Company Ink by E.L. Lewis

t h i r t e e n

"So, you're not moving out right away?" I ask Monique for the umpteenth time, holding a post-workout coffee in my hand. Monique dragged me out of bed at 10 am like a psycho and forced me to sweat out my hangover; a difficult feat when your thighs and feet are sore from overexerting yourself on the dance floor.

"No, not until after the wedding," Monique repeats herself calmly, passing me a croissant.

"And the wedding is...?" I ask, dreading to hear the answer. Most of our conversation this morning has focused on Matt's perfectly sweet proposal, but now that the fluffy topics have all been covered, we're forced to discuss the logistical effects of her impending nuptials.

Monique bites her lip. "We're thinking July."

I almost choke on my coffee. "July?! That's less than two months away! Don't you need more time to plan a wedding?" I pause, my eyes widening in realization. "Oh my God! Are you pregnant?"

"Pregnant?" Monique covers her mouth as she laughs. "Cassie, if I was pregnant, I wouldn't have had seven cocktails last night."

"Oh, right." I suck on my teeth. "Well, what's the rush then? You've only been dating Matt for a year. Doesn't that seem...too soon?"

Monique sighs. "We love each other, Cass. We want to get married and start our lives together. Matt wants to buy a house soon and the market is really good right now. His realtor said that the prices will keep going down until mid-summer."

I sit there and listen to my best friend talk about her future plans, with her future husband, in their future three-bedroom house in the suburbs. When did Monique suddenly become an adult? When were all these plans made? She's only twenty-four...that's still young, right? I sip on my coffee as Monique recounts her five-year plan. Five years? She has the next five years planned out?! I don't even know what I'm going to do in the next five minutes, let alone five years!

"By the way," Monique interjects my inner freak out. "Carson said he had a good time with you. Do you think you want to see him again?"

"He did? Really? I find that hard to believe. We don't have anything in common, like at all."

"Well, he seems to think you had a connection." Monique shrugs. "I take it you're not interested in seeing him again?"

"Romantically? No, not really. I mean I'm sure he's a great guy, but I felt zero chemistry." Compared to the spicy hallway peep show Adrian and I put on for all of Mamba to see, my time with Carson was equivalent to low-fat mayonnaise.

Fucking hell. Adrian. Why did I have to go and be all flirty and pushy and suggestive with him? Do I want him? Yes. Should I want him? Fuck no. Will Monique be incredibly disappointed if I start screwing my boss and eventually get fired? Most likely. I gotta tell her about last night though. I can't lie to her.

"Mon, something uh—happened last night at Mamba…" I pause. "But please don't freak out, okay? I—um..." I can already hear her scolding me. "Well, the thing is..." I bite my tongue. You know? Maybe she doesn't need to know.

"Cassie...what did you do?" Monique narrows her eyes. I shift my gaze to our area rug, my lips pressing into a thin, regretful line. "Cassie..."

I crane my neck toward my roommate. Damn! "So... turns out that um…Adrian…you know my boss Adrian, tall handsome man?"

"Yes...?"

"Well, I accidentally...um—" I take a deep breath and brace for verbal impact. "Kissed him last night?"

"Cass—"

"Wait, wait, wait! Actually, he kissed me!" I look side to side, clearly losing my mind. "Does…does that help?"

Monique stares at me, without blinking, for what feels like an eternity. I'm not blinking either. Hell, I might not even be breathing.

"He...kissed you?" Monique finally says. "Like on the lips"

"Where else would he kiss me? My chin? Of course, it was my lips!" If I was talking to Axel right now, I'd make some dirty-ass joke, but I know Monique wasn't implying any sort of innuendo.

"Okay...so—" Monique nods her head slowly, her chestnut brown eyes scanning my uneasy expression. "How was it?"

I blink. "What? You're asking me if I liked it?" I lean in closer to Monique and examine her tightened features. "Who are you? And what have you done to my best friend?"

Monique rolls her eyes, placing a hand on my forehead and pushing me away while laughing. "Cassie, I'm not your mom. I'm your friend. You already know how I feel about this situation so I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince you that it's wrong. Instead, I'm going to put on my Axel hat and ask you, once again, how was it?"

"Oh my God, I've broken you!" I leap across the couch and wrap my arms around Monique, completely thrown off by her attitude. "I'm so sorry! Please scold me! I'm ready! I've prepared myself all morning!"

Monique's chest vibrates from laughter. "No, I'm done, Cass! I'm tapping out. It's your life sweetie, do with it as you please."

I pull back and frown at my best friend. "Well, that's the thing. I don't really know what to do. I re-read the HR policy this morning and apparently relationships are allowed but not with your superior, which means...I might get fired."

"Okay, so tell him that you've changed your mind and that you'd like your relationship to remain purely professional."

"For some reason, I don't think that will bode well with Adrian," I mumble to myself, nor do I actually want us to be just colleagues. I grunt, throwing my head back. "This is so unfair! Why couldn't I have just met him at a coffee shop? Or a bar? Life would be so much easier!"

Monique shrugs. "Guess you have some thinking to do before tomorrow."

"Fuck!" I exclaim, standing up. "I need to go shopping." I storm to the island and grab my keys off the counter.

"A new shirt isn't going to solve any of your problems!" Monique sings as I head to the front door.

I scowl at her. "No, but a new pair of shoes might!"

***

I tap my pen nervously against my desk, staring at the closed blinds of Adrian's office. It's 9:30 am and I haven't had a chance to talk with him yet. After countless hours of shoe shopping, I came to the conclusion that with everything going on with Monique, and the fact that in two months I will be without a roommate, I really can't risk being jobless. So, when Adrian finishes with whatever meeting he is in, I'm going to march into his office, close my eyes and say 'I'm sorry but we can't'. Yes, that's right. That's exactly what I'm going to say. I just pray he's not wearing his maroon Hugo Boss suit that hugs all the right places today; otherwise, I might break.

My computer pings from an email notification from Nadine. Emergency meeting in my office. Come straight away. All the color washes from my face. Oh, shit, I've been caught! This is it. My life as I know it is over. Goodbye Bird Scooter. Farewell new Michael Kors strappy sandals. Sayonara my favorite Chanel lip gloss that makes me look like I have lip injections. I sniffle as I re-read the email. Oh... the message was also sent to Kitty and David. Okay, maybe this isn't Adrian related.

This is a sign! I definitely need to end things before they get even more muddled. Message received, chastity gods, loud and clear!

"Let's go!" David says, tossing a rolled-up piece of paper at my head. "Nadine said 'straight away'. Does that mean something else where you're from?"

I roll my eyes and sneer at David. Little brown-nosing dipshit.

I grab my notebook and we hustle down the hallway to Nadine's office, spewing theories of what this meeting could possibly be about. Apparently, Nadine's never asked to meet all the PAs at once before, so we're stumped.

David knocks on the HR manager's door and she sternly tells us to come inside. The three of us are about to take a seat when Nadine clears her throat.

"No need to sit. This will be fast," Nadine states calmly, shifting her gaze between us. "As of today, Nancy Kenning is on personal leave which means Mr. Pearson is without a PA. I need one of you to volunteer to take over Nancy's duties until she returns."

Before I can even process what Nadine said, Kitty and David, both look over at me and in perfect unison say, "Cassie!"

My mouth drops. "Me? Why me? I'm new!" I make direct eye contact with Nadine, my eyes pleading. "I've only been here a week. Clearly, Kitty or David would be more suited for the role. I'm still getting the hang of being Mr. Cavallero's PA, I couldn't possibly work for Mr. Pearson as well."

Nadine purses her lips as she thinks, nodding her head. "Miss Carrington makes a valid point. You two do have far more experience. It would make the transition much easier."

"But!" Kitty exclaims, holding her index finger up high in the air. "Cassie has a degree in event management and Nancy was in charge of planning all of Mr. Pearson's meetings, I know for sure she wasn't finished planning Client Appreciation Night." Kitty turns her head towards me. "Events are way more up your alley, Cassie. David and I both have business degrees. We don't know anything about coordinating events." Kitty turns back to Nadine. "C.A.N. is our biggest event of the year, not including our annual retreat, it makes sense for Cassie to take over, seeing as she's the professional."

Nadine hums, processing Kitty's annoying yet reasonable point. Kitty's explanation was borderline patronizing; I know she's fluffing my feathers because she doesn't want to work for Mr. Pearson, also referred to as Satan Himself and Dictator Pearson. All these negative stories have come from Kitty and David; I haven't actually heard anything bad about him from Nancy. Maybe he's not that bad. Maybe...this is a good thing. If I work for Mr. Pearson that means I'll have to spend less time with Adrian, and it'll make the whole not sleeping with him thing so much easier. Yes. This is good. This is a blessing. This is the chastity gods offering me a gift. A gift of distance!

"Okay!" I exclaim. "I'll do it."

Kitty and David look at each other with disbelief, like I just signed my own death certificate.

"Well, then it's settled," Nadine says, shuffling some documents on her desk. "I'll inform Mr. Cavallero immediately, book you a 10 am meeting with Mr. Pearson, and we will readjust your contract to reflect your new salary."

"Her what?" Kitty shrieks, wide-eyed. "She's getting a raise?"

Nadine tilts her head, her eyes glowing knowingly. "She'll have twice the amount of work to do. It's only fair she gets compensated accordingly." Nadine smiles at me. "I will email you your new temporary contract in the next hour."

Oh, shit! A raise?! No fucking way. This is fantastic. This means I can save more money and I won't have to find a new roomie. I could stay at the condo by myself after Monique leaves. I lift my head towards the ceiling. Thank you!

"Now that we have that sorted, you all can get back to work," Nadine says, gesturing towards the door. "Cassie, your meeting with Mr. Pearson is in fifteen minutes. He'll be expecting you."

"Thank you!" I smile and head to the kitchen. Kitty and David exit Nadine's office in a grumble. It's not my fault they threw me under a money train, thinking it was a bus. Oh...I wonder if I'll get to use Nancy's old office. Hasta la vista cubicle life, Cassie Carrington has a door! I saunter to the kitchen to get a cup of tea before my meeting with Mr. Aloof and Supposedly Scary.

When I get back to my desk I sit down and check my email and IMs. Mr. Pearson's email address is already linked to my Outlook account. Damn, IT works fast around here. As I'm taking a sip of my tea, my messenger app pings.

Adrian Cavallero: I need to see you in my office

Fuck. Nadine must have called him.

Cassandra Carrington: I have a meeting with Mr. Pearson at 10 am. Can this wait?

Adrian Cavallero: My office. Now.

I whimper into my scalding hot peppermint tea, my nervous eyes staring back at me. This is it. I can do this. I am strong. I am brave. Fiddling with my fingernails, I walk to Adrian's office and knock on his door.

Why are his shutters still closed?

I am fucked.