dragging a grate in there with us on your first morning.”
“It could make for one hell of a story,” I said but then slid my foot out of the shoe. We both crouched down, trying to free it before the heel eventually snapped off.
I landed on my ass on the sidewalk, and both of us were in stitches when I pointed out what we must look like to all the busy important people passing by. A quick shopping trip later, we finally made it to the office without any further incident.
Of course, the incidents that had occurred had made us late, but Katie assured me that Mr. Oliver was with Mr. Killen and wouldn’t even notice. I’d tried getting her to call him Dane when I’d told her a little bit more about our history together over breakfast, but she wouldn’t budge. From what I could gather, he was kind of a big shot at the company.
We weren’t even on our floor of the building yet when Katie’s phone buzzed with an incoming message. She checked it, then glanced at me, suddenly seeming nervous as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“Mr. Oliver wants to see you in his office,” she said, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as her gaze bounced around the elevator. “I don’t know what it’s about, but if it’s about us being late, just tell him what happened. I couldn’t exactly bring you in barefoot on your first day.”
“We’ll be fine,” I said, frowning before I took her arm and gave it a squeeze. “Relax, Katie. We’re not in trouble. He probably needs to see me so he can report back to my brother that I’m still in one piece.”
“Oh. Oh, I hope so.” She perked up again, and I got the impression that nothing kept this girl down for very long.
She guided me to a door that I assumed led into Dane’s office, then knocked before stepping back. “I won’t be coming in with you. He asked to see you, not us. Good luck, okay? I’ll be right out here if you need me.”
I nodded, opening the door after his voice called for me to come in. When I walked into his office, I forgot all about wanting to ask him why Katie seemed so scared of him.
He looked like a million bucks in a fitted navy suit, a white button-down shirt with a red tie tied around his neck, and a soft smile on his face. Standing up when I walked in, he waited for me to close the door behind me before he opened his arms.
“You made it,” he said. “Welcome to Killen Cosmetics, Leah. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. Being late on your first day was a surefire way to make me think you’d hopped the first plane right back out of here. I’m glad you stuck around.”
Chapter 10
DANE
“It’s still early,” she said, shrugging as she flashed me a smile. “There are plenty of flights out of here yet. I suppose I could always hop on one of those.”
“You wouldn’t,” I said as I walked around my desk, perching on the edge of it as I motioned her into a chair. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“Depends. Am I going to get lectured for being late while we have this coffee?” She cocked her head, her green eyes drilling into mine. “Because you should know that it wasn’t my fault. The street tried to eat me.”
“Eat you?” I frowned, tucking my chin closer to my chest. “Somehow, I doubt that. What really happened?”
Amusement glinted in her eyes and she couldn’t hide the slight uptick of her lips. “I had a quintessential small-town girl in the big city moment this morning. My heel got stuck in a grate. Katie and I tried to free it, but it broke. Long story short, I fell on my butt on the sidewalk and we had to go shopping for new shoes.”
I stared at her. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” she said, smoothing her palms along the front of her jeans. “I’m graceful like that. Still sure you hired the right girl?”
“Why? You trying to get out of it?” I asked the question calmly, but my heartrate kicked up a notch while I waited for her answer.
Jefferson would be terribly disappointed if she bailed on us now, and if I was being honest, so would I. The street might not really have tried to eat her, but I still wanted