Page 16 of Tempting Him

“Thanks.”

I rush toward the elevators, which of course are both in use and at the top floor. By the time I get inside one and reach the fourth floor, my watch lets me know it’s already three o’clock.

The doors open, and after glancing side to side, I approach a woman who’s walking past me.

“Excuse me. I’m here for the marketing internship. Can you tell me where to go?”

She purses her lips slightly, as if she’s annoyed I’d ask her for directions. “They’re in conference room two.”

I grant her my best smile, trying not to come off rude. “Can you tell me where that is? I’m new. First time here.”

With a sigh, she turns and points down a hallway. “Go down there. Second door on the right.”

“Thank you.”

When I get to the room, the door is already closed, but through the blinds of the glass window, I can see everyone seated around a table, focused on someone in the front of the room. Shit. Late is late, even if it’s just two minutes.

I try to slip in as quietly as possible, closing the door behind me with a soft click before rushing to an empty chair between two guys at the far end. The man speaking has his back turned as he writes on the whiteboard, so hopefully he won’t notice I came in late.

I scan the table, noticing everybody already has folders in front of them, so he’ll definitely realize I was late when he sees I don’t have anything in front of me. Great.

Any hope of him not looking closely enough to find a new face in the crowd is instantly shot and killed when he slowly spins around, and I see the face of the man who nearly fucked me to death over the balcony of his hotel suite.

“Oh my God.”

His beautiful piercing eyes zero in on me as soon as the whispered words leave my lips. He’s got a damn good poker face, because he doesn’t show an ounce of shock or concern after recognizing me. Aleksander simply picks up a paper and scans it before focusing on me again.

“Mr. Brooks. You’re late. I’d advise you to not let it happen again or you’ll find yourself looking for another internship.”

I swallow, ignoring the eyes of every other person staring at me, concerned only with the uniquely colored ones at the front of the room. “Yes, sir.”

Aleksander

6

HavingJay show up as an intern in my program is one thing, considering I’m the one in charge. Had he just been a one-night stand under regular circumstances, maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad, but Jayden Brooks is a name I was already vaguely familiar with.

His father, Calvin Brooks, works with me in Chicago at the marketing firm downtown. Not only that, these past couple of years we’ve gotten pretty close, even having drinks after work, or enjoying dinner with his wife at the restaurant she works at. I’d consider him a friend, and the fact that he’d probably say the same thing, even though I’m his boss, says a lot. He’s a hard worker, a good man, and when he asked if I had a position for his son here, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

However, after meeting Jay at the bar, not once did I consider he was Jayden, the son of my friend and the man who’s in charge of the public image of the company. That makes this a little more awkward, and probably the number one reason why I shouldn’t feel this tinge of excitement of having him working here with me.

“In a minute, I will bring in a few of the marketing managers you’ll be working for. You’ll be expected to be self-motivated. Don’t wait until someone has to ask you for something. You need to assess the situation and figure out what needs and can be done by you. We don’t like for our employees to do the bare minimum. You will prepare promotional presentations and monitor social platforms. Organizational skills and the ability to multitask are needed. If you don’t have a passion for marketing, this will not work out for you. There will be marketing events that you will plan and host, amongst many other things. You will speak to the person you’ll be working under for more details.” I pick up the phone and press a button to connect me with Linda. “Send them in. Thank you.”

A minute later, Ivan, Zola, Luther, and Micah stroll in and I send two interns with each of them. Once they’ve stood up and followed the marketing managers out of the room, I’m left with Jay.

“Mr. Brooks, you’ll be working with me today. Come on, my office is upstairs.”

“Hey, umm, this is weird, right?” he says from behind me. “Did you...oh shit.”

I angle my head over my shoulder to see his wide eyes bounce around as if he’s just figuring something out.

“What’s that, Mr. Brooks?”

“Sorry. Uhh, so you’re the guy my dad knows?”

“I do know him, yes.”

I move through the room, heading for the elevators. Next to us, Zola and her two interns wait as well.

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