Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Emily
The next few days were relatively quiet, and Veronica and I spent a lot of time together.
It was a perfect time for me to finally learn all the ins and outs of the computer systems, as well as the paperwork that I had yet to learn because of all the time that I had been spending in Mr. Lane’s office.
He had been finding quite a few tasks for me to do at his desk, things that Veronica seemed to find strange and questioned me on whenever I would come back out to the desk where she’d be sitting and answering phone calls.
All I could tell her was that he had me taking notes for him on various clients, meetings, or thoughts he had about the different businesses that he was looking into.
I had to silently admit that it was strange that he made so many excuses for me to spend time alone with him.
We ate lunch together every day. But one thing I didn’t and would never share with Veronica was the way that he always found some reason to touch me.
When he handed me a fork or a napkin, it never failed to elicit the same tingly feelings that the first touch he’d ever given me had brought.
I tried to talk some sense to myself every single morning as soon as my eyes opened.
Nothing good could come from the growing crush I was developing.
My feelings were going to be crushed into dust. They never listened; if anything, they were growing stronger.
His smiles made butterflies dance in my belly, and every time Mr. Lane told me that I was a good girl for doing the simplest thing, I couldn’t stop the pleased blush.
I had yet to talk to Mrs. Gunter about finding a new position in the company.
When we met outside of his office, like in the break room in the morning for coffee, or every evening when he rode with me in the elevator down to the lobby, he almost seemed like a completely different person.
His touches still gave me those same tingling sensations, but instead of the warm smiles, his looks were intense, captivating, and dangerous.
When he looked at me like that, I couldn’t help but remember the way he whispered into my ear about how he said that he should tie me up to keep me safe.
I feel like that man—the one in the elevator—would definitely tie me up.
And I was beginning to think that I would let him.
That Wednesday, at the end of our shared lunch, Mr. Lane told me he would have to leave town to visit a client and would be back on Monday.
He reminded me to be a good girl, and then, he was gone.
All I could do was whisper “Yes, Sir” as the usual excited butterflies at hearing him say those words in his smooth, rich voice, competed with the disappointment that fought for supremacy at the news that he’d be leaving.
It seemed to take forever, but when Monday morning finally came, I looked through my clothes, excited for the first time in days, knowing that Mr. Lane would be back.
For the first time in my life, I was going to dress for a man.
I thought of the way I usually dress in something pastel or floral.
My hand stopped on a bright red blouse. It was fitted down the bust with small black buttons, then flared out at the waist in a peplum style.
I decided to pair it with a thin black pencil skirt and red heels that would match the top.
It was a daring look for me. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off, but I was excited to try.
In the bathroom, I eyed the red lipstick that I bought on a whim a few weeks ago and then shrugged a shoulder.
Why not? After smudging it once, I had to reapply it again to get the line just right around my lips.
Once I finally felt satisfied that I had it right, I stood back and took myself in.
The shade complemented my complexion and worked very well with the blouse.
I decided to leave my hair down for the first time since I’d started working at Lane Industries, allowing the curls to do what they wanted.
Of course, I needed to use just enough product to keep them from being frizzy.
They were still a little bit wild, but I didn’t hate it.
Curls were unpredictable at the best of times.
Some days, the most a girl could hope for was less frizz.
If I thought I looked like a different person on my first day at work, I definitely look like a stranger this time.
With my routine completed, I grabbed my bag, locked the door, and then headed downstairs to meet George.
On Friday, he gave me his number so I could call him anytime I needed a ride over the weekend.
Unfortunately, I had to tell him I didn’t have a phone since mine had finally decided to quit working a couple of days earlier.
I planned on getting a new one, but I needed to save every penny until I could find a new apartment to rent in a better area of town.
He’d given me a disapproving look, which made me feel like a chastised child.
He asked me if I was supposed to have a company phone.
It reminded me that, in fact, Mrs. Gunter had told me I was supposed to have gotten one, but I had forgotten all about it until he mentioned it.
I wondered if it was something I should have discussed with Veronica, then shrugged it off.
There was nothing I could do about it until the office opened again on Monday.
When I got outside, George was already waiting as usual, holding the door open for me with a low whistle. “Those boys aren’t gonna know what hit them today.”
I just laughed and kissed his age-lined cheek as he blushed. “You flatter me, George!”
When I got to the office, Veronica gave me a much different response.
Her glossy lips turned down in the corners as she looked me up and down.
My cheeks grew hot at her intense perusal.
Then, when she wrinkled her pert nose in a grimace, I was ready to bolt for the elevator and hope that George hadn’t already left for wherever he went during the day while I was at the office.
“You know,” she began. She stood up from the chair behind the desk we were still sharing for the time being and walked around to join me in the middle of the floor, and tapped a long manicured fingertip against her chin.
I watched warily as she started to circle me as I stood there shifting from foot to foot.
“Usually, you’re cute. Kind of like the flower in your hair sometimes.
You dress like someone’s baby sister. It’s almost adorable.
You see, it’s like a little girl playing dress up. ”
Her words had me cringing inside, wanting to disappear into the floor.
“But this whole outfit that you’re wearing…” she paused and waved her hand, indicating me from head to foot. “I hope you’re not trying to be sexy. If you’re trying to catch Mr. Lane’s eye, that’s really unfortunate for you. You know he’s already had a lot of personal assistants, right?”
I slowly nodded my head. I did know that.
It was hard not to. Though I hadn’t been told why.
And since it had only been a week since I’d started working for Lane Industries, I’d been kept isolated while learning my role.
Veronica and I hadn’t even really had much time to talk about anything more than work.
Not that we seemed to want to. I was beginning to think that Veronica wasn’t the type of person I wanted to be friends with.
She mockingly copied my slow nod. “That’s why I’m always in and out of here.
The amount of personal assistants he’s gone through in the last six months…
” she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
She stopped in front of me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Look, I’m just looking out for you, okay?
I’m guessing this is your first time out in the real world, and you don’t have much experience with rich and powerful men. ”
At her raised eyebrow, my face flamed hot, and I knew I had given myself away. I might as well have painted ‘naive virgin’ in my new red lipstick across my forehead.
She snickered. “Oh, honey. A man like Brandon Lane would use you up and toss you out like yesterday’s garbage. I just don’t want you to be another one of those assistants, okay?”
I immediately forgot my embarrassment when her words penetrated. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” she began, “I can’t really talk about it because of NDAs, but there’s been a lot of sexual harassment charges filed. I guess when you’re the CEO of a company, you can get away with a lot, though.”
My blood turned hot and then ran ice cold at her words.
Had he given the same smiles to his previous personal assistants?
All that attention he’d been giving me. The lunches, the time we spent together.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew that no one needed that many notes taken.
And he was there in the elevator every time.
And in the breakroom. I froze. How? How was he in the elevator when I hadn’t seen him leave his office?
He would have had to walk right past me.
What was happening around this place? How was I just now questioning it?
A hand waved in front of my face, then the long, slender fingers snapped together, making a loud sound, causing me to jump, jarring me from my inner breakdown.
“Hey, Emily!” I blinked until the fog cleared from my vision to see Veronica frowning at me. “Are you going to go home and change? I’ll cover for you until you get back,” she offered with an insincere smile.
I glanced down at my pretty red blouse and studied the small black buttons that shimmered in the bright overhead lights. She thought that by dressing more sexy, I might catch Mr. Lane’s attention. But I’d apparently caught his attention by dressing like a girl playing dress up.
I brought my head back up to look her in the eye. She had an expression on her pretty face that was likely meant to be sympathetic, but I was certain that she didn’t give a shit about me. Veronica wasn’t concerned for me personally; she was worried about the competition.
I lifted my chin a fraction and straightened my spine. “No.”
The way Veronica’s mouth dropped open was comical and would have made a great picture to keep to look back on whenever I needed a laugh.
I really regretted not having a phone when she began to splutter while trying to find her words.
Before she could figure out how words worked again, though, the sound of the elevator doors opening had both of us turning to see who was arriving.