Cupid Loves Curves (Curvy Collections #11)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

ABBY

I walk through the office, holding my breath, scared that if I exhale, I’ll wake myself up from a dream. Walking through the office of Ace Records is something I never thought I’d do. Despite everything, I can’t help but be excited about this job. If only my mom could see me!

A girl name Cheyenne leads me down the edge of a large, open-plan office. Gold and platinum records are framed in orderly lines on the walls, representing bands and musicians that the whole world listens to and worships. Even without seeing a famous musician, it’s hard not to feel starstruck just being here.

When my temp agency called with this job, I swear on everything that I thought the recruiter was playing a cruel joke on me. They know about my mom, because, well, everyone knows about my mom.

“It must feel glamorous to work here, right?” I ask her as she me to the desk I’ll have for the next few weeks. My agency was vague on who my boss would be, just saying they needed an admin assistant to come in.

Cheyenne turns her head to me and narrows her eyes, giving me a withering look as she pointedly looks up and down my body and visibly cringes at my curvy figure. I get that she’s skinny and pretty, but I don’t get why she looks at me like she hates me.

“You get used to it,” she says, her voice bored and impatient.

I shut my mouth and hope that the other people in this office aren’t as rude as her. There’s loud music coming out of offices and people laughing or yelling as they talk on the phone. There’s an urgent energy flying around the office, and it makes me want to dive right in and help this company succeed.

“Is this the new…girl?”

I turn and see a woman who could be Cheyenne’s sister. Same underfed body, same pin-straight hair, same clothes that cost more than I made last month. Without even thinking about it, I find myself sucking in my stomach to try and look less out of place as I feel. It’s not like seeing girls like them is a surprise – not working for a record label – but this is more…more than I expected it to be.

“Hi! I’m Abby!” I try and keep my voice bright and light, but when the second girl rakes her eyes over me and winces, I seriously consider turning on my heel and walking out, even if it meant the agency would drop me. There are limits to what I will put up with, even for a job. If I don’t raise the money I need in the next few months, I’m going to lose my last chance to make things right for my mom.

“Lisette,” she says, limply holding her hand out to me. Somehow, she makes shaking her hand to be both unpleasant and leave me feeling like I should be kissing her ring finger. God, I hope I don’t have to work with either of them.

“Do you think?” Lisette smirks at Cheyenne, as they both share some joke which I am definitely not privy to and which they are in no hurry to share.

“He has more pride than that.” Cheyenne sniffs, again casting a disapproving glance at me. She closes her eyes when Lisette opens her mouth, then holds up her hand. “I know, I know. He always takes his assistant. Do you really think that’s going to happen this year, now that Melody’s gone? Of course he’ll take you or me!”

“What are you talking about?” Memories of high school flood back over me – mean girls intentionally leaving me out of events, acting like I didn’t exist when I was in their presence. I bite my lip and remind myself I won’t be here that long. I need the money and I need to do this for my mom. If she was still alive, she’d have so much to say about me being here, even if just as a temp.

“Nothing,” Lisette says, then they both collapse into giggles.

“Come on.” Cheyenne says after she agrees to meet Lisette for lunch. Like they’re really going to eat more than a rice cake… “Here we are. And don’t make a fool of yourself,” she adds, a look of murder in her eyes.

Great. She’s that kind of passive-aggressive co-worker. I cross my fingers and hope that I don’t have to work with her too much. I mentally remind myself to be extra careful around her, because if she’s the kind of person she’s leading me to believe she is, she’ll undermine others as much as possible just because she thinks it’s fun.

I really wish I knew what was going on. They’re treating me like I’ve stolen something from them and I’ve only just arrived here. What could I possibly have that they even want?

Cheyenne pushes open a set of double doors that open onto an office that is bigger than my apartment.

“Mr. Bryant? So sorry to interrupt, but this is Abby. The temp?” Her voice goes up into a singsong pitch, making the statement a question, and it irks the daylights out of me. She makes herself sound like a clueless high schooler, when she is clearly anything but. Yet, girls like her always have dates and boyfriends, so clearly she knows something I don’t.

Said Mr. Bryant is in a large executive chair that is facing a floor-to-ceiling window with the most stunning view of the city I’ve ever seen. Cheyenne flicks her shiny blonde hair and bats her eyelashes as he turns around to face us, feigning kindness and charm, masking how nasty she just was to me.

But when he’s facing us and I get a good look at him, I instantly understand why. Mr. Bryant is Aaron Bryant – the most famous entertainment executive in the country. I’ve seen his pictures in magazines and online, but none of those pictures captured how piercing his green eyes are, how chiseled his cheekbones are, the way his hair curls around his face, and just how drop-dead sexy he is.

And then a wave of quiet fury builds in me. Never in a million years did I think I would come face to face with the man in charge of the company that took everything from my mom.

“What’s that song you’re humming?”

I’m startled by the sound of Mr. Bryant’s voice beside me, as we ride the elevator back to the office. He sounds so casual, but it makes the lunch I just finished sit heavy in my stomach. How can such a despicable man have such a sexy voice?

“Oh,” I say, turning to face him. I force myself to smile before I turn to him. “It’s just something my mom used to sing to me. It’s nothing.”

That last part is a lie, but I need this job more than I need to tell Mr. Bryant off for what this record label did to my mom.

“Interesting. It’ll sound cliché, but somehow it’s familiar. I pride myself on remembering everything I’ve heard, so this is unusual for me.”

“Is there something you need me to do, back in the office?” It hurts to smile this much, but I’m scared I’d look murderous if I don’t. He arches his eyebrow at me as I so blatantly change the subject, but…I just can’t talk about my mom with him.

“You can follow Cheyenne’s lead for now. It’s all hands on deck as we get ready for both the Rockin’ Hearts Ball and for the next Pink Tango launch. They have a silly name, but they sell a sinful number of downloads.”

I look away from him, resentment brewing in me. It’s my mom that should have been getting a launch like I’ve seen Pink Tango is getting. The elevator dings as we reach the top floor of the skyscraper. Assuming there’s nothing else, I start to walk back to my cube and the inevitable long list of menial tasks that Cheyenne has been throwing at me.

“You’re available for two months, Abby, correct?”

I freeze, then turn to see Mr. Bryant’s crystal green eyes staring at me, leaving me both a little frightened at his intensity and more than a little turned on. As a temp, I’ve never met an executive who unsettles me as much as this man does. Anger and lust churn inside my heart, and it takes all of my willpower to both not tell him off and to erase a fantasy of what his tall, muscular body would feel like between my legs.

“Of course, Mr. Bryant.” I have no idea how I’ll make it through two months here, but I don’t have the luxury of not needing the job. “That’s what the agency said when they sent me. Do you need to change that?”

“No. It’ll take that long to hire someone full-time. My last assistant eloped. Highly unprofessional to leave me high and dry. Cheyenne is filling in until I find someone new.”

“Oh. I thought she was your assistant.”

Mr. Bryant looks more than a little amused as he smiles. He genuinely looks nice and approachable, which is completely not how I imagined him. In pictures, he always looks severe, his mouth closed tightly as he glares at the photographer.

“She’d like to be,” he mutters. “Do you have experience as an executive assistant?”

I catch my breath as I look at Mr. Bryant. It’s true I’m looking for a full-time job, but it’d be a lie to say that I particularly want to work here. Being a permanent employee here would be a knife through my heart, each and every day.

“A little,” I finally say. “I’ve done a lot of admin. Can I can speak frankly?”

Mr. Bryant nods.

“Admin work is admin work. It’s not much different just because of a title. Someone needs an assistant so they can do their job better and not deal with certain details. I have tons of experience like that.”

Throughout all this, Mr. Bryant hasn’t taken his eyes off of me. A wave of awkwardness comes over me as I stand in front of him, unsure if I should say something more or if I should just slink off to the dusty cubicle I’ve been assigned to.

“Fair point. We’ll see how you do here, then maybe you can interview for the job.”

“I’d really appreciate that.” I feel ashamed that I’m trying to sell myself – even a little – for this job. What the hell is happening to me? But the prospect of a full-time job is exciting. As much as it’d be weird as hell to work here, full-time jobs with benefits are scarce these days and I’d be a fool to decline a job here if I was offered one.

I’d figure out a way to make it work.

“Good.” I stare at Mr. Bryant’s ass as he turns back to his office. He’s wearing a tailored suit that fits his body like a glove and, despite loathing him, I want him more than I’ve ever wanted a man in my life.