More Than Words – By Crystal Perkins
MORE THAN WORDS
BY CRYSTAL PERKINS
Bel
Libraries are necessary. Libraries are necessary. Libraries are... Okay, get a grip, Bel. You’ve got this.
I take a deep breath and remind myself that I have options if this falls through.
I can go back to work in the public library system.
I have friends there, and I left on good terms. I could also try to find another private library to work in, or even a university. Whatever happens today, I have options.
“Mr. Greer will see you now,” Tarsha tells me. She has been here forever, and everyone loves her. I hope the new owner loves her as well. She’s still sitting at her desk, so that’s a good sign.
“Thanks.”
That one word is hard to get out, but I won’t be rude just because I’m stressed out.
A lot of us are stressed out. It happens when someone new takes over the company you’ve devoted your blood, sweat, and tears to.
I take a deep breath, stand, and walk to the closed door.
It opens automatically, and then I’m walking in.
All I can see is the back of him, my new—hopefully—boss.
What I see takes my breath away, even though I was expecting it.
Yes, I Googled him. I don’t follow sports, so I had to.
I now know this man played hockey for ten years, won three Stanley Cups, and is fine as fuck.
From all accounts, he enjoyed all the perks of the three aforementioned “attributes” and yet, that didn’t stop me from crushing a little on him.
Honestly, who could blame me? Those sculpted cheekbones, blue eyes so striking they make you think they’re fake, lips made for kissing, and that ass. The ass I’m currently ogling like my life depends on it. It’s perfectly round, and testing the strength of his dress pants.
“I’ve heard great things about you, Ms. Beste, so I’m going to gently remind you that my eyes are up here.”
I feel my cheeks heat up as I look up and meet his eyes in the reflection from the window. Fuck! He could see me that whole time. I swallow and square my shoulders, trying to pretend none of this happened.
“I- I was just taking in all the changes to the office,” I lie.
He turns to face me, the smirk I saw in so many pictures tilting up those lips I still want to kiss.
I force myself to meet his blue eyes. Eyes that are sparkling right now with amusement.
He’s amused by me. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing from the man who holds my future in his hands. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
Oscar
Okay, she’s not what I was expecting, but I’m going to keep it together right now. I was a tough son of a bitch on the ice, and I can hold firm in the face of my company’s resident librarian. Even as a specific part of my anatomy is becoming very firm in my pants right now.
When I heard about the in-house librarian at this company, I wrongly assumed she was a stereotypical little old lady with a bun and glasses. I was right about the hair and glasses, but hot damn, the woman before me is a complete smoke show.
Long tendrils of loose, brown curls frame her face while the rest of her hair is currently contained in a loose bun held together by pencils.
Just a tug . Nope, not going there. Her green eyes behind cat eye frames look hopeful, and if that isn’t a damn kick in the ass, I don’t know what is.
I was ready to offer her a severance package the moment she walked in, but now I want to hear what she has to say first. I won’t let her beautiful face sway me. But I’ll hear her out.
“Please have a seat, and then tell me why I should keep a library inside this building,” I tell her as I take my own seat behind my desk.
“I’ll stand,” she says, and there’s an ice in her voice I was expecting.
“Libraries are necessary. Librarians are necessary. In the last five years, employees here have checked out more than two thousand books. My library has become a place for people to gather to discuss what they’re reading or just have a quiet place to relax and breathe after a challenging day.
I host book clubs for employees, and also clients of the firm.
I cannot believe you would even consider doing away with something so vital to the mental health and wellbeing of your new employees. ”
Interesting. I’ll admit I didn’t research the library when deciding to buy this company.
I was born into wealth beyond most people’s wildest dreams, but I never wanted to sit behind a desk.
I loved playing hockey. Loved it more than my next breath, and definitely more than any woman I’d let get close to me.
But it’s a young man’s game, and my time was up.
Buying this tech company was a no-brainer.
I majored in computer science and ignored all requests to leave college early to play in the NHL.
Over the years, I kept up on things through online classes, and some consulting with my good friends, Scott Griffin and Ainsley Taylor.
I can’t talk about my work with them, but it definitely kept me up to date and on my toes.
This company was the right choice and the right vibe with all their employee programs. But a two-story library?
Not on my radar other than thinking it was taking up valuable real estate.
But now? Now, I want to know all about it. And all about Isabel Beste.
“Show me this place you’re so vehemently defending, Ms. Beste.”
Bel
Show him? He hasn’t even been to the library and he thinks it’s unnecessary?
I want to tell him no. I want to climb on his lap and wipe that smirk from his face with my own lips.
No, no, no. What is wrong with me? I have never had this kind of reaction to a man before.
This is not the time for me to discover my inner horndog.
I give myself an internal shake and turn my back on him. “Follow me.”
He mutters something I can’t decipher under his breath, but I hear him push his chair back and feel the heat of his body behind mine a few seconds later.
I force myself to walk normally as I lead him out of the office and to the curved staircase.
No way am I getting in the elevator with him, even if it is glass-walled.
I can smell the ocean and the woods in his cologne, along with the musky smell of him, and I almost miss a step.
He grabs my elbow, and a bolt of electricity shoots straight to my core. I can’t be hot for my boss. Or my maybe not boss. I need to remember my job. A job I love, and that is essential for the employees of this company.
“Thank you,” I say, shaking his hand off.
“Whoa,” he says when we finally make it to the library. It felt like five hours with him behind me, but was no more than a five-minute trip from his office to here.
I look around, trying to see it again for the first time, as I let him walk around at his leisure.
I designed this entire space. The main floor is modern yet comfortable.
Overstuffed chairs and couches surround glass tables with fresh flowers in funky vases.
There are individual lamps on the tables for lower light, as well as mini chandeliers on tall stands for those who want to feel a little more glamorous as they immerse themselves in other worlds.
Coming down from the ceiling are open books.
These I found at second-hand stores like The Last Bookstore, and had hung on clear, sturdy wire, with butterflies made of crystals and fake gemstones in between them.
They sparkle in the natural sunlight coming in from the two-story windows in the corners of the room.
If I push a button, stained-glass panels will lower over them to block the light when it gets too bright, but I like to start the day with the sun.
Low bookshelves cover the room, with featured book club titles and recommendations displayed on top.
Individual work rooms are also available for those who want some quiet time away from their cubicles.
The walls that aren’t glass have floor-to-ceiling bookcases. In a nod to the fact we are a tech company, I used some technology for those. Instead having of a ladder, the shelves move up or down with a touch of a button. I’ll admit, I find it easier than trying to reshelve on a ladder.
There is a grand staircase made of clear and stained glass—and a hidden elevator—leading to the second floor.
Up there, it is more like something out of another time.
These tall bookshelves do have ladders, and the windows are all stained glass.
The seating, a mix of masculine and feminine, looks like it came straight out of a Jane Austen or Sherlock Holmes novel.
There are nods to both in little touches throughout.
There are also worktables with green shaded lamps, but of course, there are plugs everywhere for laptops and tablets.
My office is upstairs, and it’s a mix of both levels with light blue walls, a chandelier with butterflies, a glass desk, clear and stained-glass windows, and cushy chairs.
I wait here for him to be done, holding my breath and hoping the employees who are in the library right now help me sell it to him.
Oscar
To say all my stereotypes are being blown away today is an understatement. First, a sexy as fuck librarian, and now the library itself. It’s nothing short of magnificent. That alone would not convince me to keep it. But the employees in here right now are doing a good job of changing my mind.