“You’ll accept this as your first bonus. Think of it as your signing bonus. The necklace is yours in good faith. Do you know what that means? It means I believe you’re the kind of girl who will do anything it takes to make her dreams come true.”
“I don’t know. I’m still not sure what you want me to do.”
She blinks at me, looking innocent for a moment. “I need you to get close to someone. Win his trust. Win his heart.”
“The person that Maggie Clark was talking to me about yesterday?”
“Does it matter who? A job is a job.”
Her hand is still tight on my wrist. I’m fighting the panicked urge to rip my hand away and run out of the room. But I’m also curious.
“Okay,” I say in agreement, even though I can’t believe any of this is happening. In my head, I see Dylan Wolf’s handsome face and hear his gritty voice. I’d say yes to anything that involves him.
“You’re in?” Stephanie asks.
I’m relaxed again, feeling confident as I think about Dylan. My roommate said he liked me, and she seems to know more about guys than I do.
I lock eyes with Stephanie and say, “Yes. I can win someone’s trust, if that’s my job.”
“Good.” She lets go of my hand. “Your first assignment is Brandon.”
My jaw drops open.
“Who?”
“Brandon. I just have a first name for now.”
“Brandon,” I repeat. I could have sworn she was going to say Dylan Wolf. Now I don’t know what to think.
“Jess, I’ve got to run now, but my assistant will give you the corporate card and instructions. The first thing you can do for me is run out and buy something appropriate for your first assignment. There’s a meeting tomorrow at nine in the morning.”
I blink at her in disbelief. Who is Brandon? I only agreed to this weird promotion because I thought it was about Dylan Wolf.
“I know, I know,” Stephanie says, waving her hands. “Nine in the morning is too damn early to be seductive. You can’t even offer martinis at that time. Eleven o’clock, sure, but nine? Anyway, I don’t make those decisions. You’ll just have to do what you do, at nine.”
She gets up and walks to the door.
I push my chair back and stand. By the time I get to the door, she’s already gone.
A very short lady with thick glasses and spiky gray hair walks up to me.
“Here you go,” the older lady says, handing me a silver-colored credit card. There’s a business card taped to the back for a clothing boutique. By the address, I can see it’s a couple blocks from here, on the same street.
I look around for Stephanie, but she’s gone. Her perfume lingers in the air.
“You’re Stephanie’s assistant?” I ask. This woman is the exact opposite of Stephanie. I wonder if Stephanie is some sort of glamor vampire who sucks the glamor out of other people. This woman with the thick glasses has little gray hairs sticking out of her chin.
“Her assistant? I sure am.” She grins, not giving me any more information.
“And I’m supposed to take this card and go buy clothes for a meeting tomorrow?”
She nods. “Sounds about right.”
“Should I come back up to this floor after I’m done shopping? To get approval or something?”
“Stephanie won’t be back today. She’s on assignment now. Take the rest of the day off. Get a massage.”
I let out a laugh. Pay to get a massage? I’m the girl who’s carrying a peanut butter sandwich in her bag because I can’t afford a cafeteria lunch.
The gray-haired lady pushes the call button for the elevator.
“Any more instructions?” I ask her.
“When you get there, tell them you’re one of Stephanie’s girls. They know the budget, and they know what Stephanie likes.”
“That’s it?”
“Have fun!” she says. Then she turns around and hustles off in the opposite direction.
I stare in disbelief at the card in my hand.
And then I get on the elevator.
I guess I’m buying some new clothes.
How did I get myself into this?
Technically, I didn’t.
Technically, it was my best friend who sent in my resume.
Even though it’s always been my dream to work in the music industry, I didn’t have the guts to go for it. That’s how chicken I am.
I’d been applying for jobs that were at least in the same state. But my best friend gave me his old laptop, and he set up all my passwords. I didn’t know what he’d been doing until I got called for an interview.
Now I’m on my way to some boutique with a corporate credit card, and I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen tomorrow.