by Whitney G.
No one said a word.
“Great. By show of right hand and verbal confirmation, all those in favor of hiring Kate Kennedy as our new marketing director, say, ‘aye’!”
“Aye!” All sixteen of the board members’ hands flew into the air.
“By show of hands and verbal confirmation, all those not in favor of hiring Kate Kennedy, say, ‘no’.”
“No.” I raised my hand.
“Um, okay, then.” Mr. Jewell shot me a confused look. “Let the record show that the vote was 16-1, and the ‘ayes’ have it. Now to the next part, so we can get the hiring process underway as quickly as possible.”
“Don’t I get to voice my concerns about the candidate first?” I asked.
“You’re the only ‘no’ vote, Mr. Holmes,” he said. “You’d need at least seven more for that.”
“I really don’t want to hire this woman.” I voiced my thoughts anyway. “I believe that she has severe loyalty issues, and she’ll continue to select the things in life that are second best.”
“With all due respect, if that’s what you got out of her presentation, then I don’t think you were paying attention.”
The rest of the board nodded their heads in agreement, and he looked away from me.
“What salary should we recommend to HR?”
Carol flipped through Kate’s portfolio. “None of the places where she worked previously paid her more than fifty thousand dollars a year.”
It’s not like she needs the money... I groaned. “Let’s pay her the same amount then.”
“We paid our last marketing director three hundred thousand a year, Mr. Holmes.”
“Who the hell approved paying someone that much?”
“That was even less than the director before.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I made a mental note to look up all the salary levels at this company and make some adjustments.
“I propose four hundred thousand a year,” Carol said. “Especially since she’ll be coming in to not only clean up the messes made by the last marketing director, but she’ll have to construct multiple campaigns within six weeks before the next shareholders’ report.”
“That sounds like a good enough number to make her say ‘yes’ on the spot.” Joseph smiled. “Would anyone else like to propose another number?”
I wanted to suggest zero, but I held back.
“All in favor of hiring Miss Kennedy at a salary of four hundred thousand a year, say, ‘aye’!”
“Aye!” They all said in unison.
They didn’t bother with the nay vote.
“Meeting adjourned, ladies and gentlemen,” Joseph said, signaling their exodus.
As they filed out of the room, I stood to my feet and walked over to Joseph.
“Wait,” I said. “I need to talk to you in private for a second.” I waited until the last board member left the room, until I heard the door click shut.
“This is about Miss Kennedy, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes. I need to explain why you all just made a huge mistake in hiring her.”
“Mr. Holmes, I don’t think ‘hiring’ is your forte. However, if we ever need to fire her, I can promise that we’ll let you handle that.”
“I used to date her,” I said.
“Okay, and? With your track record, I’d be more surprised if you’d never dated her. You’ve dated almost all of the high-profile women in Seattle.”
“We dated intensely.”
He raised his eyebrow. “How long ago was this?”
“It was almost like yesterday.” I paused. “Nine and a half years ago.”
“That’s not like ‘yesterday’ at all.”
“Can we stay on topic please?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I believe that Miss Kennedy will be distracted by me and I don’t want her to suffer by being in any of my buildings here. I can find us someone better for this position, if you just give me a few weeks.”
He stared at me in silence, then he let out a long sigh.
“So, let me get this straight.” He crossed his arms. “As the CEO of a billion-dollar company that is publicly traded, you want your board to rescind an offer of employment from a candidate because ‘nine and a half years ago,’ you two had a ‘relationship’ and you don’t think you can push that shit to the side and be a professional?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “Thank you for finally understanding. Let’s call the board back in for a second vote.”
“Mr. Holmes, don’t take this personally, but—” He looked me right in my eye. “You’re out of your fucking mind. We’ve voted, and she’s hired. Sign off on the HR clearances and get the hell over it, okay?”
I didn’t answer him.
“She seems to be fine with the idea of working under you.” He patted my shoulder. “She shook your hand and everything.”
I shook my head. The mere touch of her hand against mine had opened a floodgate of memories, and I was already drowning.
“There was a girl I couldn’t get over once,” Joseph said, pulling out his phone. “Do you want to know how I got over her?”
“Not particularly.”
“I moved on to someone else.”
I’ve already tried that shit.
“Anyway,” he said, looking at his watch, “can you promise me that you’ll sign off on her clearance forms by the end of business day? That you’ll embrace this new era you’ve thrown this company into and be a complete professional?”
“Yes.” I forced a smile. “I’m going to be more than simply professional...”
I can try to pretend
Kate
I STARED AT THE COCKROACH that was crawling up my motel room’s crumbling cream wall on Friday night. In between refreshing my inbox every few seconds for a response from Pier Autumn Coffee, I was trying to focus on anything else that would prevent me from thinking about James effin Garrett.
I can’t believe he’s a goddamn billionaire...
If I didn’t land this job, I would take the remaining money from Sarah Kay and travel to Portland next week for an interview with Nike. If I did get it, I would check out of this place the moment the sun came up and find another short-term rental that was (hopefully) a tad less shitty.
My phone suddenly pinged with an email notification and I took a deep breath before opening it.
SUBJECT: IN REGARD to the Marketing Director Position at Pier Autumn Coffee
Dear Miss Kennedy,
Thank you for your interest in the marketing director position. We appreciate you taking the time to visit our Seattle office and interview with our board.
While we were impressed with your skill set, we regret to inform you that we have chosen to proceed with another candidate.
We wish you the best of luck in your career.
Human Resources,
on behalf of Sean Holmes
MY HEART DROPPED. I couldn’t believe it.
I contemplated showing up to their office tomorrow and asking if there was another position I could be considered for, but my email pinged again.
SUBJECT: RE: IN REGARD to the Marketing Director Position at Pier Autumn Coffee
Dear Miss Kennedy,
Please disregard the previous email. Our CEO must have made a mistake when speaking to Human Resources.
Our board was thoroughly impressed with your interview and blown away with your demonstrated skill set. We’d like you to return to Pier Autumn Coffee on Monday for an official overview and a salary negotiation session.
If you’re interested, please reply, and we look forward to meeting you on the 50th floor.
Human Resources,
on behalf of Joseph Jewell
like you never existed
Kate
RAINDROPS DANCED AGAINST the top of the town car as I rode to headquarters Monday morning. My plan to focus on non-James things over the weekend had failed miserably, and I was hoping I wouldn’t have to see him around the office for a while.
At least not today.<
br />
I hadn’t been able to sleep since I accepted the job offer, and I’d driven myself crazy thinking about how terrible the two of us working together would be. In between wild thoughts of him firing me (and fucking me), I’d spent hours researching “Sean G. Holmes.”
Just like when we were younger, though, there wasn’t much to be found. There were a few popular finance blogs that extensively reported on his company, but very little about him.
I had to dig past thirty web pages just to get a picture, and it was on a defunct gossip blog with two small bits of information.
Rumor has it that Mr. Holmes is not a fan of having his picture taken. With a gorgeous face like that, we can’t understand why. (He also wields NDAs like a fucking weapon and shut down our blog for reporting him. #effhim )
Still, I read the small printed bits about his numerous relationships with high profile women, and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. My heart was hanging in an uncomfortable limbo—dangling between the hurt and pain of seeing him again, and the love of knowing that he was doing so well for himself.
“We’re here, Miss Kennedy.” The driver smiled at me through the rearview mirror as we pulled into the circular driveway.
When he stopped, a doorman approached my door and opened it for me.
“Welcome to the team at Pier Autumn Coffee, Miss Kennedy,” he said. “Glad to have you here. I’ve heard great things.”
“Thank you.” I smiled, wondering if I was overreacting. If working under James wouldn’t be that bad.
He did insist on getting me town car service...Then again, maybe that was Mr. Jewell.
Walking inside, I headed straight for the elevator and hit the up button.
The doors glided open and my wish for not seeing James today was instantly denied. Looking gorgeous as ever, he stared me up and down. Then he hit a button and the doors began to close.
Is he serious?
I stuck my hand in before they could completely shut and stepped inside, quickly hitting the button for the fiftieth floor. I tried to think of something to say, but small talk seemed too insignificant. “Why the hell didn’t you come back to me?” seemed a bit much.
The doors closed, revealing our reflections in their polished silver. James’s eyes met mine as I stood next to him. I tried to resist looking at him, but I couldn’t help it. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were pushed up to his elbows, revealing the tribal tattoos on his arm.
The scent of his cologne was intoxicating, and I felt myself being drawn to him against my will.
The elevator came to a sudden stop on Floor Seven, and a group of fifteen people stepped on mid-laughter, pushing the two of us to the back.
His fingers brushed against mine, and before I could move my hand away, the elevator stopped again. This time on Floor Eleven, this time with six more people—forcing everyone to step back.
“Is there room for one more?” a woman yelled as she rushed toward the open doors.
There wasn’t, but someone claimed that there was.
As the people ahead of us starting squirming to make room, James gently gripped my waist, turning me to my side, so I could have breathing room. So I could look directly into his eyes.
The elevator moved again, straight up without stops, and I leaned in closer to James, felt him leaning in closer to me. My lips were an inch away from his chest, and for a moment, I imagined that he was lightly caressing my ass.
It took all of twenty seconds for me to realize that I wasn’t dreaming about that at all. His palms were definitely pressed against my backside, and my panties were a lost, wet cause within seconds.
With his eyes locked on mine, he lowered his head as if he were about to kiss me. I opened my mouth, invited him to kiss me—to give me a taste of what I hadn’t felt in years, but the abrupt stop of the elevator brought our moment to an end.
The laughing group stepped off as one, still lost in their own world of conversation, and James and I slowly stepped away from each other. The other group stepped off on Floor Forty-Nine, and the moment the doors opened on Floor Fifty, a grey-haired man with glasses—Mr. Levin from Human Resources, was waiting in the hallway.
“Ah!” He clapped his hands. “You’re both here at the same time. Let’s get started, shall we?”
He didn’t give us a chance to react. He led us into large room that overlooked the city and motioned for me to take a seat first.
“Now, Miss Kennedy,” he said, “as a new member of the executive team, we always have the CEO attend this introductory session to get you well-acquainted. But given the circumstances, I think we can bypass that part. I believe that you two were friends in the past, correct?”
“No.” James shook his head. “I’ve never seen Miss Kennedy a day in my life.”
“Huh?” Mr. Levin responded as my jaw dropped. “I thought Mr. Jewell said—”
“Mr. Jewell is misinformed. I don’t know her.”
“Okay, then...” He clicked his pen. “Give me one second to get that introductory sheet.” He left the room, and I crossed my arms.
“Seriously, James?” I said. “You’ve never seen me a day in your life?”
“Seeing as though you’re calling me ‘James’ and not by my actual name of ‘Sean’ right now, I’d say that’s quite plausible.
“James—” I didn’t get a chance to finish my words.
“Now that I think about it, you do look a little familiar.” He leaned back in his chair, acting like he had no idea who the hell I was. Like what we had before didn’t mean anything.
“You do, too,” I said, more than willing to play his twisted game. “You look like someone from the past, but I guess my mind can’t seem to remember.”
“That’s okay.” He smirked, looking me up and down. “I’m sure your body does.”
“Okay! I hope I didn’t leave you alone too long with Mr. Holmes.” Mr. Levin returned to the room. “Bad news, the interns have taken over all the printer stations; Good news, I hate doing that anyway, so we can just get this done first.” He clicked a pen and slid a contract toward me. “First, you’re responsible for the entire marketing department and you’ll need to discuss any changes to campaigns with the CEO. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” I signed the page.
“Are you willing to work overtime during sweeps season?”
“Yes.” I signed that page, and then listened as he read me the overview for a hundred more—ignoring the intense gaze of James.
When we were finally finished, he presented the stack to James and requested for him to sign the last sheet.
“Alright, perfect.” Mr. Levin extended his hand to me. “Honored to have you here with us, Miss Kennedy.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll make you a copy and be right back.”
James extended his hand, and I once again felt an immediate jolt of warmth as his skin touched mine.
“Let’s try to keep things one hundred percent professional,” he said, looking into my eyes. “If that’s alright with you, Miss Kennedy.”
“That’s more than fine with me, Mr. Holmes.”
“Let’s try not to talk to each other if it’s not about work.” He was still shaking my hand. “I mean, you did get this job by default with a split vote, so I’d try to do my best work, if I were you.”
“Mr. Jewell said the vote was unanimous.”
“It was 16-1.” He paused. “I was the one.”
“Yeah.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You were ... Until you didn’t come back.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Come again?”
“Off the record,” I said, “it must feel good to have achieved all you have in such a short time, to become who you’ve always wanted to be.”
“If you think this is who I’ve always wanted to be, then you never knew me at all.”
“That’s probably true, too.” I swallowed. “The James I knew would’ve never left me waiting for months without any communication.”
/> “He gave you plenty of communication. You chose to stop waiting.”
Silence.
We were still shaking hands, still touching—the feel of him still too familiar to let go.
“I’m glad we could have this conversation, Miss Kennedy,” he said, finally—his tone bone dry. “I trust that we’ll be able to work together and leave the past in the past moving forward?”
“Yeah.” I let his hand go. “That’s exactly where it belongs.”
...
Kate
~ November 14, 2008 ~
HOW THE HELL DID I forget to get his phone number?
Thoughts of James’s kiss had been running through my mind for two weeks, and I’d touched myself at night—wishing I’d invited him inside and let him take things further. Dreamed about feeling his mouth all over my body, feeling his lips press kisses lower and lower. Feeling his tongue caress the tip of my clit as he brought me to the edge, again and again.
“Kate!” A deep voice interrupted my thoughts. “Kate, stop leaning against the window. I just got this thing detailed this morning.”
I opened my eyes and held back a groan. Reality had struck again.
I was sitting in the passenger seat of a red-coated Maserati, and there was a glittering “Miss Edgewood” crown in my lap. The man sitting behind the wheel was Grant Harrison, one of the biggest assholes I’d ever known.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked. “How excited are you to watch me judge the swimsuit competition? I’m awarding extra points to whoever has the best ass and tits.”
“I can promise you that I wasn’t thinking about that at all.”
“Well, you should be.” He looked over at me. “Now that you have to give your crown away to the next girl, you should be interested in who is taking your place. Hopefully, the new Miss Edgewood will be down to fuck, unlike you. Then again, I’ve enjoyed sleeping with some of the runners up in the past.”
