Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I popped into the coffee shop attached to the building and sat down at an empty table to change into my stiletto power heels. Since my interview was in fifteen minutes, I didn’t have time to grab a coffee, but I’d do it after when I called my mother with an update, hoping I’d finally have good news to share.
Leaving the comforting smell of coffee behind me, I stepped through the revolving door entrance of the IG building. The inner sanctum greeted me with shiny marble floors and an open ceiling extending at least four stories. The place was stark and as cold as cash. A sea of stern looking professionals weaved through the lobby like sharks on the hunt.
Standing paralyzed in the middle of the vast entrance, I wiped my palms over my jacket as my heart hammered in my chest. A tailored woman appraised me as she passed by. The killer instinct in her eyes intimidated the hell out of me and almost made me turn on my heels and head back out to the sidewalk. I didn’t want to turn into someone with that kind of edge and coldness in their eyes.
But I couldn’t run away in fear either, so I decided to pull up my big girl panties and go to the interview. I steeled my shoulders and headed toward the security desk to get an entry pass.
“Can I help you, miss?” A man dressed in a black suit with questioning eyes bent down to address me. I was tempted to ask if he had an extra Xanax on hand.
“Magnolia Talbot. I have an appointment this morning with Michelle Lindsay in Human Resources.”
“ID, please.” He held out his large hand while I rifled through my tote and found my Alabama driver’s license.
After giving it a once-over, he huffed and typed something on his keyboard. A printer fired up next to him, and a paper card popped out.
“This is a one day pass. Use it to enter the turnstile behind me. Take the elevators on your right to the tenth floor. A receptionist will point you in the right direction.”
I took the card from the man and glanced over it. Today’s date and my name were printed on the front. I followed his instructions, then stood with a few others to wait for an elevator. No one looked in my direction, or any direction for that matter. Everyone was isolated in their own world.
As I rode the elevator up to the tenth floor, I tried to quiet my insecurities and convince myself I belonged here. At least I had the pass to keep as a souvenir, no matter what happened today. But I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my stomach, making me feel that this interview would be the dreaded F-word—fail.
3
Lucas
At five till nine, I leaned against the art-lined wall outside my father’s office. My hands rested in my front pockets while I thought about what waited for me on the other side of the double wooden doors.
What game is dear old Dad playing?
The short announcement for a meeting was designed to keep me in the dark, and he’d succeeded this time.
I pushed off the wall, opened the doors, and strode inside the plush office suite. A whoosh of air followed behind me as the doors automatically closed.
“Good morning, Vanessa,” I greeted my father’s secretary as I headed toward her desk.
Vanessa and the spectacular view of Lower Manhattan were the only two bright spots in the office of stony black furnishings accented in cold chrome. The icy silver-toned carpet felt like I was standing on a frozen lake—one wrong move and the floor might crack.
“Lucas, you’re looking dashing as usual.” Vanessa gleamed at me with a teasing smile that extended up to her kind, brown eyes. Her gray hair mixed with strands of black, ending at her shoulders.
“And you’re way too lovely to be sitting at this desk for my father.”
“Always the charmer.” I’m anything but.
I sat on the corner of her desk, one of my legs resting on the floor. I wondered if she’d still smile at me if she knew my dark secrets. She’d likely push me off the desk, hoping I land on my ass.
She began working for my father when I was an awkward teenager, way before I grew into my six-foot-two frame. As an older female who seemed to actually care about me, she was the closest thing to a mother figure in my life. It blew my mind how such an endearing soul could work for my father with his bastard reputation. At least he paid her somewhere in the middle six figures for her captivity on the top floor of this corporate hell.
“I assume he’ll call me in when he’s ready. Or are we waiting for the attorneys?” I reached for the crystal globe on Vanessa’s desk. The glass ball disappeared in the palm of my hand.