or a server after walking out on my last job. I’m in charge of the servers and hosts, deal with aggravated customers who are upset over wait times, and anything that’s not directly related to the kitchen. I answer to the restaurant manager, who also oversees the kitchen manager, who handles things related to the kitchen staff, other than Chef Tyler since it’s his restaurant, and handles the more mundane things like payroll and receipts.
Chef Tyler plans to take Elliot with him to the new restaurant, leave his second in charge chef here to run the kitchen in his stead when he opens the new place. Elliot will oversee the managers at the new restaurant, since he knows how Chef Tyler likes things run, but he’s also supposed to keep the payroll and receipts for both places. I’ll be keeping my normal duties as front-end manager, oversee the kitchen manager, then handle scheduling plus deliveries and such instead of the chef.
I love what I’m doing right now, so losing it because of Mr. Prince is the last thing I want. Which is why I’m sucking up my dread of being in an office again and taking Dani’s spot, while she takes mine for the morning.
I move into the empty office, almost face-planting when I see a tall, handsome man move out of the door heading my way. Holy shit, please tell me this isn’t Oliver Wilmont, because every nerve ending in my body is suddenly awake and screaming to get to know him. Why the hell didn’t Dani tell me how hot he was, or show me a picture of him before now? I’d have been coming around, hoping to tempt this delicious man into wanting me if she had.
He’s taller than I imagined. Even with my four-inch heels, he towers over me. He has to be at least six-two, likely six-three because my forehead barely hits his chin. Out of these heels, my head likely won’t even reach the top of his shoulders.
“Dani, do you have the packets ready for the meeting?” he questions, telling me it definitely is Oliver, my sister’s boss, and I curse my luck because there’s no way I can tempt him while he thinks I’m Dani.
“They’re on my desk, just have to take them to the conference room,” I tell him, thankful Dani filled me in on where to find everything that would be needed to set up the business side of the meeting. I slip over to the desk, putting Dani’s workbag down, then shed the jacket that makes me feel like I’m about to suffocate—even if it’s a normal blazer style and nowhere near my neck.
Oliver’s brows furl as I turn back towards him, his eyes sliding down my body, and shit, it makes heat pool between my legs in ways I’ve never experienced in my life. I might date a lot, but I’ve never slept with any of them. Most dates end after they open their stupid mouths, their dirty pickup lines turning me completely off.
“You have all my notes typed up and in my folder for me?” he asks, and I bristle a bit, even though I do my best not to let it show. It’s not that he’s asking me about them, it’s that this dummy is questioning my sister’s abilities after she’s spent thelast four years catering to his ass. Sure, he pays her well, but she shouldn’t have to type up his handwritten notes because he’s too lazy to just jot them down on his phone rather than paper. Let alone be asking about it when my sister has never let him down—not once in four years.
“I have it handled,” comes out of my mouth, and I bite my tongue—literally, to stop anything else from slipping. “I’m taking everything over there now, and hopefully the caterers will have the food and coffee dropped off shortly so I can get that set up.”
“You know how important this merger is, how long I’ve been working on it, Dani,” Oliver says, and I flip back around to face him, dragging in a deep breath to calm myself.
“I know, which is why I’m going to go get everything set up so we’re ready when they get here,” I state, before moving out of the confined space with the stack of folders. The top one is clearly for Oliver since his name is embossed on it, and it’s not a generic slick folder, but a plusher portfolio type. The bottom one is similar, and I pull it up when I get to the conference room, doing my best to not look backwards as I leave Oliver. A hint of a smile hits seeing my sister’s name on it, and I quickly slip the packets around the table, to get this part done.
It doesn’t take long, and I move back to the office, getting the computer from Dani’s bag that I forgot. I’m almost back out the door when I hear Oliver call her name, and reluctantly move to his doorway. “You needed something?”
“We ordered some dairy free items, didn’t we? Kent is allergic to milk, but he takes alternatives in his coffee,” Oliver begins, and I quickly stop him.
“Dairy-free options were included. You don’t have to question me on every little detail, I know how to do my job.” The words come before I can stop them again, and it shouldn’t happen, but my lady bits start to run seeing his jaw tightenwith a tick. “Sorry, it’s an important meeting, I know, I’m just anxious for it to go well,” I add, doing my best to channel Dani. “I’ll make sure it does.”
“Thank you for that, Dani,” he states, and I scurry out, grateful that there’s a call saying the caterers are there with the food when I have the laptop set up to record the meeting.
It gives me something to do that doesn’t make me feel out of my depth, and I linger over it, until I can’t any longer. A group comes into the room, and they’re followed shortly by Oliver with a group I’m guessing are from the company he’s merging with. Dani told me it’s more of a buyout than a merger really.
He’s keeping the staff but not all of the senior management that goes along with it, hence the reason for the meeting today, to ensure those that won’t have a position any longer are given a severance package they’ll accept without causing issues. She’s grumbled about the hassles it’s taken to get the meeting set up the last six weeks, so I’m not coming in here completely blind, but I still feel like I’m about to drown.
