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She nodded. “I’ve had at least four people like you doing this exact thing. Dig in. This Hunter guy is hard on his assistants. They always come in complaining about what an asshole he is.”
I nodded. “Thanks. I kind of figured this was a game he played.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome. Good luck. I hope the pay is worth it.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Probation period to start,” I said. “Less pay and on-call hours. But once that’s over, its good.”
“Well,” she said, nodding to the tip jar, “when the first big check comes in, come tip me. Until then, you can just text me an order and I’ll have it ready when you get here.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. “Sisters helping sisters.”
A warm smile crossed my face at how similar that sounded to my own sister.
“I’ll stick it out just to make sure you get that tip,” I said.
“Here,” Sara said, handing me a card for the shop. She scribbled her cell number on the back. “Text me before you head out of the office. I’ll have it waiting on the to-go counter for you.”
Slipping the card into my phone case of my personal phone, I headed back to the office buoyed by the pep talk and the friendliness. It felt like I suddenly had an edge. Something no one else before me had, and I couldn’t wait to put it into use.
When I arrived at the office, the receptionist looked up and smugly smiled before going back to her computer as I passed her. I wondered if everyone else in this company was the same as her. Warm when you first met them, and then a shark after. It seemed to be the way Hunter liked things. He liked competition and pitting people against one another.
But I wasn’t going to play that particular game. I was going to protect myself, surely, but otherwise, I was going to bowl right through the bullshit. I wasn’t here to make enemies. I might not make friends, but I wasn’t going to make enemies, either.
I took a sip of my coffee as I walked through the door to Hunter’s office. He stood and crossed over to me, and before I could hand him his cup, he took mine out of my hand. I opened my mouth to protest but the lid was already on his lips, my lipstick stain still on the white plastic.
A small part of me tightened and I felt the warmth of my cheeks spread down my neck and chest. His lips were touching a space my lips had just been. It was a weird but intimate thought, and I realized my jaw was still standing open as he took it away from his mouth and looked down at the lid.
He had to have seen the lipstick. It was impossible to miss it. I wondered if he was going to yell at me or be rude and mean about it, but he just glanced up at me. Our eyes met. I felt like my knees might buckle, but I stood as strongly as I could. No weakness could be shown.
He smirked.
Then he turned on his heel and headed back to his desk, taking another deep draw of the coffee, the ice rattling around in the plastic cup.
“I like this,” he said. “Make this my new four p.m. drink.”
Jolting out of the frozen stance I was in, I pulled open my work phone and made an alarm. At fifty minutes past three, it would go off and have the type of coffee listed. Then I could text Sara and head out the door.
I smiled.
I was winning.
The rest of the afternoon was busy, but not terrible, and when six came, Hunter called me into the office.
“You can go,” he said, not looking up from some papers he was signing.
“Goodnight,” I said, not wasting the opportunity.
I headed back to the little office, changed into my sneakers, and ran for everything I was worth. I was relieved to leave work and get home where I could both relax and not have to worry about my thoughts running away with me every time I caught Hunter’s gaze.
Ducking into the restroom in the lobby, I changed into my normal running clothes, complete with my hoodie pulled over my head. With all my work clothes stuffed in the gym bag, I headed out. The only things I kept on me were both phones, one for entertaining myself on the long way back to South Boston, and the other for anxiety-driven worry that Hunter would text, needing something off hours and calling me back to the office.
ChapterTen
Hunter
It had been six weeks and I couldn’t break her.
