Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Yes?” I’m not sure what to say to him. I mean, there are about a million little things I want to say to him. Almost all of it not good.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” he says and stops when I chuckle at his words.
“We?” I say, confused, pointing at me and then at him. “I don’t think we did anything.” I know I should be respecting my boss, but this is a two-way street, and no respect has been given. “I think you got off on the wrong foot.” His face shows he’s surprised that I’m actually talking back. “That scene was all you.” I point at where his office is.
“Fair enough,” he admits, putting his hands in his pockets. “I got off on the wrong foot.”
“Sounds more accurate,” I mumble. “Would you like to talk now?”
“I’ve looked over your résumé; it looks like you know what you are doing.” I’m about to thank him, but he isn’t finished talking. “I’m assuming what you wrote there is the truth.”
“No.” I shake my head. “All made up.” I tilt my head to the side and smile at him. “Googled things to put on a résumé. It’s what all the kids are doing these days.” If I’m going to be fired, might as well go out big.
“I promised I would give you a chance,” he tells me, “and I’m a man of my word.”
He’s about to say something else when Loren comes back into the room. “Oh, good, the two of you are talking,” she observes, and the two of us just stand here in a face-off.
“We need to go over some rules,” he starts, “some expectations that are required to having your position.” He’s waiting for me to interrupt him because he stops talking for a couple of seconds before he continues, “But that will have to wait until after the weekly meeting. Every Monday morning, we go over the week’s projects.” He looks at Loren. “Every week we rotate who prepares the conference room. This week it’s my turn. Usually, the assistants make sure that snacks and drinks are ready.”
I nod at him. “I think I can handle that.” I look at Loren. “Are there any allergies I should be aware of?”
Loren smiles at me. “Not that we are aware of.” She folds her hands. “No one has ever asked.”
“Are there certain things I should prepare or things I shouldn’t?” I ask, and he looks at Loren. “You don’t know what to prepare for a meeting that you attend weekly?”
“It’s not my job to stock the conference room,” he retorts between clenched teeth, and I swear I see the vein in his head looking like it’s ready to explode.
“You don’t have to be in charge of it to know what to put or not.” I turn now to look at Loren. “Is there a checklist somewhere I can get my hands on to make sure I have everything?”
She looks at Caine, who is openly glaring at me. Score one for me. “I’ll show you to the conference room.”
“Thank you.” I turn to follow her out of the office. I’m almost out of the office when I hear his voice, stopping me in my tracks, but I don’t turn around.
“Try not to get any juice boxes either,” he pokes, and I just look over my shoulder at him. This time, he smirks at me, thinking he’s got the last word.
“I don’t think I packed any in my lunch box,” I huff before walking away, telling myself not to look over my shoulder. I also maybe, perhaps, swing my hips as I walk away from him.
“Don’t worry, his bark is worse than his bite,” Loren mumbles to me as we walk over to the conference room.
I don’t know what I’m expecting since the only conference room I’ve actually ever been in has been my grandfather’s, and well, since he’s into security, the whole room is full of monitors and computers. Nothing like this long, brown table with four black chairs on each side of it and one at each end. “So, this is where the meeting happens?” I look around to see if there is anything here I can do anything with. “What do they usually do?” I ask Loren, hoping she’ll help me.
She looks around to make sure it’s just the two of us. “Okay, well, before she retired, Martina placed an order with the deli around the corner. So, all items should be delivered in about twenty minutes.”
I roll my lips. “I wasn’t going to tell him that, of course, and well, now, neither are you.”
“My lips are sealed.” I smile at her. “But there is something that I need to get.” I look at her, and she raises her eyebrows.
“How close is the nearest supermarket?” I ask, looking at my watch and seeing I will have about thirty-five minutes to get there and back.