13. Tristan
THIRTEEN
TRISTAN
After showing up at the office hungover every day, I thought I learned how to hide the evidence of my late-night activities well enough. I always had the same disciplined routine after drinking at night.
Shower. Brush teeth. Wake up. Brush teeth.
And until now, I was sure it was an effective routine since not a single soul seemed to notice. There was also the chance that this whole time I had ‘alcoholic’ written on my forehead, but no one had the courage to say anything.
But Haelyn was nothing like the others. I could see that even if she had only been working for me for one week. She paid close attention to those around her and for the first time since I met her, I wanted her eyes off me.
I knew she did the right thing. And I also knew it wasn’t her fault I didn’t hide it better.
I should’ve kept my distance and made her take an Uber so she wouldn’t smell me.
Fuck.
What was wrong with me? What was I thinking?
I am going to stop drinking. For real, this time.
My feet flew over the steps as Haelyn’s heels clicked behind me, trying to keep up. We should’ve entered the building side by side, but the fact that she knew made me want to walk as far away from her as possible and that was exactly why I made a gap between myself and her by distance if I couldn’t do it by presence.
Haelyn shouldn’t have said anything, even if she wasn’t completely wrong. What I did was none of her business, and it wasn’t her place to lecture me about how I should or shouldn’t act around potential partners.
But what if she was right and Gorig smelled my breath? What if that alone would’ve screwed the whole thing?
Shut up.
A faint crack reached my ears and when I turned around to the source of it, a flicker of annoyance brushed my chest at the sight of Haelyn straightening her back with a shaky smile.
I stepped aside, holding the door open for her, but she refused to move.
“Come on,” I urged her, my jaw twitching as I held onto the last drop of patience.
I considered myself a patient and calm man, but something about Haelyn erased it all. I looked down at my fists. They were shaking.
How did she manage to infuriate me so badly?
She was nothing to me after all. Why did I care that she caught me smelling like rum? It wasn’t like after smelling me one time that she could know this was an everyday thing for me.
She couldn’t know. Could she?
She shook her head, that trembling stretch of her lips still present. “You go first.”
My eyes lowered in a squint.
What the hell had gotten into her all of the sudden?
Was she nervous about the meeting?
Because until ten minutes ago, she was eager to get here and fix everything. Now, Haelyn was looking at me with round eyes and no intention of walking further.
I was about to insist, but decided against it. There was no way I was going to lose valuable time by trying to get her fine ass to move. I stepped inside the building while Haelyn caught up with the pace of a turtle.
She let out a sharp exhale when she reached me and threw two words my way before walking up to the reception. “Wait here.”
Bossy much?
I swallowed my words and propped my back on a wall, scanning my surroundings. Gorig’s first floor was a splash of color, unlike the monotonous shades of ours. On my left, there were dozens of desks with busy employees typing with a strange smile on their faces, even though there was nothing to separate them from the people they were surrounded by.
My employees valued privacy and would’ve fought for it with their teeth, I couldn’t imagine them handling the position of having to knock elbows with others while working together.
In front of me, there were a few red chairs here and there facing the luxurious reception. The desk had a half-circle shape, where two women had their attention focused on different people waiting in line.
“Smile, it’s free,” was written behind the enormous reception.
When it came to our ways of ruling our companies, Gorig and I couldn’t be more different.
“Okay, let’s go.” Haelyn came back and pointed to where a small hallway was expanding in front of us. “I lied and said I’m his sister’s best friend so we’d skip the line waiting.”
My brows arched.
Gorig had a sister? I didn’t know that. How deep did Haelyn have to search to find that out? Was she the fucking FBI?
We walked together and I gave the ladies at the entrance a court nod. Right around the corner, Haelyn stopped in front of a tall, dark door with golden details, then turned to face me as her teeth nibbled the dead skin off her lips.
“Remember, be creative and friendly.” She whirled on her toes without waiting for me to agree and her fist stopped mid-way before knocking, looking at me over her shoulder. Her eyes inspected my face before she spoke. “Not like that.”
Not like that? What is that supposed to mean?
Haelyn knocked a few times in a rhythm I vaguely recognized, and a man’s voice bloomed outside the office.
Is that a kid’s song?
“Come in.” Then a sound of a few billiard balls hitting reached us.
We closed the door and both of us remained silent for the first few seconds taking in Gorig’s office—or more aptly, his playroom. He was holding a cue stick next to his body, a few balls still rolling on the table.
I wasn’t really in a place to judge given the circumstances, but how was mixing a game with work a good idea? To me, it looked like all he did was play the role of a boss with a cue stick in his hand.
As a boss, I worked harder than any of my employees. I didn’t make others lead my company while I lived my best life.
“Take a seat.” He pointed at the chairs placed not far away from where he was.
“Thank you.” Haelyn gave him a smile I never got to see and complied.
Soon after, I followed her.
Gorig leaned down, his red hoodie brushing the cue stick as he launched it at one of the balls and hit it as if he’d been doing this his entire life. Another one rolled down in a hole from a singular hit.
“What can I do for you, Tara Brown, a friend of my sister?” he asked, not even sparing me a glance.
Shit .
The fucker knew who I am. Even his eyes flickered with amusement when his lips did. Otherwise, he would have shown the smallest interest in finding out my name or the reason I was accompanying her when she was the one taking an interview.
Haelyn straightened her back, throwing a quick look at me from the corner of her eyes before replying. “I’m not Tara Brown. I’m Haelyn Ross, an employee at Graves Automobile,” she burst it all out, then got to her feet. One of her legs tilted to the side, her heel barely supporting the shoe anymore.
She reinvigorated without giving any clue about what slowed her down, then walked to Gorig with slow steps, enough to not make the broken heel slip again.
Was this what the cracking sound at the entrance was? She never mentioned anything and acted like nothing happened with her chin tipped upward and confidence still at its highest. If she told me, I would’ve turned around and stopped at a shop around the corner to buy her a new pair.
I couldn’t believe she chose to walk in like this. Could this job mean that much to her that she would do anything for it?
Why did I find that hot?
“Mr. Gorig.” She looked up at him expectantly and he simply supported himself on the cue stick. “I’m sorry for lying my way up to you, but we had no other chance to explain what happened.”
My eyes were pointed on Haelyn’s back. Her shoulders were curled in front as her hands hugged her body and long black curls jumped from side to side every time she tilted her head. When my gaze lowered to her round ass, I immediately moved it to something less distracting—Gorig.
When I met his stare, I gulped the same way a child would when he’d be caught doing something bad. There was a barely noticeable raise of his brow, but I didn’t give him anything. I simply responded back with a strong gaze and no emotion slipping past my mask.
If possible, my heart thumbed even harder when Haelyn threw a glance at me.
I ignored it and got to my feet, arranging the sides of my suit as I joined Haelyn. I was tempted to put my hand on her back for support, because it couldn’t be that easy to stand on a broken heel, but I didn’t want Gorig to interpret things. So instead, I kept my palms to myself.
“Mr. Gorig,” I started, and it seemed like the first time he acknowledged me.
“Gorig.” His head tilted forward with the correction.
“Gorig,” I agreed. “We had a technical issue with one of our employees, but I can assure you it’s been already taken care of. If you’d still like to, we could arrange a meeting at a suitable time for you.”
Haelyn fidgeted from side to side and her hip bumped into mine when her heel slipped again. My eyes jumped to her and I caught her by the elbow, making sure she was steady.
“Thank you,” she whispered even though Gorig was two steps away. I lowered my attention to her lips before I returned it to the man in front of us.
I removed my touch from her skin, but it was so soft I rolled my fingers on top of each other to get a sense of how it felt to put my palm on her. It was nothing compared to the real experience.
What the hell was wrong with me? Five minutes ago I wanted her as far as possible and now I wanted her closer.
Gorig looked at Haelyn, then at me several times. It was like a game and he couldn’t decide who to focus on or who to address. When he decided, his gaze settled on me.
“Mistakes happen.” He nodded, moving his palm on the tip of the stick. “And I might be able to change my decision of placing you on the blacklist.” Gorig paused, waiting for our reactions.
Blacklist? For fuck’s sake, if we didn’t get a meeting I was going to strangle Sara for the mess she caused. Once you were on a blacklist, no money or influence could take you out.
So what could possibly make him cut us off from there?
“I have one condition.”
I was tempted to say ‘anything,’ but I kept my mouth shut. That wasn’t the impression I wanted to give.
“May I ask who came up with the idea of scheduling an interview to reach me?” he asked, his eyes squinting at me.
My first instinct was to say anyone but Haelyn, because if he thought it was a terrible idea and that we invaded his privacy, I didn’t want her caught up in the middle. But when I saw the bright flicker in his eyes, I knew Gorig thought it was brilliant.
“Haelyn Ross,” I said, and when I caught her from the corner of my eyes, pulling her chin down to her chest, I wanted to raise it up until she was above Gorig.
A pleased smile reached his lips and he had no shame of letting it lift until it got all the way to his ears. He nods. “You can get a meeting if she’s there.” He pointed his hand at her, then placed the stick on the table, stopping inches from us. “Graves, we’ve been in discussions for years, but I think Haelyn is what will help you get over that horse vision of yours. I have to admit, I’ve never been approached this way before and I won’t lie, it’s genius.”
“Thank you, Mr. Gorig,” Haelyn said with a soft voice.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused, but the chance you’re giving us right now will be worth it,” I promised, stretching my palm to shake hands with him.
He nodded and accepted the handshake, then moved his attention back to Haelyn.
“So you don’t want a job here? Because the job is yours.” Gorig lifted his hands around his body, taking a few steps back.
Haelyn stole a glance at me and her mouth parted open. My heart started racing and my thoughts clouded.
There’s no way I was letting her go. But now that she had the chance, would she leave? After all, she was as creative as Gorig’s team and she was going to be a great fit here, but was she going to leave the company after she tried to get me a meeting?
Before she could reply, I put a hand on her back. “She’s permanently hired at the Graves Company, I’m afraid.”
He laughed—a real laugh—throwing his head back and touching his stomach with his palm. “All right, you have every right to be protective of her. I’ll email you the details.” Gorig took a seat on his chair.
“Thank you,” I gave him a stern nod before I walked Haelyn out.
The door barely closed after us when two small arms circled my neck. My hands remained beside my body as her legs shook with enthusiasm and the thrilled sensation filling my chest was so strange to me.
Sure, I wanted this meeting more than anything in my life, but I never celebrated a victory before it was finalized.
Haelyn squeezed me tightly and I found myself not knowing what to do with the limp hands raised in the air. Before I could decide what to do, she took a step back, one of her palms covering her mouth.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t… appropriate.” She excused herself and was ready to march out of the building when my fingers grasped her wrist.
I didn’t know what had gotten into me, but not asking her would be something I was going to regret. I was going to spend sleepless nights trying to find the answer to a problem that would bother me all day.
For some reason, I needed to know.
“If I wasn’t here, would you have accepted the job?” The unnatural sensation in my bones spoke for me.
Haelyn looked from side to side, her lips parting and even after she shook her head, I waited for her words before allowing myself to release a relieved breath. “No. I wouldn’t have.”