11. Lorelei

11

LORELEI

" I 'm not sure if I should be offering you a seat or the trash can to vomit in," Melissa says as I shuffle back down the silent hallway toward her desk, which is perfectly positioned to intercept any visitors risking a visit to the top floor of this building.

I hold her eyes for a beat before a manic laugh tumbles from somewhere within me.

"Oh sweetie, how about you come and test out your new desk?" she asks, before wrapping her arm around my shoulder and guiding me forward.

The desk is as big and as ridiculous as hers. The second I step behind it, I feel like a tiny bug that's about to be squashed beneath someone's—namely Kian's—shoe.

My ass hits the soft cushion of the chair and I take a moment to suck in a few deep breaths of air.

"This is crazy," I whisper. I'm not sure if I'm talking to myself or Melissa, but she takes it upon herself to answer nonetheless.

"The Callahan brothers are a law unto themselves," she muses as if this is something that's going to be news to me.

"I'm Tatum Warner's best friend," I blurt.

Melissa taps the back of my hand and smiles sympathetically at me. "I know, sweetie. I know who you are. Tatum always talks very highly of you."

"At least someone does." I blow out a long, pained breath as I try to figure out the big question. "How did I end up here?"

Melissa chuckles. "What Kian wants, Kian gets. The sooner you learn that about your new boss, the easier this will probably all be for you."

"Easier?" I blurt. "Nothing about this is going to be easy. I can't stand the man. He's an egotistical, self-assured—shit," I hiss as instant regret hits me.

He's her boss, too. He's everyone's freaking boss.

Dropping my head into my hands, I allow myself another moment of wallowing in the unbelievable situation I've found myself in before pulling on my big girl panties and sitting up tall.

"I'm sorry, that was unprofessional of me. I'm sure Kian is a fantastic CFO and?—"

"It's okay. You're allowed to have a moment over this. Would you like another coffee?"

"Or a shot or five of vodka," I mutter under my breath.

"Probably not the best first impression," Melissa jokes.

"Coffee would be great," I say while mentally kicking myself for being such a moron.

I sit there in my new chair at my new shiny, massive desk and just look.

I'm pretty sure it's possible to see my reflection on every surface up here, they're all so polished.

Every single inch of the décor screams unbelievable wealth, something that makes me very uncomfortable.

I grew up in the slums surrounded by dirt, violence, and disregard. This is like nothing I've ever experienced before while being the exact thing I've always dreamed of.

A life with a high-flying career, a position in a fancy high-rise building, polished floors, and suited staff. They've got a freaking doorman and actual security, for fuck's sake. This place is the shit. Far more than I am.

My stomach knots as I once again feel about a foot tall and nowhere near grown up enough, or prepared enough, to embark on this kind of life.

"So, what do you need to know before the IT guys get here?" Melissa asks, perching herself on the edge of my desk and sipping her coffee.

"Um…" I hesitate, not knowing where to even start. "Has Kian been looking for an assistant for a while?"

The second the question is out of my mouth, I regret it, but it's too late now.

"Nope. He hasn't been actively looking since he ran the last one out of here crying."

"If that's meant to make me feel better about this, I've got to say, it doesn't."

"Sorry." She chuckles. "If you want me to sit here and tell you that I was expecting someone to be occupying this desk anytime soon, then I'd be lying. I honestly didn't think he'd ever have an assistant again. He's too…"

"Stubborn?"

"Yeah, that works."

"Okay so…how about telling me all the things I shouldn't do instead of what I should. I'm pretty sure I've already pissed him off enough for one day," I say with a sweet smile.

I'm lying, of course. I'm pretty sure that the favorite part of my new job from here on out will be finding any way I can to drive my new boss to the brink of insanity.

I may or may not have gotten this job because of Tatum and my—albeit loose—connection to the Callahan family, but something tells me that's also going to make it harder for him to fire me.

My smile grows.

"Oh, now that look is dangerous," Melissa says with what I suspect is a wicked glint of her own in her eyes.

"You know what, Melissa," I say, my grin still firmly in place, "I think I'm going to enjoy my time here."

She nods as something—an understanding—passes between us. It gives me a little confidence boost, knowing that I have at least one person on this floor who has my back.

The sound of the elevator arriving stops any further conversation, and in the next breath, a nerdy-looking guy with thick-rimmed glasses and curly hair strides toward me with a laptop, tablet, and cell phone in his hands.

Melissa makes herself scarce, returning to her desk and whatever task she was doing before I interrupted her with my little freakout.

"Okay, Lorelei, is it?" the guy says, lowering everything to my desk."I'm Paul, and I'll get you set up and ready to start work as soon as possible."

"Great," I say nervously as he slides me a piece of paper with my email and login details on it. "I can't wait."

He glances at me as if he's able to read between the lines.

I force a smile onto my face and do my best to listen to every word he says about the server, the printers, the email, and everything else I might need to know about the three devices he leaves me with.

" O h, thank god." I sigh when my third call to my best friend is finally answered.

"What's going on? I was in a meeting."

"Oh my god, Tate," I cry, thankful that the ladies' bathroom is empty. Honestly, why anyone thinks that Melissa and I need a bathroom with six stalls just for the two of us is a little insane, but right now, I'm grateful for the pacing space.

The past few hours have been nothing but a whirlwind. I've no idea which way is up, and something tells me that it's only going to get worse as the day progresses.

My two-hour relief from Kian is coming to an end, and I can only imagine what is going to happen when he summons me to his office for whatever the rest of my day holds.

"What? What's happened?"

I freeze, staring at myself in the spotlessly clean wall of mirrors that sits behind what I can only assume are hand-carved basins.

"You mean, you don't know?"

"No," she says in a rush. "I have no idea."

"Fuck, Tate. I told you this was stupid."

"Do you need me to come over there?" she offers.

"What? No," I cry. "Do not do that."

I can only imagine how that'll look to Kian.

Day one and I've already called in backup in the form of his sister-in-law to deal with his irritating ass.

"Okay, so…"

"I'm not Martin's assistant, Tate."

"O-okay, but?—"

"I'm Kian's," I interrupt, unable to keep it in any longer.

"Y-you're…what?"

"Exactly. That's why I'm freaking the hell out. Do you know what happened to his last assistant, Tate? She left crying after six hours. And those before her? God only knows, but something tells me that crying is the best of it."

"Um…"

"Tate, you're meant to be telling me that I'm overreacting. That he's not that bad. That it won't be?—"

"It'll be fine," she says in a weirdly high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like her usual one.

"Tate," I complain.

"What? It will be."

"And how do you know that?" I demand.

"Because none of his previous assistants were you. There is no way Kian Callahan will send my best friend running from her new job in tears. Not a chance in hell."

I can't lie, her confidence in me does light a fire under my ass, and I stand a little taller.

"If anything, I'd say that he'll be the one crying."

A smile spreads across my lips. "Hey, what are you trying to say?" I tease.

"That he has never had an assistant like you before, and that he has no idea what's about to hit him."

A laugh breaks free.

"See? The Lorelei Tempest I know would never cower down to a man like Kian. She isn't intimidated by money, or power, or good looks."

"You're right," I whisper, more to myself than her.

"She'd stand tall on the other side of his desk and tell him how it is. She'd call bullshit on his stupid, irrational demands, and make him do better. She wouldn't bow to his nonsense."

"Is that how it is with you and King?" I tease.

"Oh, hell no. We both know that I'm the boss and that he's the one running around completing my errands."

"I think you're going to have to share your wisdom. I need to know how to tame a Callahan."

Tatum laughs, and I picture her in the new swanky office at Warner Group as she throws her head back in amusement.

"Oh, Lori," she muses once she's finished laughing at my expense. "You are in so much trouble right now. But it could also be the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"Struggling to see that right now," I confess.

"Yeah, he's going to be a hard ass to work for, but Lori…" She pauses for effect. "You made it. You are exactly where you've always dreamed of being."

My new work cell begins buzzing with the alarm I set so that I wouldn't get lost in my conversation with Tate and end up back at my desk late.

Something tells me that when Kian said he'd be unavailable for two hours, he meant it to the second.

And while I might want to drive him crazy, being late on day one is not the way to do it.

"Tate, I gotta go."

"Oooh, duty calls," she teases.

"We'll talk later, yeah?"

"We should go out. Celebrate."

There's a part of me that wants to agree, but there is also another that is already exhausted and just wants to go home to sleep.

It's not even lunchtime yet.

How the hell am I going to endure endless days of this?

Of him.

"Maybe. Let's see how the rest of the day goes."

I hang up after quickly saying goodbye before setting about and attempting to get myself ready to face my boss again.

With my curls tamed and my lips freshly stained in a bright fiery red, I stride out of the bathroom with my head held high and my purple heels tapping loudly against the tiled floor.

Remember who you are, Lorelei.

You laugh in the faces of men like Kian Callahan.