Chapter Two
ZOEY
"Are you there yet?" Hans, my boss, asked.
"Yes. I just arrived at the address." Whitley Biotech was in one of the most gorgeous buildings on Congress Street. I had a thing for modern behemoths made of glass.
"All right, then. Good luck."
I liked Hans. He'd called to give me a pep talk, although he didn't need to. I’ve got this.
"Thanks. I'll keep in touch. Okay?"
"Sure. And if he drives you crazy, I can always send someone else."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a quitter, Hans."
"I know. That's why I sent you."
"All right. Let's do this. I'll send you a report," I said right before hanging up.
I sipped from my Starbucks cup, glancing up and down at the building. My boss warned me Colton Whitley would be difficult. Well, actually, everyone warned me. I’d spoken to several people from his HR department over the past month, and they'd all been slightly wary about this.
But I also knew why Hans sent me here. I was great at my job.
I’d gotten into consulting right after college because it paid very well.
Then I specialized in organizational management.
Over the past few years, I’d narrowed my expertise to personal organization.
I’d worked one-on-one with many CEOs over the years with much success.
Now I kept getting more and more difficult customers.
I understood the clients' reluctance. I wouldn't want some stranger bursting into my office and breathing down my neck for months on end.
But it was what it was. I didn't mind handling difficult customers because I had mad negotiating skills, and I could usually get them to see it my way.
It probably stemmed from the fact that I grew up with two annoying brothers.
I walked in five minutes earlier than I was supposed to, and an assistant led me straight to the Human Resources office. Although I was an external consultant, not an employee, the HR manager was still my main contact. Half an hour later, I was ready to hit the ground running.
I liked the office they'd assigned to me.
It wasn't big, but I had a perfect view of the water.
I really liked the building and its decor.
Everything was light and airy. I was told they had condominiums on the top floor, though I couldn't imagine why someone would want to live above offices.
It lacked the coziness I liked in a home.
Over the first few hours, people kept peeking into my office, introducing themselves, which was nice and friendly. I probably wouldn’t have much to do with any of them, but I was used to the curiosity.
The man himself hadn't shown up yet. At lunch, I was almost ready to bet I wasn't going to see Colton Whitley at all today.
And that was fine by me. After all, I was here for a year, and having a day or more to learn the ropes only helped me understand how to best help Mr. Whitley in his environment.
On the way in, I’d spotted a nice cozy restaurant by the water, and I wanted to take myself out on a lunch date.
Before leaving, I checked my appearance in the bathroom mirror.
My dark brown hair was a bit unruly today and unwilling to settle down.
It had been a windy morning, and I actually kind of liked the wild look.
I thought it suited me and somehow made my green eyes more prominent.
I was wearing a dark green dress today, which had long sleeves and a black leather belt.
Over the years, people had hinted now and again that dresses were too feminine.
But this was my style, and I didn't much care what others thought. At thirty-two, I completely embraced it. Besides, being feminine didn’t seem to get in the way of things, so why not follow my heart and sense of fashion?
I could probably have gone with something more practical than stilettos, though.
My feet were hurting already. But I wanted to make a good impression on my first day.
I returned to my office, grabbing my coat, then stopped for a minute just to look around my office. I loved it and decided I was going to send the HR manager a box of chocolates or something. I was 100 percent sure she'd had a hand in getting me my own office, and I could kiss her for it.
Just as I walked out and closed my door, I heard a booming voice.
"I don't have time for her today."
"Colton, really. You should meet her. It's her first day, and she’s here for you. You’ll like her. She’s very nice."
That was Sandra, the HR manager and my favorite person at Whitley Biotech. And the loud, angry voice apparently belonged to the one who'd become my least favorite person: Colton Whitley.
"I’ve got a full schedule today, and I don’t have time to be managed," he said.
"I've seen your schedule. But I'm sure you can arrange just five minutes of your time to meet her."
Footsteps approached, and then two figures rounded the corner.
This was Colton Whitley? That was impossible. I'd imagined someone shorter, for some reason, or maybe with a bit of a receding hairline. Someone older, for sure. After all, the man wasn't just a CEO but also a scientist.
That's what you get for holding a prejudice against scientists, Zoey. Now pick your jaw up from the floor.
Surely he couldn't be this good-looking. I’d googled him when I first got the assignment but couldn’t find pictures. HR gave me a packet that included his bio, it didn’t specify his age.
"I said no, Sandra," he boomed. Yep. The voice belonged to him. There was no mistaking it.
Fortunately, neither of them saw me. I wanted to catch him off guard and be the first to greet him.
I cleared my throat. "Mr. Whitley. I'm Zoey Thomas," I said, walking a few short steps toward him with my chin held high, as if I hadn't overheard their conversation. "Pleasure to finally meet you."
Sandra looked from me to Colton, then walked away with quick steps.
Great, even his own team is bolting. That isn't good.
He obnoxiously sized me up and down. What was that about? I decided to take a closer look too. I hadn't realized from a distance that his eyes were so blue. For a few seconds, I completely forgot what I was here to do, and that never happened to me. I was a professional.
"I was just going out for lunch and wondered if you’d like to join me," I continued.
"My schedule is full today,” he quickly answered, then added, "I hope my team made you feel welcome."
They did. Unlike you.
At least he'd realized he was a bit rude.
"See you around, Ms. Thomas," he said before going into his office and closing the door. Seconds later, I heard his voice again. He was on the phone.
All right, so at least he wasn't making up being busy.
By the sound of it, this was a business call, so perhaps his schedule was packed.
Still, his manners were atrocious. I gathered that he wasn't happy that I was going to be shadowing him for a year, but he could be more gracious about it. I’d never worked with someone who had such hostile manners as Colton Whitley…
or someone who was as handsome. But that was beside the point. Looks didn't matter, not one bit.
Well… maybe they did, but I wasn't willing to admit that.
I hurried outside, determined to move forward with my lunch plans.
I grabbed a burger from the restaurant and sat on a bench facing the water.
No matter where I worked, I always tried to get outside every day for lunch, even if just for fifteen minutes.
August was coming to an end, so we wouldn’t have sunny, warm days for much longer.
Spending a bit of time in the sun filled me with a lot of energy for the afternoon.
My phone beeped just as I finished the burger. I smiled. It was my brother Alex. He knew it was my first day on this new project. I answered after swallowing my mouthful.
"Hey," I said.
"How's your day? Is the new boss living up to his reputation?"
I'd shared with my brother everyone’s comments about Colton, so he knew what I was up against.
"You know, I think he actually is. Though I only saw him for like two hot minutes, so I don't want to draw a conclusion yet."
"Your first hunch is usually right," Alex said. "You’re very good at reading people."
"I know, but I don't want to be hasty. Although, he does have atrocious manners."
"You'll let me know if you want me to kick anyone's ass, right?"
"Oh yeah, sure." I laughed it off, although the crazy thing about Alex was that he completely meant it. I had no doubt that if I told him, or Dean, that someone was giving me a hard time, they’d kick their ass, even if it would get me fired.
It was just how they were. No one messed with their little sister. I loved that growing up. I still did.
I got up from the bench, though I was going to stay outside for a few more minutes.
"Did you check on Mom and Dad recently?" I asked.
"I spoke to them yesterday.”
"Are they still in Copenhagen?"
"No, they moved on to Stockholm."
"Oh, okay." I was having a hard time keeping track of where they were these days.
My parents were both painters and had a gallery tour of sorts going on in Europe.
I was immensely happy for them. They were both very talented, and I was ecstatic that the world had finally rewarded them for it.
It took many years of hard work, but they'd made it and now were invited to show in galleries around the world.
"Want to meet up tonight and talk about the bad-mannered CEO?" he asked.
"You know, let’s do that, though I'm not sure if I can manage it today. It's my first week here, and I'm probably going to stay up late to familiarize myself with everything."
"Sure. Let me know when."
The thing about growing up with two brothers was that I related far easier to guys than to women.
My best friend was also a guy. Sometimes I missed having a female BFF.
Last time I had something like that was in college.
But I had my brothers, so I really didn't have too much time for other friends besides Tom, who I hadn’t seen in ages.
The afternoon went by the same way as the morning. I’d asked Colton’s team to prep a PowerPoint for me, summarizing the ongoing projects so I was on top of everything. I guess I’d have to tackle the man himself, though, in order to get him to meet with me.
I was determined to make Colton Whitley like me—whether he wanted to or not.