Page 57 of Illicit Education
Instead of watching me on the security cameras or barking orders, maybe he should get these damn elevators fixed.
The nerve of this man!
The longer I thought about it, the more pissed off I became. First, he spied on me, then hedemandedthat I be in his office in ten minutes. No please, no pleasantries, just a gruff command.
Well, internship of my dreams or not, I had a damn backbone. And I wasn’t about to let this man railroad me or get into the habit of treating me this way. People treat you how youteachthem to treat you.
Cabot Reed was about to get a lesson in how to treat Rylan Blake.
When the doors finally opened to seventy-five, I stormed out, eyes straight ahead as I cleared reception and headed toward Reed’s office.
“Excuse me,” Stella snapped. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Mr. Reed’s office,” I called over my shoulder, not stopping for Stella. As far as I was concerned, Stella could–
“Oh, no you’re not.” The clickety-clack of too-high heels echoed through the space as Stella hurried after me. “He’s not expecting you.”
“Oh, I assure you, he is,” I stopped, spinning around so abruptly Stella nearly stumbled in her haste to avoid running into me. “Hejusttold me to meet him up here. Maybe he didn’t get the chance to update you yet.”
Stella’s mouth puckered, but then she reached for my forearm. “He’s not evenhere, hon.”
I deflated. “Oh.” I pulled free of Stella’s grip and straightened my shoulders. “Well, I’ll wait for him in his office.”
Stella snorted. “No, you’ll wait for him at reception, where peoplewaitfor Mr. Reed. Come along.” She stepped aside and motioned for me to go ahead of her, back to the small lobby area I’d just stormed through.
Fine.I’d wait for him. To be fair, it hadn’t been ten minutes yet.
Ignoring her smug expression, I walked past Stella. She’d clearly been working for Reed too long; she had that pretentious pout down perfectly.
As soon as my cheeks hit the seat, the elevator dinged and Reed strolled through the open doors. “Stella, cancel my four o’clock.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reed strode past the lobby, not even acknowledging my presence–
“This would be your cue, Ms. Blake.”
My mouth dropped open. He couldn’t be serious. This man just kept getting worse.
“Go,” Stella mouthed, shooing me away with a limp-wristed waggle of her hands.
Running my lips over my teeth, I stood, then walked as slowly as I could manage without remaining at a complete standstill. He’d been nothing but rude to me so far; why should I scurry along behind him like a desperate littledog?
Ignoring a few awkward looks from the various higher-ups as I passed the open doors to their offices at a snail’s pace, I finally made it to the CEO of Reed Publishing’s office and stepped inside, quite pleased with how long I’d managed to drag out that short walk.
Serves him right.
“Did you get lost?” he asked without looking up from his computer screen.
You know, I’d barely even made it through two days of this internship and I was about to hand him my resignation.
Right after I gave him a piece of my mind.
I swallowed hard, squared my shoulders, and took a deep breath. “Sir, with all due respect–”
“Cabot.” He lifted his eyes and locked me in that dark gaze, then rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, steepling his fingertips at his chin. “Call me Cabot.”
I cleared my throat. That look in his eyes threatened to destroy my gumption, but I held onto my anger and ignored my lust. “With all due respect,Cabot–”