Chapter One
Alana
“Alana.” Jade frowns, her skin almost cracking under the layers of makeup she has carefully piled onto her face. Two guesses who she’s trying to impress. I chuckle to myself. “Are you listening to me?”
I snap back to attention and nod, still trying to hold back my smirk.
“Coffee. Dry cleaning. Take contracts over to Peterson Walker,” I say, hoping I’ve gotten today’s list right. It was the same as yesterday and the day before, so I’m pretty sure I’m safe.
“Right, well, just don’t stuff it up this time, okay?” Jade sighs.
I bite my tongue before I say something that will probably end up getting me fired. You forget the sugar in the guy’s coffee one time, and you suddenly have a reputation. Sure, that guy just happens to be Chase Winston, my arrogant, rude, adorably beautiful, attractive asshole of a boss, but still, it’s not like I’m incapable of doing my job. Let’s face it, half the things I’m asked to do, a monkey could do.
There was only one thing worse than being Chase Winston’s personal assistant, and that’s being one of the junior assistants who answers to his personal assistant. I’m simply here to make things easier for Jade and trust me when I say she takes full advantage of it. Well, I’m guessing it’s worse because I’ve never had the pleasure of being his personal assistant. The guy never even acknowledges me.
I narrow my eyes at Peyton, who is hunched over her computer, trying not to laugh. I’m pretty sure watching me get my ass handed to me time and time again is the only thing keeping her working here. The second Jade leaves the office, I let loose with a string of obscenities under my breath.
“One time,” I mumble, shaking my head. “I got it right yesterday, didn’t I?”
“You’ve been working here how long?” Peyton giggles, her dark eyes sparkling with glee. I swear she lives for this shit. “You must’ve gotten that man a few hundred coffees. How on earth did you forget something like that?”
I blush. I know exactly how I forgot. I blame the sexy barista for making flirty eyes with me as the line slowly dwindled down until it was just him and me, standing at the counter, facing each other. I gently batted my eyelashes at him and gave him the sexiest smile I could muster, which was met with…nothing but a blank stare. So what if it turned out he was making flirty eyes with the dude behind me? I think my defense still stands.
“Never mind,” I growl, rolling my eyes. “I better go do this before he pops an artery or something.”
I fumble around on my desk for my purse and my keys, but all I can think about is how much I dislike my job. The only thing that makes it worthwhile is Peyton. Without her here to make the days bearable, I’d have left a long time ago. Well, that’s not true. Peyton or not, I’d have stuck this out for as long as there was the tiniest hope of moving up into something more challenging.
I’ve been working at Winston Property Consultants (WPC) for nearly two years while I finished off my master’s in statistics and business, which I’d finally graduated from two months ago. At twenty-four, and after nearly six years of school, all I have to show for it is this—a job that I’m way too overqualified for and hate more than life itself.
Why did I choose here? Because Chase Winston is the best, and I wanted to learn from the best. To put it simply, he merges struggling companies with stronger ones. He’s kind of like the dating guru for businesses. I thought all I had to do was get my foot in the door and eventually, he’d notice my potential. Only now, I was beginning to wonder if it was worth the risk of not learning anything at all. I’m so hung up on working here that I could be harming any chance I have of doing anything within my chosen field. The longer I leave it, the harder it’s going to be to explain why I stayed in this role for so long.
Right now, fresh out of college? I could easily find an entry level job with a dozen other companies that would advance me further than my current position ever would, but all of those firms were missing the one thing I wanted.
Chase. God, what can I say about Chase?
He’s everything. Not only is he a self-made millionaire, but he’s also hot, intimidating, sexy, smart, and a thousand other things that run through my head daily. My mind faces an ongoing struggle of hating him one minute and wanting to confess my love to him the next. I’ve never met anyone who can inspire and irritate me at the same time like Chase Winston can. And that’s pretty impressive, considering I’m not even sure if he knows my name.
“Seriously, did you see the way she looked at me when she told me not to stuff it up?” I huff, stalking back over to Peyton. “Like, God forbid I put two sugars in his damn coffee instead of one. Hey, maybe I should slip some laxatives in there?” I say with an evil grin. “I mean, he walks around like he’s got something lodged up his ass, maybe all he needs is a good, old-fashioned cleanout.”
“Lanna—”
“No. I don’t care how ridiculously sexy he is or how dreamy those blue eyes are to stare into,” I say, cutting her off.
I was on a roll, and Peyton wasn’t going to stop me. I have two years’ worth of frustration to vent, and it’s all coming out now, one way or another.
“He’s an asshole to everyone here but Jade, and I bet that’s only because she’s sucking his cock. Not that I wouldn’t go there if he asked me to—”
“Lanna,” Peyton hisses, her eyes wide.
“Oh, come on, like you wouldn’t suck his cock too,” I retort, nodding knowingly at her. “Hey, maybe we could tag team him.”
We’d had a lengthy discussion about this a few weeks ago over a bottle of tequila, so I knew exactly what she wanted to do with that ten inches of pure stiff muscle. And I thought I was the dirty one. I chuckle to myself and turn around. My heart skips a beat when I spot Chase leaning against Jade’s desk. He smirks at me and casually lifts one eyebrow.
Oh, god no.
My heart pounds as I wait for him to react. This can’t be happening. I cannot believe I just said that. Well, I can believe it, because I say shit like that every day, but not when he’s standing right behind me. I glare at Peyton, who releases a snort and then flushes, bowing her head. Chase’s eyes don’t leave me as I glance around the room, praying for an escape, but there isn’t one.
It’s like a scene from a really bad movie. With any luck, he’ll drag me outside and throw me on the back of his bike and take me somewhere to have his way with me. Or his office will do just fine.
“Is Jade here?” he asks, directing his question at me, his smooth, deep voice making me shiver.
I shake my head, incapable of speaking. I think it’s worse that he’s ignoring the obvious issue of my outburst. I’d almost prefer for him to say something about it. Anything. Almost... He nods, and then walks over to the door, stopping just as he reaches it. I brace myself as he turns his attention back to me.
“Alana?” he asks.
I force myself to meet his steel blue eyes, wishing he didn’t find this so damn amusing.
“Yes?” I whisper, feeling sick. God, I am so embarrassed.
“While I appreciate your attentiveness to my health, I can assure you that everything is functioning just as it should. Maybe you should focus more on your job and less on things that don’t concern you?” he asks lightly. “Like who is and isn’t sucking my cock.”
He walks out, briskly closing the door behind him.
I stumble over to my desk and slump down onto my chair, my eyes wide. I breathe out, feeling dazed. My heart’s racing and I’m feeling a mixture of extreme nausea and embarrassment over the whole situation. Every time I think about what I just said, more or less to his face, I want to throw up.
Peyton rushes over to me, both panicked and trying not to laugh, which under any other circumstance would be a funny combination. I glare at her, which sets her off.
“I’m so sorry,” she giggles, shaking her head. “I swear I’m not laughing at you, but that just made my fucking day.”
“I’m glad I can be a source of amusement for you,” I grumble, my tone sour.
“At least he knows your name now.” she offers, her eyes twinkling.
I scowl at her. I think I preferred it when he didn’t.
“I guess I really better go and do his stupid little list,” I mutter.
I force myself to stand up, not sure whether to laugh or cry. It’s already been the day from hell, and now I still have to go and complete his list? I should be glad to be escaping the office for a few hours because I’m already dreading the next time I have to face him.
Hopefully, I can manage to avoid him from now on.