Page 10 of Mistaken Impression

I’ve been sent a list of instructions, which include the code for the parking garage, and I input it into the device by the barrier, waiting until it rises, and I can drive through. None of the spaces seem to be numbered, or have anyone’s name by them, and I park beside a Lexus, making for the elevators in the corner. The instructions say to go to the fourth floor, so I press the button numbered ‘4’, and suck in a breath, trying to calm my nerves as the doors close.

Unfortunately, they open again within moments, before I’ve had time to release that breath, and I step out to face a long, light wood reception desk. Standing behind it is a pretty blonde, who turns to me with a smile.

“Can I help?”

“I’m Ella Bennett. Kennedy Black is expecting me.”

Her smile widens. “Ahh, yes.” She nods over my shoulder. “If you want to take a seat, I’ll let Ms. Black know you’re both here now.”

Both?I turn as she picks up a telephone, to see a dark-haired man already sitting on one of two couches. He’s casually dressed in jeans and a white button-down shirt, and I’m wondering if I should have gone with my first instinct, and worn jeans too.

He glances up as I approach, then stands in a most gentlemanly way, and I struggle not to gasp. He’s heavenly… and he has the most perfect smile. It seems to match his deep blue eyes, which are currently roaming over me, in a heated gaze. I ought to be offended… I know that. I should probably tell him I’m not a piece of meat, or an object to be judged. But I can’t, because my eyes are wandering, too, so to tell him off would be something of a double standard. He has to be at least six foot five, and while I’ve always thought of my brothers as muscular, this man takes it to a completely different level, his biceps positively bulging as he raises his right hand, pushing his fingers back through his thick, dark brown hair.

“Ms. Black will be along in a moment.” The woman’s voice startles me back to reality, and without a word, I take a seat at the opposite end of the couch, putting my knife case down by my feet. The man sits back down too, and I wonder if I should say something… maybe introduce myself, as it seems we’re both here to see Kennedy Black. Except I’m not sure my voice will work properly. My nerves are still threatening to get the better of me… and he’s not making any effort, so why should I?

The silence is just becoming awkward when I look up to see Kennedy Black walking toward us. In her precarious heels, she’s around five foot nine – so about the same height as me, except I’m wearing flats – and she has unnaturally blonde hair, which she wears tied up in a neat but fairly stark bun behind herhead. Her stick-thin body is encased in a tight black dress that’s practically glued to her. She’s wearing a lot of makeup, perfectly applied to flawless skin, and it’s impossible to say how old she is. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s in her early forties, but luckily, I don’t have to guess.

Before I can even flinch, the man beside me quickly leaps to his feet, and I copy him, both of us holding out our hands, although it’s mine that Kennedy reaches for.

“Welcome, Ella.”

“Thanks.”

She turns to the man and although I know I’m being childish, I can’t help feeling a stupid sense of triumph that Kennedy greeted me first.

“Have you two introduced yourselves?” she asks, letting go of his hand.

“No.” He shakes his head, looking down at me. I half expect him to say I’ve only just arrived, but he doesn’t.

“Well… let me do it for you.” She tilts her head toward me. “Ella Bennett, meet Blake MacKenzie.”

I turn, and he offers me his hand, which I accept. “My friends call me Mac,” he says and I notice his British accent. It’s unmistakable and very sexy. “What do your friends call you?”

“Ella.”

“Okay.” He frowns, turning back to Kennedy. What’s his problem? I don’t have a nickname. I never have had, so I’m not being standoffish… just honest. Don’t tell me he’s going to be super-sensitive to everything I say? That’s the last thing I need. Not that I know who he is, or if we’re even going to be working closely together. Kennedy hasn’t been forthcoming with that piece of information yet.

She looks at the gold watch on her wrist and then back up at us again, her eyes settling on me. “We need to get on.” I nod my head, because I feel it’s expected, and she turns away. “I’veset up a meeting,” she says as she walks back down the hall. It seems we’re supposed to follow, so I quickly grab my knife case, and Blake and I catch up to her while she talks to us – or rather at us – over her shoulder. “I’ll introduce you to the team, so you can find out who you’ll be working with, but don’t worry about remembering who they all are.”

I wonder if the people who work for her mind being dismissed so readily, although I doubt they have a choice.

At the end of the hall, she opens the door on the left, going in first. Blake waits and I pass through ahead of him, although I wish I hadn’t when I see how many people are in the room. There must be at least twenty of them, either seated at the enormous oval-shaped table, or in chairs around the edge of the room, and they all stand and look at us.

I can feel myself blushing as Kennedy walks over to the head of the table, taking a seat.

“Ella, sit here beside me,” she says, and I do as I’m told, while she indicates that Blake should take the seat next to mine. Everyone else sits down, too, and although I feel like they’re all staring at me, I know they’re not. Blake is getting just as much attention. In fact, he’s getting a lot more… especially from the women in the room.

Kennedy coughs, and all heads turn in her direction, which makes her smile.

“Good morning,” she says, and I half expect the assembled group to reply, ‘Good morning, Miss,’ like they were still in school. They don’t. They simply nod their heads, some of them smiling. “This is the Meal Master team.” I’m not sure who Kennedy’s talking to, but she holds out her arms in a collective acknowledgement, and I struggle not to laugh. ‘Meal Master’? Is that the best name they could come up with? It’s awful… “I think we’ll start with introductions.”

She turns to the lady on the other side of Blake, who leans forward and smiles in my direction. “I’m Ruby. I’m the floor manager.”

She’s probably in her mid-thirties, with dark blonde hair, and she gives me a sympathetic look, like she knows how nervous I am. I nod my head, trying to appear grateful and knowledgeable at the same time, when I realize the man beside her is talking.

“Vince… sound,” he says, in a deep, monosyllabic voice, which matches his dour appearance. He’s quite young to be wearing such a stern expression, and as he glances at his watch, I wonder if this meeting has interrupted something more important.

In studying him, I’ve missed the next two people, and I realize Kennedy was right; I’m never going to remember everyone, or their titles. Instead, I let their words drift over me, nodding my head and trying to look polite. I’ll have to catch up with who they are later.

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