Chapter 2
Ryan
I was furious with myself the next morning. Running late for my new job was not an option, and yet here I was, scrambling like a fucking maniac. What the hell? I’d been networking and making calls for weeks just to get the interview, and now it looked like I was going to be late on my first day.
It wasn’t a job exactly. It was a paid internship through a magazine company that distributed the magazine Chic-Wise, which had a predominately female readership. I’d have preferred working for a magazine or newspaper dealing with sports, but this internship was paid, whereas as the majority of the internships offered in L.A. for magazines were strictly volunteer-only. It felt weird telling my dad and my friends that I might be working for a fashion magazine, especially since I couldn’t exactly hide my own sheepishness. But everyone understood that getting a paycheck was important instead of giving away my services for free.
Fortunately, I got through the doors just in the nick of time. Christine, who’d conducted my interview, showed me around. She was a short, sweet blonde woman who tended to chirp as she spoke. We walked around the building, quickly going over the various ins and outs of the job and what I’d be doing during my time with the magazine.
Oh shit. Regret was already filling my brain even as my smile grew wider greeting folks. Because to say I felt out of place would’ve been an understatement. It was all girly shit, stuff that I didn’t know much about. Stuff like hair and make-up, plus how to eat to stay slim. That was bullshit. Girls these days are way too skinny, looking like bobbleheads on sticks.
But I didn’t mind women in the workplace at all—quite the contrary, in fact. There are lots of intelligent, talented females in LA, and these ladies also happened to be incredibly attractive. It was nice to know that during my down time, there’d be a nice view.
But there was one particular woman who kept invading my thoughts. I couldn’t get my recent Tinder date, Lexi, out my head. She’d been sassy but sweet, with just the type of body that made me want more. Curvy with huge tits and an ass that swayed to its own rhythm. I wish I could have stayed all night, but instead, we’d just done it once and then split. Fuck. Such is life.
Suddenly, Christine paused in front of a door, throwing me a wink.
“You have a rare opportunity this morning,” she chirped. “Our editor-in-chief is in today. I’ll introduce you two, and you can ask her any questions that you might have regarding the magazine. Sound good?”
I nodded, attempting to show excitement. “Let’s do it!”
Christine knocked on the door to the editor’s office.
“Yes?” came a female voice behind the door.
Christine opened the door, and my mouth fell open in shock because the editor-in-chief turned out to be none other than the woman I’d just had hot sex with less than twelve hours before. I had to look around the office to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. The plaque at the front of her desk read “Lexi Bradley.” Photos in her office showed her to be a completely normal person, and not some off-the-wall psycho. And of course, there was the woman herself.
She initially looked shocked to see me too, but quickly composed herself and stood up. Today, Lexi was truly a businesswoman, but still incredibly sexy. Her long dark hair was down, her power suit made her blue eyes pop, and I was still able to immediately go to a dirty place in my mind when I examined her body. I still couldn’t get over her perfect, round figure that housed her big, beautiful chest and beautiful bubble butt. I almost laughed, but instead managed to keep a straight face.
“Hi,” said Lexi graciously. “Ryan, is it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. I extended my hand, and she shook it, behaving as if we’d just met. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Same here,” she smiled smoothly. “I hope Christine’s been doing a good job of showing you around the place.”
“Oh, it’s been great,” was my offhand comment.
“Do you have any questions about the job?” Lexi asked. “Is there anything I can clear up for you?”
“Uh no, I don’t think so. I’m getting a good grasp of everything.”
“Good,” she said, smiling. “Christine, would you mind—I know this is beneath you—but, I didn’t have time to get my coffee—”
“No problem at all,” Christine replied.
“Ryan, would you like anything?” Lexi asked me.
“No, thank you.”
“I’ll be right back,” Christine told us both.
Once she was gone, Lexi cleared her throat, lost in thought. I wasn’t sure how to approach the situation.
“Nice office you have here,” I said casually.
“Did you know I worked here?” Lexi asked accusingly.
“What?” I asked, semi-offended.
She laughed. “What do you mean, ‘what’? Of all the millions of people in this town that could’ve been my intern—of all the magazines to work at—you’re here. What’s the idea? What’s the deal?”
“I really had no idea that you worked here,” was my truthful response. “I only knew that you worked at a magazine. You never told me you were the editor-in-chief.”
“So, this is just an amazing coincidence?” she asked skeptically. “The guy I just happened to hook up with last night just happens to be the new intern at my company? That’s pretty crazy, don’t you think?”
“Oh, it’s definitely crazy.” I chuckled. “I was shocked when I saw you behind the desk.”
She licked her lips, approaching me slowly, almost threateningly.
“You can’t tell anyone about us,” she said. “It can’t get out. Do you understand?”
“Of course. No problem.”
“Not one word to anyone in this building,” she almost hissed this time. “I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”
“Lexi, I won’t say a word. I swear.”
“Okay. Sorry if I seem abrasive but it’s not just to protect my job. It’s a lot more than that. My mom owns this magazine. She runs the whole operation. I have to try twice as hard over here because everyone else is always watching me.”
I was growing more anxious by the second. My nerves then did the talking for me:
“Oh, is that how you became editor-in-chief?”
Her eyes flashed fire for a moment and I immediately regretted opening my mouth. Shit, was she going to fire me now? Frankly, it was probably deserved.
“For your information, no,” she spat. “I’ve been at Chic-Wise since I was fifteen, so this isn’t some misplaced nepotism.”
Immediately, an apology came to my lips.
“Of course not,” was my growl. I’m not going to say anything to anyone,” I assured her again. “Believe me.”
She looked somewhat appeased.
“Okay. Good.”
I grinned, attempting to steer us toward some levity. “I guess there’s no way we’re going to continue and pick up where we left off then, huh?”
Her frown didn’t move. What a pity. We’d had an amazing time last night.
“Absolutely not,” she replied, lips pursed.
“Of course,” I said smoothly.
At that moment, Christine came back with Lexi’s coffee and a bottle of water for me. Lexi began to aimlessly stir her coffee without paying attention.
“Christine, you can finish showing Ryan around the office now,” Lexi said.
As we left, closing Lexi’s door behind us, I couldn’t help but become more frustrated than ever before.
Because not only would I be working crazy hours for little pay, and not only would I be one of the only men in a sea of estrogen, but the editor-in-chief just also happened to be someone that I’d enjoyed physically. Plus, she liked it. Her denials got under my skin, and only made me want her more.
So anger burned in my veins. Despite Lexi telling me that things were over, I knew they weren’t. Our connection was too hot, and soon, we’d find ourselves alone together again in the not-too-distant future.