AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yuri made an irritated sound, grabbing his jacket and storming away. Before he had a chance to step out though, Liam’s voice went dark. “Slam my door again and there will be severe consequences.”
Yuri froze, his shoulders going up defensively. Slowing his gait, he closed the door quietly behind him. Only once he felt he was safe enough did Yuri start shouting, mostly cursing in Russian about how he was better and should be in charge. Liam just ignored him, his attention turning back to his paperwork.
“Was there anything else you needed, Ms. Sloan?”
Blinking rapidly, I shook my head. So far, this whole process has been an experience. I gathered up my things and pushed to my feet.
“No, Mr. O’Connor, that’s all I need. I’ll fix up the contract as quickly as I can.” Hustling out of the room, I made sure to shut the door quietly behind me so I didn’t incur the same wrath that Yuri did.
Jaime was right where Liam said he’d be, standing by the elevator with his hands folded in front of him like a proper guard. He really didn’t make me think bodyguard though, aside from the suit. For one thing, he was too pretty. And for another, he grinned at my approach, losing all sense of seriousness in the process.
“So, I guess we’ll be working together from now on.”
My mask fell and I scowled, jabbing the button for the elevator. “So it seems.”
He followed me into the elevator, leaning against the glass wall at the back. I shuddered, facing away from him.
“You gonna ever tell me why you’re so freaked out by heights? Or cars for that matter?”
Irritation swept through me and I spun around, leveling him with a glare. “Look, I understand that we’ll be working together and I’m sorry you got stuck with the job because honestly, I work a lot and it’s going to be incredibly boring watching me do research and paperwork and talk to the workers. But we aren’t friends and I’m not sharing my life story with you. And I don’t want to hear any complaints either. I’m not going to be chit chatting my day away when there’s work to be done. Are we clear?”
His eyebrows lifted and for a second, I thought he might take me seriously. But then a stupid grin crossed his face and he looked like he wanted to laugh. “Did you just say chit chat?”
Letting out a frustrated groan, I spun away from him, crossing my arms over my chest. Just my luck, not only was I forced to have a shadow but that shadow just happened to be one of those guys who doesn’t listen and will only make my job more difficult. My father used to have a guard follow me around all the time. It made me feel trapped even while I was in my own home. I’ve really enjoyed my time without a guard and I wasn’t happy about having one again.
He cleared his throat, stepping up next to me. “I apologize. That was rude. I understand you’re going to be busy and under a lot of pressure. I won’t get in your way, I promise.”
His voice sounded sincere but his eyes were still dancing. Deciding not to take the bait, I turned to face forward again and frowned at the number display. “Why aren’t we moving?”
He rolled his lips between his teeth, fighting back a smile. “You have to press a button first.”
Embarrassed and irritated, I wished I could’ve just gone home at this point. Unfortunately, my day had only just started so I forced myself to focus and demanded Jaime show me to my office. He leaned past me, brushing up against me as he pressed the button for the floor below us. I made an irritated sound.
“We could’ve taken the stairs.”
He nodded. “Probably. But you didn’t ask me where your office was before we got in. I assumed we were going somewhere else.”
Exasperated, I decided it was better for now to keep my mouth shut.
ChapterEight
The floorbelow was like any typical office building. Individual offices ran along the walls and in the middle were cubicles in small clumps together, chairs still wrapped in plastic and electronics still in boxes. It was empty for now and the whole floor was quiet, which was a relief. I didn’t feel like introducing myself to an entire staff right now.
“The legal team will eventually be here but the floor is yours for now. Your office is the one in the corner. It’s the biggest,” he added, leading the way.
The office he led me to was enormous and split in half with a glass wall and door separating it. The first half of the room looked like it was set up for a personal secretary. The second half was where Jaime brought me and it was the only room that looked at least partially set up. There was a computer and massive wooden desk situated near the windows and a printer ready on a small table in the corner. One entire wall was all empty bookshelves and a small part of me itched to fill them but this wasn’t a permanent thing. Whoever eventually got this office would be plenty happy with it. The only thing I hated about it was the two walls in the corner were all glass like upstairs and I felt dizzy if I stared out them too long.
The desk was a little close to the windows but it also looked too heavy to move. I grimaced, edging closer to it until Jaime spoke up.
“Want me to move that for you?”
Letting out a shaky breath, I nodded. “Actually, I’d appreciate that.” I wasn’t going to let my pride force me to stay near those stupid windows.
After unplugging everything, he dragged the desk a few more feet away from the window. “Did you want it in the middle? Or do you think if we add a few low shelves or something that it’d be more comfortable? Sort of like a low wall.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not going to be my office for long, I don’t want to change anything crazy. This is fine.” Gingerly, I sat behind the desk. I still felt like I was going to tip backwards and fall out the window but I focused on plugging everything back in and went hunting for an extension cord when a few things couldn’t reach.
Surprisingly, Jaime didn’t stay plastered to my side. With the floor empty, he felt comfortable moving about and disappeared for a little bit. I finally found the cord I was looking for in one of the other offices and when I came back to mine, I came to an abrupt stop. Jaime’s suit jacket was tossed onto the back of my chair and he was moving some pieces of drywall to rest against the windows behind me. It was a sweet gesture that was entirely overshadowed by the fact that his shirt was tight enough that I could almost make out the muscles underneath it. My mouth went dry and I jerked my gaze away when he turned around.
