Page 5 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

"Yep," I lied. "Don't know of them. Don't want to."

I ignored his shocked gaze and the shocked silence that followed my statement, instead putting on my own glasses, reveling in the moment of quiet, and got back to work. I looked at some of the things I needed to do today, a few phone calls, a manuscript to read over, a cover to approve, a proposal to fine tune... all of it way too important to hand off to Mr. INXS over here, whose eyes I could still feel studying me.

"So I'm done with my paperwork," he said.

"Already?" I'd hoped that would last him until after lunch at least.

"Yep. And I was hoping you'd give me an overview, you know, tell me everything I need to know about Insight Ink, all the down and dirty details, what really goes on in a place like this."

"Have you never worked in publishing before?" I asked.

"Nope. My mom pulled some strings though, and that's how I got this job."

I blinked at him, stunned, shocked, utterly flabbergasted that he would just freely admit that. "Your mom?" I asked. "What are you like eight?" Although as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized I was no better than him. I was just hiding it all.

He shrugged, clearly not bothered by my insult. "You've gotta use whatever advantages you have in this world to get ahead."

I ignored the fact that he might have made a valid point. "So... I'm what you call an acquisitions editor. In a nutshell, I scoutand sign new authors, evaluate manuscripts, and help guide writers through the publication process."

"Mm-hmm," he said, his eyes glazing over.

Lovely. "And do you know anything about Insight Ink?"

"Not really."

Did the man ever hear of doing his homework? How did he get this job anyway? His mom must have called in some major favors. "So Insight Ink is dedicated to publishing compelling non-fiction that informs and inspires readers."

He stifled a yawn, the asshole. How was I supposed to train this guy on the finer points of my job when he couldn't even listen to the most basic stuff?

"You ever met the CEO dude, Max whatever his name is?" he asked.

"Max Sterling is his name. How could you not know who the CEO is and what we do here? Did you not prepare at all for your interview?"

"Oh, I was plenty prepared," he answered, his tone full of some weird innuendo that I didn't want to ask about. "So if you're some big shot acquisitions editor, what are you doing wasting your time in a smaller place like this and not at one of the big publishing houses?"

"I'm notwastingmy time. I actually love it here. It's more personal, and I feel like I can really make a difference."

He stared at me like I was speaking a different language. Which maybe I was to him. Or maybe he was reading between the lines of what I'd said, that he somehow surmised that I had indeed started at one of the bigger houses, courtesy of my family's connections, and it'd been pure misery.

"And what about that Veronica chick?" he had the audacity to ask. "She seems a little harsh."

"First of all, she's not a chick. And if I ever hear you call a woman a chick again, I swear to God I'll report you."

"Damn. Fine, Dee."

"And she's not harsh." I looked around but no one was nearby. "Well, maybe a little," I amended in a hushed tone before realizing that'd been pretty stupid to say to jerk face. "She's fair and expects a lot from us. Including herself."

"And what aboutherboss?"

"I suppose that would be Max Sterling. And he's... well..." I remembered to bite my tongue because I had no idea whether or not Jared could be trusted. "No comment."

"No comment? Wow. That says everything."

Oh, shit. He was right. Even though I knew firsthand that Max Sterling was a pretty face with a shitty attitude, I needed to backpedal. Over the years, I'd met him several times at events and he never remembered who I was, acting like it was the first time he'd ever seen me, like he was leagues above me. And he'd been the same way with my sisters.

"Max Sterling is amazing," I gushed. "The most wonderful, thoughtful, creative, inspirational visionary we could have at the helm of Echelon Enterprises. And I just adore his addiction to alliteration."

"Addiction to alliteration?"

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