I'd seen the building in pictures, but nothing prepared me for the monstrosity as it stood before me. So tall that looking up to search for the top of it left me with a moderate case of vertigo.
Booked Out. The Black letters were front in centre above the entrance, there was no mistaking it.
This was where the story had begun.
Amber, my birth mother had told it to me many times, usually as a way to bolster me after a disappointment in life. I'd grown holding on to the seams and memories of the infamous 'Patchwork Family" and now I was standing right in front of it's beginning.
I brushed down the loose fitting blouse Scarlett had talked me into wearing with a black pencil skirt. It was completely not my style, but I had to make a good impression even if my new boss was a family friend.
See, my new boss was threaded into the same patchwork as me, although we'd never met, not that it really mattered. Despite our connection I didn't expect preferential treatment, I wanted to prove myself on my own merits.
Truth be told though, six months into the job and his reputation was famous already. News of his escapades had travelled far and wide, and not via the normal 'patchwork' lines either. He was a playboy party animal, with too much money and not a lot of sense. Still Nick and Marc had seen something in him and had handed the entire company over to him on his 28th birthday.
I sucked in a deep breath and brushed a loose strand of auburn hair behind my ear. As I walked toward the door in the black stiletto's I'd borrowed off Scarlett the two doormen opened the doors.
"Morning Ma'am." They chimed in unison as I walked through.
"Thank you." I replied, stepping onto the dark granite floor. The lobby was organised chaos with people moving in every direction. I approached the security sensor and waved the card Scarlett had given me before I left over the machine. It beeped and let me through. I glanced at the oversized clock on the wall, it was almost 9am. If I didn't hurry that good impression I'd hoped to make would evaporate into thin air. I quickened my step and almost skipped toward the elevator entrance. I reached out for the button, at the same time as someone else. Our hands collided, as we pressed it together.
"Watch it." An impatient voice exclaimed. I looked beside me, barely concealing a scowl. "No not you Juliet. Just a pleb in a hurry trying to break my fingers." he spoke into his phone, barely acknowledging my existence, at least in a civil way.
Pleb? I felt my eyes narrow. Who was this jerk?
"Sorry." I muttered through clenched teeth.
"Save your sorry and be more careful next time." He hissed. "No Juliet. Not you."
I didn't give a flying fuck who this jumped up pen pusher was. He'd insulted the wrong girl. When the doors opened I stepped in first and pressed the button for the top floor before he'd even stepped inside. I prayed someone else would walk in, to break what I could already tell was icy tension. As soon as his royal rudeness was off the phone, I'd give him a piece of my mind.
The doors closed without another willing victim. I held back a sigh as the ice box began to move upward.
"That's the reason for my call Juliet. I have to cancel." He sounded pissed off as he spoke. "No, I do care. I do. But I did a favour for family and now the hire I never hired is starting today. I can't force some other poor soul to train the uneducated girl, so it's in my hands."
I choked on the gasp I'd just sucked in, as I looked at the man whose face I hadn't yet been able to see clearly. Jumped up pen pusher was Evan Jackson... Evan Jackson my new boss.
Like a faucet the anger ran thick and hot threw my veins. I barely restrained myself from slapping him across the face.
He was a beautiful man, he always had been, even in the oldest pictures I'd seen. He had short Jet black hair, green eyes and a perfectly chiseled jawline. It was like he'd been created by adonis himself, it was just a pity the perfection ended at his exterior.
"Problem?" Evan exclaimed, his eyes met mine. I could see fire in them, but as he stared at me his face softened slightly.
I shrugged and shook my head.
"Juliet. I've got to go. I'll call you after work." Evan pulled the phone from his ear without pausing for an answer. He shoved the phone in the pocket of his suit pants.
Before I could say a word, the elevator jolted. My eyes widened and I gripped onto the side. Our hands touched, but this time it seemed as though it were welcomed. The lights in the elevator flickered and for a moment I was afraid the cubicle of death might stall and leave us suspended 20 stories high, however the lights came back on and elevator smoothed out, continuing it's ascent.
Evan pulled his hand away from mine, and I pulled mine back toward me. Any hopes of a good impression had disintegrated, the horse hadn't even left the stall. I was throwing in the towel now.
The elevator doors opened and Evan walked out. He looked back at me and tilted his head.
"You're new aren't you." He said finally.
"I'm leaving." I replied, remaining inside the death trap of an elevator. "You should get this hunk of junk serviced by the way."
His eyes narrowed and he stepped back toward the elevator entrance, placing his foot in front of the door to stop it closing.
"Leaving?" He replied.
"This was a mistake." I replied. "And clearly a waste of both of our time. I'm sorry Mr Jackson. You can call your girlfriend back, the hire you never hired just quit."
Evan's eyes widened, but he didn't move. In Fact he placed his entire stature in the doorframe of the elevator.
"You're Alice Donovan?" He scoffed.
"I prefer to be called Ace."
"Ace." He muttered. "You signed the contract already, yes?"
"Yes." I mumbled. "Your point is?"
"Well you're obligated to give me two weeks notice regardless of your wish to quit. As you'd know obviously. So step out of the elevator and into my office. Now."
I bit my lip as the urge to slap him in his smug face resurfaced. I balled my hands into fists instead and walked forward.
"You're going to have to move." I exclaimed.
Evan nodded and took a step back, clearing the exit of the elevator. I contemplated leaving anyway, going back to New York. I could get my old job back as Jackson's Assistant. I didn't need this new journey, the old one, despites it's bumps and potholes had been more than enough. Still I'd promised to try new things, venture beyond my front door, exist outside of myself. Leaving was just running away and I didn't want to do that. Not right away at least.
I stepped out of the elevator and folded my arms across my chest.
"I really wasn't kidding about that death trap."
"I'll have the maintenance guys take a look." He replied dryly. "Follow me Miss Donovan, I'll explain exactly what you'll be doing once we get to my office."
I followed because I had no other choice, when what I wanted to do was run in the other direction, yelling 'freedom' at the top of my lungs while ripping the suddenly constrictive blouse from my skin.
"After you." Evan exclaimed, holding open a door for me. "Walk straight through, my door is open."
I listened, crossing the floor of the receiving room. I'd been in here once, as a child though I barely remembered it. I walked right through, into the office and sat down in one of the plush black seats.
"May I suggest we start over?" Evan spoke clearly, calmly... and like a nephew who didn't want to piss his Aunt off.
"So I'm not an uneducated pleb?" I asked. "Or I am, and you're just going to keep it to yourself now. Where do we stand on the uneducated pleb status of me?"
Evan walked around to his desk and sat down opposite me.
"Just because you got this job on the back of a favour doesn't mean I have to placate you with false compliments and make you feel all warm and happy inside." He stared at me, his face deadpan. "In fact, most would say this would be the opposite place you should have come if you expected that."
"You think I wanted an easy ride, everything handed to me on a silver platter?" I laughed. "Evan Jackson..."
"What is that suppose to mean."
"Your name alone opens doors. Mine is nothing and it always has been. I don't expect anything for free, I never have, I just wanted a fair shot. All I expected was professionalism and a sliver of respect, So color me surprised when some unprofessional so and so insults me within earshot."
I crossed my arms across my chest "Boss or not, you were out of line."
Evan leaned back in his chair and tilted his head.
"You're right." He said finally. "I was, so for being a complete dunce I apologise, wholeheartedly. Though, You say you want a fair shot Miss Donovan?"
"Yes." I replied.
"Fine, then let's start over." He stood up and held out his hand. "From the very beginning. Welcome to your job interview. I'm Evan Jackson. CEO of Booked Out, and you are?"
A/N - And we're back... at Booked Out no less. No doubt you have questions, and we will get to them. I will answer right now a few before we go forward.
If anyone needs a recap of the family trees, let me know and I will draw some up.
hope you're glad for a NEW going Series book. I promise this one will be a firecracker!