Jules gulped and looked down again. “I was hoping to lighten the tension a bit.”
“Get used to the tension, Miss Adams. Learn to thrive in it, or it’ll snap you in two.”
I left her at her desk, went back to my office, then sat down with an another annoyed groan. I should’ve fired her several times by now. The fact that I hadn’t was a very, very bad sign. Sure, I could keep myself from laughing. I could even force out the words to make her think I wasn’t amused. What I couldn’t do was hide the truth from myself.
I was enjoying this. Far too much.
7
Juliette
I’d been rudely awoken by a knock at my door, told Mr. White needed me to arrive early, and whisked into a black SUV as soon as I’d managed to get halfway ready.
Adrian’s driver at least had the decency to look apologetic. His name was Harvey, and he spent the first few minutes of our ride explaining how Mr. White wasn’t so bad once you learned not to question him.
“Mr. White insisted that I get you an appropriate outfit for tonight,” Harvey said.
I leaned in and turned the air vents away from myself. It was freezing, and the air was blowing straight up my skirt. “Am I allowed to know what’s happening tonight?” I asked. I was bleary-eyed, even though I normally considered myself a morning person.
I’d had to stay up late last night finishing with my work from yesterday. Mr. White hadn’t mentioned that each author I emailed for him was going to turn into a back-and-forth communication loop. By the time I’d been leaving the office, I was entrenched in over a dozen email conversations with authors who were asking me dozens of questions I didn’t know how to answer. I’d been up late emailing Mr. White asking how to respond and getting more and more frustrated that the damn man wouldn’t just email the authors himself.
“Tonight is Coleton Day. The anniversary of the day Russ Coleton founded Coleton Enterprises. Every branch throws a little office boozer to celebrate after the workday.”
Harvey was watching me in the rearview, so I nodded. He was in his fifties with a big bear kind of vibe. He had a well-trimmed beard, but I could picture how he probably preferred to have his brown hair grown out, curly, and wild.
“Sounds fun,” I said.
“Nah. Mr. White isn’t a big fan of fun. He keeps things as formal as he’s allowed to. If it wasn’t an order straight from Mr. Coleton himself, I’m sure Mr. White would skip it. Uh,” Harvey said, crinkling his eyes at me in the rearview. “Kindly don’t mention I said that, Miss.”
I decided I liked Harvey and smiled back. “Secret’s safe with me.”
We pulled up to a little boutique shop a few minutes later. Mannequins in cute dresses were on display in the window. “So,” I said. “It’s like five in the morning. Does Mr. White know most human beings don’t wake up, let alone open their businesses this early?”
Harvey put his arm around the passenger seat and looked back toward me, grinning. “One thing you’ll want to understand about Mr. White is that he has a way of getting what he wants. Either by force of will, bribery, intimidating, or—believe it or not—smooth talking.”
I tilted my head. “Yeah. I think I’m going into the ‘believe it not’ camp on the smooth talking. Mr. White is about as smooth as sandpaper.”
Harvey nodded knowingly. “I know it seems that way, but the man is full of surprises. Anyway, he arranged to have the store open early for you.” Harvey cleared his throat, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “Mr. White asked me to let you know that he’d already selected a dress for you. They’re just going to make sure it fits and do any necessary adjustments.”
I raised my eyebrows. “He picked out a dress for me? I never told him my size.”
Harvey shrugged. “Like I said. It’s best to just go with it. But we’d better hurry, he wanted you to pick up his coffee on your way in once we’re through here.”
I shook my head and got out of the car. Of course he did.
To my annoyance, the dress he’d picked out fit me perfectly. I also went in hoping I’d hate it, but once I saw it on myself, I realized Mr. White had shockingly good taste. It was a button front dress with short, flared sleeves at shoulder height and a flattering A shape that tapered from my waist. It was simple but flattering and conservative at the same time.
Part of me had almost expected him to pick something revealing, but once I saw the dress, I realized it made more sense for it to be conservative. I suspected Mr. White didn’t want me wearing something too sexy in front of all his employees tonight. I just wondered if that was his way of trying to avoid workplace flirtation, or if it was his way of keeping me for himself.