“And you must be Martina?”
Martina sat up at the sound of her name. She brought her dark hair behind her ear, which only accentuated her sharp features. “I’m Martina, and I’m Aubrey’s assistant. Shannon sent me to—”
“I know,” Elijah said flatly, raising his hand to silence her. He’d already read the email, and if there was one thing he hated, it was when people told him things he already knew. It wasted time that could be spent working on their projects. The redundancy of information provided was one thing he hated about meetings and working in an office setting. Everyone seemed to reiterate information that had already been sent via email. “I look forward to receiving your ideas, Aubrey. I can’t say I’ve seen anything that you’ve worked on so far. Shannon said that your work for Glamour Girl has been stellar, though, so I’m going solely off on her opinion.”
He could tell his words had put her on edge.
“Shannon hadn’t told me to start anything yet. I’d figured that we would collaborate together.”
Elijah raised his eyebrows. “I’d heard you were extremely organized and always prepared. I have to say, I kind of expected you to have a mock-up for this campaign.”
“I only learned about this yesterday,” Aubrey told him, her tone sharp. “Otherwise, I would have come up with something to show you. I can work on that today if you’d like.”
“I think that’d be for the best. Be sure to send me your mock-up tomorrow morning.”
Elijah wanted to test her. He had already heard about her incredible work ethic, but he needed to know for himself what she was capable of. How badly did she want the CFO position? Finishing a mock-up that would impress him by tomorrow morning was a test that he wasn’t sure she would be able to finish. If she did pull it off, it’d bring about a form of respect for her. He needed to know she was dependable, especially if she was going to be given the job. The position she was in line for wasn’t an insignificant one. It would be way above her current pay grade and would afford her even more opportunities in the future.
“I’ll get that to you by morning,” she told him. He could tell that she had forced herself to smile through the words. “Is there anything you’d like to go over today?”
“Not particularly. Since you don’t have a mock-up set up, I think I’d be the only one offering any thought out ideas. We’ll discuss it tomorrow morning,” he said flatly, forcing his eyes away from where her skirt was riding up her thighs. “In the meantime, I’ll have my secretary show you around our offices. I think it’d be best if you meet my team and get settled in.”
He watched as Aubrey snuck a glance at Martina. “Okay,” she said finally. “Thank you very much for your time.”
Elijah rose from his chair as they did. Martina was almost out the door when he rounded his desk. It seemed as though they couldn’t wait to leave his office. He had that effect on people when he chose to. It didn’t bother him at all. He liked to make a strong first impression.
“Oh, Aubrey. Just a moment, please. Before you leave for your desk.”
Aubrey stopped and held her tote bag close to her chest. Martina left with a quick glance at Aubrey, who was holding her breath. Elijah grinned, knowing that she was expecting to be penalized for being late. That wasn’t what he was worried about.
He leaned close to her, smelling her perfume as he brought himself nearer. She stiffened, clearly apprehensive with having him in such close proximity. “By the way, thanks for calling me a model earlier.”
Aubrey brought her gaze to meet his and finally released the breath she was holding. “It was just a mistake. I’m sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. I guess I’ll just have your number, won’t I?”
She bit her lip and took a step back. It made him want to move even closer. She had plump lips that he wouldn’t mind biting instead. He forced himself to keep his distance and waited for her to speak. She was deliberating her next move, and he enjoyed watching her choose her words carefully.
“I’ll be sure to include it in my next email,” she said, stepping back again. “Where will I be working from? I’m not sure where to go.”
He nudged his head towards the long desk next to his office. The monitor was so close that he’d be able to see what she was working on, and he’d be able to see her. He’d initially chosen that spot for the assistant so that they could grab the office coffee or bring documents directly to his office, but it seemed a more fitting place for her so that he could watch her throughout the workday.
“That’s where I’ll be sitting?”
“Is that okay with you?”
Aubrey rolled her eyes and brought her leather tote bag even closer. “Yes, that’s fine.”
He didn’t reply. He waved her away and watched her leave. He could feel his pulse racing at the thought of lifting her skirt. Even in the depressing office lighting, her features were accentuated with a light hue, as though she were highlighted from head to toe.
This would be an interesting collaboration, after all.
Chapter Four
Aubrey
Aubrey could see Elijah’s silhouette in his glass office, unable to get away from him because of where she was sitting. Her face was still flushed red from his comment and her own stupidity. Of all the people she had to berate, it had to be her collaborator. Also, did her desk have to be the last one in the office? They didn’t even have proper cubicles. Her desk was long and filled up a quarter of the room. Each desk was placed in a strange position and shared with those working next to them. The only thing that made it feel even slightly private was the iMac monitor in front of her and the ficus plant next to her, which obstructed her view to the person just a few feet away at the other end of the desk.
Not that it mattered.
Aubrey could barely take her eyes off Elijah Johnson. She remembered now why the Johnson brothers were famous across the internet. She watched as he spoke on his cell phone while pacing in his office, which was surrounded by nothing but windows. There was something strange about having such an open office. His office didn’t have any walls, just glass. She’d never seen anything like it before. She was grateful for the view but disliked that the view had to come with such an off-putting personality.
She could see his muscles tensing beneath his black dress shirt as he paced, which he seemed to do whenever he was on the phone. It was clear that the person on the other end had said something to set him off. His strong, square jaw was clenched as he stopped and stared out toward the city. Aubrey lowered her eyes to get a good look at his whole body. No one should wear dress pants that are so fitted. She could almost make out the outline of everything, including his—
“Excuse me? Are you Aubrey Williams?”
Aubrey blinked away and turned to meet the eyes of a young woman with a brown bun and glasses. She reminded Aubrey of the stereotype of a librarian. “Hi. Yes, I’m Aubrey.”
“My name is Jasmine, and Elijah asked me to show you and your assistant around the office.”
Aubrey couldn’t help but turn her gaze back to Elijah, who was still busy on the phone. It was clear that he was still visibly upset. She thought she could hear his voice rising from where he was standing. “Did he? That’s great. Martina’s just over there. Let’s grab her and go over everything.”