Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
With a nod, Hank left, only for Emily to reappear just outside the entrance.
“Miss Quinn, could I see you in my office to discuss plans moving forward?” I asked, attempting to make a quick exit before Emily could reveal anything.
Aspen stalled and faced me with brows raised. “You have an office?”
“Yes, your father set me up with one that I could use over the next few months, while my attendance is required more frequently.”
“I don’t think your attendance is needed at all,” Aspen muttered under her breath. She turned away to grab her bag. The dismissal of further conversation leaving an opening for Emily to step in.
“Lucian, what are you doing here?” she asked, sitting in the spot I offered to Aspen earlier.
“I’m having a business meeting.” I stood and moved closer to the door.
“Well, duh, of course.” She laughed and followed.
I glanced to Aspen in time to catch her rolled eyes. I wanted to be irritated and call her on it, but they mirrored my own.
“Did you know I worked here?” Emily asked.
“I had n—” My words broke off when Aspen brushed between Emily and me, and I rushed to remind her of my request. “Miss Quinn, my office.”
She stopped and turned, looking between Emily and me. “Maybe later. After you’re done talking to your…acquaintance.”
“Miss Green can wait,” I dismissed, focusing my attention on Aspen, shifting my request to a demand. “My office. Now. Please.”
Both women reacted to the command in my voice, but only one caught my eye. I knew how Emily would react, but Aspen shocked me with her parted lips and the hitch in her breath.
Did Aspen Quinn—the always in control Ice Queen—like to be ordered?
As if it never happened, she snapped her mouth closed. “Fine,” she bit out. She spun on her stiletto heels and marched out, halting any further analysis of her reaction.
With a feeble farewell to Emily, I followed Aspen.
I tried to stay behind her to enjoy the view, but once we exited the elevator, she stepped aside for me to lead the way. However, I regained my position when I opened the door and watched the sway of her hips gliding into the open room.
“Not a bad space for being temporary. Or did you request the biggest office we had available so there was enough room for your ego?” she quipped.
“It’s not quite the corner office I’m used to, but thankfully, it’s just big enough for me and my ego.” I rounded my desk, watching her lips tighten. Not enough to pull any lines around her mouth, but I’d take it. “I guess I have you to thank for the design?”
She walked along the front of the desk, stroking burgundy nails along the wooden live edge. “Yup.”
I waited for details, but she continued moving without adding anymore. Her silence irritated me, driving me to prod for more of her buttons. “The chairs for guests have a nice look but aren’t very comfortable. The people I’ve met with looked stiff and awkward trying to find a position that worked.”
“Good.”
That’s it? I thought, my irritation rising. I insulted her hand-picked furniture, and all she said was good?
“How is that good? Didn’t you just go on and on earlier about all the facts of having a comfortable working environment?”
She stopped at the wall of shelves and looked back. “Do you sit in those chairs?”
“No.”
“Is your chair uncomfortable?”
I adjusted in the deep leather, sinking into the perfect curves. “No.”
“And if you sat in the other chairs or the couch over there, they wouldn’t be uncomfortable either.”
I raised my brow with growing annoyance. The demand for her to get to her point sat on the tip of my tongue, but I was determined to wait out any more of her silences.
“Because the chairs across your desk aren’t for employees. They’re for visitors, who are usually here to gain something from us. I picked those chairs because I want to make sure they don’t get too comfortable in our office. I don’t want them to lounge back and act as if they have a right to be on equal footing with us. I want them to be stiff and uncomfortable. Their discomfort adds to our upper hand, increasing our benefits. It’s a small act, but effective. And if there is ever a time we need them to be as comfortable as us, we have offices for that too.”
“Hmmm,” I murmured, at a loss for words. I hadn’t given a second thought to the design of my offices. It had been my father’s and when it needed an upgrade, I hired someone, giving them free rein after minimal instructions.
Meanwhile, Aspen made each decision with purpose.
Something other than challenging desire bubbled in my chest. Something like admiration.
I didn’t like it.
“I’m pulling up my calendar, and we can schedule times that work to begin interviews,” I said, shoving the sensation aside.