The butterflies in my stomach increased with each passing floor. It would be the first place I’d ever had all to myself.
Following his steps to the end of the hall, I noticed how quiet it was. I wondered what my neighbors would be like. Nice building with a secure entrance in Manhattan, blocks from Times Square— Yeah, I had a feeling I’d have nothing in common with a single one of them.
“Do not use your address on anything, including your HR forms. Instead, you can set up a PO Box tomorrow at lunch. There’s a post office a block from the office.”
“Okay, do I get to ask why?”
He unlocked the door for me, choosing to avoid the question.
Turning on the light, I went in and glanced around. It looked a lot like one of those extended-stay hotel rooms, with a small kitchen off to my right and a queen-sized bed over to my left. I opened the door next to the bed to find a good sized closet. The door on the far side of the space was a bathroom that boasted a pretty glass shower. The flat-screen TV on the wall was a nice touch to be able to watch television in bed.
“It’s not really made for entertaining, but the view isn’t bad.”
Making my way over to the window, I sucked in my breath at the view of the city. “It’s amazing. I’ve never had a place that I didn’t have to share before. Any company will just have to watch the TV from the bed.”
I hadn’t realized how it sounded until it was out of my mouth. His eyes darkened as he turned towards me.
Swallowing hard, I pictured him in my bed. Something told me we wouldn’t be watching much television.
“We will need to talk about any company before you bring anyone here. Matter of fact, I’d appreciate it if you tell anyone who asks that you are staying with friends.”
That seemed a little strange, but I didn’t have a chance to think about it as Rafael knocked on the door and brought in my suitcases.
“I’ll leave you to get settled and see you in the morning, Haylee.”
I was anxious to get unpacked, but looking over at Rafael I was even more worried about offending my new doorman.
“Wait, quick question.” I dragged Josh over to the side, out of earshot of Rafael. “I’m not really sure. Do I, um, tip Rafael?”
The question seemed to completely throw him.
I noticed my hand was still on his arm and dropped it. As I watched his hand reach up and tuck the my hair behind my ear, I could only stare and hope that after his touch I’d still be able to comprehend what he was going to say to me.
“No. At a hotel it would be appropriate but not the doorman of your residence. Holidays are a time to do that.”
He spoke to me in a voice that didn’t make me feel stupid and I was grateful for that. “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.” I was sorry to see him go, but he suddenly seemed in a hurry.
“Yes, tomorrow morning. Good night, Haylee.”
With that, he and Rafael both were on their way out.
I grabbed my key from the counter and did a twirl around the room. My new life was looking pretty damn sweet thus far.
***
My stomach was growling. I’d spent the last couple of hours unpacking and getting my work clothes steamed out, ready for the week. Dressed casually in yoga pants and a tank top, I decided to throw on a sweatshirt and tennis shoes with the intention of heading outside. It was much cooler here at night than LA, being that it was fall in the Big Apple.
Once I made my way downstairs, I asked Rafael where to find good local places for food. I settled on Thai and also found a small convenience store along the way. With bags in hand, I headed back into the lobby.
“Ah, Ms. Haylee. Here, Mr. Singer wanted me to give you these menus for delivery. In New York City, you name it and you can have anything delivered. They will bring it to the front desk, and then I can call you or bring it up.”
I smiled, thankful, and then stopped and turned. “Rafael, when did Mr. Singer tell you to give these to me?”
“Uh, about an hour ago. He just wanted to ensure I kept an eye out and requested that I inform him if you went anywhere. It’s a good city, miss, but if you don’t know it— Well, it can be dangerous. Mr. Singer is simply a cautious man. I hope you’re not upset.”
“No, no. Not at all, Rafael. But can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Does Mr. Singer live in this building too?”
His expression was one of confusion, then he laughed. “You didn’t know. You’re in his guest apartment. He has the entire twenty-fourth floor, the penthouse, miss.”
Oh, boy, I thought on my way up, trying to figure out what this meant. I didn’t have to wonder why he wouldn’t want my address on anything any longer.
***
Sleep eluded me most of the night. It could have been nerves regarding my first day at the office or the fact that I was on a West Coast internal clock. But I was pretty sure it was the green eyes that I knew were sleeping next door to me that occupied my thoughts.
Grateful for my Diet Coke, I googled where my new office was located, and then left early. I hoped that someone would be there to let me in as I stopped for a bagel and walked the five blocks to work.
It was a beautiful morning and the air smelled of autumn. The sidewalks were packed and the bustle made me smile.
I found my building by eight o’clock. Thankfully, they were expecting me. After giving me a temporary badge, they told me to go up to the top floor. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a well-dressed forty-something-year-old man who introduced himself as Nigel.
“Hello, my dear. You must be Haylee,” he acknowledged kindly.
His British accent was charming and the sincerity in his eyes made me hopeful that we would become friends. “Yes, you must be Nigel. It’s nice to meet you.”
“This is your desk, we both sit right outside of the executive elevator. Josh’s office is through that door which I’ll show you in a moment. How was the trip?”
“It was good. It’s been a whirlwind, but I’m really happy to be here. I hope you don’t mind me being early. Jo— I mean, Mr. Singer said nine o’clock, but I wanted to get here before he did.”
“No, I certainly understand. I typically get here early on Mondays to get his schedule sorted. I’m in by eight-thirty on most other days. We might as well jump right in before he gets here.”
Smiling, I was eager to get started.
“There is a lot to show you but we’ll start with all of the contact information you’re going to need. This binder is your bible. Every number and every contact, both personal and professional, is in it. Obviously, you won’t be able to take it with you when you travel, but some of the numbers are in the shared contact list. The others you can input into your work contact list. The last page that is red is full of confidential numbers, which means you need to code them somehow instead of using their actual names. Also, you’ll need a password to protect your laptop and blackberry.”
I nodded, taking it all in.
As Nigel brought me around Josh’s office for a tour, I was impressed with the space and thought the dark wood and rich leather represented him well. He printed a couple more reference sheets for me to have. “We have two floors of this building and it’s considered the Executive offices with Human Resources, Accounting, IT and a small Legal department. The Gamble Advertising office is six blocks away. We have two floors in that building as well and it is much more of a client facing office.”
In other words Josh separated his Gamble Enterprise away from Gamble Advertising. That was good to know.
“I’m glad you’re here, Haylee. I’ve needed to take more personal time lately with an illness in the family, and, well, the travel just has been impossible. Josh is very particular about who he trusts.”
It was a relief that he didn’t feel threatened by me. This was going to be short-term, and I was happy to help in any way I could.
“Mr. Singer should be here any minute. He has a nine-thirty c
all. At that time why don’t you go on down to HR? They are one floor down. They’ll give you all of your paperwork, then IT can give you your hardware along with your building badge. Your badge will allow you direct office to Josh’s elevator.”
It sounded good to me. “Okay. Thank you.”
Josh came off the elevator, and I followed Nigel’s lead and stood. I thought I had a handle on my nerves until he turned towards me in his pinstriped suit. “Good morning,” he greeted.
My mouth went dry. “Good morning, Mr. Singer.” I didn’t sound like myself.
He must have sensed it as he paused and raised that damn brow of his.
***
Nigel came out of Josh’s office after fifteen minutes. “Josh would like to see you briefly, Haylee.”
Walking in with a notepad and pen, I smoothed my Chanel suit and thought about how the pink twill had been my mother’s absolute favorite.
“How was your evening, Haylee?” he asked, taking me off guard as I had thought we would start off all business.
“Um, it was good. I’m unpacked and Rafael was kind enough to offer me a ton of takeout options.”
“Ah, yes, well I’m sure that is preferable to going out late at night in a strange city.”
My face broke out in a smile.
“Nigel, I trust, is getting you settled in?” He steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair.
I nodded, observing Josh behind his desk with the city stretched out behind him. This was the man of power that others must see, but instead of being intimidated, I was completely aroused. It was an unfortunate feeling, considering I was at work and I wasn’t sure what in the hell my boss was thinking. He seemed to be a myriad of conflicting emotions.
“We will be flying to Cancun on Sunday instead of this Wednesday. Then we’ll go over to Hong Kong for a few days. Sometimes it is easier to string trips together.”
Feeling slightly let down, I could only nod that I wasn’t getting the opportunity to travel with him sooner.
“You look disappointed.” He seemed to have my number, which was unnerving and pleasing at the same time.
“Oh, I just was looking forward to the travel.”
He glanced at his watch; his call would be starting soon. “Everyone thinks traveling for business is sexy until you do it often enough you realize it is a lot of work and can be quite tiring in reality.”
I didn’t think before I responded. Lowering my voice, I leaned over the desk so that it was a whisper. “It isn’t the travel that I find sexy, Mr. Singer.”
I got the desired response with the darkening of his eyes and the quick intake of his breath.
Nigel’s voice cut through over the intercom. “Sir, your conference call is ready for you.”
Smiling, I crossed to the door. I noticed that Josh was tracking me with his eyes and hadn’t yet picked up the call.
***
Shit, what had I been thinking? I was starting to have serious regrets over my little flirtation after my hour with Human Resources, who informed me they would be emailing me the links to the sexual harassment training shortly as part of the orientation. For some reason, I hadn’t needed this in LA. Maybe they were stricter in New York because the man in charge was better looking.
Trying not to think about the fact that I’d probably already violated the office policy with this morning’s comment alone, I went over to IT. While there I received my laptop and building badge. I was thankful they managed to sync up my smartphone with the work server so that I wouldn’t have to carry around two devices.
Going back upstairs, I found Nigel on the phone. After I docked my laptop, I looked at my bible of every contact known to man. I started inputting and then thought, what the hell am I doing? I took the binder to the copy machine and began scanning all but the confidential sheets, which I would input under code as directed. There were twenty pages of restaurants alone from all the different cities. It seemed Nigel definitely had things together.
“Smart idea,” Nigel complimented, coming around the corner to find me.
“Thanks, and I won’t scan in the confidential ones. I just figured for the others it may be easier to create documents that I can bring up.”
He nodded, and I suggested he go get lunch while I manned the phones.
Hesitant at first, he then seemed relieved. “Mr. Singer is out at a meeting, then going directly to lunch, so I will be back before he gets here. Do you want me to grab you something?”
“Actually, I need to step out maybe when you get back and set up a PO box for my mail.” I was glad that he didn’t ask where I was staying, and then I realized he might already know.
“Not a problem, my dear. I won’t be long.”
The scanning only took a few minutes longer and then I sat back down at my desk, creating my files and then checking my email.
Might as well get the sexual harassment training over and done, I decided, as I clicked on the provided link. I was brought to a cheesy interactive video. Rolling my eyes and putting my chin in my hand, I was ten minutes in when Josh came off the elevator.
“Streaming movies already? I wouldn’t have thought you’d be that bored your first day. Where is Nigel?”
Good to know he had a sense of humor in the office. “I wish, but it’s just the sexual harassment thing I have to complete. Nigel stepped out. He said you had a lunch engagement.” As soon as I mentioned sexual harassment, I knew that my face heated.
Smiling, he leaned over my shoulder to watch, too. His closeness was unsettling as was the delicious smell of him: a mix of soap, cologne and, well, just pure virile man.
“And are you learning anything, Haylee?” he questioned.
That buttery voice of his did things to me. Damn. “Well, it’s kind of cheesy and frankly a little annoying at what they think constitutes harassment.”
I was pretty sure that we were crossing a line currently with the proximity of him next to my ear but I was hard pressed to move a muscle.
“Show me.”
When I clicked on the next slide, the character of Jose was asking Carmen, a co-worker, out on a date for the first time. She told him that she had other plans. He then asked her out a second time the subsequent week. She proceeded to tell him that she had to wash her hair, and then she complained to another co-worker that he wasn’t getting the hint. The question presented was whether or not the co-worker should report it.
“And the correct answer is?” He baited me.
Turning towards him, I realized our faces were inches from one another. “That Carmen should have just told him she’s just not interested instead of making up some lame excuse, because as far as Jose knows she did have other plans the first time. And the second time maybe she was just in dire need of a hair wash. He’s clueless and maybe didn’t mean to harass her in the least, but now it’s escalating to HR, and that’s crap.”
His gaze slid to mine and he gave me an amused smile. “Maybe Carmen doesn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him that she’s not interested. What then?”
My stomach dropped and I swallowed hard. He’d moved to lean back onto my desk so that I had to swivel my chair to look up at his face. Now I wondered if I was misreading the situation entirely. I didn’t exactly have a lot of experience with men, especially older powerful ones who-could-have-any-woman-in-the-world kind of men. All of a sudden, every ounce of my self-confidence was on the brink.
“She could just tell him that she has a boyfriend. That would keep him from asking again, and it makes him feel like it was nothing personal.”
“So she should lie?” The question was posed innocently enough, but I could feel an edge to it.
“I guess it depends on how close she is with him. If she sees him often and is a friend, I guess you’re right. She shouldn’t lie. If he’s some random guy she has met on a work trip or only sees sometimes, then…”
“It’s not a lie if she doesn’t know him?”
Uh, oh. I was failing whatever test h
e was giving me. “I didn’t say that. What I’m saying is sometimes a white lie to someone who would never know the difference but can walk away without the sting of rejection is better than hurt feelings.”
He seemed to acknowledge the difference but pressed on. “And if he is someone she is going to see every day? What then?”
“Well, I guess maybe Carmen needs to figure out if she’s been giving Jose mixed signals or not first.”
His brow arched and I felt like a foolish teenage girl. Perhaps I had misunderstood him when I’d been drunk.
“Or maybe Jose figures out that Carmen was just being nice and he was misinterpreting the situation. In that case, Jose just needed a reality check.” My voice had gotten soft, and I couldn’t maintain eye contact as I laid out that depressing scenario.
“Haylee, I didn’t mean—”
Thankfully, he couldn’t finish his thought as Nigel came in.
God, I was humiliated. I would not cry, I would not cry. “Mr. Singer, can I pick you up anything for lunch since you’re back early?” I was on my feet, gathering my purse and trying to act nonchalant.
Josh gave little indication that he heard me, and Nigel just looked between us.
“A sandwich would be fine, Haylee, thank you. Nigel, if you would call Alan from accounting up here, I’d like a few minutes with him.”
“Yes of course,” Nigel said and Josh went back behind closed doors.
“I guess I should ask you what kind of sandwich he likes.” I turned towards Nigel, hoping he wouldn’t read anything into the awkwardness.
Thankfully, he just smiled and handed me a three-page typed-up document. “Everything personal is in here, but do me a favor and don’t let Josh see it, all right?”
Nodding, I tucked it into my purse.
***
After making my way a block down the street to the post office, I had to wait in line. By the time I was done setting up my PO box, half my lunch hour was gone. At least I had some interesting reading as I glanced over the personal document Nigel had handed me. I skimmed over the basics and honed in on the surprises.
No soda. Cigarette brand was Marlboro Red Box. Holy crap, he was a smoker. I hadn’t noticed, so he must take care with the scent. I was disappointed, but moving on I read that he worked out three times per week with a trainer, doing mixed martial arts. His various charities were listed as well as his personal properties, which included the condo in New York and a house in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tell Me Something (The Something Series Book 1) Page 4
