Page 19 of Hate Notes

"Enough," he said, turning and walking toward the building with long strides that made his perfectly tailored pants do interesting things around the shape of his muscular thighs and ass.

"You know I'm going to follow you," I called after him, hurrying to keep up. "When you lead me into the building, it just makesme think you like being alone in the elevator with me. Do I smell good? Is that it?”

Orion cut me a look that should have killed me, but I smiled cheerily back. I was playing with fire and I knew it. The problem was, I'd always liked getting burned

I flipped the stack of cards until I landed on one that had my handwriting. I had scribbled this on my walk here today, and it was my desperate attempt to fast-track this whole scheme of mine.

“Mr. Foster,

“That girl who reads you Hate Notes is really pretty, charming, funny, and such a great dresser. I also think it’s super admirable that she never accepts your bribes, even though she’s probably super poor and could absolutely use the money. Have you ever considered that she might be hoping for an offer other than money? Maybe you should widen your bribery horizons and get creative. Hmm? Just a thought.

“Oh, and while we’re just giving thoughts… Have you ever considered lightening up? I can’t believe you can listen to these notes every morning and still refuse to change. It’s either impressive or the greatest single act of stubbornness in human history.”

I looked up from the card as the elevator doors closed in front of us.

Orion stared at me. “What is it you want, Ember?”

Even hearing my name on his mouth did things to me that weren’t entirely unpleasant. I pushed through the feelings andgave a snarky smile. “Mr. Foster…I’m a proper woman. I don’t just come out and say what I want.”

He clenched his jaw so hard I thought I heard his teeth groaning. “Sex? Is that what you’re after? You’re trying to… seduce me?”

I sputtered with laughter. “No, no. God, no.” My first laughs had been genuine, but the combination of the weird sex dream I just read and the looming, brooding, admittedly sexy presence of the man-made the last laughs come out with a fake tinge.

I swallowed, going suddenly quiet. “No. That’s not what I was trying to get at.”

“Then what?”

“A job,” I said. “A real job. Not this… Hate notes crap. I could work for you. I’m actually qualified. I brought my resume incase—” Orion snatched the resume from my hand as soon as I produced it from my messenger bag.

He folded it carefully down the middle once, twice, then stuffed it in his suit pocket. The elevator dinged.

“I will consider your request,” he said, stepping off the elevator. “And Ember?” he added.

“Yes?”

“I’m asking you not to come to the art gallery tomorrow.”

The doors begun closing, so I cupped a hand to my ear and smiled. “What was that? I couldn’t hear?—”

The doors shut as I smiled wider to myself. If Orion was so worried about me coming to the gallery, then I had to go. That much was a given. Even if a small voice in my head whisperedthat maybe, just maybe, I wanted to go for reasons that had nothing to do with my original plan.

I silenced that voice and headed home to figure out what the hell I was going to wear tomorrow night. Knowing my luck, Catman would take one look at my outfit choices and give me that judgmental one-eyed stare that said I was fooling absolutely no one - least of all myself.

10

ORION

The art gallery was alive with soft jazz and the delicate clinking of champagne flutes. The building used to be a Catholic church, and the stained glass windows along with the brick architecture made for a unique atmosphere.

All around, guests circulated the room and murmured their thoughts or appreciation of the art on display. My sister flitted from guest to guest, weaving her charm through the entire building like invisible threads that held everything together.

That was Remmy. She had a way of putting people at ease—of making them feel comfortable and welcome.

I didn’t have the luxury of doing the same for my employees, unfortunately. Employees who were at ease slacked off. Employees who thought their boss would go easy on them didn’t push themselves to their full potential. A company made up of people like that was rotten from the inside and doomed to fail.

I ruminated on my thoughts while I watched Remmy make her way around the dimly lit space, touching arms, payingcompliments to artists, and occasionally stopping to give her thoughts on a particular piece.

I, on the other hand, was doing my usual thing: lingering at the edges and watching for business opportunities. I wasn’t here to enjoy myself. My role was to support Remmy and, if the opportunity presented itself, look for opportunities to help Foster Real Estate.

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