Seducing a Sagittarius (BLP Signs of Love #8)

Chapter 1

“Here you are, Ms. Grant. He’s inside waiting for you.” The receptionist smiled politely while I returned the favor.

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing.” She walked away as I read the gold plate attached to the door.

A. West .

Nervousness coursed through me, and I released the breath I was holding. Walking into a multi-million-dollar company with a bachelor’s degree in business management, gave me the confidence I needed to nail this interview.

Nonetheless, I was told by Jennifer, my best friend who worked in the media department here at Aromatique Designz by A. West , that Mr. Avery West was an asshole.

I’d met an asshole or two in my day, even dated one for two years, so I was confident that I could handle him. I had to endure whatever energy he was bringing because I needed this job.

It’d been two years since I graduated college and had to pay back all the student loans I had accumulated during my last two years at Albany State.

There was no way I could fumble this interview.

I had already bullshitted for two years to use my degree, fucking around with a nobody who swore I didn’t need to work.

Worst mistake.

I took a deep breath, hoisted my satchel on my shoulder, then gave the door three taps as I waited for him to answer. When I didn’t get an immediate answer, I knocked again. Still no reply.

What the hell? That receptionist said he was inside waiting for me.

As I raised my hand to knock again, his deep voice projected and finally told me to enter.

I turned the knob and walked inside the plush office that showed the city’s picture-perfect skyline. My eyes then went to the right of me, seeing the muscular figure in the chair facing the floor-to-ceiling window. I was almost sure he was admiring the tranquil vision of the setting sun.

Since Jen told me he had been busy interviewing and taking meetings, this evening’s interview was my only opportunity to sell myself to get hired.

I stood in the center of the office, waiting for him to acknowledge my presence. I counted to twenty in my head, and still, he had yet to give me any attention.

I know his ass knows I’m standing here!

Clearing my throat, I straightened my spine and spoke. “Hi, I’m Layne Gr?—”

“Have a seat, Ms. Grant.”

Well damn, rude ass. Just shut me up.

It felt like I was walking a mile just to get to his desk. I was so busy looking at the back of his chair, hoping he’d prove me wrong about the asshole moniker he’d been dubbed with, that I missed there was an incline.

I heard him say, “Watch your?—”

Too late.

“Whoo!” I yelped. My body crashed into the ceramic floor, and my portfolio of documents spilled out of my satchel.

“Step,” he finished.

Out of all the days to be clumsy, it had to be today.

Why me?

I felt around on the floor for my glasses that flew off my face, because I was literally blind and couldn’t hear a thing without them, when a blurry image of a hand reached down and retrieved them.

He placed them on my face, and the clear vision of a handsome, mocha latte colored, brown-eyed man squatting before me made the blood rush to my cheeks and pearl.

Gahdamn! Jen didn’t tell me he was this fine!

My nipples pebbled at the thought of him wrapping those beautiful lips around them.

Layne, get it together!

I immediately recovered from my thirsty thoughts when he offered me his hand.

I accepted it and stood to my feet, trying to brush off my quirky clumsiness and sexual thoughts of the multi-millionaire. I began picking up my papers while he helped.

“My fault. I meant to warn you about that before I told you to take a seat. Charge it to my head and not my heart.”

“It’s okay. I’m prone to being a klutz at such odd times. Charge it to my head and not my heart,” I reiterated and giggled, but he didn’t return the favor.

Yeah, he’s giving asshole vibes.

“Résumé?” he queried, lifting the last paper.

“Yes,” I muttered.

Way to go, Lay. You’re officially embarrassed.

Talking to myself in third person was another quirk of mine. I needed to get my life together. I needed him to hire me, not hump me.

“Do you need me to help you to your seat, or you got it?” He smirked.

Finally, some humor.

“I can manage,” I replied, taking the seat in front of his desk. He walked back around his desk and took a seat.

“Listen, I’ve been doing interviews all day, trying to find the right assistant?—”

“I’m sorry, assistant?” I asked, cutting him off.

I thought he needed a manager .

Jen, you liar!

He frowned. “Yes. Did you not read the memo that I was only looking for an assistant?”

“An employee here informed me that you were looking for a manager to oversee the day-to-day operations.”

“Who was the employee?”

I paused. I didn’t want to get Jen fired, because those brown menacing eyes of his told me that he would do just that.

“I’d rather not say, but I don’t mind taking the position if it’s available.”

I needed this job. There was no way I’d turn it down.

“Hmph. You do know that I can find out who it was, right?” He leaned back in his chair and stared at me. I stared back.

Gosh, he’s beautiful. Even with the mean mug.

Stay focused, Lay.

“But, right now, I’ll let you make it. As I was saying, I’ve interviewed over twenty people today, and none of them felt right to me. Even as you sit before me, I’m questioning if you’ll be yet another scratch off my list.”

I fidgeted in my seat, prepared to sell my soul for this position. “I can assure you I can get the job done.”

“Oh really? And what sets you apart from the rest of them?”

Shine, Layne!

“Every morning, you have your black coffee, three sugars, with a splash of oat milk. You take a fifteen-minute deep meditation before you start your morning meetings. Afterward, since it’s springtime, you send your mother and grandmother daffodils from Amaryllis Flower Shop .

“You take your lunch around one o’clock and order the same meal from Dozy’s Steakhouse .

. . Steak medium-well, garlic butter asparagus, and mashed butternut squash with a side of zucchini.

Around four, you require a large mint tea to keep you calm as you meet with the creative designers on your team .

. . If I’m going too fast, you can stop me at any time. ”

Those brown eyes were stapled to me as if he were trying to see into my soul. I knew why he was staring. He didn’t think I had the drop on him before I entered his office, but I had to shout out Jen and Brian for the save.

Those brown mysterious eyes had my heart palpitating.

“How do you know so much about me?” he asked.

“I make it my mission to know about anyone I work for so that I won’t make any mistakes. It’s why I excel in any task that’s given to me. If you look over my résumé, you’ll see that observation is one of my strong points.”

I also know you’re a Sagittarius and deeply introverted.

Although Jennifer and Brian told me about him, they didn’t tell me everything. Only about his coffee, the flowers he sends to the women in his life, and that he was an asshole . . . well a grumpy, surly asshole as Jen put it.

I actually interned here for two weeks before I graduated but had never met him before today.

His office sat at the top, and no one was allowed up here but a few of his partners or unless he summoned them.

I shadowed his old assistant, Brian Thomas, and found out the rest of his information through him.

He placed my résumé down and continued to stare at me.

That nervous feeling returned, and I rubbed the back of my neck as I always did when I was nervous.

The stare he gave me earlier didn’t match the stare he was giving me now.

This stare conveyed fondness, admiration, and dare I say, lust ?

There was no smile present, but those bedroom eyes told me he was impressed by my knowledge of him.

“Once again, I’m going to let you live. I know you know someone here in order to get all of that information. Be that as it may, I appreciate your knowledge of my daily office life, so you’re hired.” A smile broke out on my face as my palms came together in a praying manner.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me yet. I’ll have HR get all of your paperwork together, and I should be seeing you first thing in the morning to perform.

You better bring your A game, because you’ll be at my side for as long as you work here, and I don’t accept slackers.

Don’t give me a reason to do another round of interviews. ”

“You won’t be disappointed. I promise.”

“We’ll see. Go see my receptionist, Liz. She’ll take you over to HR to get your paperwork situated.”

“Will do.” I stood and headed out of the door.

Thank you, Jesus! Now I can make plans to get out of my parents’ guest room.