Page 18 of The Brigadier
He started talking about profits and whoever Weaver Technology was, acting as if the other company was terrible. If I had to guess, I’d say our firm had been turned down for use as their main advertising firm.
Something the man said sparked my funny bone and God help me, I laughed, unable to slap my hand across my mouth in time. You would have thought I’d broken into a high-end jewelry store. A spotlight immediately shone on me as if done by the police.
The entire audience gasped at my faux pas.
And the man that already made my skin crawl snapped his head in my direction so fast I was certain his neck would break.
He studied me in the harsh lighting, sucking in his breath. As he lowered his gaze slowly, there was no doubt in my mind he was undressing me with his eyes. I needed a shower. No, I needed a bully stick so I could punch the man in the gut.
Down, girl. Down.
There was no noise in the room as he started walking toward me. All I heard at one point was my rapidly beating heart and a single person daring to go, “Uh-oh.”
When he was suddenly right there in front of my face, it was all I could do not to punch him hard given the way he was leering at me.
It was so weird to me that everyone inside the big room seemed to be holding their breath and slinking back, doing their best not to be noticed by the powerful man…
Perhaps by other’s standards he would be handsome. Slicked-back black hair. A very nice suit. Dark eyes. But for me, he was nothing more than an older pretty boy on steroids.
I did what my father had taught me to do. Stand up tall. Look the man directly in the eye. And even smile. I could tell he was doing his best to intimidate me. It wasn’t going to work.
As he came closer, I almost developed a bored expression on my face. I could tell he was annoyed.
When he was only maybe three inches from me, far too close for a typical boss and employee, he cocked his head. The second onceover was even more provocative and I had to fight to keep from visibly shivering.
“Perfect. Absolutely perfect.” The odd words seemed to indicate he’d found his next… victim? Love interest? I wasn’t certain but if he thought I’d sleep around to jump ahead, he was dead wrong.
He went on with the meeting, which was brief, and I did nothing more than breathe a sigh of relief, realizing most of the employees were staring at me.
Fuck them.
“He said what?” Sonya was close to becoming hysterical and pissed off. She was a rough around the edges girl complete with tattoos, a nose ring, and wild pink hair. As an artist working in Soho, she could be anything she wanted to be.
Lucky girl.
I chewed and swallowed my pastrami sandwich, likely the best one I’d ever had in my life. The deli was a fabulous choice. “No lie. Plus, he was so creepy when he undressed me with his eyes.”
“I would have kicked him in the balls.”
I wagged my finger at her. “Not typically the best behavior for the first day of your new job.”
She shrugged, dipping her French dip until the bread was soggy. She was dressed in all black, combat boots accompanying her pink hair. At least she was doing what she loved, living like a Bohemian. I’d considered living with her but from the pictures she’d sent a couple of months before, it appeared she’d come close to living in a commune.
No, thank you.
I needed my space and privacy.
“You need to be very careful and set boundaries early on or these assholes will walk all over you.” Sonya gave me a hard look, stuffing a handful of potato chips into her mouth.
“Yeah, well, I’ll see how it goes. I think staying away from him is in my best interest.”
She nodded, juice dripping from her mouth. A free spirit through and through. “How’s the apartment other than cramped, with thin walls, and probably smelling like Indian food, unlike the posh mansion you grew up in?”
“That about sums it up.”
“I bet in six months you’ll be living in a penthouse.”
“I don’t know about that.” I checked my watch and she groaned. It was time to finish up. Forty-five minutes went fast.