by Natalie Rios
“Do you speak French? Or is the degree in name only?”
This guy seriously needs an attitude adjustment. Kensingtons do not let people step all over them.
“Okay, first off, rude much? Yeah, my degree is in French instead of Math, but so fucking what? I graduated with a 4.0, thank you very much. From Yale. And let me tell you, that school is no cakewalk. Where did you go to school anyway? Because unless it’s Harvard and you have a PhD in Physics, I suggest you get off your high horse.
“Secondly, yeah, I have no job experience. Because every freaking place I try to apply to requires it. How the hell is someone who’s entering the job market for the first time supposed to get experience if having experience is a prerequisite for joining the market? Riddle me that, Mr. Smartass.”
Letting out a huff, I notice Tanner is gaping while Kyle watches me with awe. A quick glance around the café makes it clear all of its patrons had heard my rant, too. Well, fuck. A job opportunity falls right into my lap and my big mouth messes it all up.
Grimacing, I immediately launch into apology mode. “Sorry. I may have gotten a tad bit carried away-”
“You’re perfect!” Kyle jumps out of his seat. “Holy shit! This is exactly the type of assistant Brody needs. Someone who will not back down.”
Nodding, Tanner’s mouth curls into what I guess qualifies as a smile. He still isn’t 100% sold on me, but he’s coming around. “Brody needs someone who won’t cower in the corner when he’s in a snit. He can be intimidating and kind of a grump. The last few assistants quit because he was too surly with them.”
Surly? The word has me physically taking a step back. Can I handle surly?
Actually, given my bank balance, I don’t have much of a choice. I try to act cool about Tanner’s assessment of Brody. “Pftt. I’m from New York. Rude is practically my default setting. I can handle surly.”
“Great! Can you start tomorrow?”
“Sure. Just one question.”
“Shoot.”
“What does this job entail, exactly?”
“Oh!” Smacking his forehead, Kyle sits back down and gestures toward an empty chair between the two brothers. “Sit, sit. Our family owns the resort. I’m in charge of guest relations, Tanner runs the outdoor activities, and Brody manages the business side of things. Brody needs an assistant to help with the administrative stuff in the office. You know, answering phones, making copies, scheduling meetings...that sort of thing.”
I haven’t operated a copy machine since college, but now probably isn’t the time to mention that. It’s like riding a bike, right?
Nodding along, I cut to the most important part. “How much does it pay?”
“Well...” Kyle scratches his chin and exchanges a look with Tanner. “Hard to say. You have no experience, but Brody’s very difficult to work with.”
Tanner rattles off a number. “Let’s start there and see where it goes.”
I have no idea what the going rate for an assistant is, but I definitely won’t be able to maintain my lifestyle with this income. But I’m not going to waste time negotiating the rate. I don’t plan on this job thing being permanent. This is just until my parents give up their insane attempt to teach me a life lesson.
And if I can get free lodging, my meager income won’t be as big of a problem.
My middle name may legally be Burgundy, but it should Bold. So while what I’m about to do next may seem presumptuous to you, just remember I’ve got nothing to lose. Except, of course, half of my paycheck in rent money.
“One more question. Is there anywhere I can stay? And maybe we can deduct lodging from my pay? I’m supposed to checkout of the hotel tomorrow and I won’t be able to afford rent anywhere until I get my first paycheck.”
The brothers exchange another look. An entire silent conversation seems to take place before Kyle returns his attention to me. “If you don’t mind roommates, Fallon and Mina have a spare bedroom in their cottage. They work here, too.”
“Don’t you think you should ask Fallon first?” Tanner murmurs just as I clap with glee.
“She won’t mind,” Kyle reassures me. “She’s very easygoing. They both are, actually. Here, let’s exchange numbers. I can help you move in tomorrow.” We all exchange numbers and Kyle is nice enough to give me Fallon’s number.
“This is going to be great!” Shooting out of my chair, I return to my table and retrieve my cup of coffee. “I won’t let you guys down.”
“Let us know if you feel the same once you’ve met Brody,” Tanner replies. “Meet me in the hotel lobby at 7am sharp.”
Uh, 7am?! That is way too early, but the brothers had already left by the time I got over that shock. Waking up at the ass crack of dawn...
No, I’m not going to focus on the negative. I found a job, even without a resume. The money I make here will hold me over until Mom and Dad snap out of this weird parenting phase. This is going to work. Nothing can bring me down now.
Chapter Three
Remember how I said nothing could bring me down? That was before I met Brody. AKA my boss. AKA Satan. How can such a ridiculously handsome man be so evil?
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
My first day of work starts out okay, I guess. Wearing the last unworn outfit I have in my suitcase, I know I look fabulous in my fire engine red V-neck A-line dress. It’s simple and elegant, yet sexy. Paired with some black stilettos, I feel confident as I patiently wait for Tanner at the resort’s front desk.
“Sorry I’m late. One of our guides woke up with the flu so Fallon-” Tanner suddenly stops, eyes bugging out of his head as he takes in my outfit.
“Like my dress?” Preening a bit, I spin on my heels to give him the full effect. I know my legs look absolutely stunning in it.
“Um, yeah. Sure.” Coughing into his hand, Tanner barely manages to get the words out. Is he choking? On air? Can people choke on air?
“There, there.” I give him a couple of hearty slaps on the back and he immediately stops coughing. Huh. I guess you can choke on air.
Shaking his head, Tanner takes a couple of large steps forward to get behind the front desk. “Follow me. It’s a good thing you’re a few minutes early. Brody will like that. You can probably get started on the coffee.” We walk through the back office, where Kyle gives me a wide grin followed by two thumbs up. He’s shaping up to be my favorite...um, brother. Geez, I don’t even know these guys’ last name.
“Hey, Tanner, what’s your last name?”
“Connors. It’s just up these stairs here.” Two flights of stairs later, we’re standing outside a door that reads Brody Connors, President and CEO. “Here, this is your copy.” Tanner hands me a set of keys and briefly explains what they’re all for. “This is your desk out here. Brody’s office is just through that door. He should be here any minute. While you’re waiting, you can make a pot of coffee, put on a jacket...”
“A jacket? Why would I want to put on the jacket?” This dress is gorgeous.
“It can get drafty in here.” A deep male voice flows up from the staircase we had just taken and I catch Tanner making the sign of the cross. “That’ll be Brody. I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.”
Tanner bolts before I can ask if he would at least introduce us. I hear them exchanging a few words at the top of the stairs, though they’re too far away for me to make out exactly what they are saying. This is my one and only shot to make a good first impression on my first and only boss. Smoothing down the hemline of my dress, I tuck a stray hair behind my ear and arrange my face into what I call my Society Smile. Polite yet aloof.
That smile wipes clear away the second Brody enters the reception area.
Oh my.
Brody is huge. HUGE. While his brothers are long and lanky like surfers, Brody’s built like a brick house. Standing at a minimum of 6’5 and weighing well over 200 pounds, he looks massive enough to be a linebacker. Broad shoulders fill out his suit jacket and white dress shirt perfectly. Like
his brothers, he has chestnut hair cut on the longer side. But Brody’s is styled into a conservative side-part, perfect for a man who holds the title of President. His eyes, an intense dark chocolate that seem to look right through me, perfectly cap off his image as an authority figure.
The point is, he looks delicious. If I was looking to hook up with someone, he would be it. I would probably have to climb him like a tree just to get a kiss in, but whatever. Tree climbing was once an expertise of mine.
And by that, I mean real trees, people. Like with trunks and leaves. Not mountain men who resemble trees. Though adapting to bulging muscles won’t be much of a hardship.
Shaking my head, I recover from my shock and hold out my hand for him to shake. “Hi! You must be Brody. I’m Charlotte. Tanner and Kyle hired me to be your assistant.”
Brody studies my hand, lips slowly curling with disgust, as if my hand is covered in boils. “So I’ve been told,” he mutters, walking right past me and my hand to his closed office door. Removing his keys, he unlocks the door and steps inside without another word.
Oooookay. That was weird and totally not what I expected would happen the first time we met. Maybe he noticed me staring at him and thought I was checking him out? Which I totally was, but there is no way this is the first time a woman has ogled that gorgeous hunk of man meat.
Besides, looking is way different from touching. Way different. And I have no intention of touching.
Figuring it was best to clear the air, I step inside his office to apologize. “I’m sorry if you thought I was checking you out back there. I mean, I was staring, but only because you don’t look anything like your brothers. And I’m sure plenty of women find you attractive, but I’m not one of them.”
Another lie. Damn, being broke is turning me into Pinocchio. Let’s just hope my nose doesn’t suffer the same fate since I can no longer afford rhinoplasty.
Sneaking a peek at Brody, I find him watching me, left elbow resting on the table and chin propped up on his fist. His expression can only be described as impassive. Not exactly happy, but not pissed off either. Guess he’s the least expressive Connors brother. At least Tanner scowls at you every once in a while.
I need to make a swift exit before things get really awkward. “Anyway, I just wanted to clear that up. I wouldn’t want us to get off on the wrong foot. Since we’ll be working so closely together-”
“What did you say your name was?”
“Oh! Charlotte.” I walk closer to his desk and offer him my hand again.
His eyes land on my hand, but he makes no move to take it. “Last name?”
“Kensington.” I lower my hand, slightly annoyed by his lack of manners.
“Miss Kensington. Where is my coffee?”
“Coffee?” Blinking at him, I vaguely remember Tanner saying something about coffee. He mentioned it more than once, if I recall correctly.
“Yes, my morning cup of coffee. I require three cups of coffee a day. The first at precisely 7am, the second at 10:30am and the third at 2:45pm. Looking around my desk...” Brody gestures across the empty surface of the desk he’s sitting behind. “I don’t see a cup waiting for me.”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to have coffee waiting for you.” Chewing on my lip, I nervously try to gauge how big of a deal this is. The guy is impossible to read. He would make a killing at one of Ellie’s casino tables in Vegas with that poker face. I decide not to worry about it. It’s not my fault Tanner hadn’t been clearer. “I’m sorry, Brody. I can go grab you a cup right now.”
He holds up a hand. “Are we friends, Miss Kensington?”
What the hell? “Um, no. We just met.”
“Why is it then that you keep calling me by my first name?” My jaw drops. Is this guy for real? “Seeing as we’re not friends and we’re not related, it would be best if we stick to Mr. Connors and Miss Kensington for the remainder of our time together.”
“The remainder of our time together,” I repeat. What is that supposed to mean? It’s like he’s already counting down the hours until I’m gone. Does the prick think I’m going to screw this up so bad, I’ll be fired on my first day?
“Correct. Since I’m sure Tanner forgot to show you where the coffeemaker is, I’ll give you fifteen minutes to find it and produce my morning cup. We’ll then meet in my office to go over my schedule for the day.” With a wave of his hand, he dismisses me.
This asshole. I want to put him in his place, but Brody is my boss. This might be my first job, but I’ve watched enough movies and television shows to know you don’t fuck with the boss. The man wants coffee, a simple enough request. So I go back out to the reception area and hunt down the coffeemaker and grounds.
Why in the hell do they make these coffee brewing instructions so damn complicated? The coffee can says to add two tablespoons of grounds for every six fluid ounces of water. But the coffee pot measures everything in cups. How many fluid ounces are in a cup and why couldn’t these instructions be written in terms of cups in the first place? Do they seriously expect people to be able to do math early in the morning and before they’ve had their cup of coffee?
Personally, I’ve never been good at math. We could be here all day and I still wouldn’t know how much water to put in. I’ll have to guestimate. Using a coffee mug, I head for the bathroom I spotted earlier in the hall to measure out some water. There isn’t a tablespoon in sight, so I eyeball three tablespoons.
I place the mug on Brody’s desk, flashing him a polite smile despite his asshole tendencies. I want to give myself a pat on the back for figuring everything out by myself. Here I am, making it on my own.
Turns out, my eyeballing and guestimating skills aren’t as good as I thought they would be.
Brody – oh, yeah, Mr. Connors – takes one sip before immediately spitting it out. Coffee splatters everywhere along his desk and the carpeted floor. Fortunately, the surface of the desk is clear. Had he left any papers on it, they would have been soaked.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Are you trying to kill me? This stuff is strong enough to wake the dead.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
He slides the mug across the desk. “You try it then.”
Shrugging, I pick up the mug and take a hearty sip. My throat starts closing up after the first few drops make it past my taste buds and though I start to gag at one point, I manage to force down a second sip. “See,” I croak. “Not so bad.”
“It smells like tar and tastes like ash,” he snaps. Well, I can’t disagree with him on that. And I’m starting to think he might be onto something with the whole spitting out business. My stomach is protesting like it’s UC Berkley during the 1960s.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never made coffee before so I wasn’t sure what all the right amounts were. For the water and grounds. The instructions on the tin are confusing, written in fluid ounces instead of cups-”
“Such a difficult conversion. Let’s proceed with my schedule. I have a meeting at eleven with representatives from the bank. We’ll be using the conference room downstairs and I expect refreshments to be made available to our guests. At one, I’ll be meeting with Kyle and Fallon to go over the activities scheduled for next week. No need to serve them refreshments, though they will need copies of this agenda. At two, I had a meeting scheduled with Jacques, but it needs to be rescheduled. He can be reached at the café.” He rattles off a phone number and then continues outlining his day.
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing during his recitation. Going the safe route, I opt to nod along. I’ve discovered people often look for some sort of physical or vocal reassurance you’re listening while they speak. A properly placed “hmm”, “oh, yes”, or nod of the head can very easily get you through an entire conversation.
So while Mr. Connors drones on and on about his calendar, I wonder who this Fallon is and whether or not I’ll like having roommates. I’ve never had one before, not even in college. Sharing a house with someone doesn’t sound fun
, but it’s slim pickings for me. At least until my first paycheck clears the bank and then I can go apartment hunting.
Speaking of which, I should really talk to Tanner about how I’m getting paid. Surely they’ll need my bank information? And exactly when am I supposed to get paid anyway? Maybe I should have asked more questions during our initial meeting –
A book slams down hard on Mr. Connors’ desk, startling me into looking up at him. He doesn’t have on his poker face anymore. No, I can clearly read the emotion on his face and it screams pissed. “Tell me, Miss Kensington. Do you have a photographic memory?”
Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I try to keep my tone even. Unaffected. Easy breezy. “No.”
“How unfortunate for you. Because I don’t repeat myself and seeing as how you failed to take any notes just now, I have no idea how you will be able to make all of the necessary arrangements for today.”
Had he been giving me instructions? Eyes widening, I think back to what all he said. Well, the parts I paid attention to anyway. I don’t remember him giving me any instructions unless he meant I was supposed to be getting the refreshments for the meeting with whoever it was later.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were giving me instructions. We still haven’t gone over what my duties are-”
“I just went over them. Pity you weren’t paying attention.” He picks up the book he slammed on the desk, which is actually a thick spiral notebook. “Here. Next time, take notes. Other than what I’ve already covered, your only other duties are to answer the phone, greet guests, and assist me with any miscellaneous office work. On your desk, next to the phone, there’s an employee handbook. I suggest you read it, along with the information featured on the resort’s website. You’re dismissed.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Connors,” I say, tone mocking. Because really! Why are we calling each other by our last names? Is this how corporate America works? It seems so impersonal. I make it to the doorway before he calls out to me one last time.
