Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer? (Stratton Sisters #2)

One

Annalise

My twenty-ninth birthday... absolutely nothing could bring me down today. My last year of my twenties, and I was on a cloud. The past several months had been the best of my life, starting my new job, getting out from under the shadow of my last name and the accusations of being a rich daddy's girl at my previous place of employment.

Abandoning my old name, getting a fresh look, and going undercover at Insight Ink was the best thing I'd ever done. I was even used to answering to my fake moniker Cordelia, not making the other person wait an odd beat while I looked around wondering who on earth they were talking to. That had definitely been awkward at first, and I'd had a few strange looks from my new co-workers in the beginning.

But now? Everything was perfect.

I'd put my nose to the grindstone and been the best damn acquisitions editor I could be, earning the trust of my new office mates and even a few words of praise from my tough-as-nails boss.

It was Friday, and I had a fun night and weekend planned, plus so much to look forward to at the office. I'd never worked somewhere before where birthdays were such a huge deal, and judging from Mona's big day two weeks ago, I was in for a treat.

Even the sun was shining brightly today. Although you mostly couldn't see it for all the skyscrapers perennially blocking out the rays. But that was okay. Just knowing it was there made a huge difference.

Walking into the building, I nodded at the cute security guard and made my way to the elevators, my excitement growing with each passing floor, not caring that we stopped at every single level or that it was so crowded I could practically feel the guy behind me breathing down my neck. At least he was keeping other parts of his body away from me.

There was jostling as someone from the back had to get off on the sixteenth floor, and the man behind me that I had just commended in my head for being a gentleman bumped into me. Hard.

I whirled around to glare at him. "Excuse me."

"You're excused," he said, dismissing me outright as he glanced up at the numbers above the door.

"Excuse me. What?" I huffed in reply, shocked at his audacity.

He deigned to look down at me, his dark eyes completely mismatched with his light hair, the most ridiculous mustache I'd ever seen on his stupid face.

"I said you're excused," he repeated in the most disdainful voice I'd ever had the displeasure to hear, like I was a complete idiot.

" You bumped into me ."

"No. You bumped into me ."

It was such a typical New York interaction that it was almost comical. If it weren't for the complete jerk of a man in front of me.

Right when I opened my mouth to tell him how absolutely wrong he was, he sidestepped past me and got off, not a word of apology or a polite excuse me, just walking by me as if I was a common housefly or, even worse, didn't exist.

What an asshole.

Looking up, I realized he'd gotten off on my floor, and I made a move toward the door. But it was too late. So now I had to get off on the next floor and wait an eternity for an elevator going down.

It was okay, though.

While I waited, I took some deep cleansing breaths. In and out. In and out. Then forced myself to relax my shoulders and stretch out the tense muscles of my neck.

By the time the elevator doors opened, I was almost back to normal. After all, dealing with entitled assholes in Manhattan was nothing new. It was practically an everyday occurrence. No biggie. Nothing was going to bring me down today.

As I arrived onto my floor, the bright and airy feel of the open-plan office immediately lifted the rest of my spirits. Sunlight streamed through large windows, illuminating the cheerful space that was filled with modern desks and books of course.

Books everywhere. On every desk. On every surface. Not to mention the large wall to one side that was lined with books, old and new, all non-fiction, a constant reminder of the empowering words and insights they contained that made my job so fulfilling.

Approaching my workspace, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the colorful balloons and the banner that read "Happy Birthday, Cordelia!" I had known it was coming, but the excitement was still there. I'd never had coworkers who were so genuinely kind, considerate, and seemed to actually enjoy my company.

Mona, my best work friend, stood nearby with a grin. She was the mastermind behind the decorations, and even though the office had a pay it forward birthday policy and she kind of had to do all of this, her obvious enthusiasm shone through.

"Happy birthday!" she squealed, giving me a quick hug. "And this is just the beginning."

I already knew I was in for a lunch out, followed by an afternoon party break with cake and a gift.

"Thank you, Mona. Have I told you lately how much I adore you?"

She beamed at me. "And have I told you lately how glad I am that you work here now?"

Other employees came over to wish me a happy birthday, and I was lost in a haze for a few minutes, telling them about my weekend plans. Once I finally settled into my chair, ready to tackle my work, I noticed the empty desk next to me had a stack of papers on it, plus a shiny new laptop.

No way. That couldn't mean what I thought it meant, could it?

I turned to Mona who was now standing at the far end of the room, but something else caught my eye instead...

Veronica coming out of her office with that jerk face from the elevator walking behind her, a big old stupid smirk on his face, dark eyes staring right at me. Actually, they were both staring right at me as they made a beeline straight toward me.

What the hell? No, no, no. This couldn't be happening.

My heart stuttered as I realized it was happening. This jackass was not only my new co-worker, but he'd be sitting right beside me? Like only a few feet away?

Before my brain could fully process this new horror, they were on me, Veronica smiling at me like something good was about to happen while moron just stood there, his eyes gleaming like it was the world's funniest joke to him.

"Cordelia," she said, "I'd like you to meet Jared Jensen. And Jared, this is Cordelia, who will be training you and showing you everything you need to know. You two will be working very closely together for a long time to come."

What? Did she really just say that?

"I know we've dumped a ton of work on you lately, Cordelia," she went on. "And Jared here is going to help lighten your load so you can get your life back."

"But I..." I started, not quite sure how to finish my thought that I liked not having a life, that I loved my work, that I certainly didn't need this guy's help. But her eyes narrowed, and I remembered how scary this woman could be when she was crossed. "Thank you," I said quietly.

I glanced over at Jared, or up at Jared because the guy was ridiculously tall, and I could have sworn he could see right through me, like every thought in my head was fully on display, and all of it was highly amusing to him.

"So before you start, Jared, you just need to get through that stack of paperwork," she gestured to his desk, "and then you're all Cordelia's and she'll tell you everything she knows and tell you where she needs your help."

And with that dagger straight to my heart, she walked away, like she hadn't just blown up my entire existence in one seemingly tiny little interaction.

He smiled at me, the most disingenuous smile I'd ever witnessed. "So Cordelia, we meet again. It's a pleasure."

I smiled right back, the most sarcastic smile I could muster. "Pleasure's all mine."

His shit-eating grin grew. "So do you have a nickname or something? Because Cordelia is kind of a long name to have to say."

What an asinine question. "No. I don't. Everyone else actually takes the less than one second it takes to say my name."

"Nah, I don't like it. How about Cord?"

"No. God, no. Not that."

"Okay. Lia."

"Nope."

"Cor."

This might be the most ridiculous conversation I'd ever had. "Nope."

"Del."

"Del? Excuse me? What?"

"No. Del's too long. I'm just gonna call you Dee."

"How is Dee shorter than Del?" I asked against my better judgment. "You know what? Never mind. And I'd really appreciate it if you called me by my full name. Cordelia ."

"Okay, Dee. I'm just gonna get to work on all this paperwork, and then I can't wait to spend the whole entire day with you."

Was that sarcasm? If so, why did he have such a big smile on his face? Or was the smile also completely sarcastic? I couldn't tell anything with this guy, but I knew one thing. He was going to make my life miserable.

I searched my surroundings for Mona, but she was nowhere to be found. Actually no one was. So I texted her. "Emergency meeting in the bathroom. Please. I'm begging you."

Ignoring Jared who was loudly opening his desk drawers and exploring everything like a little kid in a candy store, I rushed past, trying my best to keep it together and not completely lose it.

But it didn't work.

By the time I reached the sanctuary of the women's restroom, I'd decided this was the universe's way of getting back at me for my big deception. With the exception of Nina in HR, I'd lied to every single person here about my identity, even Mona who was the sweetest, kindest person alive.

And clearly the universe didn't like any kind of lying, even for a good reason. Karma had worked. Jared was my karma.

I rushed inside but Mona wasn't there yet, so I went to the sink and soaked a paper towel to wipe on the back of my neck, remembering that was where he'd breathed on me in the elevator. What a fucking day already.

The door opened, Mona's wide eyes finding me in an instant. "What's happening? What's going on?" she asked in a hurried voice.

"Have you seen or heard about the new guy, Jared?"

Her mouth gaped open. "We have a new guy? Oh, my God, is he cute? Did you meet him last night at some birthday eve party, then have hot, crazy sex with him and now he's the guy sitting next to you at work?"

"What? Fuck no."

Mona's face fell a bit. "Oh, okay. Well, is he cute?"

"No! He has a mustache."

She shrugged. "That's not a deal-breaker for me."

"Well, it is for me."

"Have you seen that Steven Kelly guy?"

"Okay. So maybe he can pull it off. But he's one of the only guys in the world who can. Anyway , the bigger point is Jared is a complete jackass, and Veronica wants me to train him, sit next to him, be his damn babysitter, and take him under my wing, all so he can help me out and lighten my workload."

Mona looked at me like I had two heads. "And that's a bad thing?"

How did I explain to Mona that I was living my dream life right now as Cordelia? That I'd shed everything I hated about my old life and didn't want to change a damn thing? "If it was someone decent, I'd be fine with it. But he's the opposite of decent, and I've been so happy here, and I'm freaking out that that will all change because he's sitting literally right next to me, and we had this whole argument already in the elevator about who bumped into who before I even knew who he was, and he said my name is too long, and he wants to call me Dee and—"

"Wait. Hold up." She put a hand up in front of me to stop my verbal meltdown. "He won't call you Cordelia?"

"No! Isn't that ridiculous?"

She nodded, a flicker of dawning realization finally starting to take shape in her eyes as she grabbed both of my shoulders and pulled me in, staring me down. "Okay. Here's what you do. Go through everything with him as quickly as you can, and then pawn off your very worst project on him, some busy work maybe, something that will keep him super occupied, and he'll hopefully leave you alone. And if that doesn't work, we'll find a way to keep him out of the office as much as possible."

Her words slowly sunk into the edges of my panicky brain as she continued boring into me with her intense stare, her fingers digging into my poor shoulders. When I finally nodded, she let up and gave me a pat on the arm.

"We're in this together, babe. I won't abandon you in your time of need. We'll figure it out. Together. Okay?"

I inhaled deeply through my nose and let it out. "Okay."

"Now go back out there and take the bull by the horns. Or the mustache," she added with a laugh.

"Yes. Right. Okay. I will. But first I have to pee."

And while I was at it, I was going to time how long it took to say the name Cordelia.