She handed me a plastic card attached to a pull-string clip. “Here’s your temporary badge for entering the building. You’ll have to stop by Human Resources later to get your permanent one.”
I glanced at it quickly. It just had my name on the front along with some other name—maybe the security company? I didn’t know. “Thank you,” I responded graciously, clipping it to the top of my skirt. “Am I all set?” I asked, confused since she went right back to doing whatever she was originally doing on her computer.
“Oh yes, sorry. You know where you’re going, right?”
Warmness filled my cheeks as I could feel the anxiety building within. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”
She looked confused. “Didn’t you have an interview?”
“Yes, but not in person. I’m not from around here, so it was a phone interview.”
I was never one to sweat, but I was now; like crazy. I could feel it building under my arms and wetting my hands. The nerves were climbing again.
“Huh,” she said discreetly, mostly to herself. “I’ve never heard of Connie hiring someone without meeting them.” She paused briefly before shaking her head and smiling. “I guess stranger things have happened. Anyway, Connie is on the top floor, floor ten. Her receptionist, Sami, will be seated in front of the elevators to help you the rest of the way.”
Yes. Sami. I remembered talking to her. She was actually the one that called me, notifying me that I received the position.
“Thank you,” I told her again before walking around her desk and through the metal detectors, heading towards the elevators.
She just smiled in return before returning to her work.
After pressing the arrow up for the elevators, they sprang open and I joined the one person already standing inside. Even though he was incredibly attractive, and smelled of the most amazing cologne, I acted nonchalant, pressing the number of my floor then standing beside him.
“First day?” he asked after a few seconds of standing together.
I looked up at him curiously, trying not to fidget. “Is it that noticeable?”
He chuckled; a deep throated one that I felt reverberate off his body. “No. I’ve just never seen you before.”
“It’s a pretty big building. You know everyone that works here?” I was quick to respond, surprising myself with my bluntness.
He smiled again, revealing his flawless teeth. “No, I don’t; however, I wouldn’t forget a face like yours.”
It was an incredibly cheesy line and with any other guy, I would’ve rolled my eyes, but coming from his lips, it was flattering, making my cheeks warm instead and my mouth form a shy schoolgirl smile.
“Would you now?” I asked, shocking myself with my flirtatious tone.
The elevator doors sprang open, causing him to step forward, but he turned when getting to the frame of the door, holding it open with his hand.
“I definitely would,” he said smoothly. It came out almost sounding like a purr. Well, at least that’s the way his voice carried to me. Seductive and low; almost like a whisper. “Have a good day, Ms. Reynolds,” he added, removing his hand and taking a step back, allowing the doors to close shut.
I stood there, frozen, after the doors shut, my hands sweaty, mouth dry, and heart pumping a mile a minute. Who the hell was that and why did I feel like I just talked to Brad Pitt? And how the hell did he know my name?! It wasn’t something that I could dwell on because seconds later the doors sprung open again, revealing my floor this time.
Flustered but holding myself together, I ran my hands down the length of my skirt and took a deep breath, regaining my professional composure before putting one foot in front of the other and a smile on my face as I walked towards the front desk.
“Hi, I’m Kayla Reynolds,” I greeted the young receptionist. As soon as I spoke, I realized how he knew my name. He read my badge. Duh.
“Yes, Connie’s new assistant!” she greeted me warmly and stood to shake my hand with an exuberant smile. She was beautiful, with long, dark hair, soft curled at the ends, blue eyes and incredibly long eyelashes that I wondered if were fake. She looked the business professional part, as well, in black pants and a fitted short-sleeved top.
I smiled back, shaking her hand. “That’s me.”
“Well, I’m Sami. I work up front, obviously,” she began to tell me, coming out from behind her desk. “I’ll show to where you’ll be working.” She motioned for me to follow her.
After only a short walk down the hallway, we came to a stop in front of a door with Connie’s name written on the front and windows spread along the side, allowing you to see in. To the right of the door sat a plain white desk with only a computer monitor and telephone on top of it.
“So, this is yours,” she said, pointing to the white desk. “And that,” she narrowed her eyes at my new boss’s empty office, “is Connie’s.”
“Is she here?” I asked, kind of surprised that she wouldn’t be here to meet her new assistant on the first day.
She snorted like I told her a joke. “No. Connie’s very seldom here. She graces us with her presence maybe once or twice a day. Be happy with that.” She nudged my elbow with her eyebrows raised and a knowing smirk. The expression on my face must have shown my confusion because she continued. “That wasn’t Connie that did your phone interview. It was her old assistant. Arianna had to jump ship…literally. Something about her husband in the Marines and getting stationed with little notice…I don’t know, but Connie was pissed and told her that if she wanted the rest of her vacation pay she needed to find someone new ASAP that could be here Monday. So she did.”
I could feel my stomach churn and every nerve go on high alert, springing throughout my veins. Just when I thought I received the position because I interviewed well, convincing Connie that she wouldn’t be disappointed with my determination to succeed, I was punched in the gut. She wasn’t even the one that interviewed me! And how did I not remember that name of the interviewer? I know I’ve been in a daze lately, but geez, Kayla! Damn it! I got the job because her ex-assistant was eager to fill the position. Was I even qualified for this job? Who knows if this Connie lady would like me or if she’d just kick me to the curb at first glance?
I could feel the blood draining from my face as the panic continued to set in. I was fucked. Totally fucked. If she fired me, I didn’t know what I would do. My apartment cost more than most people’s mortgages and getting this job was like a dream come true. I wouldn’t find another one in the city. I needed this job.
Sami’s face turned concerned and she tilted her head to the side, looking at me in a peculiar way. “Are you feeling okay?”
I shook my head no, suddenly feeling the urge to cry, but managed to hold it in. That was the last thing I needed to do right now, to make a fool of myself. “I just really need this job,” I managed to get out, my voice a mixture of anger and sadness.
“Hey, regardless of who hired you, you have the job. Just know that Connie isn’t the most pleasant of bosses. She expects you to be at her beck and call 24/7, so be prepared. Arianna was her assistant for a long time, so I can only imagine how much shit Connie’s going to give you with you not knowing the ropes, so just do your job and there’s nothing she can complain about—though, she always finds something. That’s just the way she is.”
I took a cleansing breath. She was right. Regardless of who hired me, I still currently had the position and I could handle a controlling boss. I just needed to do as she said and preform my job to the best of my abilities. I could do that.
“So, what exactly do I do?” I asked, standing a little taller, regaining my confidence.
“Basically you just run Connie’s schedule.”
Thanks, Captain Obvious. I’m aware of what an assistant does! I opened my mouth to ask about my responsibilities in more detail but then heard the elevator door chime, followed by clapping shoes on tiles. This caused Sami to turn in a hurry and practically sprint towards her desk.
“Good luck!” She smiled over her shoulder before disappearing all together.
At first I questioned her rushed departure, but then heard her say, “Good morning, Ms. Walters,” cluing me into why.
Connie was here.
I reminded myself to breathe again. Deep breaths, deep breaths. Still standing, I loosened my hands from the nervous fists they were and wiped them nervously on my skirt to avoid shaking her hand with my sweaty one.
It was only seconds later when she came into view. She was tall and slender with a boyish figure and dressed for success in a plain but very business-like black fitted skirt suit. Her hair was short, just to her chin, a plain brown color matching her brown-almost-black eyes. There was nothing special or incredibly attractive about her, but she screamed authority. Her furrowed brows and serious expression told me that she wasn’t one I’d dare to challenge.
Quickly wetting my lips, I stood as straight as possible. Although she scared the living shit out of me, I wasn’t going to let her see it. When she was standing almost in front of me, her eyes travelled the length of my body, surveying my appearance. Her head tilted slightly and she let out an almost pleasant humph. I took it as a compliment.
Turning towards her office, she ordered, “Follow me.”
I did, grabbing the small notepad and pen from my purse first, silently thanking Leah for suggesting I bring it—something told me that I was about to hear my job responsibilities in thorough detail.
“Listen well,” she said as she set down her purse, “because I only have five minutes.”
Instead of responding, I just nodded my head with the pen to the paper, ready to write. I wasn’t about to brown nose; it was clear that shit wouldn’t fly with her.
“This is your phone.” She handed me the BlackBerry on her desk. “It’s to be always on. Never allow it go to voicemail. If I ever get there, count yourself fired.”
I nodded my head again in acknowledgement, picking it up and placing it on the chair next to me.
“My schedule will be on your desk every morning. Follow it. If I’m in a meeting, my calls will forward to you. Make sure my messages are given to me when I’m done.”
I nodded again, scribbling furiously.
“Learn how my day runs because by next week you’re going to be scheduling it— meetings, dinners, appearances, etc. Got it?”
Taking a breath, I answered, “Yes, ma’am.”
Without further acknowledgement, she sat down in her chair and opened her laptop. I stood there for a second, clueless as to what I should do, but she looked back up before I could ask, holding her glasses in her hand.
“We’re done,” she dismissed me, leaving it at that before putting her glasses on and returning to her computer.
Okay. I picked up my new cellphone and turned on my heels to head back out to my desk.
“And Kayla,” she added just before I made it past her door.
I turned slightly so that half my body faced her.
“You have two weeks.”
“Excuse me?” The words fell off my tongue before thinking.
She grinned. Not a friendly one, but devious. “You have two weeks to prove yourself.”
My stomach was at my feet. I was being put on probation. My future. My career. Basically my life…was all put into two weeks. I had two weeks to prove to this evil woman that I was capable, that regardless of what people thought about me in the past, I was smart, resolute, and above all else, had a dream that I was determined to catch.
I could do that.
***
“So how was your first day?” Leah asked over the phone as I dragged my feet, exhausted, through the lobby of my building, waving to the lady behind the desk on my way to the elevators.
“I feel like I ran a fucking marathon today.”
“That bad?”
“Worse.”
“Is it a lot of work? I thought your boss was nice,” she rattled off, confused and fishing for more information.
Stepping into the elevator, I pressed the number to my floor before sagging tiredly against the wall. Thankfully, the elevator was vacant, avoiding the weird looks that one might express seeing my close to death leaning.
“Yes and hell no!”
She snickered. “Bitch?”
The elevator doors opened on my floor and I sighed, propping the phone on my shoulder to unlock my door. “That’s putting it nicely. And she has me on fucking probation like I’m some frickin’ science experiment.”
“Isn’t that how every job is, though?”
“Huh?” I asked, completely dumbfounded. None of my jobs had ever started out like that.
“Not with an evil boss,” she clarified. “But with a trial run. Most jobs give you a certain amount of time to see how things go. They just don’t say it out loud.”
“Like devil woman did?”
She laughed. “Is she really that bad?”
I kicked my shoes off and threw my things on the counter, plopping down on my chair sideways and letting my feet dangle off the side. “Every time she called me today, she didn’t even say hi or bye. She rattled off whatever she needed done, then would just hang up.”
“Yikes.”
“Oh, that’s just the start of it.”
“Well, other than your boss being a bitch, did you like it?”
“Yeah, I think I can handle it. I just need to learn and stay on top of everything. But oh my God, I almost forgot to tell you!”
“What?” Leah’s voice turned anxiously intrigued.
“I met a gorgeous guy in the elevator.”
“How cliché.”
“What do you mean?”
“First day on the job in a big city, in a fancy building to boot, and you meet a hot guy in an elevator. He was probably all decked out in an expensive suit with his hair slicked back, too, right?”
Pulling the phone from my ear, I looked at it, confused. How the hell did she know that? “Uh yeah,” I replied, confused.
“God, K! Stay away from him.”
“What? Why? He was gorgeous and so GQ…” I tried to point out. “And not to mention, he seemed into me.”
She sighed loudly. “I know you’re trying to up your standards and find someone who’s wealthy and well off and professional, but just watch out for him. Authors write romance novels about those types of people.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that comment. “Oh, please,” I complained. “What types of people?”
“I’m serious, K. Guys you meet in elevators are always the ones with a secret or some shady life or something.”
“You read too much.”
“Whatever. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
“Note taken. I’ll probably never see him again anyway.”
“Good!”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, since you just shot down my dream of marrying a rich businessman, I have a date with my bathtub and the pint of Cherry Garcia in my freezer.”
“Sorry, friend, but I’m glad you made it through your first day!”
“Thanks, I’ll talk to you tomorrow or something.”
“Alrighty. Bye, K.”
I chuckled to myself as I walked over to the freezer to get my ice cream. Leah cracked me up.
Authors write romance novels about those people my ass.
The next day I woke as I did the day before—a little earlier than necessary. I showered, did my makeup, and put on another professional outfit accompanied by faux diamond earrings and a necklace. Knowing that I had the extra minutes, I took my time blow drying and curling my hair into nice, loose ringlets. After doing the twirl in front of my full length mirror, I was the new Kayla Reynolds: sophisticated, professional, and living up to my new, mature, put together businesswoman style.
This time when I entered the taxi, I had the address for ETV ready and spit it out like a true New Yorker would. The morning was going perfect; even the weather was sunny. I was ahead of my game and even looking forwa
rd to facing off with Connie. That is, until I walked into the elevator and met my match—the only man that had ever made my insides crawl with just one glance and given me the desire to move in as close as possible to catch a whiff of his scent. There he was—the man from yesterday—the man that Leah warned me to stay away from.
“Ms. Reynolds,” he greeted simply with a grin. Although grins are normal when pleasantly greeting someone, there’s nothing normal about the one he wore—curled up on only one side, exposing a dimple that you just want to put your lips on, and those eyes…yes, they sparkled when he smiled. There’s no questioning this man’s looks. He’s gorgeous. Sleek, confident in the way he talks, and head-to-toe slick businessman. I could’ve stood there all day and admired him, but I acted unaffected, standing upright, answering with a simple, “Good morning,” as I pressed the number to my floor and then faced forward next to him.
“Did you have a good first day yesterday?” he asked once the doors shut, glancing down quickly at me when he spoke, his eyes returning forward after.
I did the same, only looking up to him with a smile when I answered, “I did. Thanks for asking,” before returning my eyes straight forward, staring at the metal mirror of the doors, noticing how well we look beside one another—professional and gorgeous (well, at least him), we could’ve been in a suit advertisement.
“I like your hair like that.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, caught off guard. I looked up at him, puzzled.
“Your hair.” He looked down at me again while answering. “I like it down like that. It’s beautiful. You should never wear it up,” he continued, eyes moving along the length of my hair almost like he was admiring it.
A warm heat filled my body. He was complimenting me, and I liked it; my body liked it. It was like someone ignited a flame inside—I was burning with excitement. I smiled. I couldn’t help it, nor could I help the redness forming on my cheeks; he was making me blush.
“Thank you,” I replied, hating the small giggle that followed it. I didn’t want to seem affected by him. I didn’t want to be submissive like most women probably are with him. Although the old Kayla would’ve already made plans to indulge in what lies beneath that three piece suit, the new Kayla won’t. I’m a professional now. Professionals don’t throw their bodies around to just anyone. I needed to keep myself together.
Running From Forever Page 2
