Sleek grey and white furniture contrasted beautifully with the pictures on the walls that I hoped had been shot by the photographer, because they were stunning. If the photographer was truly an artist, it would make me feel remotely better about working at an office in the city. I could maybe learn something from them.
“Can I help you?”
I turned to find a beautiful woman standing in six-inch heels and the tightest dress I’d ever seen. She was thin enough that I could make out her hip bones through her dress, and I instantly felt out of place in my frumpy dress. “Oh, um, yes. I’m Winnie. I’m supposed to start—”
Her face instantly softened and she rushed towards me. “Oh, thank god! I’ve been taking care of the front desk since Patricia left, and I hate it. It’s not terrible, of course, but it’s not what I want to do. I’d rather poke both my eyes out than speak to the public regularly. Winnie, you said? I’m Lauren.”
She grabbed my shoulders and steered me behind the desk while I sputtered and tried to keep up. “Um. Will there be training?”
She laughed. “Here it is. People will call. Answer them. People will come in. Answer them. The phone system is easy to work once you get used to it. Never page anyone through to Mr. Myers. Especially the ex-wife. She will call non-stop. It’s best if you learn her number and screen her calls. She’s a bag of fun, that one.”
"I have one of those. I'll learn to screen the calls immediately."
"You have an ex-wife? Cool."
I giggled. "Husband. Ex, I mean. And a kid."
Lauren pouted. "Too bad. Moms are always so busy. Mr. Myers has kids, too. They call sometimes. Put them through."
"Of course."
"But no one else." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Got it?"I fell into the desk chair when she slid it into the back of my knees. “Wait. I think there’s more I should know, right? What are people going to want? The people calling who aren’t family.”
“The world, babe.” She touched my braid and grinned. “This is cute. Your whole thing is cute.”
I looked at the elevator door and considered how long it would take me to get back to the truck. If I ran, I could probably be back on the road in less than five minutes. Then, as if Lauren’s whirlwind wasn’t enough, I looked up as the elevator door opened and saw Beck —Has-Been-Inside-Me-Beck—walking into the office with another man.
Without a second thought, I dove under the desk and pressed my knuckles to my mouth, praying no one would hear my panicked breathing or racing heart. Of course, I had terrible luck.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Myers. That definitely wasn’t part of the training.” Lauren, the backstabber, was drawing even more attention to me. I saw her shiny legs move closer, and then her face peered down at me. “What are you doing? Mr. Myers saw you! Get up and pretend you dropped a contact! I didn’t hire you just to get fired!”
15
Winnie
Atthedesperationinher whispering, I felt too bad for her not to at least try to make up for my weird dive to the floor. I cleared my throat and raised my voice so the men could hear me. “So sorry. I’m just looking for my contact. I’ll be out in a bit. Probably a long bit, though.”
Lauren sighed dramatically and stood up. “I’m sorry, Mr. Myers, Mr. Brennan. I was desperate to hire someone, and she seemed more than qualified.”
I frowned at my boots and considered that maybe they weren’t all that lucky after all. I just needed Beck to go away so I could sprint out of the building and forget I’d ever stepped foot inside it.
I couldn’t hear whatever Mr. Myers said to Lauren, but she redirected her attention to Mr. Brennan and moved farther away from the front desk, directing him down a hallway to the right. I waited another sixty seconds, figuring Mr. Brennan was Beck and that the coast was clear. Working under the assumption that the small group had grown tired of my antics and walked away together, I slowly came out from under the desk and lifted my head to peer over it.
Beck was there, leaning over the desk, a wide grin stretching across his handsome face. When I squeaked in fear, he laughed and moved around the desk, sitting in my desk chair and looking me over. I didn’t miss the way his eyes stuck on my breasts for a beat too long to be called polite. “I have questions.”
I knew I’d never been more embarrassed in my life. I was sure my face was blood red and that every other part of me was, too. I was on my hands and knees behind a desk, after getting caught trying to hide from Beck, while he watched me with a smirk on his face. I dropped my head and blew out a big breath before sinking back onto my butt and hitting my head on the edge of the desk.
At least, Iwould’vehit my head on the edge of the desk if Beck hadn’t reacted instantly, stretching forward to protect my head from the hard desk with his hand. Instead of it hurting, I found myself more embarrassed.
“I think I should go.” I thought about the cost of parking Big Ham and pouted. “Do you know if they validate parking here?”
Beck stood up and pulled me to my feet. “Come on, Win.”
I winced when he headed through a door marked private. “I don’t think they’re going to want me back there. I’m pretty sure I’m going to hold the record for shortest employment here, and they’re not going to want me to go back there to accept it.”
He caught my hand and tugged me after him. “I know for a fact that there’s been a shorter employment.”
“So, I’m not even going to get an award?”