Then I wanted to shout, ‘But you can’t own a successful business! You can’t be rich! You take the bus!’ but, of course, I didn’t. Instead, I did the best thing I could think of, which was keep my mouth shut.

Janet, also playing it smart, uttered a soft, “Of course, sir.”

Nicholas walked over to the door and held it open, waiting for me to walk through. I did, my feet carrying me quickly as I clutched my satchel for dear life. I followed him as he walked, nearly stepping on his heels every few steps, until he led me to a large office at the end of the hall. “Come on in, Mia.”

He closed the door behind us then sat, motioning for me to do the same. “So I think you’ve gathered by now that I am Nicholas Dietrich, owner of Addison Ltd.”

I nodded gently, but said nothing. Why was it only now that I was feeling intimidated? When he was just Nicholas, I still felt nerves, but not nearly this bad.

He leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m not often at the office. I prefer to work from home. There are too many distractions here. I hire people to do work for me, but when I sit in this office, it’s as though people think that’s an invitation to come in every five minutes to show me what they’ve done and ask if the work they’ve done is ‘okay.’”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you need me to check your work every five minutes, I’m assuming it’s not okay. That’s a really good way to get fired here. So here’s my first tip to you, Mia: Have confidence in your work and stick by it when others rip it apart. My second tip is: Hold your head up high. Pretend you’re a badass, the best at what you do, because if you don’t…” his eyes drift over me, looking me up and down, “…you’re going to get eaten up for breakfast.”

My voice small, I mumbled, “I am the best at what I do.”

He smiled then. “That’s the spirit.”

I choked down a laugh and explained, “No, I mean…I am the best. Of this year, anyway. I came top of my class. Every class.”

His eyes widened as his mouth pulled down. “Impressive.” Then he conceded, “And I should probably know that already. Alas, I don’t do the hiring.”

Feeling bold, I pointed out, “Of course not. You have someone to do that for you. You probably have assistants for your assistants.”

A cocky smile played on his face and he opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off with, “Why were you taking a bus this morning?”

His smile fell. And just as I tried to apologize for prying, the door to the office flew open and a blonde, rail-thin woman came rushing in, her high heels clicking with every step. Fury sparkled in her eyes. “We had a deal, Nick. You work from home; I work here at the office.”

A cool smile graced his face. “Good morning, Addison. How lovely to see you.”

His polite demeanor only seemed to fuel her fire. She hissed, “I want you gone by lunch, or I’m calling my lawyer.”

I remained silent, locked in an awkward bubble between the obvious animosity between the two. And then she was gone.

With his eyes fixed on the door, his jaw worked. “You want to know why I had to catch the bus this morning? Because my charming ex-wife, as you just met, claimed she needed my cars in conjunction with her alimony.” His eyes met mine. “That’s right. Not car, but cars.”

“I see.” But I didn’t see. I had no idea what the hell I was getting myself into working at Addison Ltd.

At the look on my face, his lip twitched. “Don’t worry. It’s not always that eventful working here. I swear.”

Even though I told myself I should leave it alone, my mouth opened and words spewed forth. “You work with your ex-wife? That must be tough.” Then I winced. “I’m sorry; this is none of my business.”

He nodded. “You’re right. It isn’t. But it’s nothing you won’t hear as part of office gossip.”

My face gentled. I wanted to tell him I wouldn’t listen to the gossip, but that seemed unlikely. So rather than say that, I asked another personal question. “Why does she hate you so much?”

He paused a moment, thinking of what to say. His face wore no expression, none whatsoever, when he uttered a very clinical, “Because I cheated on her.”

And that was how I met my boss.

My apartment welcomed me home with open doors. Well, not really, but if an apartment could hug a person, mine would be hugging me right now. I loved my place. It was small and bare, but it was mine.

I was tired as hell, but the day had improved with every hour that passed. I met two colleagues I would be working closely with, Ella and Pip. Ella was a short, plump woman who wore the tallest of heels and rocked a massive head of curls, while Pip was a middle-aged man with smile lines around his eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. They were both sweet and welcoming, and funny too.

I had a feeling the pros of working at Addison Ltd would surely outweigh the cons.

The shower called my name, and when I undressed and stood under the hot spray, tension I hadn’t realized was there washed away. I was left feeling calm, happy, and positive about my job choice.

Ella and Pip threw me into the deep end right away and I loved them for it. We were working on planning a ‘desperate and dateless’ ball hosted by the number one radio station in the city. And while I stayed back and watched how Ella and Pip worked together, whenever I felt I had something to add, they listened and took my advice on board. I was part of a team. And that felt good.

Throwing on a pair of panties and my tattered nightshirt, I slipped into bed and turned on the TV. I absentmindedly watched a reality show about rich housewives, but kept looking at my cell sitting on the bedside table. A few minutes of doing this and rolling my eyes, I snatched up my phone, pressed a few buttons, and held it to my ear.

“Maya?” I forgot about my racing heart the second I heard his surprised voice.

“Hi,” I uttered, then added quickly, “shoot, you’re probably busy. I’m sorry! I’ll just—”

But I was cut off with an amused, “Trying to get rid of me already?” He sighed dramatically. “Just my luck.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the dejected tone of his voice. “No, I just…I should’ve sent you a text first to check that you were free.”

“So now that I’m on the line, why don’t you ask me if I’m free?”

I smiled but rolled my eyes, asking a deadpan, “Are you free, Quinn?”

He chuckled and stated, “You know what I like about you? You’ve got fire hidden under your sweet side. And yes, I’m free for another couple of hours. How was your day, Maya?”

Mia! I wanted to yell. My name is Mia!

Playing with the stitching on my comforter, I admitted, “It was great. I started a new job today.”

I heard rustling on the other line, as if Quinn got comfortable to listen to me. “Really? That’s cool. Tell me about it.”

And, smiling, I did. For the next hour, I had a real conversation with Matt Quinn. It was everything I hoped it would be…and that scared the crap out of me.

Chapter Thirteen

Quinn

When Maya called, I was stunned. Well, more like pleasantly surprised. I had been avoiding her since my night with Belinda, which was not her fault. It was mine. Using Maya’s name when with a client hadn’t been planned, but while it was happening, I enjoyed it. After it was over, I felt dirty.

If only she knew. She wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot pole.

Her soft voice held a high amount of amusement in it when she explained her day’s adventures. “…and then this gorgeous blonde comes barging into the office so hard I thought the door would fly off the hinges, and she lays into him…right in front of me!”

Eyes wide, I muttered, “No way.”

I could almost see the expression on her non-existent face. “Yes! But wait, it gets more awkward.”