Page 19 of Illicit Education
The existence ofgood onesimplied there werebad ones, and something told me I’d already met one of those.
Gulp.
“You can see that the conference room is there.” She pointed to the massive room behind the reception desk that stretched almost entirely from one end of the building to the other and was lined with floor-to-ceiling glass. “And both Reeds—father and son—have offices just there.” She motioned to the corner offices on the far left of the conference room.
“This floor also houses the head of marketing, a few accountants, and Mr. Reed’s personal lawyer…” She frowned, peering into an empty office to her right. “I don’t see Mr. Rombauer in there today, though. Anyway.” She pointed to the left of the reception area, then smiled and stepped forward. “This is the executive assistant, Stella–”
The striking brunette raised her hand quickly to stop Blanca from speaking, not skipping a beat in her conversation as she waved us onward with a dismissive flick of her wrist.
I offered a smile as I followed Blanca past reception, but the brunette stared right through me.Okay then. Wonder what crawled up her ass and died–
“Follow me,” Blanca said, apparently unfazed by the rude receptionist. “Mr. Reed is expecting us.”
Butterflies kicked to life in my stomach. “Is it…” I paused, considering my words.
“Hmm?” Blanca looked back at me over her shoulder.
“I’m just wondering, um… which Mr. Reed should I be expecting?”
“Oh, of course. Junior.” She side-eyed me. “I’m assuming you’ve been informed of the changes taking place?”
I nodded.
“Though it has not yet been made official, you’re joining us in the middle of a transitional period. I’m hopeful that you won’t be too adversely affected by any of the hiccups we may run into during this time. Truthfully, the Reed family have been preparing for this for some time now, so the transition should go smoothly.”
I nodded as we reached the end of the hall.
“And you’ll be working with me for the most part, so anything going on up here doesn’t really concern you.” She stopped outside one of the massive corner offices. “Here we are.”
Decorated in sleek, modern furniture in shades of black and dark wood with hints of glistening steel, Reed’s office was at once understated and luxurious, as commanding as the man currently sitting behind the desk, his chair turned toward the New York City skyline. I could see only the top of his thick head of dark hair, sprinkled throughout with bits of silver, but my stomach tightened anyway.
Blanca knocked gently against the door jamb to alert our arrival.
Speaking in hushed tones, Reed finished up a call without acknowledging our presence.
Shocker.
Blanca offered me an apologetic smile, then stepped into the office, stopping just inside the door while I remained awkwardly in the doorway. What would he say when he saw me? Would he ask about the gift? Apologize for his rudeness in the elevator?
Call me out for my earlier insubordination?
Fire me?
Sweat began to moisten my palms, so I rubbed them down my pant legs.
“Fine. Do what you must.” His voice was tight and quiet as he ended the call, tension sitting heavily in the air.
Blanca cleared her throat. “Mr. Reed?”
The chair spun slowly toward us and I held my breath.
When his dark eyes locked with mine, my skin erupted in goosebumps. The muscles of my groin tightened with want.
He dragged his gaze down my body, then quickly back up, a swift once over that left heat in its wake because regardless of who he was or what I’d learned about him so far, my body wanted his. A little twitch of his lip was all he gave me before his gaze flicked over to Blanca. “Mrs. Arroyo. Good afternoon. I see you’ve brought me our new intern.”
“Yes. This is Rylan Blake.” She motioned for me to come inside.
“Rylan Blake.” He repeated the words slowly, tasting each syllable.