Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
ADRIANNA
Finding my spot in the back of the lot, I curse the assigned parking areas.
Gloria started it in one of her rages. She, of course, gave me a spot in the very back.
It’s practically a quarter-mile walk. It fucking sucks in the winter, but I make do.
It wasn’t something worth fighting for at the time, and now it would be pointless.
If I point it out to Elijah, he will likely find an even worse spot. So I’m stuck with the shitty spot.
Stepping out of the car, I wrap my coat around me as I hurry toward the building.
“Oh shit!” I yell when I feel my heel sink.
I barely catch my balance and look down. My heel sunk down into a metal grate.
“Motherfucker,” I grumble.
I try to pull my heel free with it still on my foot, but it doesn’t budge.
Crap, I’m going to need to take it off. I wince as I pull my foot free and set it onto the dirty ground.
I grimace as people continue to pass by on the main sidewalk not five hundred feet away.
Some look at me and laugh while others are too focused on getting to where they need to go, all while I try to free my heel.
Shit. Shit. Shit. It won’t come free.
“Come on, I love this pair of heels,” I moan as I pull back once more.
I hear the snap of the heel right as I fall back onto my ass.
In horror, I hold my heel up and see that the spike broke free.
I scramble forward and look down at the grate and see that the heel fell into the black abyss of a storm drain under the sidewalk.
“That sucks,” some young girl mutters as she walks by.
“You can say that again,” I say under my breath.
I check my watch and see that I’m already running late and don’t have time to head back home for another pair of shoes.
“Thank God I keep a spare pair in my desk.” I sigh as I get up.
Carefully I slip the part that goes on my foot back on and hobble toward the front door. It takes a bit with me being all wobbly, but I eventually make it.
“Are you all right, Ms. Baker?” Martin, the security guard, asks as he lets me in.
I muster up a smile that I’m not quite feeling. “I’m fine, just a slight mishap this morning is all.”
Martin nods while still frowning. “Have a good day, Ms. Baker.”
“You too.”
The elevator opens right when I hit the button, making me smile.
Stepping inside, I hit the button for the floor I need and lean back against the wall.
My hips are already hurting from walking the long distance with one heel on.
When the elevator opens, I step into the quiet office space and head toward my desk.
After dropping my bag on my desk, I sit down and pull out the heels from their hiding place. “Much better,” I mutter to myself.
When I catch sight of the time, I head toward the break room and make two cups of coffee.
Typically, I don’t make Elijah’s until he’s already in, but I really don’t want to make another trip back here so soon.
Especially after the morning I’ve had. With both cups done and doctored just right for the both of us, I head back.
When the elevator dings, signaling someone is here, I pick up my pace. Usually I get thirty minutes here uninterrupted, but it looks like that isn’t happening today. Frazzled, I set my cup of coffee down on my desk. Today has already gone to shit, and the sun has barely risen.
Blowing my hair out of my face, I grab the papers I need to put on his desk, and I make my way to his office. I freeze in the doorway when I see him already sitting behind his desk.
“You’re here,” I blurt out.
Elijah looks up and raises a brow. “Is that a problem?”
“No, of course not. Can you roll away from your desk, please?” I ask as I walk toward him.
Elijah silently does as I ask.
Huh, who would have thought he could follow directions?
I place the coffee down on the edge of his desk and push it forward carefully.
Elijah raises a brow. “Was that necessary?”
“Well, clearly we can’t be around each other without liquids being spilled, so…” I say sweetly.
Elijah rolls his eyes, and I can’t help but smile.
Holy shit, it’s almost as if he’s human. A hot one too.
I eye him in his black suit. He’s got on a white shirt with thin grayish-black lines and a red tie with white dots. The solid suit with the striped shirt and polka dot tie shouldn’t work, but somehow it does on him.
He clears his throat, and I shake my head.
Shit, I was just checking him out. I hate him. I shouldn’t be checking him out. He’s the devil for Christ’s sake.
“Anything else?” he rasps.
Holy shit, did he like that I was checking him out? No, no way.
“Here,” I say as I shove papers toward him.
The corner of his lip twitches as he takes the papers from me that are now crinkled with how tightly I was holding them.
“What are these?” he asks as he starts to flip through them.
I clear my throat. “Papers that need your signature. There are invoices from our suppliers for the 5K run we put on last month and our day-to-day office supplies. Nancy from PR wants to hire another social media intern but needs approval before she puts out an ad. We also need to renew our contract with the cleaning company.”
Elijah hums as he reads each line carefully.
Jesus Christ, just sign them.
Don’t get me wrong, I always read everything before I signed, but this is different. I’ve already gone over them, and he just doesn’t trust me.
Gloria never paid attention to what I handed her when I first started, and she never cared after I took over.
Approvals were beneath her as far as she was concerned.
Sometimes I can’t help but think that things were easier before she was locked up.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that she can’t hurt anyone now, but that doesn’t mean my job wasn’t easier when I could have just signed and handed over the approvals immediately.
“Sit,” Elijah demands.
Sighing, I do as he asks and wait for whatever he’s about to say to come out of his mouth.
I really was hoping this morning was the worst my day could get.
Instead, it was an omen of things to come.
ELIJAH
I can feel her eyes on me, willing me to speed up and just sign the damn papers, but I won’t. Only a fool signs things without properly going through them.
At the same time, some sick part of me likes her eyes on me. I like that she isn’t afraid to stare and get her fill. I didn’t miss the way she eye-fucked me in my suit. I’ll never admit it out loud, but it made my cock twitch.
I notice that she is favoring one leg with a slight wince on her face. I don’t like that I notice it nor the fact that I want to do something to ease her pain.
“Sit,” I demand, my eyes back on the paper.
She huffs, pulling me out of my dirty thoughts, willing me to do what she wants. I fight the urge to smile as I read.
Maybe that’s how she and Gloria were stealing…
I start reading down the itemized list of supplies. New staplers, staples, an ungodly amount of pens, and printer paper. My eyes snag on the line below toilet paper, and I frown.
“Why are we ordering specialty soap? Surely there is a cheaper option.”
In fact, I know there is one because we use it at the hotels. We are spending almost a hundred dollars a month on soap. That’s asinine for four restrooms and the break room.
Adrianna sighs deeply, like my question offends her, making my eye twitch.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
I raise my head. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.”
“The Smith twins who work here, a man and a woman, have a lot of allergies.”
“Okay, and how is that my problem?”
Adrianna rolls her eyes, and I’m tempted to turn her over my knee and spank her until she learns a lesson.
“They are allergic to several things that are in hand soap.” She points at the paper. “That soap is the only one offered by our supplier that doesn’t contain anything they are allergic to. Is it expensive? Yes, but worth it.”
I frown. “Surely it’s not the only one.”
“It is,” she says confidently as she crosses her legs, making her skirt rise just a little bit.
I fight the urge to look down. Yes, she checked me out earlier, but I won’t be returning the favor. I can’t.
“And before you say something ridiculous like, they can bring their own soap from home,” she says, lowering her voice to try to sound like me.
“I would like to remind you that everyone should be able to wash their hands after doing their business without worry. Accommodating allergies is nothing in the grand scheme of things and makes us all better humans.”
“Okay, so what is this bakery order for?” I ask, pointing down to the stack of papers.
“Once a month we get an order from the bakery and celebrate that month’s birthdays.”
“Do we really need gluten-free treats as well?”
“Again, we care about the health and well-being of our employees.”
My jaw clenches. If she were anyone else, I would praise her for caring about those around her and going the extra mile, but I can’t. Goddamn her, I don’t want a reason to like her.
“That doesn’t sound like something Mrs. Williamson would spearhead.”
“Because she didn’t, but before you scrap it, just know that it’s a big hit and the employees love it.”
I grunt, looking back down. I bet they do. They get their fill of sweets on the foundation’s dime. She’s not wrong, though. Happy employees are willing to put in the work. If they love where they work, they will love what they do. Theoretically, of course.
When I pick up my pen, I hear her breath catch. Quickly, I sign each paper before holding it out for her to take.
“Why are you surprised I signed these? Have something to hide?”
Adrianna huffs as she takes the papers. “No, I’m just surprised I didn’t get more pushback.”
I hum, accepting her answer.
I expect her to get up and go back to her desk, only she doesn’t.
“How’s the gala planning going?” she asks, without looking at me.
I lean back in my chair and steeple my hands in front of me. “Tell me, Adrianna, why are you so invested in the gala? Mr. Burns mentioned you the other day by name even. It seems a little strange for the assistant to be so heavily involved.”
I know the truth. I have been pouring over all of the documents.
There’s no way Gloria was this savvy with the finances.
No, Adrianna has been running the gala. She’s been making the same purchases Gloria would have made with her own little twists.
She’s even been talking down the vendors to maximize the profits we can forward to the charity chosen.
Gloria would have swiped the card without another thought.
I know she’s the one, even with Gloria’s signatures on the papers. Now I need her to admit it.
Something I can’t quite name flashes through her eyes before her face blanks. “I have been doing this job for a long time now. I know how important this event is.”
“I’ve known Gloria Williamson for a long time now, she wouldn’t just let anyone plan one of her events.”
“Did you ever expect her to kidnap her own grandchild and try and ruin her son’s relationship with the mother of his child?” she throws back.
I fight the urge to flinch. We knew Gloria was crazy and had a need for control. We knew she was obsessed with finding Mason a woman she deemed fit, but we didn’t know it was that bad. We would have never guessed that she would go to the extremes she did.
“No, no I did not,” I tell her honestly.
She nods, triumph flashing through her eyes. “Then maybe you didn’t know her as well as you thought you did. She trusted me, and that’s all you need to know.”
Did she trust you enough to help her steal?
“Is that all?” I ask instead.
She shrugs. “What can I say? When I become invested in something, it becomes personal. I had been working hard on this year’s event before you came in and scraped every idea without looking at it. I just don’t want your pride getting in the way and making it fail.”
I won’t lie, the comment about my pride getting in the way stings, but I won’t show it. I did scrap her ideas so she didn’t think I copied her. I have a need to make this event succeed without her help, but is that what is right for the charity? Things are getting too muddled in my head.
“Rest assured I have it under control and it won’t fail. Besides, we have the bet to consider. I want you gone, and the way to do it quietly is to surpass last year’s number.”
She rolls her eyes as she stands. “We will see about that. Need anything else?”
“You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir,” she mutters under her breath as she leaves.
Sighing, I shake my head. If she were anyone else, I would tell her to stop rolling her eyes because they might get stuck if she keeps it up.
Jesus, she drives me mad. She’s insufferable, mouthy, and nosy as fuck. She’s also exactly my type. I don’t know if I want to fuck the disobedience out of her or fire her outright, and it’s a fucking problem.