AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders, looking at herself once more in the massive wall of mirrors along one wall in the washroom. With a sharp tug to the hem of her jacket, she straightened her suit and took in a slow, calming breath.
"You've hidden out long enough," she told herself, not even caring that she was talking to herself in an empty washroom. With a firm yank on the door handle, she stepped into the hall and headed back toward the bullpen and her office.
Knowing now what stories and tales actually drifted around the office, Jewell felt each glance her way like a poke with a long stick. She held her head high and marched the distance across the wide space to April's desk. April looked up with a compassionate smile, and Jewell knew April felt as bad about telling her as Jewell felt for hearing it.
"Is Mr. Traynor still in with Mr. Roth?" she asked, passing behind April's desk to set her hand on her own office doorknob. April nodded. "Okay, did you reschedule the meeting from yesterday that Mr. Roth missed?"
"Yes, for this afternoon at three."
"Thank you, April."
"Sure," April said with another smile. It didn't help.
Jewell turned the knob and stepped into her office, keeping her eyes diverted from the door leading to Benjamin's office. It was open a crack, and the low murmur of conversation drifted in, but she figured she would draw more attention by closing it than by leaving it as it was. Instead, she went to her desk and turned on her computer, wincing at the telltale twitter as the operating system engaged.
She managed to do a fine job of ignoring the conversation in the next room and made it halfway through her emails before she heard Benjamin's distinctive and firm "No" come through the crack in the door.
Her fingers stilled over her keyboard. She held her breath, despite herself.
Mr. Traynor's voice drifted to her, but still too low for her to decipher. Jewell released the breath she held and thunked her elbow on her desk, resting her forehead in her hand. She thought herself above eavesdropping, but knowing that Kevin Burke had somehow initiated the conversation in the next room made her stomach flutter, and not in a pleasant way. With a shake of her head, Jewell sat up and checked her emails. There was nothing earth-shattering: a company-wide email regarding an upcoming corporate event, an analysis report on recent fluctuations in the NYSE, and a cartoon that had rotated through the company email system twice already.
"Are you telling me I have to comply to Burke's hissy fit?"
Benjamin's raised voice made her jump, and she bit down hard against her knee-jerk reaction. With a hard tap on her mouse, she opened her preferred music app and set the station to a jazzy, Big Band mix. It was something to fill the silence and block out the teasing bits of conversation she both did and didn't want to hear. She opened a file she'd been working on for the last couple of days and decided to focus on reviewing it before the meeting she'd rescheduled for that afternoon. A meeting she and Benjamin should have attended the previous afternoon. It was busy work, but that's exactly what she needed.
Convinced after a full review that the report was as complete and correct as it could possibly be, Jewell pressed print, swiveled in her chair to stand and gasped, nearly losing her balance. Benjamin stood half way between her desk and the door connecting their offices, silently watching her.
She took a steadying breath, demanding her racing heart to slow down. "You startled me, Benjamin."
His smile was slow and sexy and made her flush from her hairline to the collar of her blouse. He crossed the distance to the end of her desk, his hands pushed into the pockets of his trousers. "I'd like to say I'm sorry, but you're beautiful when you blush."
"Not fair." She shook a scolding finger at him. "Saying things like that just makes me blush more."
He grinned. "I know."
Jewell pushed back from her desk and stood, facing him with the corner of the desk between them. His eyes shifted up and he studied her hair, reaching out to stroke his fingertips along the wisps of hair at her brow.
"You put it up."
"I didn't have time this morning."
"Why put it up at all? It's beautiful loose."
"But not very professional." Drawing a slow breath, she looked down, stepped back, and settled into the corner edge of her desk return. Only when she was a safe distance from his touch did she look up again. "I rescheduled the meeting we missed yesterday for today at three."
"April told me. Thank you." Benjamin came around the corner of the desk and stepped toward her, running his fingertips along the desk as he walked. With each step, her heart fluttered faster and she had to fight to keep herself from hyperventilating. "Did you hear any of what Travis said?"
She shook her head, another wave of heat hitting her cheeks. At this rate, her face would spontaneously combust by lunch. "No, I—" She cleared her throat. "I went with April for coffee, then came in here. I didn't hear Mr. Traynor’s words, just…I heard you a couple of times."
Benjamin glanced toward the office door leading out to the bullpen and raised his hands. "Kevin Burke is trying to throw his weight around. He's making assumptions about you stepping beyond your position here."
Jewell scowled, flipping her hand to emphasize her confusion. "Just how am I doing that?"
"On your first day here, you asked me if you would be welcome in all meetings with me. Meetings executive assistants usually didn't attend. I told you that you would be welcome because I said you were welcome. Burke is using your attendance as leverage."
Despite the nervous nausea that had haunted her all morning, Jewell laughed and shook her head. "Seriously? That's the best he can do?"
Benjamin shrugged. "He has no grounds for complaint otherwise." One corner of his mouth tipped up in a half smile. "You bruised his manhood. He's grasping at straws."
