by Ivy Smoak
Great. No time to hide the flowers.
Anderson walked us over to our desks. "I'll be right back. I have to grab a few notes for the meeting."
As soon as he walked away, Tavon plopped down in the desk next to mine and put his hands behind his head. "Damn, your boyfriend doesn't wait long to make sure everyone stays away."
"No, he doesn't." I tried not to look embarrassed as I sat down.
"Well, I guess your fiancé," Sierra said. "Your ring is amazing." She sat down on the other side of me. "Can I see?"
God, I didn't want to have to be doing this right now. "Thanks," I said and put my hand out for her to see. "Yeah, we're getting married at the end of the month actually."
"This must have cost a fortune," Sierra said and looked back up at my face.
I just shrugged. I didn't know how much it cost and didn't want to know.
"How old are you?" Tavon asked.
"22. Same as all of you I assume."
"Right. So aren't you a little young to get married? Geez, I can't even imaging dating a girl for more than a few weeks. And you're going to marry someone in a couple of weeks? Aren't you worried you're going to get bored with him?"
"Don't freak her out, Tavon," Zach said. He sat down at the desk diagonally from mine. "I'm sure she's not marrying a guy like you."
"Yeah because I'm not whipped. I wouldn't send a girl flowers on her first day of work. It's kinda desperate."
"I think it's romantic." Sierra gave me a small smile. "I wish a guy would send me flowers."
"Then you probably shouldn't date Tavon," I said.
Sierra and Zach both laughed.
I ran my thumb across my engagement ring. I wanted to think James had given me flowers to be sweet. But I think Tavon's first thought was more accurate. James wanted to make sure no one flirted with me. He didn't have anything to worry about. I don't know why he didn't realize that. Or maybe he was just trying to embarrass me because I was giving him a hard time about the PDA thing.
"So, who's the lucky guy?" Tavon asked.
Before I had a chance to answer, Andy came back over and said it was time to head down to the meeting. Anderson. That was going to take some time to get used to.
I didn't want to lie to anyone, but I was glad I didn't have to tell them yet. I wanted to make friends with my coworkers and it was going to be hard once they knew I was engaged to the boss. There was no reason why I should be treated differently just because of my relationship with James.
***
Zach leaned on the armrest and whispered in my ear. "So what happened to your eye?"
I immediately removed my arm from the armrest and nodded to the person standing up in front of the large conference room. It was the head of the human resources department and he was talking about all sorts of rules and regulations. "Pay attention," I whispered back. Pay attention? Zach was going to think it was something crazy if I avoided the question. "I mean nothing," I whispered again. "I'm clumsy. I hit my face on a doorknob when I bent over to get something the other day."
"Really? It kind of looks like someone hit you."
"Well, no one did. And what would you even know about that?"
"What, you think I haven't been in my fair share of fights?" He looked back up at the director of human resources.
Just because he had a tattoo and a buzz cut didn't make him a tough guy. He was a marketing intern probably from some prestigious school. I rolled my eyes and tried to listen to the sexual harassment policy. I knew my bruise was still visible despite what James said. I lightly touched my cheek but immediately dropped my hand when I could feel Zach's eyes on me again.
"Oh my God, there he is," Sierra whispered from the other side of me.
I looked over to where she was pointing. James had just walked into the room. As soon as I made eye contact with him he smiled.
"He's so dreamy," Sierra whispered.
Yes, he is. "I'm pretty sure he's engaged," I said instead. I had become just as territorial as him. Other girls thought he was dreamy, but he was mine.
"Of course a guy like him is engaged. Do you think we'll get to meet him?"
I didn't have to answer, because the human resources guy had just introduced James and all the interns had started clapping. There were about four interns for every department in Hunter Tech, which meant there were about 50 of us.
James walked up to the podium and raised his hand to silence everyone. "Welcome to Hunter Technologies," James said. It was strange seeing him up there. It felt like I was back in school listening to one of his lectures. He was completely in his element and I felt a pang of guilt. We hadn't talked about it much since moving here, but I wondered if he missed it.
"Even his voice is sexy," Sierra said.
I wasn't sure how much I liked her anymore. I silently laughed at myself. Surely Sierra wouldn't be saying those things if she knew I was engaged to him. I just needed to ignore her until I finally told them. It wasn't like I hadn't experienced the way other women were around him. He had this magnetism that no one seemed to be immune to. Everyone loved him. If only his parents would open their eyes. I realized I was so in my own head that I was missing his speech.
"Each one of you is going to become a vital part of that. But since each department is part of the whole, I think it's important for us all to work together. We're extremely goal oriented here. And right now our goal is growth. So when working on your individual assignments, make sure to keep the main goal in mind. I know that together we can grow this company to be larger than Blive Tech International."
"And if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to share them. I see so much potential in each and every one of you and I'm not putting a cap on anything. Work between departments. Don't let the colors of the walls fool you, you're allowed to enter a color that your desk isn't in."
Everyone laughed.
"Putting what you learned in school into action is one of the most rewarding feelings. The department heads are meant to foster that experience, so go to them with any questions and insights. I think we have a great new team here and I think we can all learn from each other. And trust me, working in the real world is a lot more than just application of principles. You still have so much to learn. Your education doesn't stop once you throw your cap in the air. Welcome to the real world, class of 2018."
Everyone started clapping. James and I didn't talk about his work very much. He had helped me study so often that his work had taken a spot on the backburner recently. I knew about his current projects in principle, but I didn't really know what he did on a daily basis. I had never thought about myself as being self centered, but I had been recently. I wanted to do something nice for him. To show him how much I appreciated everything he'd done for me.
"You okay, Fight Club?" Zach asked. He was standing up, looking down at me. I hadn't realized that everyone was leaving the room.
"Yeah." I quickly stood up. "And don't call me that. I wasn't in a fight."
"Mhm."
I really hoped that nickname didn't stick. I looked over my shoulder to see James talking to some of the interns in the front row. It was only a few hours until lunch, but it felt like I hadn't gotten to talk to him in forever. Or taste him. What? He wasn't an addict. I was.
Chapter 12
Monday
I was sitting in James' favorite pizza place, Totonno's Pizzeria, which had become my favorite pizza in the city. It wasn't just that the pizza was amazing, the people were so nice.
"Hi, dear. Where's James today?" Marie, the little old woman who owned the place sat down across from me with a huge smile.
"He's meeting me here any minute."
"I'll go put your usual order in. I just wanted to come over and see how your first day was going."
I smiled. I was glad I was on Marie's good side, because she had seemed suspicious of me the first few times I had come here. That side of her was scary intimidating, but now she was as nice as could be. It was so sweet how much she seemed to
care about James. "It's good. Kind of overwhelming."
"You'll be used to it in no time."
"I know. And the other interns seem nice enough." They had invited me to eat with them in the break room, but I had told them I already had plans. Which resulted in Tavon teasing me about my overbearing boyfriend. If only he knew. Maybe tomorrow I should eat lunch with them, though. I wanted to be one of them. But right now all I wanted was a kiss from James and to tell him how much I loved him.
"Let me go put your order in so it's ready when he gets here."
"Thank, Marie."
My phone started vibrating in my purse a minute after she left. I pulled it out and ran my thumb across the screen. The caller ID said Hunter Technologies. Hopefully I hadn't forgotten about some important meeting for all the interns or something. "Hello?"
"Hi, Penny, it's Nita."
"Hi, Nita. Do you know if James has left for lunch yet?" I looked out the window at the passing cars.
"That's why I'm calling. He had a last minute meeting. He's tied up and can't make it."
"Oh. Okay, thanks for calling, Nita." I hung up and looked down at my phone. I wished he had told me before I had taken the subway all the way here.
***
I stepped out of the subway car with the pizza box in my hand and made my way up the stairs. The sun was blinding as I made my way outside after being underground. I wasn't sure how often I'd be able to go to Totonno's with James during lunch. My break was already almost over and I had quickly eaten a slice in the restaurant because I hated eating alone. I wasn't sure why I thought leisurely lunches were in the job description for interns.
I walked into the building and got onto the elevator. The last thing I wanted was to be late getting back from lunch when I was already late this morning. Hopefully James' meeting would be over and I could drop the pizza off for him real quick. I had five minutes to make my way through the cubicle maze. I quickly got off the elevator and walked up to the reception desk.
Nita wasn't sitting there. Maybe she was on her break. I looked over at James' office. The blinds were closed. I hoped he hadn't left and tried to meet me down there anyway. I walked over and put my face close to the window to see if I could see him through the slants in the blinds.
What the fuck?! I grabbed the handle of his office door.
"Penny?"
I jumped. I released the doorknob and turned around to see Nita staring at me. "Sorry, I wasn't sure if he was in..."
"He's still in his meeting, Penny. He asked me to make sure no one disturbed him. I can give you a call when he's free if you want?"
"No. That's okay, Nita." What the hell? I started to walk away but quickly went back over to her. "Could you give him this though?" I put the pizza box down on the reception desk. "Thanks," I said and walked away without waiting for her response.
My heart was beating out of my chest. Maybe I was wrong. It was just the back of her head. Fuck. No. It was definitely Isabella. I kept my eyes on the ground as I made my way toward my desk. What was he doing talking to her? Did he seriously stand me up to have lunch with that bitch? I knew there was nothing going on between them, but I couldn't help the jealously that seemed to surge through me. What on earth could they be talking about? After she had slapped me, I thought he'd never speak to her again. Instead they were having a nice, private chat in his office. Why couldn't she just leave us alone?
"You okay, Fight Club?" Tavon asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Had that nickname seriously already spread to him too? I sat down in my chair without looking up. "I'm fine. Are you two seriously going to call me that for the whole summer?"
"That's what happens when you ditch us for lunch," he said. "And when you come to work the first day with a black eye."
"It's just a tiny little bruise, it's not a black eye. You're exaggerating. I just ran into something."
"That's rather vague. Did you run into something like someone's fist?"
"Ignore them," Sierra said. "How was lunch with your fiancé?"
"Great," I lied and turned on my computer. We were supposed to be doing research the rest of the afternoon and I had a feeling that meant all of us were going to be chatting while we did it. I didn't feel like talking. I felt like killing Isabella.
"Where did you go to school?" Sierra asked.
"NYCU," I said. Maybe conversation would help me not explode. "What about you guys?"
"I went there too," Zach said. "I'm surprised we didn't have any classes together."
"It's a big school."
"Yeah but they lump all the freshman in those huge lecture halls. We were probably at least in one of those together and didn't realize it."
"I wasn't there freshman year though."
"Where did you go before that?"
"The University of New Castle."
"Why the switch?" Sierra asked. "I went to my state school in South Dakota and I loved it. Moving here has been quite the transition. I guess it was for you at first too?"
I had been right about her not being from around here. South Dakota was pretty far away. I shrugged my shoulders. "It was at first. I love it now though, you will too. And I wasn't bashing state schools. I loved my old school at first too." I was talking too much.
"So what changed?" she asked.
I turned my attention back to my screen. "Just...personal reasons."
Tavon laughed.
Of all the things to say. I should have just made up something super believable. Like my parents moved. But no, I said personal reasons. I could feel my face turning red.
"Fight Club, you can't just dangle that in front of us and not explain."
My phone started vibrating. Thank God. I pulled it out of my purse and saw that James was calling me. I'd talk to him after work. I put it down on my desk, ignoring it. It took me a second to realize that all three of them were staring at me.
"What? I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Secret fiancé, secret troubled past, a secret black eye..." Tavon had counted off the secrets on his fingers so that he was holding them up in front of him. "You're quite mysterious, Penny."
"Shouldn't we be working?"
"The boss said we're supposed to bond. And the three of us already did while you were sneaking off somewhere secretive for lunch. Yet another secret."
My phone started buzzing again. I didn't bother looking at the caller ID, I just ignored it.
"And you're trying to avoid someone."
"Leave her alone," Zach said. "Clearly she doesn't want to talk about it."
I couldn't help but think he was being nice because he thought I had an abusive fiancé. And he probably thought that I had tried to escape from the abuse by moving to New York. Why had I said personal reasons?
My phone vibrated again. I picked it up. "I'm a little busy right now. Can this wait till after work?"
James sighed. "I figured you saw her when I had pizza waiting for me. I'm sorry about lunch. Can you please come to my office real quick so I can explain?"
I tried to lower my voice. "After work. Please, James."
"You're upset. I just want to tell you why she was here. If you're worried about people knowing, just say you need to go to the bathroom and excuse yourself."
I didn't care why Isabella was there. I didn't care about anything she had to say. What I cared about was why he decided to talk to her and keep me out of the loop. He let me wander off to Brooklyn so I'd be out of the way. It felt dirty and I just needed some time to calm down about it. "Later. Please." I hung up.
All three of my pod mates were staring at me. I glued my eyes to my computer screen and tried to read the article I had found earlier about one of Hunter Tech's competitors.
"Was that your fiancé?" Tavon asked. "Seems a little controlling."
"Nope. Telemarketer."
"The mystery grows."
My phone vibrated again.
"Aren't you going to answer James the telemarketer's phone call?" Tavon a
sked.
"I'll let it go to voicemail this time," I said and continued to stare at the computer screen without actually reading anything. "Dirty spammers."
"Oh my God, he's coming over here," Sierra said.
I looked over my shoulder. James was walking toward our pod of desks. I looked back at my computer. "I'm sure he's on his way to talk to Anderson or something."
"I think he's coming to talk to us!" Sierra sounded way too excited.
"Chill out, stalker," Tavon said.
"How's the new marketing team getting on?" James asked as he stopped by my desk.
Son of a bitch. I glanced at him from out of the corner of my eye.
"Really great," Sierra said. Her voice oozed with charm.
"And what about you guys?" James asked. "Settling in okay?"
They both nodded their heads. "This place is awesome," Tavon said. "So much cooler than the place I interned at last summer."
"Glad to hear it." James tapped on the top of my desk with the knuckle of his index finger. "Can I have a quick word, Miss Taylor?"
"We have these assignments from Anderson that we really have to get done by the end of the day," I said.
Sierra's jaw visibly dropped.
"Trust me, Anderson won't mind," James said. "It'll just take a minute."
Now he calls him Anderson. "Of course." I got up and followed James away from my desk.
"Fight Club has connections," I heard Tavon say as I walked away.
It felt like everyone's eyes were on me as I followed James to his office. This kind of thing was exactly what I hadn't wanted. The other marketing interns were probably looking me up right now. I'd get back to my desk in a minute and they'd all know. I was going to tell them eventually. But I wanted to make friends with them first. I didn't want them to judge me. Shouldn't they though? The only reason I got this job was because of James.
