Page 52 of Crave Me

“Wren,” I reply as if that explains everything.

He doesn’t ask what happened to Ashleigh. “Oh, I like her,” he says.

He hands me a report, but I barely see it. All I can think about is how much I like Wren, too.

My meeting is more complex than I anticipated. While I developed the concept for Ork, John and his team are helping me perfect it. John is a brilliant engineer, though often harried and unable to keep up with his thoughts. Today, that’s a good thing and gives me time to eat my sandwich while we bounce ideas off each other until we’re satisfied.

He waves to Wren on his way back to the lab. She’s busy typing and doesn’t glance up when I approach. “How are you so familiar with this?” I ask.

“The software?” she asks, her fingers flying across the keyboard. “Believe it or not, we use it at the dealership. I just never realized it was yours.” Her eyes round as her stare skips along the screen. “Although this is a better version than what I learned on. It’s faster, and it looks like you worked out all the bugs.”

“We try to address all complaints. There was one in particular that was especially heated and detailed.”

“That might have been me. But in my defense, I didn’t know you then and it was probably close to my monthly.”

I can’t help laughing. “There’s no need to apologize. But what I’m asking is, how is it you know what to do? Clearly, you have experience in this line of work.”

The ends of her hair brush along the top of the desk as she turns to regard me. “I graduated high school desperate for a job. Any job.” She makes a face. “You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve done for money.”

“I can imagine,” I say.

She shrugs, appearing embarrassed and equally anxious to forget. “Anyway, Colin, my boss at the dealership started me as a secretary. I worked my way up to rep while I attended college.” She taps another icon. “I majored in Women’s Studies. You can imagine how many doors that opened when I graduated.”

She laughs when I do. It’s the first time I see the Wren I adore, the one who doesn’t hold back. “It wasn’t the best idea I ever had,” she confesses. “But I wanted a college degree and that’s the only course of study that kept my interest. Either way, I turned out to be really good at selling cars so here I am.” She quiets. “Or was.”

As simply as that, the apprehension she demonstrated earlier returns. “What do you mean by that?”

She holds up a finger when the phone rings again. “Evan Jonah’s office, this is Wren.” She nods, listening closely. “One moment please while I check.” She looks up. “It’s Akira Brown from Finance.”

“Tell her she’s in charge and that I’ll meet with her at nine to discuss her promotion.”

“How can you meet her at nine? You’re supposed to sleep in,” she reminds me.

“I can’t sleep in. There’s too much to do.” I shove a hand into my pocket. “Besides, I’ll be in promptly at seven to meet my personal trainer.”

“Personal trainer?” She drags her gaze along my form, turning away when she notices me watching her and switching back to the call. “Akira, Evan will meet you at nine at his office. Oh, and congratulations on the promotion, girl.”

She hangs up, motioning to the office phone with a tilt of her head. “She seemed floored. Guess she wasn’t expecting that one.”

“Although many are qualified, it was rare for my predecessor to promote a woman as department head.”

“Are you serious?” At my nod she adds, “What an idiot.” She stands and brushes off her skirt. “So why did you promote Akira?”

“She works hard and is committed to helping my company succeed.”

“Then she sounds like the right choice,” she says, her voice dropping to just above a whisper.

I reach for her hand, ignoring how the glass front exposes us to rows of cubicles that make up the floor, but she edges away. It’s only when I see her lift her purse from the desk that I realize she’s leaving.

“Wait, where are you going?”

Her smile seems forced. “I have a job interview to get to. Don’t worry,” she adds quickly, motioning out to the floor. “Nicole over there says she’ll transfer her calls here and cover you.”

Nicole waves and stands, alerting us that she’s ready to replace Wren.

“She already covers several managers,” I explain.

“Oh,” Wren replies. “She didn’t mention that, and I didn’t think to ask. I was more worried about leaving you hanging.”

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