Chapter 3
Michelle shimmied her skirt down as low as it could go and straightened her jacket. She had to reach into the far back end of her closet for the outfit, but it was the only one that would do. Her usual attire was more casual; her style was more long floral skirts and tank tops and pretty dresses with lace collars.
Now, she wore a pale pink skirt that reached just above her knees—maybe a tad too tight, but it still looked very professional—a somewhat loose white sleeveless chiffon blouse that she tucked into the waistband of the skirt, and a black no-nonsense blazer.
She could have done without the pencil-thin heels currently murdering her toes, but they were the only pair of formal shoes she owned, and they happened to be four inches high.
She decided the already crippling pain in her feet would serve as a great reminder of why she had to wear these killer shoes, which would force her to do everything she needed to do to get what she wanted.
She added mascara to her normal makeup regime, which was just a little blush and lipstick. She had curled her hair the night before, so it hung down her back in pretty beach waves. She then used a pink hair clip to pin one side of her hair down. There, she looked approachable and pleasant but businesslike and capable.
Fuck my life.
She grabbed her tote, where she had already stored her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bottle of water. She got into her car, which she hadn”t used in just about forever. It was her mother”s car and all she had inherited from her parents.
She prayed it would start, and when it did, she decided her stars were definitely aligned, her universe was behaving, and everything was going to be peachy fine.
Finding the new construction site offices for JKS—also known as Johnson, Knight, and Saunders—was easy enough. They were in the process of constructing a new luxury hotel for a billionaire mogul, which, when completed, would likely stretch to the horizon.
The only place she could park her car was a block away, but that was all right. She could breathe in the fresh air and refresh her mind. When she came upon the site and was not able to find an entrance, she dove under a heavy red metal chain and pointedly ignored the ‘No Entry’ sign. How else was she supposed to get in?
The bustling site was loud and dusty, and the cacophony of activity by men in protective headgear and the sound of drilling deafened her and messed with her balance as she trudged through the uneven, gravelly paths toward a metal-paneled office.
She was barely aware of the interest she garnered as she carefully stumbled around a maze of sky-high cranes, jutting steel beams, and other massive pieces of equipment she couldn’t name.
She ignored them as she recited her opening speech, but her universe was back on her side, so she envisioned Marc, Jake, and Evan welcoming her with open arms, thrilled that she had decided to work for them and that no one else in the world would do except her.
That was how it was going to go down. Perfect. Perfect. Perf—
Moments before a piece of scaffolding crashed to the ground behind her, she felt her entire body crushed against a rock-hard chest, bringing her manifestation mantra to an abrupt halt.
Oh. She would have been crushed.
What the heck was wrong with her universe? One minute, it was paving her way to peace and happiness; the next, it was trying to kill her. Man!
“Dammit, girl. Do you want to get yourself killed?” The harsh, growly voice belonged to Marc Johnson, whose face was so furious that he looked like a demented but striking mythical god.
He pulled her toward him, ripped off his safety helmet, put it on her head none too gently, took her hand, and dragged her toward their site offices.
After stumbling more than once in her unaccustomed high shoes over the uneven terrain but not making contact with hard ground since Marc just pulled her up like a rag doll she stopped worrying that she was going to split her face on the rocky ground.
When she stumbled, Mark just pulled her up and carried on with his angry, wide stride as if nothing happened.
When they entered the site offices, he flung her inside and shut the door with a loud bang that rattled her ears. She immediately became aware of Jake and Evan at their desks, who stood up and looked at her as if she were an alien in a pink skirt.
As a trio, their presence imbued her with the weirdest kinds of sensations. It was nerves. She was nervous.
The overly big helmet hung over her eyes, and she saw nothing until she lifted it up, only to find the three men in worn-out jeans and T-shirts, arms crossed over their wide chests, as they now stood beside each other, scowling at first her attire and then her face.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Michelle? And do you want to die?”
Here it goes.
”Okay, hear me out,” she began. “I heard you were looking for a new PA, and I’m her. I’m perfect for the job of being your PA, and I can prove it.”
Okay, so she had no idea what being their PA entailed, but she guessed bringing them coffee and taking care of their dry cleaning would be it.
“So, is this where I sit?” she asked, pointing to a vacant desk o. She placed her tote on the table and was just about to sit down.
“The hell you are,” Evan said, coming toward her, wrapping a hand around her arm, and placing her back on her feet before she got to sit down. He then immediately dropped his hand from her as if she had burned him.
“Just give me a chance. Please. One day. I’m hard-working. I’m a fast learner and quick thinker.” She was exaggerating the truth a little, but it was all for a good cause—her fingers and possibly her life. She did reiterate one thing in her mind, though: Of all the people who could know what a stupid thing she had done to take money from a loan shark, the absolute last people on earth she wanted to know were the three men standing in front of her, seconds away from tossing her ass out.
She couldn’t bear them thinking she was stupid and it really shouldn’t bother her as much as it did.
She glanced at them with pleading eyes. Also, what happened to all the air in the room? Why was she suddenly so hot? She blew out a breath and tried again.
“One chance to prove myself. If I don’t do everything you tell me to do on time and with 100% precision, you can fire me, and I will leave without any fuss. I swear.” She placed her hand over her chest.
They didn’t even take the time to consider her words before they delivered their answer in unison.
“No.”