Page 9 of Illicit Education

This mattered. This moment right here.

People hurried past me in various directions, the Monday morning bustle of a massive publishing house moving around me. It had its own energy, its own pulse.

My eyes began to tingle with emotion as I took it all in.

“Miss?”

Blinking, I lowered my gaze to the woman seated behind the desk.

She smiled, watching me expectantly. Had she asked me something?

“I’m sorry, I…”was momentarily stunned into silence by a logo.I grimaced. “Did you say something?”

The receptionist’s smile widened as if she understood why I was so affected by a logo. Maybe she’d had the same reaction on her first day. “So dreamy, right?”

Nodding, I glanced back up at the signage; being heredidfeel like a dream.

“What can I help you with this morning? Do you have an appointment?”

“I’m here for the fall internship,” I explained, kicking back into gear and approaching the desk. “My name is Rylan Blake.”

“Awesome,” she said. “I’ve been expecting you.” She wheeled her chair over to one end of the desk and grabbed a file. “I have all the paperwork ready for you here.” She waved the manila folder. “Welcome to Reed Romance, Rylan Blake.”

“Thank you.”

“Should I call you Rylan?”

“Sure.”

She stood and walked around the desk to join me, extending her hand. “My name is Marisa. If there’s ever anything you need, let me know, okay? Each imprint has their own administrative assistant, and there are various other admins throughout the company, obviously, but I have my eyes and ears on everything, right? So I’m your girl.” She paused for a quick breath. “Reed Publishing is huge, you know, but you don’t have to worry about all that, just romance. Editorial has Hector and publicity has Libby, the design team has Eloise…” She trailed off, eyes widening. “Yikes, sorry. I’m rambling. That’s way too many names for your first five minutes.” She giggled self-consciously. “Anyway, no worries if you need something, okay? Whatever it is, I’m your girl. And if I can’t figure it out, I’ll find someone who can, you know?”

She talked a mile a minute but I found myself smiling as I nodded. It made her instantly likable and relatable.

“Come on.” She started down a long hallway that broke off to the right of the front entrance. “Mondays are hella busy here, and I can’t be away from the desk for very long.” As if in emphasis of that statement, the phones began ringing. “See?” Marisa laughed, tossing her black curls over her shoulder to glance back at me. “Your first stop is Human Resources–hold on.” She pressed the headset on her ear, answering the call as she led me away from her desk. “Reed More Romance, this is Marisa. How may I direct your call?”

Chapter Six

Cabot

Stella’s gaze locked on mine the second I strode from the elevator onto the seventy-fifth floor, a question burning in those hazel eyes. “Good morning, Mr. Reed.”

She bowed her head and a muscle ticked in my jaw as irritation crept up the base of my skull.

In the workplace, I expected capable employees. As my executive assistant, I expected even more from Stella. She was to mirror me in every way. A rigid backbone. A firm hand. Her voice never wavering, never giving any indication of weakness or inferiority.

We’d had a particularly challenging weekend, and remnants of what I’d put her through lingered in the uncertainty in her voice, the way her eyes kept skittering away from mine… the obeisant bow of her head.

Unfortunately, Stella had difficulty with the work / life balance, and thus, on occasion, was unable to separate one persona from the other. It was in these moments when I regretted hiring her as my executive assistant.

I’d been debating for some time whether or not I should end things with her on a personal level or transfer her to another floor professionally speaking, but the fact of the matter was I liked Stella; I’d never want her to think I was discarding her or had grown tired of her. But the lines were blurred, and that was unacceptable. I rarely made mistakes in my professional life, but allowing someone from my personal life to become my employee had definitely been a mistake.

And one I would soon have to rectify.

I ran my hand over the back of my neck as I stopped at her desk and reached over it to grab a stack of unopened mail. “I’d like a list of all meetings taking place today.” Shuffling through the envelopes in search of anything pressing, I lifted only my gaze when she didn’t immediately reply.

“I like it.”

“What?”

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