Chapter 3

Cadence

Holy shit. I didn’t believe it when I read the email, but there it was. Eloise Roth had sent me the NDA as well as a brusque congratulatory message that said she was hiring me on a trial basis for a month. So I didn’t have the job yet, but I had a trial, which was so much more than I expected.

The quick acceptance sent up all kinds of red flags. Because she should not have hired me and should have rejected me immediately. Her agreeing to let me have a trial period meant that she was having a hard time finding someone and that wasn’t good for me.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I said as I re-read the email and then dove into the NDA. About five minutes later, my eyes blurred at all the legalese and I sent Hunter a message begging for help. Her parents both had law degrees and were willing to do favors if she asked nicely. She got back to me right away and said she’d have her parents’ answers within a few hours.

Eloise had also sent over another attachment. A schedule. My eyes blurred again as I looked through it. This woman loved a spreadsheet. A feeling of panic set in for a second as I thought about my role in maintaining that schedule.

For my ADHD brain, schedules could be good or bad, and I never knew which one I was going to get. I thrived on novelty, but also needed a framework so I didn’t go completely off the rails and spend an entire week reading twenty books in a row and barely eating or sleeping like I had the last time I’d been in between jobs. I’d been on medication off and on throughout my life, but right now with medication somewhat difficult to get consistently, I was trying to manage in other ways. Some days were better than others.

On second look, Eloise’s schedule didn’t seem that bad. She’d put in her writing time, her admin time, and everything else. Then there was my schedule, with my hours and tasks. During the interview, she’d spoken about what I’d be doing day-to-day. Some days I’d be at her house, helping her, and other days I was free to work from home. That I would definitely not be doing because if there was an enemy of productivity, it was me attempting to do work at home.

Yeah, I could do this. Probably. Plus, I couldn’t really turn down the pay, which was higher than anything else I could get, even bartending. I almost wanted to point out to Eloise that her pay rate was wildly high, but if she was willing to give it to me, then who was I to enlighten her?

I’d put up with a lot for that hourly rate. Even if I just lasted the month, I’d still be coming out better than I was now, at least financially.

I thought about telling my parents about the job, but it was so much easier to just…not. My parents were sweet and naive and didn’t know the realities of my life. Even when things went to shit, I kept our conversations light and didn’t confide my troubles. They couldn’t handle it. Never had been able to. I’d learned at an early age that the adults who raised me needed to be protected from the bad things in the world, and since I was the oldest, it was my responsibility.

I’d tell them once I’d gotten through the trial period. If I did.

Instead, I sent a message to my sister, Melody, who was three years younger than me and lived on the other side of the country working at an art gallery after she’d gotten her degree in ceramics. She did pottery on the side that she sold online as well, and I was so damn proud of her talent.

Somehow got offered a job as an assistant to a famous author. No, I’m not going to tell you who, but if I manage to outlast the trial period, this could really be something I sent.

Her response was immediate. OMG, that’s so great! Of course you had to brag that it’s someone famous and then refuse to tell me. Don’t worry, I’ll put my research skills to use.

She would probably figure out it was Eloise in the next five minutes but that didn’t mean I had to confirm. Plus, I technically hadn’t signed the NDA, so I wasn’t in breach of anything. Yet.

Just as I predicted, Melody sent back a message less than four minutes later.

ELOISE ROTH?!?!

I can neither confirm nor deny I responded.

She’s big time, Cade. Don’t fuck this up she sent, but it was with a kissing emoji and I knew she was joking about that last part.

Eventually I got out of bed and made myself some breakfast before heading to the gym where I worked a few hours a week managing the front desk. It was a fun job, but the pay was shit and my hours kept getting changed or cut so it wasn’t reliable.

Still, it was fun, and I got to chat and gossip with my regulars and it wasn’t too strenuous. I could sneak my phone when I was bored and read if I wanted to.

My shift ended at eight, and I stopped and picked up takeout on my way back home. Danica was out so the place was blissfully quiet when I got back with my too expensive (but very delicious) organic salad.

I went ahead and ate it standing up in the kitchen and then crashed on the couch with some cookies and a glass of wine mixed with juice because life was too short to drink alcohol that tasted like alcohol.

My book was steamy and my laundry was done. As I was mixing my second drink, I got a message from Hunter that her parents had looked over the NDA and had a few suggestions. I copied and pasted what they said into the email and replied to Eloise before putting my phone on silent. She’d probably write back tomorrow. Eloise didn’t seem like the kind of woman who checked her email outside of work hours, judging by her rigid schedule.

God, she was gorgeous. The kind of polished untouchable beauty that made you blink a few times because you weren’t sure it was real. So intimidating that I wasn’t sure I could function in her presence, but for the right pay? I’d suck it up and try not to look directly at her too often. Like an eclipse. Didn’t want to burn my retinas.

Concentrating on my book grew more difficult as my thoughts about Eloise Roth swirled in circles like water down a drain. Only I couldn’t seem to turn the water off, and the thoughts kept flowing.

My body warmed and I realized I was having…impure thoughts about my potential new boss.

Yeah, that was definitely bad. Very, very bad. Shut that shit down right now. I’d never had lusty thoughts about a boss before and this was definitely not the time to start.

I got up and went to take a cold shower, putting on music as loud as I could stand it to try and drown out the naughty thoughts.

* * *

Eloise got backto me with a new NDA and a request for me to start on the following Monday, which was four days away. That gave me enough time to try and mentally get my shit together, buy a few new outfits, and tell my part-time jobs thanks, but I’m out. I didn’t really have the cash, but I wanted to have a good first day outfit, so I hit my favorite thrift store looking for something nice.

The racks were picked over and the resellers were scouring for something good, but tucked in between a prom dress and a mumu I found an absolutely gorgeous green sheath dress that miraculously was my size. Black strips on the sides made my waist look nipped in and the length hit me perfectly, making my legs look longer than they really were. It was something like fate, trying that dress on and realizing it was practically made for me.

I could wear it with my comfortable black pumps and a cardigan. Hell, maybe I’d even put a brooch on. I had a beautiful gold bird that would definitely work. Something told me that Eloise would like it. Add some gold earrings and I’d be set for my first day. She wanted me to come to her house to look over everything and so she could train me in person. It made sense, but it also was stressing me out. There were so many things that could go wrong, or that I could do wrong, in one day.

So, so many.

I’d had dozens of first days, but this felt like more. More pressure. More anxiety.

Eloise Roth couldn’t know I was a disaster. Or that I thought she was sexy as hell.

* * *

“To Cade!”Hunter cheered as we all raised our glasses at Sapph. Reid raised her water from behind the bar. She was working tonight so she couldn’t hang around, but she toasted and then went back to serving, moving in the limited space with all the grace of a dancer. She’d done ballet until her junior year of college and then quit, but you could still see her training. Every now and then we could convince her to shake it on the dance floor and she put all of us to shame.

I downed my sugary shot that Reid had made special for me and grinned at my friends. They were all dying to know what this latest job was, and I was still refusing to tell them until I’d actually been hired. Besides, hearing their theories was even more fun than telling them. They had bets going on about what it was, and who was I to stand in the way of that? No one had guessed, and Hunter was keeping her mouth shut but kept throwing knowing smirks at me.

“Go dance with someone,” Hunter said in my ear, and I tried to shove off her hand on my shoulder. I didn’t want to do this tonight. I was wound tight about the job already and adding the pressure of trying to flirt and not make a complete fool of myself was something I didn’t want to do.

“No,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m good.”

Hunter sighed.

“Why don’t you go find someone? You’re single too,” I said, glaring. Hunter was one of those people who liked to fix things to ignore what was going on in her own life. Her life looked pretty damn good from the outside, but she had a mountain of insecurities that she did her best to hide behind a serene facade. Only those who had truly earned her trust got a peak behind the curtain.

She let out a little huff of frustration at me turning the tables on her.

“You know it’s true,” I said, singing the last word.

“Rude,” she said before going to the bar to get another drink.

Instead of finding someone to dance with, I nabbed the rest of my friends to shake it as a group instead.

I made it back to my apartment none the worse for wear and somehow made it to my own bed before completely passing out. The next morning was rough, but Hunter and Reid arrived to take me out to drag brunch, which was our tradition after a night out. You’d be surprised how much a drag queen and a giant breakfast sandwich with lots of bacon can help soothe a hangover.

“Since it’s just us three now, can we finally let Reid in on your new job?” Hunter asked, tossing her braid over her shoulder. Even though she was hung over, her hair was still elaborately done with flower clips woven through it.

Reid, on the other hand, had dark circles under her eyes from a long night at work and a frown permanently etched on her forehead, and she kept resting her head on the table like she was going to take a nap right there, but she perked up when Hunter spoke.

“Yes, enlighten me. Please tell me you’re an assassin in training, because I have a job for you and I’ve been saving my tips,” Reid said, poking at her plate. She’d ordered what the restaurant charmingly called The Garbage Plate, which was kind of every breakfast item piled together in a mess. I’d gotten it a few times, but it was the kind of meal that was a marathon and not a sprint and I wasn’t up for that today. The low-level panic about my new job simmered in my veins and in the back of my mind.

And now we were talking about it.

“Not an assassin. Much less interesting than that.” I shared a look with Hunter.

“Do you know Eloise Roth, the writer?” I asked. Reid took a second and then raised both her eyebrows.

“Uh, yes. My mom is obsessed with her books. She never misses one.”

“She’s hiring me on as an assistant. Potentially. I’m getting a trial period of a month,” I said, and Reid’s eyes went wide.

“Shit, Cade. She’s famous. This is a big deal,” Reid said, sitting all the way up.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “When I walked into the café and recognized her I thought I was going to faint. I have no idea how I’m going to actually going to function in her presence.” Not for the first time, I considered sending an email to Eloise Roth saying thanks but no thanks. And then I saw the emails about upcoming payments that I was barely going to cover now, and I remembered that wasn’t an option. I had to do this. For at least a month.

If I could.

“Hey,” Reid said, reaching across the table and touching my arm. “It’ll be okay, kid.”

I realized I’d been chewing the hell out of my lip and it was probably bloody.

“Yeah, thanks.” I licked my lips and went back to my drink.

“You’re going to do great,” Hunter said, and I hated that my friends had to reassure me like this. It made me feel like a child who couldn’t handle anything, not a grown woman. But who else was going to keep me from spiraling? Not my parents. And my siblings didn’t live around here. So it was Hunter and Reid, and sometimes Danica in a pinch.

“Can we stop talking about it please?” I asked and they did, swiftly changing the subject to one of our other friends and her relationship disasters.

They were the best and I knew how lucky I was to have them. Life would be a bleak place indeed without my support system.

After brunch I was feeling a whole lot better, so we took a little walk and visited the bookstore. The three of us bought books all the time for each other and would often buddy read if something was particularly good.

There was a table in the front with bestsellers stacked on it and everything in my body ground to a halt when I read the words ELOISE ROTH on several of them.

“Signed by the author,” Hunter said, picking one up and turning to the title page and showing me the swirling signature. Even that was beautiful and professional.

“Yeah,” I said. “I should probably read at least one.”

Hunter snorted. “I can’t believe you admitted to her that you hadn’t.”

I cringed at the memory. “Not my finest moment, but somehow, I still got hired. There has to be something wrong. That’s the only explanation I can think of.” Guess I was gonna find out either way.

“Or, hear me out, you made a good impression and you’re actually going to do a good job,” Hunter said, squeezing my shoulder.

I let out a breath. “Sure.”

I bought the book anyway.