Chapter One
Saylor
The loud honk of a horn and someone yelling out “Asshole!” caused me to look up from my phone. In that moment I wished I had followed my own advice about going to Tate and Cane a few days earlier, so I didn’t end up getting lost.
Here I was on my first day.
Lost.
Where in the hell am I?
“Siri, if you don’t tell me where in the hell I am I’m going to throw you!”
“Who, me?” she replied to my threat.
Pulling up my contacts, I dialed the number of my old college friend who currently worked as the accounting manager for Tate and Cane. She originally told me about the job, that they were looking to bring on younger, fresher people to help bring the company into modern times.
“First day jitters?” Mary asked as she answered.
“No. Yes. Hell, I don’t know. I’m lost, and I have ten minutes to get there for my meeting with Mason Quinn.”
“Mmm. Mason-hot-as-hell-Quinn.”
I rolled my eyes. “Mary, focus please. I’m standing in front of Louis Vuitton, and I’m seriously thinking of going in and spending a large amount of money to combat my anxiety.”
She laughed. “Walk to the corner of 5th and East 57th Street.”
“Okay.”
“Turn left and keep walking down. We are the large black building on your right.”
“Thank Jesus! I see!” I hit ‘End’ and quickly set off walking. I’d make up for hanging up on her tonight.
Glancing at my watch, I noticed I had five minutes. There was no way I was running. First off, I had my favorite pair of heels on, and there was no way I was running in them. My black Stuart Weitzman pumps were not made for running. And I had my favorite drink from Starbucks in my hand. A girl has to prioritize things, after all.
Weaving in and out of people, I crossed the street and made my way into the building.
Shit. Elevators? Why didn’t I stake all this out a few days ago? Damn it!
A gentleman was walking by, and I put on my best smile and asked, “Excuse me, could you point me to the elevators?”
He glared at me like I had committed a crime by speaking to him. He pointed, huffed, then rushed out the door.
“Thank you!” I called out after him, with a smile on my face because I knew that annoyed the jackass even more.
Adjusting my bag and purse over my shoulder, I turned and headed the way he had told me only to come to a cute little restaurant.
Ugh! Asshole!
Whirling around, I took a right and decided to head the other way. The elevators had to be toward the middle of the lobby. I could go left or right. Which way?
“Shit, why is this stressing me out?” I whispered.
Left. No right. No left.
I went right and immediately ran smack into someone.
“Motherfucker!” he cried out as my precious soy chai tea latte drenched him.
“Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you!”
“No fucking shit, you didn’t see me!”
Ahh, the people of New York City.
Reaching into my bag, I grabbed a few napkins and attempted to wipe the drink off his expensive as hell looking suit.
“Did you not look where you were going?” he asked in an angry tone.
Not looking up at him, I replied, “Well, were you looking where you were going asshole?”
When in Rome, right?
He grabbed my wrist, and I gasped at the electric shock that ran through my body. Jerking my eyes up at him, I opened my mouth to demand he let me go when I stopped.
Holy. Shit.
The guy standing in front of me was hella good looking. No. He was more than good looking. Could someone be beyond good looking? Handsome wasn’t the right word; he was beyond that too. His warm honey eyes were staring into my hazel, and for a moment, it looked like he was just as stunned as I was.
No. No, I knew that look. He was pissed. There was no way a guy this freaking hot would ever look at me with such intensity in his eyes. I was nothing special. My blonde hair was pulled up, and I had decided to go light on my make-up today. Mascara and a light coat of powder and a hint of blush were all that graced my face.
Yet. He was staring at me with a look I’d never seen before. Then he furrowed his brows.
Oh yeah. He’s pissed.
“Did you call me an asshole?”
Ugh. He’s one of those guys. God forbid a woman speak her mind.
I returned his stare and focused on making my voice strong and clear. “I did, and if you don’t let go of me, my knee is going to be connecting with your dick in less than five seconds.”
His head slowly tilted to the side, and the corners of his mouth rose into the sexiest smile I’d ever seen on a man.
My knees wobbled. They fucking wobbled. I thought that only happened in books.
Oddly, when he let go, I missed the warmth of his hand.
“I’m sorry about your suit. I’ll pay to have it cleaned.”
He laughed. “You couldn’t afford to pay to have this suit cleaned.”
Gag me. I chastised myself for internally saying gag me.
I grinned. “Try me, Mr. Fancy Pants.”
He chuckled and somehow managed to flash me a go to hell look while keeping that sexy smile on his face. How was that possible?
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m late for a meeting.” His voice was dripping in anger.
Squaring my shoulders, I reached into my purse and pulled out one of my old business cards. Thank goodness I still had them in my purse.
Handing him my card, I sighed. “Listen, I’m very capable of paying for your damn overpriced suit to get cleaned. My cell phone is listed on there. I’m new to the city, but I can meet you at your dry cleaners or whatever. Now if you’ll excuse me, asshat, I’m late for a meeting.”
Turning on my heels, I made my way to the elevator that was now in plain sight of me. Stupid black doors blended into with the damn walls.
When I pushed the button, asshat was standing next to me, staring at my card. I took a chance to peek up at him again. He might have been a jerk, but he was a damn good looking jerk. I was a woman after all. It was my duty to look. And wipe the small amount of drool pooling at the corner of my mouth.
I lifted my hand and checked to make sure I wasn’t really drooling.
He glanced over at me, and I shot my eyes forward. The doors opened and we both went to opposite sides of the elevator. We were the only two people on the elevator as the door closed, and we both pushed the button for the same floor. Forty-One.
My head snapped over to his, but he stood there, stone cold. If I hadn’t known any better, I would swear he was holding back a smirk.
“Are you following me?”
He laughed as he glared over at me. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Ouch. That hurt more than I wanted to admit.
I could see the instant regret in his eyes.
I huffed and stared straight ahead.
“Jerk,” I mumbled.
“What was that?” the asshat asked.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“First you spill your hot coffee on me.”
Turning my body to face him, I said, “Tea. It was tea. I don’t drink coffee.”
He smiled slightly. “Whatever the fuck it was, it was hot.”
I grinned, and his brows drew together.
“Then you called me an asshat, threatened to knee my balls, and now you’re calling me a jerk?”
With a tilt of my head, I let my eyes roam slowly over his body before looking back into those dreamy has fuck eyes.
“I do believe I called you an asshole first, then asshat, then came jerk.” With a shrug, I added, “If the shoe fits.”
His eyes turned dark, and I took a step away from him. The way he was looking at me had my heart speeding up and my stomach dropping. If I hadn’t known any better, I would think the guy wanted to kiss me.
I laughed internally. He had already made his point he would never be interested. Drawing my eyebrows together, I looked deeper into his eyes.
The elevator doors opened, and I rushed out, leaving him behind me. I had all of a sudden needing air desperately. I had been holding my own with the guy until he looked at me like that. I couldn’t tell if it was pure hate or something else. What that something else was? I had no clue.
Seeing the receptionist in front of me, I glanced at my watch.
Shit. I’m ten minutes late.
Walking over to her quickly, I plastered on a fake smile as she looked up at me.
“Hello, I’m so sorry I’m late. Saylor Night. It’s my first day, and I have a meeting with Mason Quinn.”
“She smiled big. Hi there. Let me let him know you’re here and—” she paused as she looked over my shoulder. “Oh, good morning Mr.—”
“I don’t want to be disturbed.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw it was the asshat.
What. A. Dick.
When I looked back at the receptionist, she had a concerned look on her face. Focusing back on me, she smiled. “He’s not normally like that. I um, I’m not sure what happened, but he seems pretty mad.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’ll get over it.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Um, yes. Well, let me go ahead and show you where your office is Ms. Night. You’ll be in the office next to Mr. Quinn.”
Oh great. That means he’ll be watching my every move. He’s probably older and thinks woman have no place in the office. He’s probably threatened by the fact that I held his position at Smith and Smith. All of the men under me hated that I was their boss. It was one of the reasons I was ready to leave Smith and Smith marketing. Well, a small reason. The main reason I left Seattle was my overly possessive ex who couldn’t seem to accept we were no longer together. When he started acting loco, I knew it was time to leave.
“My name is Lynn, and I’m the receptionist for all of the product managers and the research analysts.”
I nodded my head. “Oh, I’m sorry I thought you were Mr. Quinn’s assistant.”
She smiled. “Well, I’m the first line of defense. Ashley is actually his receptionist. I’ll introduce you to her since she works closer to you. But, if you need anything, I’m your receptionist, not Ashley. She’s dedicated to Mr. Quinn only.”
Leaning in closer to me, she whispered, “Everyone in the office thinks they are screwing, but don’t let the rumors get to you. Ashley is super sweet.”
I snarled my lip. “Is he one of those?”
Lynn laughed. “Wait until you meet him.”
“Speaking of, I’m actually late for my meeting with him.”
Waving me off she said, “He’s running late this morning so don’t worry. He doesn’t even have to know you were late.”
I gave her a warm smile. I liked Lynn, and I could totally see us becoming friends. I’d have to ask Mary what she knew about Lynn and Ashley.
“This is your office.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. It’s stunning.”
She giggled behind me. “Yeah, it’s one of the bigger offices.”
Turning to face her, I asked, “Why did I get it?”
With a shrug, she replied, “Mr. Quinn said he wanted his marketing research analyst closer to him. Next to you is another analyst and on the other side of him is one of the product managers. You’ve got the most experience, so I’m guessing that’s why he wants you close by.”
I nodded as I set my purse and computer bag on top of the dark mahogany desk. My old office back at Smith and Smith was half this size.
“I better take you to meet Ashley.”
Straightening out my dress, I glanced down to see I had tea all over my light blue shirt.
“Crap,” I mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Lynn asked.
“Oh, I ran into some jackass downstairs, and my chia tea latte spilled all over him. I guess it got on me as well.”
Walking over to take a closer look, she shook her head. “It’s fine. Besides, Mr. Quinn will most likely keep you for all of two minutes and send you on your way. He’s totally focused on his job, and honestly, he’ll probably forget you’re even in the room.”
I chuckled as I shook my head. “You’re bad, talking about the boss that way.”
She winked. “Well, I could say naughtier things about him, but I won’t.”
My smiled faded. “Naughtier?”
Lynn was already walking out my office door, so I couldn’t quiz her on what she meant. Like sexual naughty or he’s an old dick naughty?
I followed Lynn around the corner to a recessed area. Ashley’s desk was set back from everyone else, and there was a small waiting room off to the side. My eyes focused on the office door. I could see boxes lined up along the one window that had the blinds partially open.
“Ashley, I was showing Ms. Night around since Mr. Quinn was running late.”
The dark-haired beauty behind the desk looked up at me and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Night. I’ll let him know you’re here.”
Returning her gesture, I grinned. “Thank you.”
She picked up the phone and said, “Mr. Quinn, are you ready for your meeting with Ms. Night?”
I leaned over to Lynn and pointed to the small set of windows. “Is he moving offices or leaving the company?”
Her head drew back in a confused look. “Huh?”
“The boxes that are lined up along the window.”
Lynn chuckled. “Oh no. Mr. Quinn hasn’t finished unpacking.”
“Unpacking?” I asked, my brows lifted.
“Yeah, he moved here from Chicago. He’s only been here about three weeks or so.”
I went to ask another question when Ashley stood. “Mr. Quinn will see you now, Ms. Night.”
Nodding my head, I looked at Lynn and she gave me a thumbs up. “Good luck!” she said.
Ashley opened the door as I smoothed out my black pencil skirt. “Mr. Quinn, Ms. Night.”
I walked into the office to see his desk chair was turned and facing the giant wall of windows that overlooked Manhattan.
Wow. I thought my view was nice.
“He’ll be a moment, please have a seat.”
Ashley had pointed to the large leather chairs in front of Mr. Quinn’s desk.
He was on the phone, but only giving a simple, “humph” in reply to the other person on the line.
Taking a seat, she asked in a whispered voice if I would like a coffee.
With a quick shake of my head, I mouthed, “No thank you.”
Ashley retreated, and I sat there, staring at the back of a chair. My stomach was in knots, and I had no idea why. I was good at my job. Damn good, and if I was being honest, Tate and Cane was lucky to get me. After Mary had told me about the company, I had put my application in here and a few other firms. One in Boston, Dallas, and Miami. For some reason, Mr. Quinn personally calling me on the phone and offering me the position pulled my decision to New York City.
“Right. Goodbye.” The sharp goodbye came.
I held my breath and waited for him to turn around. When he did, I gasped. It was the gorgeous guy I had run into earlier.
The same guy I spilled my latte on and the same guy I had insulted at least three times.
A slow evil smile grew on his face as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk.
“Long time no see, Saylor.”
I swallowed hard and tried to close my gaped mouth. I wasn’t sure if my heart was racing from the realization I had insulted my boss multiple times, or from the sexy way he said my first name and made it sound almost dirty.
“I am so fired,” I mumbled.