And the fact that she was throwing it all away just fuckin’ killed me.
“It’s also a little sad,” I said, because I couldn’t hold back my feelings.
She’d been staring at me slightly glassy-eyed up until now. I figured I’d been boring her, but then she jerked back into the here and now.
“What is?”
“That a woman like you is working for an idiot like Klaus. The situation should be reversed – and if it were, I would hope you’d fire his ass.”
She grinned. “In a New York second.”
I was happy to hear that answer – but I didn’t just want to inspire her à la Tony Robbins and leave it at that.
So I decided to bring it back to flirtatious.
“I see so much potential in you, Lily,” I said, my voice low and seductive. “A huge future. Somebody who could really go out there and kick some ass. Smart, capable, funny, charming… beautiful, if it’s not inappropriate to say that again…”
Her mouth dropped open the slightest bit more.
Damn I wanted to kiss her…
Not yet. There’s still business to attend to.
But if I couldn’t kiss her, I was going to tease her.
“It’s too bad you’re such a doofus,” I said, and grinned – just to let her know I wasn’t serious.
Her eyes went from glassy to outraged. “What?! I am not!”
I was about to assure her it was a joke when she suddenly asked, “…what exactly do you mean by ‘doofus’?”
“Somebody who, either out of a lack of intelligence – which isn’t your problem – or a deficit of self-esteem, sells herself short and puts up with crap she shouldn’t. Only doofuses work for douchebags,” I said, using a humorous tone of voice so that she knew I was joking.
Sort of.
She crossed her arms and scowled. “I have to pay rent, I have to eat, and if the only way to do that is to work for an asshole, sorry, Mr. Bigshot ‘Gonna Buy The Company Someday,’ but I like having a roof over my head and dinner every night. It’s not going to be that way forever. It’s only temporary. Haven’t you ever had to put up with crap, ever, or is your life so charmed that you never had to overcome any setbacks?”
Impressive.
She had backbone.
She had gumption.
She had plans.
I really couldn’t bring up anything about my own past, or I’d blow my cover.
So I just laughed, and headed for her boss’s office. “Alright, alright… so you’re just a little doofus. Come on, let’s go dig up some more evidence of your boss’s douchebaggery.”
She looked at me like she didn’t quite know what to make of me… and then walked over and unlocked the door.
13
I spent another hour going through Klaus’s files. I knew the companies I was looking for – they were all analogous in size to corporations I invested in or sat on the boards of. Lily found the ones I wanted and kept a respectful silence as I pored over them.
Halfway through, I got a text from Johnny.
Not to rush you, boss, but I thought you said an hour? You okay?
I texted back: I’m fine. Something came up. Just hang out.
Finally I’d had enough of looking through the files. Klaus was shitty at his job, and now I had proof to kill the buyout.
But I had a more pressing problem on my hands.
How to move from a business relationship with Lily… to something a little more personal.
Actually, a lot more personal.
I could ask her out for a drink… but she probably won’t leave work… working late… coffee. I bet she would have coffee with me.
Then I remembered the last time I’d been here, up in the boardroom on the top floor. And I remembered what was up there.
But how to get inside…?
I scanned Klaus’s desk.
Like a dumbass, he’d left his security badge right there by his computer.
Excellent.
I looked up at Lily. She was watching me intently.
“I feel like a cappuccino,” I said. “You feel like a cappuccino?”
Her face fell.
Shit, Templeton, you really have the touch.
“Uh… I guess I could go get some Starbucks if you want,” she said, trying not to sound too disappointed.
I gave an inner sigh of relief.
“Screw that. Last time I was here, there was a pretty nice machine up in the boardroom. Want to check it out?”
She immediately perked back up – but then the fear took over.
Would a lowly secretary break into the company board room to have some coffee with a stranger?
We were about to find out exactly how naughty Lily Ross really was.
She narrowed her eyes again. “When were you here?”
“Oh, long before your august tenure at Exerton began. So, what do you say?”