“She did more than fuck me, mate. She obliterated me.”
Tabitha was my Achilles’ heel. I was in love, and she took advantage in the biggest way.
“She’s an evil bitch, but Raven... she’s not the same.”
That might be true, but it doesn’t matter. As long as she does her job and does it well, that’s all I care about. It’s all Icancare about.
“And you can tell this from a few minutes in a packed club?”
“It’s my job to read people. Raven Bennett is good people, Charles. Be good to her.”
“She’s my employee,” I snap, growing tired at Paxton’s need to beat a dead horse.
“Whatever she is, treat her well.”
“Go enjoy your fruit, bastard. Don’t arrange the meeting. Not until I tell you too.”
“Oh, I will.”
The line goes dead, and I’m left staring at the photo of Raven’s gift.
What the hell possessed her to look up Paxton in the first place?
Does she have a thing for him?
Even more reason to ensure I’m in that meeting.
Not because I have an inappropriate attraction to her, but because this partnership is important, and I won’t have Paxton putting the moves on her and ruining everything. This is about saving her from him.
Keep telling yourself that.
Fuck.
11
Raven
The last fewdays have been a downright whirlwind.
I know I’m qualified for this position, but I’ve never worked at a company like this. It feels like I’ve been thrown into the deep end of a pool without knowing how to swim.
Pandemonium all the time. The new campaign has everyone getting into the office super early and working late. Even now, it’s only a quarter to nine in the morning, but I’ve been here since a little before seven a.m., but others were in even earlier.
Standing from my chair, I stretch my arms up into the air, wringing out my muscles from being slouched in front of my computer for the last two hours.
A yawn escapes my mouth, and I realize just how tired I am.
I need energy, and I need it stat.
Hell, what I need is an IV hooked up to me with a caffeine drip, but seeing as that’s not an option, I go for the next best thing and head toward the breakroom on my floor.
People gather around cubicles, chatting about their projects, and I just need a little silence to clear my head. My heels click on the concrete floor as I walk, and when I make it to my destination, I’m happy to see it’s empty.
The breakroom is large and modern. White walls with black cabinets and concrete slabs for countertops. Industrial feel, but I like the simplicity of it all after working at the computer all morning.
Large canvases designed with an array of splattered paint adorn the walls.
But that’s not the focal point of the room, believe it or not.