by Lynne Silver
She accelerated at a sprint and called back over her shoulder, “Me!”
He nearly flew ass over handlebars before he got it together and pedaled as if he were climbing Everest. He knew she’d been joking, but it didn’t freeze his desire. If this were a precipitous trail, he’d be down before she gave her pedals a full rotation. But on flat ground with her already a yard or two ahead, he didn’t have as much of an advantage, and sprinting with an erection was easier said than done.
The path he’d chosen was a big loop and soon his black SUV came into sight in the distance.
The wind whipped past them and their breath came in gasps. She was good, but he’d been doing this for years, and he wasn’t about to lose. He waited until they got close before he passed her. He got to the car a few bicycle lengths ahead of her, leaped off the bike, and leaned back against the tailgate. “What took you so long?” he asked nonchalantly.
She squealed to a stop and hopped off her bike, letting it fall on its side at her feet. Her fists met his chests in a mock fight. “You hustler!”
He caught up her wrists. “No. I got lucky at the end. You’re a good rider.”
Her palms flattened against his chest, and she smiled up at him. “Thanks, you too. Congratulations.”
He wrapped her up in his arms, pulling her tightly against him. “Good race.” They stayed snuggled a while until the wind velocity picked up. Then together they got the bikes buckled back onto the hitch and the helmets stashed in the back.
He started the car and heater to get them warmed up. What came next, he didn’t know. He hoped the date continued, but it was getting late and maybe she had stuff to do. He glanced over to where Michelle was rooting around in her purse for something.
She pulled out her phone. “Sorry, I want to check for any missed messages.”
“No problem. I should probably do the same.” Then he paused at the look on Michelle’s face.
She looked frozen to the seat, and her grip on the phone turned her knuckles white. She pressed a few buttons, then held the cell to her ear with her right hand. Her left hand reached out to clutch his wrist. He covered her hand with his own, turning slightly in his seat, waiting for the news.
Her nails dug into his skin as she listened. His own stomach clenched in sympathetic nerves even though he had no idea what the excitement was about.
Finally, she dropped the phone in her lap and turned to him. “I got it! I got the job. Casey said she thought I’d make a great fit!” Her words ran together in an excited stream. She bounced in her seat, then collapsed back with an ear-to-ear grin.
“When do you start?”
“As soon as possible. Casey wants some overlap between the new hire and Victoria leaving so there can be a smooth transition.”
“Makes sense.” He didn’t have a lot to do with the marketing department, preferring to oversee the technical engineering side of things, but Casey had always struck him as innovative and levelheaded.
He felt a grin widen his lips. “That’s great, Michelle. I’m so happy for you.”
She flew across the center of the car to give him a huge hug, still chattering excitedly. “I can’t believe it. I didn’t think I’d hear until at least tomorrow.”
“They know a good thing when they see it. Casey didn’t want to lose you.”
Michelle’s hug tightened around his shoulders. “As if, but I’m not questioning it.” She pulled back and bounced more in her seat. “I’m so happy.”
He loved seeing the huge smile on her face, and her happiness was infectious. He grinned too, at both her elation and his own. She isn’t leaving. Michelle was staying in Chicago.
Chapter Five
Monday morning, Michelle got to the office at eight, thinking it was early, only to see her new boss already at her desk. Casey greeted her, but without the warm welcome Michelle had hoped for and with an odd expression on her face. Casey said Victoria was at the office as well. She was off giving a tour to a board member’s daughter who had recently graduated from college, spent the summer abroad, and was looking for an entry-level position. The board member had heard about the marketing job opening and knew his daughter would be perfect. Michelle listened with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had no idea what it meant for her and didn’t want to rock the boat her first hour there, demanding to know the implications.
Victoria returned with a young woman named Sydney in tow, who was dressed in an outfit Michelle would kill for. After studying designers’ websites, she could identify a lot of the goods, plus the girl was wearing Blahniks on her feet.
Michelle did her best to smile warmly and not give way to the panic, but it was tricky. The other girl was everything she wasn’t. College educated, wealthy, high-couture. The girl’s haircut probably cost more than her own yearly clothing budget. She wanted to dislike her, but couldn’t when she was greeted with a warm smile and a handshake.
Casey gave them both a brief rundown of the new situation. They would divide Victoria’s current responsibilities between them, along with a host of other tasks. The marketing department was growing and there was a “shit-ton” of work to do. Unfortunately, unless Casey made a heck of a good case, she probably wouldn’t receive approval for two more employees in her department. One was pushing it.
Michelle didn’t understand the problem and hated that they were being stingy about hiring, especially if there were people doing the work of three. And it seemed Victoria was one of those people. Michelle’s shoulders practically bent under each task listed. Then she straightened. She could do this—she could. It was an amazing opportunity to learn a new skill and crawl up a corporate ladder.
Getting out of Iowa to a big city had been her number one goal, and she’d accomplished that. College or a great job was number two, and she was well on her way.
“This is boring,” Sydney whispered to her much later, when both Casey and Victoria had left for a meeting.
She looked up from her current task of filing a Kilimanjaro-sized stack of papers. Victoria had let the filing pile up in lieu of other more pressing matters. Sydney was sorting the papers, and Michelle was putting them into the proper folder in the steel-gray cabinet. They’d been sorting for the past forty-five minutes with no marked difference in the size of the pile.
“I guess. But it’s our first day. It’s not like they’re going to trust us with anything more important yet.”
“I know, but”—Sydney rolled her eyes—“filing? Really? Couldn’t they hire an admin to do it?”
“We are administrative assistants,” Michelle said, not sure what Sydney had been expecting.
“Not really. Casey trusts Victoria to do a lot more than secretarial-type stuff. Too bad LightWave doesn’t sell direct to consumers. Then we’d be working on media buys and campaigns. That’s much more fun. Right?”
“Mmm,” she murmured, hoping she wasn’t expected to translate Sydney’s jargon.
Luckily, Sydney didn’t stop talking or seem to expect a proper response. “I mean, I didn’t double major in marketing and communications at Penn for nothing.” She stopped talking and smiled at Michelle. “Sorry, I’m blathering on. Your turn to talk.”
“Uh, not much to say. I think we should try to finish this pile before lunch.”
“Don’t be silly, we can work and chat. I don’t even know what school you went to.”
Michelle knew she wasn’t talking about high school. “I didn’t go to college.”
“No? Oh.” Sydney fumbled a few papers. “That’s cool. It’s probably better to be out in the world and get real job experience.”
“I guess.” She turned to file more papers, hoping the conversation would cease. Sydney could make nice all she wanted about Michelle’s lack of a college education, but at the end of the day, people like Sydney had it way easier with their shiny diplomas.
They were both distracted by another young woman approaching. Michelle recognized her as the receptionist from the front lobby of LightWave, gree
ting people and answering phones. The lower half of her face was currently hidden by a huge bouquet of flowers.
Sydney jumped to relieve her of the burden. “Daddy must’ve sent these. He’s so ridiculous.”
“Actually, they’re for Michelle.” The receptionist poked her head around the bouquet. “Hey, girl. I didn’t know you were up here now. I went looking for you at your old desk.”
Michelle also stood. “You didn’t have to deliver them. I would’ve come to the front desk to get them.” She hefted the heavy vase onto an open spot on top of the filing cabinet.
“Sure, I could’ve, but when a girl gets flowers like these, it means something. Who’re they from? Open the card.”
Michelle felt a flush warm her cheeks. Only one person would’ve sent flowers, though she knew Sark had no idea how over-the-top the arrangement was. He must’ve been exuberant when he called the florist. Calla lilies, hydrangea, and other, more exotic species overflowed from a square crystal vase. A gorgeous vase, not the cheapie generic kind most Valentine’s roses came in.
“Yeah, Michelle, open it.” Sydney sounded amused and slightly annoyed.
She extricated the white envelope from the leaves and pulled out the card to read silently, Congratulations on your first day. Sorry I’m missing it. Love, Sark.
“So, who’s it from?” Both Sydney and the receptionist circled her with wide eyes and expectant faces.
Oh boy. She and Sark hadn’t discussed office etiquette. She didn’t think their relationship was forbidden according to company rules, but maybe he wouldn’t want it circling as the office gossip either. “Um, they’re from the guy I’ve been seeing.”
“Flowers like that?” scoffed the receptionist. “You’re doing a lot more than seeing him. Lucky girl.” She turned toward the hallway. “I gotta get back to the desk.”
“Thanks for bringing me my flowers.” The receptionist walked away and Michelle turned back to their little work area, a rectangle of carpet defined by two filing cabinets, three desks, and a narrow space on either end for access.
Sydney was back at the filing cabinet, hunched over a pile of papers.
“Sorry about that,” Michelle said quietly, slipping back into her chair and trying to pick up where they’d left off.
“Don’t be. It’s cool.” But she didn’t look up from the papers.
Michelle tried not to let Sydney’s coolness affect her mood. Sark had sent flowers. What a sweetie. After he’d dropped her at home on Sunday, they’d talked on the phone late into the night until he’d finally ended the call because he had to pack. They’d spoken about everything and nothing. He mentioned an idea for a product LightWave should work on. It was a bit technical for her, but she’d encouraged him to go for it.
He’d said he was too busy with current projects to start anything new. He hadn’t been too busy to send her flowers. And all the way from Spain, no less. Her mother would never mention Brad’s name again if she could get a look at the gorgeous bouquet. But it was the sentiment behind it that had Michelle’s heart pounding. It could’ve been a single wilted daisy, and she would be equally thrilled by the romantic gesture.
Then again, the obviously expensive floral arrangement didn’t hurt her standing with Sydney. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit to satisfaction that she’d been the one to receive the massive display on her first day of work.
She and Sydney worked in silence for a while until someone else approached their space.
“Oh, hey Dad.” Sydney stood to greet a handsome man in his sixties wearing a power suit.
“Hi Syd. I know I promised to leave you alone at work, but I couldn’t resist coming by to see how your first day is going.”
“Great,” Sydney said brightly.
“I tried to find Noah Frellish to meet you, but he’s away on business.”
“It’s fine, Dad. Now go away so I can finish my work in time to meet you for lunch.”
Michelle smiled and waved as Sydney’s dad walked away, despite not having been introduced.
“God, that’s embarrassing.” Sydney collapsed back onto her chair, pink staining her cheeks. “I can’t believe my dad would’ve dragged the CEO over. Thank God he’s out of town.”
Michelle couldn’t imagine her father ever doing something like that. Waving and yelling to a favorite athlete at a sporting event, yes. Hooking up his daughter with power players, no.
“I’ve heard he’s kind of cute, though,” Sydney said.
“Your father?”
“No, silly. Noah Frellish, the CEO. I’ve seen pictures, but maybe he’s less nerdy in person. I wonder if he’s dating someone.”
”I wouldn’t know, I’ve yet to see him around the office. Besides, I don’t think it’s a good idea to date the CEO. What if it didn’t work out? You’d still have to see him around the office.”
Sydney shrugged. “I guess. And he’s probably not my type, anyway. But that kind of wealth is anybody’s type.”
Michelle frowned at the callous statement and tried to concentrate on filing the papers. She’d never admit it to Sydney, but it was boring as all get-out. Maybe once Casey and Victoria returned, things would get more interesting. Or maybe it was boring because all she could think about since getting the flowers was calling Sark to say thank you. She’d prefer to thank him in person with some more of their steamy kisses, but they’d have to settle for the phone for now.
As the day progressed, she saw that while Sydney could talk marketing strategy with Casey, she seemed unwilling to do things she considered beneath her. It was Michelle who spent an hour in the mailroom dealing with a postage issue, and Michelle who learned the marketing database and entered eleven billion names into the program. She didn’t know if she was setting herself up to play a lesser role in the marketing team by being willing to do the more menial labor, but she couldn’t compete with Sydney, who was throwing out terms like ROI and SWOT analysis.
ROI? What was that? She wished she could talk it over with a friend, but Sark was away and she hadn’t spoken to Eve since the night in the club. Eve hadn’t said a word about Sark in the car ride home from the club other than to say she approved. She owed Eve a visit to say she was on this floor now. When she got a break she’d walk across the fourth floor to say hi.
Long after the sun stopped shining through the office windows, Casey shut down her computer and said good-bye. “It’s seven o’clock, Michelle. Go home.”
“It is?” Michelle looked up, startled. After the mind-numbing database entry, Casey had asked her to read through the current marketing plan and make some changes to a PowerPoint presentation. She’d gotten sucked into making each slide perfect, knowing that Casey or maybe even Noah Frellish would be showing the slides to customers. Normally in the call center, she’d known the time to the minute, but here she’d let three hours slide without tracking it. “Good night, Casey.” She saw that Sydney was still at her desk.
As soon as Casey was out of sight, Sydney clicked off her computer. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought we’d never get out of here. I’m meeting friends for drinks and I don’t want to be late.”
“I don’t think we’re required to stay as long as Casey does. Victoria went home a while back, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but she’s about to pop out a baby. And I couldn’t leave while you were still here. How bad would that look?” she said, but with a smile.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you late.”
“You didn’t.” Sydney pushed an arm into her coat. “Do you want to come for drinks? We’re heading to Henri’s.”
Like she knew where that was. “Uh, no thanks. I have plans with a friend in the graphics department,” she said, more than ready to show off her amazing floral bouquet and tell Eve about her first day on the new job.
…
“Henri’s, huh?” Eve laughed as she tilted a longneck beer into her mouth. “Good thing you came to find me. One drink there would’ve set you back a paycheck.”
�
��For real?”
“And without Sark footing the bill, we need to stick to places like these.”
“Don’t say stuff like that. I’m not with Sark for his money. I didn’t even know he had it. I guess his stock options are worth a lot, huh?”
Eve gave her an odd look. “You’re funny,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons I like you. Sark’s money doesn’t affect your opinion of him.”
“I miss him,” Michelle admitted. “Especially today, starting the new job and having perfect Sydney throwing out marketing words like it was a foreign language. I couldn’t keep up with her designer clothes and Ivy League education.” She was embarrassed to admit she’d erroneously assumed Sydney had gone to Penn State when she’d mentioned Penn. Victoria clued her in that Penn was University of Pennsylvania.
“Why can’t you keep up?” Eve asked.
“She’s got a fancy marketing degree from an Ivy League school. I have a diploma from a small-town high school. She probably spent a semester abroad. I’ve never been to Europe.”
Eve shrugged. “So go to college. Travel to Europe, if you think that makes you more worthy somehow.”
It would make her more worthy. How could it not? But she rolled her eyes at Eve. “With what money? I’m barely making rent.”
Eve grinned. “There are ways to get an education.” And she started to tell Michelle about one of the local colleges that specialized in professionals already out in the workforce. “They may not have ivy-covered walls, but you’ll be speaking marketing language with Casey and Sydney in no time.”
That evening when Michelle got home, she hopped on the Internet and researched local universities offering marketing degrees. By crunching some numbers in her head she saw that Eve was right. She could get some sort of higher education.
She collapsed into bed, thinking about the huge floral arrangement she’d left on her desk to brighten the office, and fell asleep.
Chapter Six
The next two weeks passed in a blur. Michelle fell into the new routine as if she’d been doing it for years instead of ten days. She went to work in the morning and stayed up late speaking to Sark on the phone. She knew it was the middle of the night for him in Spain, but every time she told him to go to bed, he said he was basically nocturnal from all his years staying up to code. And he wanted to talk to her more than sleep. It gave her the shivers and had her grinning every time she thought about the long talks.
