Page 21 of Latte Girl
He seems so rattled by the conversation that I decide to try perking him up a bit. I bring up the only interest of his that I’mawareof.
“So, um, any new...women?”
A wide smile lights up his face, and he reaches over to punchmyarm.
What is it with people around here andhittingme?
“That’s what I’m talking about, boss,” he says. “That’s the boss man I know. Have you seen the newreceptionist?”
I nod, even though I haven’t. “Yeah, she’s uh,prettyhot.”
“Pretty hot? She’s likeSportsIllustratedhot!”
I give a feeble “Heh,Sports Illustrated,” in response, but Tod is laughing too loudly at his own comment to notice that my reaction is less thanuproarious.
He gets up to go, still chuckling, and I remind him about the corrections before he leaves and forgets why he was even here in the firstplace.
“So Tod, while you’re thinking about those new”—I suppress a shudder and force the next word out— “jugs, just don’t forget the inputinstructions.”
“Right boss!” he calls from the door. “Second column, not the third! I’ll have those new pages for you by the end oftheday.”
He closes the door behind him and I slump down in my chair, letting my headlollback.
As totally fucked up as it may be, furthering my reputation as a disciple of Ludo’s misogyny is looking like the most effective way of doing well here. I have no other common ground with my staff, and seeing as almost all of them are more experienced than I am, it’s a wonder I’ve managed to gain their respect at all. Until a better option presents itself, I might as well go with the one that already seems to be working. Would it really be the end of the world if a few sexists thought I was asexisttoo?
ButHailey...
Just the thought of her has me lost in the memory of this morning, in her ink blue eyes staring up at me. Feeling the way her body curved under my hand, it was all I could do not to rip the apron off of her and strip her out of her blouse right there in theboardroom.
Luckily I didn’t, given Ludo’s inconvenient entrance a few seconds later, which just goes to show how impossible it would be for things to continue between her and I without the entire office knowing. I try to come up with a mental list of reasons to stay away from her. Given the reputation I’ve been gaining, anything I do to move things forward between us would feel like it was done on false pretences. I’d be letting people believe things that aren’t true just by being seen with her, and while I’m willing to sacrifice my own integrity, I couldn’t do the sametoher.
The sounds of the hospital fill my head again. Whatever I feel for Hailey, what my dad said in his office is true; I know exactly what’s at stake if I fail. I think back on the day I showed up in my mom’s room and she wasn’t there. No one could tell me where she’d been taken, so I went after my father tofindout.
* * *
“Where isshe,dad?”
I’m standing in the living room of my parents’ condo, a few feet away from my father. The flush of an autumn sunset coats the multimillion dollar view of the city outside, but the display is wasted on us. We stand with our eyes locked on one another, muscles tensed like predators braced for anattack.
“That’s not information you needtoknow.”
“She’s mymother,” I spit. “You can’t keep my away from my ownmother.”
“You’re not healthy for her,Jordan.”
His voice is as calm as ever. It infuriates me to see that he can still meet my gaze while spouting thisbullshit.
“How can you say this is myfault?”
He takes a step closer towards me. “You know this is your fault, Jordan. You already recognize the truth. Now do what you can to fix it before it’stoolate.”
He seems to grow taller as his threat loomsoverme.
“No,” I say, but even I can hear the resolve in my voice falter. “I won’t let you do this. I’llfindher.”
“I’m the head of one of the nation’s most successful security companies, Jordan. If I don’t want you to get to her, youwon’t.
I take a step backwards and my father advances, his hawk-like eyes narrowed, as determined as a bird of prey going in forthekill.
