Page 362 of Mr. Beast

I nodded. “Yep.”

“All right. Let’s go.”

When we arrived at the office, I was once again reminded of why I so thoroughly hated feeling like the new kid in town. It was just a solid reminder that I hadn’t entirely outgrown the self-consciousness I’d suffered in childhood; it was always there, ready to resurface. My self-consciousness was what had contributed to my need to be an over-achiever. Too often, it felt like the only way I could make myself feel worthy was by proving how adequately I could do my work.

“Are you all right?” Tobias asked, obviously noticing my distress.

“Yeah.”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me. “How about taking a quick break? I know this all must feel overwhelming.”

I nodded gratefully. “Yeah. That would be nice.”

And with that, I headed to the break area, where I began making myself and Tobias fresh cups of coffee.

Finding peace in the room being empty, I took a long and deep breath.

“Come on, Joanna,” I said to myself. “You’re just working for your brother. How hard can it be?”

Filling two cups from a fresh pot, I reflected on the training I’d had thus far, as well as the people I’d met, trying to recall names and faces even though so many of them blurred together.

I sighed in frustration as I added sugar and cream to the coffee.

Holding a cup in each hand, I took another deep breath and got ready to return to the office to let him know that I was ready to resume. But just as I reached the door, a figure unexpectedly appeared before me.

I crashed right into him, sending the hot liquid splashing all over both of us.

I looked up, positively mortified.

A man stood before me with a disgruntled look on his face as he stared down in disbelief at his expensive suit that I had just ruined with coffee.

When our eyes locked, my heart almost stopped entirely.

It had been a long time, but I easily remembered his handsome face, short blond hair, and impressive physique.

Just like I recalled the sneer he currently wore, and the way it had always been reserved specifically for me…

Anderson Lawrence.

I knew he worked with my brother and that I was bound to run into him sooner or later. If I was being perfectly honest with myself, I also knew that he was part of the reason I felt so nervous. Throughout my teenage years, I’d maintained a super-intense crush on him. There were times that my young self wanted him so badly that I didn’t know what to do.

What I hadn’t been prepared for was that over the years, he would manage to become even more handsome.

He was drop dead gorgeous; my memory hadn’t been doing him justice at all.

“Dammit, Joanna,” he said.

I recoiled.

Anderson was even more gorgeous than I remembered, but obviously, one thing hadn’t changed at all.

He still hated me.

CHAPTER 4

Anderson

I stared down at the hot brown liquid staining my new suit. In that moment, I knew Joanna was going to be just as much a nuisance as I always remembered her being. I began having vivid flashbacks of the annoying kid sister Tobias just couldn’t shake off whenever I was around.