“James?”
Harold Morris walks in and when he sees me, he clears his throat. Suddenly, I’m aware of just how close James and I are, and I realize that it looks pretty suspicious. I take a step back and then another until I decide that maybe it would be best if I just left. If he wants to tell me he loves me or at least ask me out, it can wait. That way, I can figure out how I’m feeling and he’ll do it somewhere other than his father’s office.
Not the most romantic place to be told some guy is falling for you, if you ask me.
“Send your mother and grandmother my love,” I tell him. “Don’t hesitate to call either, if you need to talk. And I hope you come back to California soon. But no rush, you know?”
And then I’m out and safe. The tendril of hair he tucked behind my ear springs free and falls into my face, but I don’t even bother replacing it. I need to get back to the safety of Robert’s office.
And as I walk back to the elevators, past Kim and her desk, I can’t help but wondering that if it is the beginning of strong feelings that could possibly be love, why does it feel like I just dodged a bullet?
Chapter 16
This effing sucks.
Excuse my language, but there is no way I could have ever prepared myself for being bombarded by Ethan McCoy and the woman he’s supposedly shacked up with. It’s been a few days since James’s departure – I can’t remember the actual day he left, if I’m being honest – and Robert’s still either down in his workshop or he’s been in constant meetings trying to incorporate some more international investors. So I’m busy running around, scheduling and rescheduling, while Jewel is filing, finding papers, taking messages, and the list goes on.
For whatever reason, Ethan decides that now be would the perfect time to bring his little chit to Swift Enterprises. Luckily, Jewel’s out on a morning errand, but I’m definitely going to be telling her about all the drama that goes on concerning these two while she’s gone. And by the look of things, I can guarantee there will be some drama.
To be honest, when I first see Ethan standing in the lobby, I don’t even notice him. I mean, I’m already stressed enough as it is, and I’ve got a million things to do before I meet up with Jewel for lunch. It’s only when he calls my name, after I’ve already pressed the button to the elevator, that I even realize he’s there.
I open my mouth, a retort on the tip of my tongue, when I remind myself that I’m in my place of business and as such, I actually need to watch my mouth. “Can I help you?” I ask instead.
Apparently, Ethan takes this as an invitation to head on over to where I’m waiting for the elevator. If pushing the up button over and over again actually worked, I’d be doing it right now in order to escape being around the guy, but it doesn’t and the elevator itself has decided to get in on whatever cruel joke this is and takes its time coming down to the lobby.
“Yes, actually,” he says.
Before he can continue, a vaguely familiar woman my age nudges Ethan to the side and sticks out her hand. “Madeline Perkins?” she asks with an accent. I’m not exactly where she’s from, but it’s either Southern or Midwestern. “I am a huge fan of yours, you have no idea. My name is Brandi Carmichael.”
Ah. That’s why she’s so familiar. She’s some new country singer.
“Um… forgive me, but how do you even know me?” I ask. My eyes are staring at the sleek metal doors, willing them to open. But even that doesn’t seem to be working.
“You’re Robert Swift’s personal assistant,” she says as if it’s the most obvious thing ever, beside the fact that she’s not a natural blonde, of course. “I mean, you’re like a celebrity. Almost as big as Robert Swift himself. You’re the only personal assistant he hasn’t slept with, and the only one who’s lasted longer than a couple of months.”
“Well, you know your stuff,” I say, shifting uncomfortably. I don’t think I’ve ever had a fan before, and to be honest, I don’t want any. It’s just weird.
“Of course I do.” She tosses her shoulder length hair over her slender shoulder and fixes her honey-brown eyes on me. “Robert Swift is a huge celebrity. Even bigger than, like, Paris Hilton.” Her eyes suddenly go wide and she smiles, popping those dimples that probably helped sway the Nashville label execs to sign her. “Is he here? Oh Lordy, that would just make my day.”
“See,” Ethan says, speaking for the first time. “I was hoping that maybe you and Robert could give Brandi and me a tour of the building. It’s where she’s wanted to go ever since she heard Robert came out of a little depression thing.”
“It’s the biggest dream ever to look around,” Brandi tells me. “I mean, besides being a singer of course. But that’s already come true.”
And it’s then that the elevator decides to ping, the doors sliding open. Like I even have a choice in the matter. Despite the fact that I’m bogged down, I realize that for the next hour, I will be showing Ethan and Brandi around, which is ironic, to say the least, because I’ve sworn to hate Ethan for an eternity after the horrible things he did to Jewel, and even to me.
“Well, Mr. Swift’s in a meeting that’ll go well into the afternoon,” I say, stepping into the elevator. Ethan and Brandi don’t even wait for an actual answer; they just step right in, like they belong here. Annoying, but I can’t exactly do anything about it. “But I’ll give you a brief tour. We really are very busy here…” I let my voice trail off, hoping that they’ll take the hint and offer to come back later – never – but neither of them takes the bait.
Great.
We get off on the fifth floor and I quickly show them Robert’s office. Brandi actually asks Ethan to take a picture of herself at Robert’s desk. I’m halfway through telling her that that really isn’t appropriate when Ethan snaps the picture. I shut my mouth and usher them out into the hall.
“Where’s the meeting taking place?” Brandi asks, looking at me with those eyes. “Is it on this floor?”
“That’s confidential,” I tell her, subtly ushering her into the elevator. “I’m sure you understand. Top secret business things.”
The look on Ethan’s face clearly tells me that he knows otherwise, that there really aren’t any secret business meetings going on, but Brandi immediately shuts her mouth and nods her head so her side-swept bangs fall into her face.
Okay, so Brandi seems to be really sweet. Maybe a little dull, but I’ve heard her single on the radio, and the girl does have talent. Surprisingly enough, she’s not wearing anything trashy. I say surprisingly not because of the stereotypical assumed sluttiness that comes with being a superstar, but because she has the body to pull an outfit like the one she wore in her video off, but has instead chosen to wear a high-fashion business suit. With a tight pencil skirt instead of slacks.
I have to ask her where she got that skirt. The thing is cute.
And besides coming to Swift Enterprises like it’s listed on a star map or something and thinking Robert is some superstar, there’s nothing really I dislike about her. Except probably her taste in men.
Speaking of which, I can’t believe Ethan has the gall to come back here and ask for a tour. Did he forget that he groped me at the Christmas party while simultaneously breaking my friend’s heart? I really don’t care one way or the other who his father is, and I know for a fact that Robert doesn’t either. It’s a good thing Robert does have that meeting, because if he did see Ethan, I’m sure he would sock the guy, just like he did to Brick Scott.
I continue to the tour and end it as fast as I can without being rude. However, I make sure I remember the little things I’ve noticed between Ethan and Brandi, little tensions I’m not even sure they noticed but any chick flick enthusiast would pounce on if she were in my position. Like the way Ethan rolls his eyes whenever Brandi mentions some random piece of trivia about Robert. I, of course, know everything that comes out of her mouth when it comes to Robert because I know Robert as well as I know myself. The two also don’t walk in sync, and Cosmo has never failed
to ingrain in me just how important subconscious body language is. And when Ethan tried to hold her hand, she pulled away. Okay, she really didn’t notice that he was gunning for her, but still. Shouldn’t there be some kind of unconscious connection between two people who claim to be crazy for each other?
When the tour finishes, Brandi actually asks for my autograph. I politely decline because that’s just taking weird to the next level, but I tell her that that’s always been my custom, as a courtesy to Mr. Swift. Because how is anyone supposed to take a signature-signing assistant seriously? She understood, and I did agree to take her picture in front of the building.
Thank God that’s over with.
I almost feel sorry for Brandi.
But then, I’m really not. Because she’s with someone like Ethan, so that has to say something about her as a person.
For the rest of the time before lunch rolls around, I’m trying to get my act together and make up for lost time. I manage to nearly get back on track when Jewel returns from her morning errand with two Subway sandwiches. We’ve already decided that eating in Robert’s office would be best, because both of us are so burnt out that we really don’t want to have to socialize.
“You will never guess who stopped by while you were gone,” I say, opening my sandwich.
She looks at me, and if there wasn’t a bite of meatball sandwich in her mouth, I’m sure she would have asked who I’m referring to.
“Ethan McCoy and the woman he’s supposedly seeing,” I say before taking a bite of my sandwich. Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have stuffed my mouth with food at that moment because right before my eyes, Jewel’s face crumples. And I know it isn’t because of the food, because she loves meatball sandwiches.
“But don’t worry,” I continue once my mouth is clear. “Just because he’s dating Brandi Carmichael doesn’t mean anything.”
“He’s dating Brandi Carmichael?” Jewel asks. Her face has gotten pale and she pushes away her food, as though maybe she’s not interested in eating it anymore. “Oh, my.”
“Listen, she’s kind of a ditz,” I tell her. I really want to scarf down my food because I’m so hungry, but I can’t. Not when Jewel needs some reassurance. “Sweet, sure. Talented, of course. But come on, Jewel. Brandi Carmichael doesn’t have your brain.”
“Yeah, but she’s gorgeous.”
I’ve never heard Jewel be self-deprecating before, and to be honest, I really don’t like it.
“So are you,” I snap, though I don’t mean to say it with such abruptness. But come on. I really don’t want her feeling sorry for herself when she’s amazing. “Jewel, don’t be an idiot. You’re beautiful. Sure, Brandi is good-looking, but she’s cute. She’s not striking, not like you. Plus, I don’t think the whole Ethan-Brandi thing is going to work.”
“Really?” Jewel takes a tentative sip of her soda and arches her brow in my direction. “Why do you think that?” she asks, trying to keep the hope out of her voice but failing quite miserably.
“Let’s go with logistics first,” I begin. “Okay, so Ethan’s father wants him to start being responsible if he ever wants to touch his trust fund, right? Well, dating Brandi Carmichael is not going to make Ethan McCoy responsible. In fact, if anything, it’s going to stroke his ego that he’s dating this country pop princess, and that’ll lead to him getting more reckless. Plus, Ethan might try and woo Brandi into becoming his sugar mama, you know what I mean?”
“But that’s all conjecture,” Jewel says before pushing her lips together.
“I took Psych 1 in college and aced it,” I say, trying to reassure her of my credibility. “But that’s not all. Okay, when the two interact, they’re on two different levels. It’s like, she goes left and he goes right. Does that make any sense?” Before she can answer my rhetorical question, I continue. “And plus, have you read Cosmo? Their body language expert is so on point, and trust me, if Cosmo’s expert were looking into Ethan and Brandi, she would totally agree that they’re not meant to be.”
“Oh.”
“But that doesn’t mean you should want to be with Ethan or anything,” I add quickly, shifting my eyes so I can look at Jewel. “I mean, especially not after what he did to you. He doesn’t deserve you. You’re way too good for that guy.”
“Yes.” She presses her lips together again, this time into a determined line. “You’re right.” With that resolve, she reaches for her meatball sandwich, and in some kind of defiance against Ethan McCoy, takes the biggest bite she possibly can.
I start laughing at the ridiculous act of rebellion and decide to do the same.
At that moment, the door opens and in walks Robert Swift, looking hungry and maybe a little agitated. When his brown eyes take in the two of us, the familiar sparkle springs back to life and his lips even curl up a little.
“Am I interrupting anything?” he asks as he walks behind his desk and pulls up a chair so he’s sitting next to me and across from Jewel.
“Not really,” Jewel answer. She’s gotten used to Robert’s presence and is almost one hundred percent comfortable around him. There are still certain moments when she’s shy and there are certain things she won’t talk about around him, but she’s definitely more sociable than she used to be around him.
Robert reaches over and steals half of my sandwich without even asking. That’s okay though, partly because I’m used to it and partly because he really does look like he could use something to eat. The meeting he’s in has been going on all morning, and even I can’t say one way or the other if they’ve just taken a break for lunch or dinner – depending on where each person is – or if the meeting is actually over.
“Ethan McCoy stopped by,” I tell him, swiveling around in his desk chair so I can look at him. “He had that chick you told me about, the one he’s seeing. Turns out she’s some country singer who is majorly jonesing on you.”
“You know, I’ve never understood that phrase,” he replies, his mouth completely filled with my cold cut combo. “Jonesing.”
“I don’t either,” I say. “But it’s true. The two bombarded me before I could escape and practically forced me to give them a tour. Brandi wanted to meet you. Ethan was totally jealous of you. The girl actually asked me for my autograph.”
The last statement causes Robert to chuckle. His eyes crinkle, and the sound is relief to my ears. I haven’t heard him laugh in a while.
“That’s cute,” he says. “Your autograph. Did you give her one?”
“No,” I say shaking my head. “But I took a picture of her in front of the building.”
“I wish I was around,” Robert says, grabbing my lemonade and taking a long sip. “I would have loved to fuck with Ethan McCoy.”
I look over at Jewel, giving her a look that hopefully placates Robert’s coarse language and the fact that we’re talking about her ex-crush in front of her. But Jewel doesn’t seem affected by it too much. In fact, if anything, she seems to be contemplating something. What it is, I can’t say.
“You know,” she says, deciding, I guess, to share what’s on her mind, “I’ve noticed that a lot of businessmen seem to take up with starlets, actresses, singers, and supermodels instead of someone equal to their intelligence. That’s not to say that every superstar is dumb or anything like that, but don’t smart men appreciate smart women anymore?”
“Smart women usually aren’t good-looking,” Robert says.
“Wow, Robert, way to phrase that.” I roll my eyes at his bluntness, but I somehow knew that he would say something along those lines. “And that’s not true. There are so many exceptions to that.” I look at Jewel. “But then again, that’s all part of the businessman stereotype. I mean, think about it. Stereotypes have to have some truth in them, don’t they? So if a businessman gets off on power, they usually want someone ridiculously good-looking to stroke their massive egos, and normally, those women are movie stars, singers, or even secretaries.” Robert casts me a sharp look but I make sure I avoid it. “Men like that are
threatened by strong, independent, and highly intelligent women.”
“Are you still on that whole Kim thing?” Robert asks me, totally ignoring the fact that Jewel is right in front of us. He even has a smudge of mustard on the corner of his lips.
“I have no idea what you’re referring to,” I murmur before grabbing my lemonade and taking a sip of it.
“Can I just –?” He sighs through his nose and sets the sandwich down, making sure he has captured my eyes with his own. “Okay, let me tell you something. I have no idea why you care so much about the whole James-Kim thing, but from a businessman – no, a CEO billionaire, womanizing inventor extraordinaire – Kim is without. Maybe I’m an exception to this, but if you ask me, I think Kim has nothing worth falling in love for. Don’t get me wrong; she’s pretty and she’s organized, and she can do her job, and I know she cares a great deal about Harold, but she’s not… For me anyway, and Maddy you know how unfamiliar I am with the whole love thing, but she doesn’t have that magic that causes someone like me to fall in love.”
Both Jewel and I are staring at Robert. I think my mouth is even open, but I can’t be sure because I’ve gone numb and really don’t even realize I’m breathing, let alone gaping.
The fact that Robert himself has admitted that maybe, just maybe, he has the capacity to fall in love gives me goosebumps, and for whatever reason, hearing that Kim isn’t his type fills me with great relief.
“So can we stop talking about this now?” Robert asks after a beat of silence. His eyes shift between me and Jewel and by the way he’s hunching his shoulders a little forward, I can tell that he feels a tad uncomfortable. “We have a lot on our plates, don’t we, what with these potential international investors. Have you scheduled that meeting with Bernie for Scotland?”
Four Sides of a Triangle: An Austen & Cufflinks Novel (The Austen & Cufflinks Series Book 1) Page 15
