04

A rush of anger flashed through me and I barely managed to keep my eyes from narrowing at him as I slowly replied in a controlled voice, “I will be there, Mr. Hedenby. Anything I should bring ? A certain report ? A list of our current projects ?”

A cardboard box with all my belongings in it along with my security badge ?

His smile deepened and his cerulean eyes crinkled at the corners. “Nope. I just need to talk to you. See you later, okay ?”

He straightened, gave me one last grin almost resembling the one he flashed me this morning when he snuck a kiss on my cheek, and gave Theodora and everyone else a polite nod before striding out of the office.

The moment he was gone, the office chatter resumed and I could just make out my name in every other line.

I calmly went back to scanning the report as I made some reference in the email I was typing up but I could feel Theodora’s suspicious gaze on me.

“If the CEO himself is going through all the bother of reprimanding you for your behavior, Maxine, then I guess I’ll have to start looking through some of those applications for your replacement,” was her low, cutting comment before she went back to her desk.

Cold dread filled my gut as I struggled to keep my focus on my email.

Was he really about to fire me ? And if he were, why would he smile at me like that as if it thoroughly amused him ? Was he really going to be that cruel ?

I glanced at the clock on the bottom corner of my computer screen. 10 :12 A.M.

I guess I was going to find out in about half an hour.

I opened the company chat tool and started a conversation window with Jillian.

Maxine Moss : If I get fired today, it’ll be all your fault. You should’ve let me stay under the radar.

Jillian Dane : I couldn’t. He was stopping every other person leaving that meeting asking who you are and where he could find you. I had to lead the poor guy over.

Maxine Moss : Did it ever occur to you that he was looking for me so he could fire me ?!?!

Jillian Dane : Er, no. He didn’t look like that was what he had in mind. I’m sure you’re being paranoid.

Maxine Moss : Won’t know till later. Just know that if it happens, my blood is in your hands. Traitor ! =P

I sighed briefly and wondered how much worse this day could get.

At about ten-forty, I made my way to Luke’s office, the direction of which I’d extracted from Jillian who’d been to the upper floors where denizens of the bottom of the corporate food chain like me barely wandered into.

I did what I could about my appearance—smoothened the wrinkles on my blouse, plucked the lint off my navy blue pencil skirt and tucked my wildly wavy hair behind my ears. I wasn’t sure why I was bothering. One, he’d already seen me in much worse shape and two, he wasn’t going to care about how I looked if he was about to show me the door.

I ignored the evil eye Theodora cast me as I walked past her desk and pretended not to hear her call my name as I was about to step out the door. She was bellowing something about me gabbing her something from finance but I had a feeling she was purposefully trying to sabotage my meeting with Luke by causing me to be delayed or distracted. It wasn’t hard to assume that considering she’d spent the last near half hour talking so loudly to Shelby, her head minion, about the very strict standards the Hedenbys held their employees to. I almost blurted out that one of those standards was probably office etiquette where one didn’t spend so much time gabbing on and on about the boss instead of getting any work done.

“Hey, Max !”

I looked up as the elevator doors opened and Ryan Wilcott, the top guy for Legal, stepped out and greeted me with a grin.

Six feet tall with dirty blond hair, warm brown eyes and freckles, Ryan was considered a company-wide heartthrob. He looked like a surfer hunk and had a sweet, endearing personality to go with the good looks.

I met him three months ago after I helped him fix a paper jam in the printer at the conference room where I came in to prepare some of the materials the marketing team was presenting for a public awareness campaign. He’d shown up at some of group drinks Jillian and I had attended. He was easy company that it was no hardship to hang out with him.

“Hi, Ryan,” I greeted back brightly. “Where are you off to ? You’re not usually from around here.”

He chuckled. “I’m off to see Bryce about something. I thought I’d see you on my way over there.”

Bryce Elmers was the actual head of the marketing department, a fact that Theodora liked to conveniently forget when dealing with the lower ranks.

“I’m on my way up for a meeting with Mr. Hedenby,” I said as I stepped into the elevator which I held open, much to the impatience of a girl glaring at me as she tapped her foot noisily.

I let go of the door but Ryan put his hand out and pressed it back. “You’re meeting with Luke ? What about ?”

I shrugged. “Beats me.”

His brows furrowed in thought. “Is it related to the general meeting earlier ?”

I bit my lip. “I honestly don’t know. But I’m running late so I’ll see you later, okay ?”

“Alright. Let’s go get coffee later with Jillian,” he said as he released the door. “Good luck.”

I glanced at the only other occupant of the elevator—the same girl who had been glowering at me—and murmured an apology. She just gave me a hateful look.

I sighed inwardly and glanced up the ceiling, choosing to ignore the urge to demand what her problem was.

Jillian and I had gotten some pretty scathing looks from some women at work whenever Ryan hung out with us during lunch or when we got coffee together. Jillian reassured me it was nothing personal—mostly just a few women nursing not-so-secret crushes on Ryan—but sometimes, they went a little too far with their hostility.

“So, moving up the ladder, huh ?” the girl spoke up beside me, her tone snide. “From Ryan Wilcott to Luke Hedenby. Atta girl. You surely must know how to please ‘em.”

I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut about my meeting with Luke within earshot of other people but it was too late for that now. Besides, suspicions aside, there was nothing actually wrong about a meeting with a company leader. We wouldn’t be having this snarky conversation if I had balls between my legs but since I didn’t, it just cast a bit of shade to the whole thing. And this woman who didn’t know me from Adam, was heaping on the presumptions.

I turned to her with an arched brow. “You know something ?”