Hard Place, page 4
“Well, kudos to you. You’re obviously doing something right.”
“Thank you,” I say, turning my face up to look at Rose. Her words mean more to me than I expected, and I have to work hard not to get emotional. I cry easily, and while Tessa thinks it’s cute and endearing, it annoys me to no end. “I try.”
“Being a mom is hard. Jack wants another, but I’m just not ready. You know how it is being pregnant with multiples. There were times I was certain my skin was going to rip right in half, and they were just going to spill out onto the floor.”
I laugh and nod my head in agreement. “Wait, your husband’s name is Jack?”
“Yes, Jack and Rose, I know, I know. He reminds me almost daily there was room for two on that door.”
We both laugh and the knot loosens even more. I like Rose. She’s talkative, but nice and much more down to earth than what I expected for someone so insanely gorgeous.
“Hey,” I say, lowering my voice. “Who’s that guy?”
“The hottie in the suit?” Rose narrows her eyes, taking a few seconds to check BMW Asshole out. “I’m not sure. Do you know which kid he brought?”
“That dark-haired boy by the blocks. He told us his name was Henry.”
“Oh, Henry Ortiz. Yeah…I’m not sure who that guy is. It’s not his father and he’s definitely not the manny.” She tips her head. “I know Nicole, Henry’s mother. She’s not the have-a-public-affair kind and that is not her husband.” Tearing her eyes away from BMW Asshole, she looks back at me. “Why are you asking? Hoping he’s single too?”
“Oh, God no. I’m just—”
“Madison!” Rose scolds and hurries forward right as Madison pulls a big booger out of her nose and sticks it in her mouth. Rich or poor, five-year-olds are all the same, it turns out.
Playtime goes on for ten more minutes, and the girls are sad to leave, which makes me happy to see that they’re liking it here and have made a few new friends already. They talk about everything they did as we go to the car, and I’m smiling the whole way.
As I’m slowly driving down the row of cars in the little parking lot, a car starts to back out of its spot right in front of me. I slam on my brakes and hit the horn.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” I mutter under my breath. It’s BMW Asshole, and I swear he waited until I was right here to start backing out. I beep the horn again, and he responds by rolling down his window and flipping me off.
“What’s going on, Mommy?” Penny asks.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” I turn around and give them a reassuring smile. “I’m so glad you guys had fun. Tell me again what you liked best.”
“The dollhouse,” they say at the same time. Twisting back in my seat, I watch the taillights from the BMW move away from us.
Thank God I never have to see that asshole ever again.
5
Alex
“Good morning, Mr. Harding.”
“Morning.” I step into the elevator next to a man who has to be an intern. His shirt is a size too big, he’s clutching a large stack of files, and he’s scared shitless to be in this close proximity to me.
A few more people get in with us, and one annoyingly holds the door for someone who’s coming in from the lobby. I look down at my watch, able to see the intern out of the corner of my eye. He keeps leaning forward, opening his mouth as if he wants to say something but then chickening out. A ballsy move isn’t enough for me to grant anyone a promotion, but it’s enough to get my attention.
This intern could be shit at the job. Or he could be good.
The elevator doors shut with a ding, and I turn my head up. There’s a woman standing near the doors. Long, dark hair falls down her back in waves, and she’s wearing a tight gray skirt that hugs her perfect ass. Long legs end in black heels, and I look her up and down once more.
Her back is to me. She could be anyone. But I’m pretty sure I’d remember an ass like that. Staring straight ahead, she adjusts her purse on her shoulder every few seconds. Her shoulders are tense and the way she shifts her weight back and forth between her heels and the balls of her feet let me know she’s nervous about something.
The elevator stops at the next floor up, and a few more people try to cram in. I’m not afraid of elevators, per se, but I’d be really fucking pissed if we got stuck like this, with barely enough space to breathe, let alone move.
The woman in the tight skirt steps to the side, making room. She turns slightly, and her hair moves over her shoulder, covering half her face. Still, there’s something familiar about her. If she works in this building, then I’ve seen her before.
She rides all the way up to the fourteenth floor with the intern and me. If she worked on my floor, I’d definitely remember her. I’ll find out who she is soon enough, though when the elevator door open, she dodges out and hurries down the hall toward the restrooms.
The sight of her fuckable ass made my cock stir in my pants, but she’s out of my mind when I step foot into the office. Since I left early yesterday, I have a lot of work to catch up on. My new assistant better be on time this morning.
I set my shit down at my desk and look at my watch again. The workday officially starts in two minutes. Where the fuck is my assistant? Punctuality is important to me, and not being on time makes it hard to get the job done.
And I want coffee.
Grumbling, I walk out of my office. My father is standing near the front desk, talking to the woman in the tight skirt. She’s laughing at whatever he said, and the fucker is eating it up.
You’re too old for her, Pops. Give it up before you embarrass yourself.
“Ah, good, Alex,” Dad says, holding out his hand. “Perfect timing.” He motions for me to come over, and the woman, whose ass looks even better from this angle, flips her hair back over her shoulder, and it’s like everything moves in slow motion.
Her full red lips have been painted red and are currently pulled up in a brilliant smile that lights up the whole fucking room. Long lashes come together when she blinks, and deep emerald-colored eyes sparkle even though we’re inside, standing beneath fluorescent lights.
She’s gorgeous, and I know I’ve never laid eyes on her before, yet she looks so damn familiar it’s driving me crazy.
Suddenly, her smile disappears, and her eyes widen. I blink and realize she’s the holier-than-thou, tired-looking mom that yelled at me from last night. I don’t normally snap like that to complete strangers, but she was way out of line. I didn’t see that she had her signal on. I was distracted, I’ll admit, but I’m not that big of an asshole to zoom in and take someone’s spot.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
She looks worlds different than she did last night. Her hair isn’t pulled up in a messy bun. Instead, it’s hanging loose, framing her pretty face. I don’t even remember what she was wearing before, but it sure as hell wasn’t this sexy librarian get up. All she needs is a pair of fake glasses to take off so she can chew on the ends when she tells me I have an overdue book.
Perky round breasts are hidden beneath her blouse, and the top button has come undone, or she left it that way on purpose. Her skirt is tight around her slender waist, and she looks much too young to be the mother of the two children I saw her with last night. Her beauty struck me then as well, and I mistook her to be the nanny at first. Then I saw the way she looked at her children and knew she was their mother. Only a mom could be that annoyed and frustrated yet still look at her children with nothing but love in her eyes.
I usually don’t hire anyone I’m physically attracted to. Mixing business with pleasure is just as bad as shitting where you eat, and it’s something I never do. This woman is definitely attractive, but I think I’m safe from being tempted to woo her into my bedroom.
I know how much of a pain in the ass she is.
And now she’s here, standing in my office, talking and laughing with my father.
“You,” she rushes out, slowly shaking her head back and forth. The color drains from her face and her lips part.
“What are you doing here?” I ask and close the distance between us.
Dad looks from the woman to me and back again. “Do you two know each other? This is Harper, your new assistant.”
“Wait,” Harper says, looking even more horrified than before. “I thought I was working for you. I was told I’d be working with Mr. Harding.”
“I am Mr. Harding,” I spit, annoyed to be shadowed by my father. Yes, he started this company, but I’m the one who brought it to the high-earning level it is today.
Harper stands there like a deer in headlights, emerald eyes wide. Her cheeks flush, and the redness creeps down her neck and over her chest.
“Is there going to be a problem?” Dad asks slowly, eyes flitting between Harper and me.
“No,” Harper says quickly. Too quickly. “There won’t be.” She forces a smile and directs her attention to me. “I look forward to working with you, Mr. Harding.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you do.” I’m not one for pointless small talk or sugarcoating anything.
She extends her hand for me to shake. “Where are my manners? I’m Harper Watson, and it’s so nice to meet you.”
I take her hand and am taken aback by how soft and warm she feels. Her fingers are slender, and her touch is gentle at first, but then her grip tightens into a firm handshake.
Her eyes are still wide with shock and fear, reflecting back an innocence I’ve never personally known. It makes the strangest feeling flash through me, and I find myself wanting to protect this innocence inside of her almost as much as I want to take it.
There’s a chance I’ll be doing both by firing her by the end of the day. I can’t imagine someone who yells at strangers over something as trivial as a parking spot is going to be a good fit for me.
“Likewise.” I let go of her hand and miss her soft, smooth skin already. “Follow me to my office. I have a lot to do today.”
She gives me a curt nod, puts another fake-ass smile on her pretty face, and turns her attention back to my father. Her smile turns genuine and Dad takes her small hand in both of his own.
“It was an honor to meet you,” Harper tells him. “Ever since I read that Forbes article about you and the company, I just knew I had to work here.”
Dad beams and inches his fingers up her wrist. Harper tenses. Sorry, lady. Your idol is a fucking creep. Who. Is. Married.
“Work hard and prove yourself and you’ll never know where you’ll end up.” Dad gives her a wink and Harper flushes again.
“Thank you, sir.” She pulls her hand back and presses it against her thigh. Looking uncomfortable, and looks at me. I motion for her to follow me into my office.
“Listen,” I start and do my best not to check her out. It’s strange, actually, having a female assistant. When I first started here, Dad wouldn’t allow it out of fear I’d end up sleeping with them. Back then, I would have. Now I know better.
This career means too much to me.
Dan Swanson was my first assistant. He’s a few years older than me and had more education and experience under his belt than I did at the time, but sometimes it’s more about who you know. Now Dan is one of our best publicists who I consider a personal friend.
It’s not that I think Harper will do a bad job because she’s a woman. Our top agent is a woman, and I strongly advocate for all our female employees here to be treated fairly and receive equal pay. It’s different, that’s all, and I can’t see her being too thrilled about having a lunch meeting at Tommy’s, a tavern-style restaurant famous for their waitresses. More specifically, the tight white shirts and short plaid skirts they wear.
And for sure there are many women who are fine with that and even into that, but Harper? Miss Uptight-mom? No fucking way.
“We were both surprised at this. Clearly there’s been some sort of mistake due to a lack of communication. I can make sure you get your previous job—”
“No,” she blurts. “It’s fine with me, I mean…if it’s fine with you.” The color comes back to her cheeks and she nervously pushes her hair back. “I really need this job and won’t disappoint you. And…and I’m sorry about last night even though you were wrong to steal my spot.” Swallowing hard, she looks at me, really looks at me.
I stare at her for a few seconds, not even sure what to fucking do. She’s been here all of thirty seconds and she’s already vastly different from the assistants I’ve had in the past. She said she needs this job but isn’t groveling at my feet like most interns and assistants do. It’s refreshing, really.
“I don’t care about last night,” I tell her. “What I care about is getting my job done and getting it done well. I need someone who can jump right in. I don’t have time to hold anyone’s hand.”
Her hand isn’t the only thing I’d like to hold…
“I’m a fast learner,” she tells me, taking a tentative step forward. “I’m smart and I’m capable and will be able to do whatever you need me to do. Well, not whatever. I won’t murder anyone. Or do anything illegal, just to cover my bases. Maybe some illegal things, I don’t want to cross them off the list. I suppose it depends on what illegal activity you’d want me to be doing, like breaking into a morgue to steal files about a suspicious death that may or may not have been caused by vampires, I’d be all in. But steal computer files from a competitor, count me out.”
I blink. Once. Twice. Three times.
“What?”
She takes a breath and looks me right in the eye. “I can handle the job and will get started right away. Your previous assistant is supposed to call and talk me through things too.”
“Good. Start by getting me a coffee, please.”
She nods. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Black.”
“Okay. I’ll, uh, be right back.” She disappears out of the office, and it hits me that she has no idea where anything is on this floor. I go to my desk and open up my emails. There are over a dozen junk emails in my inbox, which pisses me off. How the fuck does my work email address even end up on these mailing lists? Jason would have had these deleted by now, and I’ve responded to two clients before Harper comes back with my coffee.
Today is going to be a long, fucking day, and I can’t promise Harper will still be my assistant by the end of it.
6
Harper
I cannot believe I yelled at my boss.
Technically, he wasn’t my boss yet—wait, yes he was. Oh my God. I signed all the paperwork before I left the office yesterday. I just didn’t know he was my boss, and he didn’t know I was his assistant.
Such a good way to start a job, I know. I don’t expect to be friends with my boss and it’s not like I want to hang out with him after work either. But people usually like me, and Alexander Harding definitely does not.
It’s my first day on the job and my boss already hates me.
And I think I hate him a little too. He’s pompous, entitled, and rude. I’m going to hate working for him and having to bring him coffee every morning and do a million other little tedious things he’s more than capable of doing himself.
This job is temporary, and I won’t be here forever. If it were a big bag of lemons, then I hit the lemonade jackpot. What tastes sour today can be sweet tomorrow, and it will pay off in the end.
I’ll just have to remind myself of that every day. Probably twice a day. I’ll drink my lemonade…but first I need to figure out where to get Alexander his coffee.
Mind whirling, I walk a few feet forward only to slow and look around again.
“Harper, right?” someone calls. I turn around to see a young man leaning over a desk at the entrance to the office. I nod and he waves me over. “I’m Marcus.”
“I’m Harper, but you, um, already know that. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You look a little lost.”
“That would be because I am.”
He gives me a sympathetic smile and comes around the desk. “Let me give you the two-minute tour.”
“Thank you.”
“Bathrooms are down the hall by the elevator,” he starts, pointing to the doors that lead into the main office area. “And then we have the interns.” He waves his hand at the open area behind the large secretary’s desk. There are a dozen or so desks filled with bright-eyed, hopeful-looking interns hoping to move up and get a permanent job at the firm.
We walk through them, pausing at the hallway that takes us to Alexander’s office. He shows me the two conference rooms, more offices, and finally, the break room.
And holy shit, it’s nice.
Huge.
Fancy.
And the snacks are free.
I’m going to gain ten pounds my first week.
“Thank you again,” I tell Marcus, spotting the coffee pot. It’s next to an espresso machine, which looks way too complicated for me to use. Thank goodness Alexander just wants a black coffee.
Two men in fitted suits are seated at a table near the windows, talking about how they could bounce quarters off of the ass of some dancer at a club last night. I slip into the room, going right for the coffee. I assume there are mugs or paper cups in the cabinet.
“…and her big tits, hmmm, I’m telling you, man—” One of the men looks up, cutting off as soon as he sees me. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”
The other turns and does a double-take, checking me out. He wants me to know he finds me attractive, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s flattering on one hand, and a little creepy on the other.
I’m not a piece of meat, though it is nice to know mama’s still got it.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” the guy talking about big tits stands and buttons his suit jacket. “I’m Dan Swanson, and we’re not always this vulgar.”
Heels click on the hard floor behind me. “Don’t bullshit her,” a woman says. “They’re usually worse.” She steps into the room and extends her hand for me to shake. She’s tall, thin, with the smoothest blonde hair I’ve ever seen. “Clarissa Lewis, nice to meet you.”
