Chapter Five
Julia
The tour had gone great, and the fact that I didn’t have to worry about going anywhere on my own for a while reassured me. The offices were huge, so I was happy that Mr. Wolfe would be with me. But that wasn’t the only reason I was glad to be around him—I’d discovered that the man had many attractive qualities, even more than simply his handsome face and muscular physique.
He was genuinely nice to everyone. He not only knew everyone by name, he also knew about their personal lives, asking one of the reporters how her sick aunt was doing. From the lowest on the totem pole to the highest, Artimus Wolfe treated each of his employees with respect, and that said a lot about him in my eyes. I found it enlightening to know that I would get to work with someone I respected completely.
Not in a million years had I expected a man with his great wealth and power to be so down-to-earth and real. I’d always been under the impression that rich people looked down their noses at others who didn’t have the good fortune to have the kind of money that they did. But I’d been wrong, and I could admit that. Mr. Wolfe had proven that not all people of wealth were arrogant, stuck up, rude, and boorish. He was none of those things. No, he was better than I had ever expected.
We made it back to his office, and I made a suggestion. “How about you let me get all nosy and snoop around your office and mine to find out where everything is?”
He looked pleased with my idea. “Have at it. I’ve got a few emails to answer while you do that.” He took his seat behind his desk and went to work on his laptop.
A swift knock came at his door, and a man called out, “Artimus, it’s me.”
I had no idea who “me” was, but my boss did. He pushed a button on the bottom of his desk and noticed me looking at him. “You have one in the same place on your desk too, Julia. The doors automatically lock when they close, so this eliminates the need for any of us to get up and open our doors when we have a visitor.” He turned his attention to the man who came through the now-open door, and I instantly recognized him as the morning anchorman.
Duke Cofield co-anchored the morning show with a woman named Lila Banks. The two made a great team, and I loved the format of the show, which revolved more around the two of them talking about the news, instead of simply reading it the way normal newscasts were done.
“How cool,” I mumbled about the desk button and the man who strode into the office. I’d never been around celebrities before, and I found myself a little bit star struck. Quickly, I got over that, as we’d all have to work together and this would be no place for silly fan behavior from me.
Mr. Wolfe introduced us right away. “Hey there, Duke. This is my new assistant, Julia Bengal.”
I approached Duke, and we shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Julia.”
“You too, Duke. You’re part of the morning anchor team, and you do the sports on the evening news, right? I’ve seen you. You’re great. A real natural. WOLF is lucky to have found you.” I had to get back to finding out where everything was, so I turned to leave the gentlemen to themselves. “If you guys will excuse me, I have to snoop around to find out where everything is so that I can actually start helping the boss.”
Mr. Wolfe offered Duke a chair. “Take a seat, Duke. What has you dropping by today?”
“Love,” came Duke’s response, pricking my ears. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I wasn’t trying to ignore the conversation either.
“Love?” Mr. Wolfe asked. “So, you’ve met someone?”
“I have.” Duke let our boss know. “Okay, let me just get the rest out there for you. Lila and I are in love.”
Lila was his co-anchor for the morning news, and I knew that was a no-no at this company. There were strict no-dating rules in effect at WOLF. I had no idea how our boss would handle this situation. I looked back to find Mr. Wolfe rubbing his temples. He didn’t look pleased at all with this bit of news. “Shit.”
“No, it’s not bad. Don’t say that. It’s good.” Duke paused and looked down, his expression somewhat defeated. “Or at least it was. It was great actually. Up until she and I broke up.”
I found that sad, but Mr. Wolfe didn’t seem to share my opinion. “Oh! So you’ve broken up. Okay, then. Things will be fine. You’ll meet someone else. And I won’t have to fire you both. This is good. Much better.”
Poor Duke clearly wasn’t feeling that way at all, and he shook his head. “No, Artimus, this is not good. This is anything but much better. This is awful. This is as close to hell as I’ve ever come. And believe me, I’ve come very close several times in my life. This is a train wreck, is what this it. We’ve got to come up with a solution, you and I. I need her in my life. I can’t stand not being with her. And I know it’s killing her too.”
Mr. Wolfe waved his hand in front of him as if clearing the air of any negativity. “She’s okay. I haven’t noticed her performance lacking at all.”
Duke sat back, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Because she’s a professional, Artimus. Have you even noticed her fingernails?”
Mr. Wolfe clearly had no idea where Duke was going with that line of questioning. “Um, no. What the hell does that even mean, Duke?”
“She paints them to match her outfit. Every single day, that woman puts on a new shade of polish, and she hasn’t changed her polish in a week. Not at all since I broke up with her.” Duke hit the desk, making me jump a little—even though I wasn’t supposed to be eavesdropping. “That means she’s depressed. Upset. And it’s all over our breakup, which I didn’t even want to do, but felt I had to if I wanted to remain sane.”
Mr. Wolfe added, “And employed.”
“Yeah, that too.” Duke stood then and began to pace in front of Mr. Wolfe’s desk. “Artimus, there has to be something we can do to be together out in the open and keep our jobs too.”
For a long moment, Mr. Wolfe didn’t say a thing. Then he raised one finger as if he’d come up with a great idea, a big smile on his face. “You could quit.”
Duke looked as if he’d been smacked on the side of the head. “I’d rather not.”
I couldn’t help but feel for Duke, and figured it was time to step in and salvage this situation if possible. I understood the rules Mr. Wolfe had put in place, but there had to be a better way to handle things of this nature. I stepped up to join the men, trying my best to stay confident. “If I may be so bold, I’d like to say that losing Duke right now would be a terrible mistake. Just saying, boss.” It wasn’t much, but it was something, and it made me feel better than not saying anything at all.
I got back to digging through things, but my ears stayed pricked, listening to what the outcome might be and hoping for the best. Having to choose between love and your dream job couldn’t be easy, and I didn’t envy Duke or Lila over this dilemma.
Duke was persistent. “Artimus, there are legitimate couples who work together. I didn’t sexually harass her.”
Mr. Wolfe was quick to reply, “Good to hear. Now stop messing with her all together, and we’ll be okay.”
Duke’s tone was solemn. “Do you hear yourself?”
“Yes.” Mr. Wolfe paused before continuing. “I suppose I can’t do anything if you two were, let’s say, married?”
Married?
That seemed a bit to be a bit of a leap. But I held my tongue, hoping our boss would see reason sooner rather than later.
Duke strode toward the door. “Artimus, this is insane. You can’t possibly expect me to ask Lila to marry me so soon in our relationship.” From the corner of my eye I saw him running his hands through his hair, clearly agitated. “I guess I’ll just have to quit then, if that’s the only way to be with her.” He stopped at the door, the brass knob in his hand as he turned to look at Mr. Wolfe. I had my fingers crossed that our boss wouldn’t let Duke quit. “So, this is my verbal resignation, and a written one will be on your desk within the hour.”
Mr. Wolfe stood, shaking his head as he went to Duke. “No, you won’t be resigning.” He clapped Duke on the shoulder. “I’ll rewrite the rules to allow consensual dating. You win.”
Hooray!
Love won out again, and I knew morale within the staff would skyrocket with this news. It might’ve only been my first day, but even I had caught one or two people sending longing looks at a coworker during my tour.
Duke was ecstatic, laughing as he clapped our boss on the back too. “Thank you, Artimus. You won’t be sorry, I promise.” Then he was gone in a flash, and I had to assume he was hurrying to try to fix things with Lila.
My heart was swelling with admiration for the man who was my boss. “I don’t want to overstep, but I think that was the right thing to do, Mr. Wolfe. I have to admit that witnessing that makes me even prouder to be working for you. You’re a generous man with a big heart.”
He walked back to his desk and took his seat, rubbing his temples once again. “I hope I haven’t made a mistake. I mean, what if they break up and it ruins the morning show?”
“They’re both professionals.” I went around to the front of his desk to dig through a cabinet in the front of the room, so I could see his face while I talked to him. He didn’t look as happy as I felt with the decision. In fact, he looked worried. “Didn’t he say that he’d broken up with her a week ago?”
“He did say that.” His expression perked up a bit. “And I couldn’t tell a damn thing was going on between them before or after that breakup. You might just be right, Julia.” And then a big smile curved his lips as he looked at me. “You are going to be good for me.”
“I’m certainly going to try my best, sir.” The way he smiled at me made my heart melt. If a friendly smile like that gave me goosebumps, then what would a more intimate, sexy smile do to me?
I had visions of falling all over myself if I ever became the recipient of one of those types of smiles. And now that the rules were changed …
Who was I kidding?
My romantic fate didn’t sit with this man. It couldn’t. I was made for one man only; I knew that at my very core. My heart and body would connect with only one man—the man. Artimus Wolfe could have any woman he wanted—and as many as he wanted, too. He’d never want the same thing that I did.
To find true love and finally give myself wholly to that love. To find not just a partner, but a soulmate.
No, he’d never want the type of commitment that I didn’t just expect in my personal life, but demanded. I’d never give myself to anyone if I didn’t have that commitment. My beliefs ran too deep to forfeit them for anyone—even a man as extraordinary as Artimus Wolfe.
As I caught a glimpse of him, still smiling away as he looked at his computer, I knew these wouldn’t be the last of my naughty fantasies about the gorgeous man. There was absolutely no harm in having fantasies, after all.
I was a mere mortal woman. I’d abstained from having sex with anyone for twenty-one years, but masturbation and fantasizing weren’t off limits. A girl had to have her relief, or she’d go crazy.