Chapter Two
Several minutes went by without any speaking, until Owen approached the desk and leaned both hands on it. He was quite close, but still Lori didn’t look up. She continued to go through paper after paper, ignoring the awkward feeling of him hovering over her. He deserved it, she reminded herself. If she got fired for insolence or whatever, then that was on them. She’d done her best to do her job and make a good first impression, but she wasn’t going to be bullied. She wrapped up her file and set it aside before reaching for another one. Once she had it in front of her, Owen’s hand fell on it to keep it closed. Lori gave a small sigh and finally looked up at him.
“I’m still waiting for an answer,” he said in a low voice.
“So am I, Sir,” she said. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly but she continued. “You never told me what type of coffee you’d like me to bring you in the morning.”
Owen stared at her, no doubt trying to intimidate her with his harsh gaze. But she simply looked back at him with feigned patience. The longer he didn’t speak, the more she risked admiring his features. He was very handsome, achingly so, even when he wasn’t smiling. His rich red-brown hair was accented with faint hints of blonde highlights in the tips. A three-toned look that complimented the steely color of his eyes. His face was clean shaven, but this close she could see the faint line where he usually might have had a short mustache and goatee.
Lori let her eyes move down to his lips which she found particularly attractive, and added, “I can’t very well show up empty handed so unless I know what you would like me to bring, you’d have to make do with-”
“Long Black,” he cut her off. She looked back up at his eyes. “That’s an espresso, plain and simple.”
“Long Black, she repeated, looking at him confidently. She leaned over to address Oliver. “And for you, Mr. Jones?”
She noticed the other twin was looking a little amused by what was happening in front of him. He smirked a little and answered, “Classic Roast. Also simple.”
“Very well then,” she said, turning her attention back to Owen. “Thank you. As for your question, the reputation of your office is that it’s unbearable for any secretary to take for very long.”
Owen held her gaze as she spoke.
“I was warned ahead of time not to expect anything to go very smoothly, nor to expect any fair treatment from the bosses. Comments were made about how one of the famous Jones brothers would establish his presence as an Alpha in a setting meant to be equal ground for both parties. And how the other mostly plays his part to give the illusion of balance. He’ll help make the situation confusing and give just enough authority to make the target feel outnumbered. But really, only one’s calling the shots.” Lori continued to look back at the man, unperturbed. He hadn’t blinked even once, but there was a growing tension in his jaw. She offered a smile. “No names were given, of course.”
She glanced over to Oliver who was looking less amused now.
“At any rate,” Lori went on, “Those are just the rumors flying around. I take little stock in hearsay and prefer to see things firsthand before I form an opinion.”
“What target?” he asked.
Lori raised her eyebrows in question.
“You said ‘make the target feel outnumbered.’”
She shrugged. “They didn’t go into those kinds of specifics.”
“You think we would waste our time trying to toy with you?” he asked.
“I think you want me to waste time wondering what’s going on in your head so that you’ll have reason to look down at me for not doing my job.”
“Anything in my head is none of your business,” Owen said.
“And my body is none of yours,” she replied, letting her smile drop to show she was serious. His eyes searched hers. “Don’t think just because you use wine or any other kind of code words that I can’t piece together what you’re insinuating.”
Now Owen looked amused. He turned his head and leaned closer. “Are you saying you think you have a plum body?”
“I’m saying,” Lori slowly rose to her feet, “That my body has nothing to do with you and if you continue to keep me from doing my work, you’ll be even farther behind and you’ll have only yourself to blame for it.”
They stared hard at each other, little more than a foot apart now.
“So, Mr. Jones,” Lori said calmly, “Shall I get back to it? Or would you like to go ahead and dismiss me now?”
“Can’t hack it behind this desk?” he asked in a lower voice.
“I’m still here, aren’t I?” she said pointedly.
They continued to stare at each other. Owen’s eyes seemed to search her, as though looking for a crack in her confidence that he could use to break her down. She didn’t look away or blink.
Finally, he smirked again. “How long will it take you to get through these files?”
“That depends on how much longer the two of you want to play,” she answered. “If you leave me to it, I can get the majority of this sorted before it’s time to go home.”
He considered her for a moment before straitening up with an air of ‘I’ll allow it’. “Oliver can get you signed in to the computer. Get to it.” He walked calmly to his office, closing the door behind him.
On cue, Oliver approached her, moving around the desk to turn on the computer. Lori sat back down and moved her chair to give him some space.
“Do you have brothers?” Oliver asked.
“No,” Lori said. “I’m an only child.”
He kept his eyes on the monitor as it booted itself up. “That was an impressive staring match you had with my brother. Almost like you’re accustomed to it.”
She wasn’t, but she decided not to answer. Oliver typed in a couple of passwords and went into the computer’s programs to create file shortcuts for the desktop.
“These are the main programs we’ll be having you use. You familiar with them?”
Lori scooted her chair closer and nodded, “Yes.”
“Good. Be sure to save often when you’re inputting data. Don’t rely solely on the auto save, you’ll be kicking yourself for it later.”
“Alright, thank you.”
He turned his head toward her; the lack of stern power struggles the only subtle hint to distinguish him from his twin.
“We were talking about your clothes, by the way. Not your body.”
“You don’t like my clothes?” she asked with little interest.
“I think you could use an upgrade,” he said, straightening up.
She did her best not to take that as an insult. “I’ll get right on that.”
“Don’t bother,” Oliver said, turning back to head toward his own office. “We’ll handle it for you.”
“Mm hmm,” she mumbled to herself. She turned her chair to him just as his hand reached the doorknob. “I apologize if I insulted you.”
He paused.
“For what I said before, about the rumors.”
He looked at her. “You said no names were named. Which part are you apologizing for?”
“Whichever part may have upset you.” She said with a small shrug. “Rumors are rumors. It doesn’t mean I know you.”
They just looked at each other for a moment before he disappeared into his office. Lori watched the door for a moment after it closed shut. The small jolt of excitement in her stomach threatened to brim over. Had she really managed to chip away at some of Oliver’s barrier? Had she really caught a glimpse of the real ‘him’? She turned back to the computer screen, shaking her head to remind herself of the fact that even though he’d given her some warmth, he was still an ass. All his past secretaries couldn’t be wrong, could they?
As it neared the end of the day, Lori had made it through most of the files and had left herself a generous list of tips and to-dos. The phones didn’t ring endlessly as she had been told, but it did ring several more times and she was glad to see they were genuine calls. Rather than fuss with the phone extensions any further, she simply recorded the messages, used polite service with those who called and went back to her organizing. Exploring the drawers, she found room for the files that were done and labeled each tab with a number so that she would be able to keep better track of them. At the head of her desk, between the matching phones, she had placed a cardholder where the messages were gathered for her bosses.
Owen finally came out of his office ten minutes before her shift was over. He looked over her desk which was much clearer now and saw her going through what was left of her untouched pile.
“Those all you have left?” he asked.
“Yep,” she answered, finishing her note before sticking it to the paper. “I’ve got a bit of a system down now. I’ll be able to do data input tomorrow.”
“Alright. You’re expected in at seven in the morning tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here,” she said. “With coffee.”
“Be sure to shut down the computer when you leave,” he said before heading to Oliver’s office and entering without a knock.
And that was it. Lori did as she was told and left her desk as it was, ready for the next day.
Taking the elevator to the lobby, she saw several of the women from earlier behind the desk.
“Will we be seeing you tomorrow?” One of them said condescendingly, as though she already knew they wouldn’t.
“Bright and early,” Lori said proudly as she headed for the front entrance.
“Ms. Bennett,” another lady called her back. “One moment, please.” She spoke into the phone cradled against her shoulder before addressing Lori again. “Mr. Jones wants to know your measurements.”
Lori frowned, looking between her and the other woman. They were serious. Lori sighed and asked for a piece of paper. She wrote down the measurements, thankful that she’d been measured recently enough when she’d gone to buy work clothes. She passed the paper back and the lady read them to the phone. Lori waited to see if there was anything else, but the call ended and the woman went back to her work without any further acknowledgement of her. Lori sighed and took her leave.