I rise from the couch, picking up my glass of wine and spilling whatever was left in it on the floor. “I need a dog, so if I spill something, he can lick it up.” I look over at Kaleigh, and she is silently laughing. “You think we can get a dog and train him to bite my boss?”
“Yes, I think you just need to bring a picture and a sweater with you to training school so they can use his scent. They’ll train the dog to attack your boss as soon as he gets close.”
My mouth forms an O. “Oooh, we need to look into that,” I say. And that is the last thing she says to me.
The next thing I know, I’m lying in my bed with her on the other side. “You think he doesn’t like me because I’m old? Or ugly? Or is it because I’m fat?”
She leans over and strokes my cheek. “You are not old. You are the opposite of ugly, and you are definitely not fat. He acts like he doesn’t like you, because he probably likes you too much. Remember Ricky in the third grade who chased you with a frog because he loved you? This is just the adult version.”
“No way would he go for someone like me. He did say I had a tight ass, though. That means he was looking at it, right?”
She tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “He was definitely checking you out.”
I close my eyes. The room is spinning as the day replays in my head. I fall asleep to the sound of Kaleigh talking about a beef vegan soup that she is going to try to make, minus the beef, of course.
Her voice lulls me while I’m brought back to the day, sitting at my desk, knowing he was watching, feeling he was watching me.
Chapter 7
Lauren
The next day, I make it to work without incident, clocking in at seven fifty-five. I make my way into the break room, where I get the coffee going.
I’m leaning against the counter, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, when a tall man with glasses walks in. He is lanky, his tan pants are perfectly ironed with a crease down the front of the legs. His plaid shirt completes the look. I smile at him and say a polite “Hello.”
He nods his head at me and goes to the fridge, where he stores his lunch.
“You must be Austin’s new PA?” His voice is quiet as he waits for the coffee to finish also.
“I am.” I reach out my hand to him to introduce myself. “I'm Lauren.” He grips my hand, and his palm is just a tad sweaty, but not enough for me to wipe it on my navy skirt.
Today, I’ve dressed in almost the same skirt as yesterday’s, except that it's a dark navy blue and has some pleating at the side. I’ve paired it with a plain white cotton button-down. It’s simple, but professional. I’ve gone with my tan peep-toe pumps that give me an extra four inches.
“My name is Steven. I’m in the accounting department,” he says while pushing his glasses up on his nose. “Are you enjoying your time so far?” he asks right as the machine lets out a gust of steam, letting us know that it’s done brewing.
I grab the handle. “I am. I thought it would be harder at the beginning, since I haven’t really worked in over ten years, but it’s just like riding a bike.” I smile over at him while I pour my coffee. He places his coffee mug on the counter and waits for me to hand him the pot. But I’m going to be friendly. “Please, let me, tell me when to stop.” He smiles at me.
“When you’re done flirting, you can fix me one, too. And we need to go over a couple of things.” Austin’s voice bursts into the room, startling me and causing me to spill a bit.
“Jesus, you scared me,” I say while I put down the pot in the holder and quickly grab a napkin, cleaning up the spilt coffee. Steven quickly grabs his cup and heads out with a smile to me, a nod to Austin, and a mumbled “Good morning.”
“I know you're a temp, and you don’t know the company policies, but we have a no-fraternizing policy.” He eyes me while putting his hands in his pockets.
I throw the napkin out and turn around to face him. He is dressed in a simple black suit, another crisp white dress shirt, looking sharp and as if they were custom-fit for him.
He didn’t shave this morning, so he’s got more stubble than he did last night when I left, and I can’t help but think to myself that I’d definitely get beard burn from that. “I’ll have Barbara send over the policies so you don’t get confused.”
“I wasn’t flirting with him. I just met him. I was merely being polite. Although I’m sure that concept is foreign to you.” I pick up my mug and start to walk away.
“I asked for a coffee,” he stops me, and my head turns and I snap.
“No. You didn’t ask, you demanded. After you insulted me. Again. And for the record, when someone asks another person for something, it is customary that they follow the request with the word ‘please.’ The coffee’s done. Help yourself.” I glare at him.
I don’t have time to say anything else before Barbara comes into the room. “Good morning, you two. Lauren, I love that skirt. Very, very nice,” she compliments me while she grabs two mugs and goes about pouring her coffee.
“Barbara,” I address her, “Austin was just going over the company policies that are included in the employee handbook. If it’s not too much trouble, would you please send that to me? There is
