Page 2 of Catalyst

“I know, but he’s been relentless this week, so you might need to have another conversation with him.” Tessa shrugs. If she’s bringing it up to me, then Cliff has been badgering her more than normal. He owns Legends, an athletic clothing company, and has wanted to partner with Sidelines since the minute we started showing a little bit of success.

As much as he tries to deny it, our partnering with them would only benefit their company. Legends doesn’t sell sports equipment, and Cliff wants to piggyback off our success so he can start advertising without having to spend too much on upfront costs. Since we already sell athletic clothes, the only thing we’d gain is a small increase in our equipment sales. On top of that, their business practices lean toward the morally grey. I’m not about to throw out our hard-earned reputation for a minimally beneficial deal.

“I’ll call him this afternoon.” I make a note on my calendar app, even though I have more important things to be doing. I’m not sure how many times I’ll have to say no to him before he gets the idea. “Anything else?”

“Nope. You’re all caught up.”

I nod. “Great. Now, go home.”

She rolls her eyes as I help her out of the chair. I have no clue how she’s able to walk around all day without collapsing from exhaustion. I’m not even sure how she balances herself with the beach ball sticking out from her body. “I’m going to send you the final documents for your meeting with Leon in New Orleans. Then I’ll go home.”

Her no-nonsense tone tells me not to argue, so I accept her terms and sit back down at my desk. I really am going to miss her while she’s gone. She’s become like a second sister to me and is someone I trust with both my personal and professional life. She also tends to think as straight and narrowly as I do, which has allowed us to get along seamlessly.

My brain works best with concrete facts and logical reasoning. Which, according to my youngest brother, Nolan, makes me a stick in the mud. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I’ve been this way since I was little. I don’t know if it’s because I’m the oldest of five or if it’s just my personality. Either way, I took it upon myself to ensure my siblings and I stayed safe, no matter what trouble we got into. And with four boys and a sister who can keep pace with the rest of us, we got into a lot of trouble.

I enjoy being the steadfast one in my family. I like being the one my siblings turn to whenever they need advice or someone to lean on. I don’t think that part of me will ever go away. It’s been ingrained into me since my earliest memory.

I have a feeling this new assistant is going to disrupt my well-ordered world.

CHAPTER2

Ellie

What is that god-awful noise?

My eyes peel open as a groan rumbles through my chest. It sounds like the kids from the movieDrumlinedecided to practice their next set in my house. If I was more awake, I’d be a smidge concerned. I mean, I live alone. There shouldn’t be any noise downstairs. But I can’t manage enough brain cells to get out of bed as it stands.

When the noise doesn’t end, I get up, a string of curses flowing through me that would make a sailor raise his eyebrows. Or hers.

Man, I bet the female sailors can kick some serious ass.

Wrapping my silky robe around my shoulders, I walk down the stairs that lead straight into the kitchen. My duplex is small, and I love it a whole lot. It has one bedroom and bathroom upstairs, while the kitchen and living room span the bottom floor.

“Good morning, my little ray of sunshine!” a voice calls as I walk into the kitchen.

A laugh pops out of me, softening my usual grumpy nature in the mornings. I am bright and cheery at all times, except for the few minutes it takes me to wake up.

“Good morning, Ms. Sue.” I lean down to kiss my cooky neighbor on the cheek. She is all of five-foot-nothing, and what she lacks in height, she makes up for in personality. She lives in the duplex attached to mine and has been like a mother figure to me from the moment I moved in.

I pour myself a cup of coffee from the pre-brewed pot and gratefully take a sip. Coffee is the one thing that has the ability to turn me from Oscar the Grouch into Elmo in the mornings.

“I figured you’d need some extra fuel today,” Sue says as she pulls food I didn’t know was there from my fridge. It probably wasn’t, and she brought it over this morning.

“You would be correct. I’m going to shower while you—what are you doing?”

An insufferable sigh comes from Sue. “Oh, Lord. I’m cookin’ you breakfast. You should know that after all these years.”

“It’s only been five.” I grin at her. She swats my stomach, making me laugh. I know she’s cooking me breakfast; I just enjoy riling her up.

I head back upstairs, a refilled mug of coffee in hand. Today is my first day as a temp assistant at Sidelines. They’ve got locations all over the country, but I’ll be at their headquarters in Westlake.

This will be my fourth job as a temporary assistant, so I’m feeling pretty confident. At least it can’t be any worse than my last assignment. He was a misogynistic asshole who wholly believed women were better off out of the workforce and at home in the kitchen. When they were needed in the office, they were only good for bringing coffee and answering phones. Or the occasional grope or two.

A shudder moves through me as I get into the shower. I highly doubt the CEO of Sidelines is like that. He’s done entirely too many interviews to have hidden a misogynistic side. But people can surprise you. I know all too well about that.

Adam Ellis.

Westlake’s most eligible bachelor will be my boss for the next five months. I may have done some cyber sleuthing last night since I was too keyed up to fall asleep. I don’t know whether I should be shitting my pants with nerves or jumping with excitement. I may do both. We’ll see.

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