Inappropriate - Vi Keeland Page 0,6
nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t realize the place had filled up. I thought… Well, never mind. Please, help yourself.”
That lip made the slightest twitch again. Did he have a tic, or was I amusing him?
“I said Excuse me, but you didn’t seem to hear. You were engrossed in what you were doing.”
“Oh. Yeah. Lots of work. Busy, busy.” I clicked to close YouTube and opened up my email.
The handsome guy unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down in the seat across from me. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “The one with Will is my personal favorite.”
My brows furrowed.
He smirked. “Smith. On Ellen. I couldn’t help but notice what you were watching. You were smiling. You have a beautiful smile, by the way.”
I felt my cheeks heat, but not because of the compliment. I rolled my eyes. “So I lied. I wasn’t working. You didn’t have to call me out on it.”
His little smirk turned into a full-blown grin, yet there was still something very cocky about it.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you have an arrogant smile?” I asked.
“No. But then again, I haven’t seemed to use it too much the last few years.”
I tilted my head. “That’s a shame.”
His eyes roamed over my face. “So why did you lie about working?”
“Honestly?”
“Sure. Let’s try that route.”
I sighed. “It was a gut reaction. I just recently lost my job, and I don’t know… I guess I felt like a loser sitting here watching Ellen clips.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a newscaster for Lexington Industries—or at least I was until a few days ago. I did the early-morning segment.”
Mr. Doesn’t Smile Often didn’t respond the way most people did when I told them I was on TV. They usually raised their brows and had a million questions. But it sounded way more glamorous than it was. Yet the man across the table didn’t seem impressed. Or if he was, he didn’t show it. Which I found curious.
“And what do you do that you wear a fancy suit and yet can sit in a coffee shop so leisurely at…” I looked at the time on my phone. “…nine forty-five in the morning?”
That little twitch was back. He seemed to like my sarcasm.
“I’m the CEO of a company.”
“Impressive.”
“Not really. It’s a family business. So it’s not like I started at the bottom.”
“Nepotism.” I sipped my coffee. “You’re right. I’m a lot less impressed now.”
He smiled again. If what he’d said about not doing it often was really true, it was a damn shame…because those full lips and that cocky smile could melt hearts and win poker games.
“So tell me about getting fired,” he said. “That is, if you don’t have to get back to all that work you were doing on your phone.”
I chuckled. “It’s a long story. But I did something I thought was harmless, and it turned out to be in violation of the company’s policy.”
“And you’re an otherwise good employee?”
“Yes, I worked my butt off for more than nine years to get where I was.”
He studied me and sipped his coffee some more. “Have you tried talking to your boss?”
“My boss has wanted me gone for years—ever since I complained that he hired my male counterpart for more money than I was being paid.” Which reminded me, I needed to get to the office to see that asshole boss. “I should get going. Said boss is waiting for me to clean out my desk.”
Mr. CEO rubbed his chin. “Would you mind if I offered you a little advice? I’ve dealt with a lot of employment issues.”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “Can’t hurt.”
“Retaliation for reporting an illegal gender pay gap is illegal. I suggest you make an appointment with the Human Resources department and lay out your support for that claim. Sounds to me like there should be an investigation, and your boss might be the one who should be in here watching Ellen videos.”
Huh. Scott hadn’t mentioned that retaliation was illegal when I’d told him what happened. But that didn’t surprise me. He was too busy lecturing me for being topless on the beach.
I stood. “Thank you. Maybe I’ll do that.”
The handsome man rose from his chair. He stared at me, almost looking like he wanted to say more, but had to deliberate over his words. I waited until it got awkward.
“Umm… It was nice meeting you,” I said.
He nodded. “Likewise.”
I started to walk away, and he stopped me by speaking again. “Would you…want to have lunch later? You