After All by Kristen Proby Page 0,5
my tea.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He winks, that dimple making an appearance in his cheek again, and turns to his office. But before he disappears inside, he turns back to me. “Do you need anything?”
“Wait a minute, that’s my line. Do you have a fever? Do you need me to make an appointment with Dr. Hansen?”
But Carter just laughs and disappears into his office, leaving me with a chai, a muffin, and complete confusion.
Since when does he fetch me coffee? And ask if I need anything?
He must be sick.
I check his appointments and see he’s scheduled for his annual checkup in two weeks. Maybe I should move it up.
“Hey, Nora,” Quinn says as he walks past my desk. “How’s it going?”
“I can’t complain,” I reply. “Is he expecting you?”
“Yep, he called me in,” Quinn replies.
“Would you like anything? Coffee? Breakfast?”
Quinn stops next to my desk and smiles kindly. His new wedding ring shines on his left hand.
“How’s Sienna?” I ask. I like Quinn’s new wife. She’s kind, and an excellent attorney.
“She’s amazing. And moving into her new office today.”
“Awesome. Good for her. I’ll go see if she needs anything.”
“You’d better watch yourself, Nora. I might just try to steal you away from Carter.”
I smile. All three of the partners are handsome, funny, and kind men. Working for any of them would be great.
“I’m afraid I’m stuck with Carter. I know too much. He’d have to kill me before he’d let me quit.”
“You’re probably right,” Quinn replies with a nod. “Have a good day, Nora.”
“You, too.”
With Carter busy, I hurry down the hall to Sienna’s new office and knock on the doorframe.
“Hey,” she says with a smile when she sees me. “Come on in.”
“I just saw Quinn and he said you were here, so I thought I’d check on you. Do you need anything?”
“A stiff drink would be great,” she says with a laugh. Sienna has amazing red hair that’s currently pulled into a tasteful knot. “I’m really fine. We’ve been talking about me coming to work here for months, so I shouldn’t be nervous.”
“Starting a new job is always nerve-racking. Have you hired an assistant yet?”
“It’s on the list for this month.”
“Would you like me to weed through the résumés and schedule interviews for you?”
She stares at me for a full fifteen seconds before answering. “Holy cow, Nora, are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m happy to help. We’ll ease you in. And in the meantime, just let me know if you need anything.”
“You already have a full workload—”
“It’s fine,” I insist. “And temporary. I’m happy to help.”
“I owe you lunch.”
“I’ll collect.” I smile and turn to leave.
“Oh, Nora?”
“Yeah?”
“I know where everything is, and I think I have all the supplies I need, but I could use help figuring out the online scheduling.”
“No problem. I’ll stop by this afternoon while Carter’s in a meeting.”
“Thanks.”
I walk back to my own desk, nodding at colleagues as I make my way down the hall. In the employee break room, I hear two female voices, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but when I hear my name, I stop and listen.
“I mean, Nora’s been here forever. And I’m sure she’s great at her job, but you’ll never convince me that Carter’s kept her around this long for her scheduling skills. You know they’re fucking when no one else is around.”
“I don’t know, they never give off that vibe.” That’s Stephanie from payroll. The other voice is Mary from HR. Both have only been here for about a year.
“Well, of course not. There’s a no-frat policy here,” Mary continues. “But she literally handles everything for him. She even picks Gabby up from school sometimes.”
“She’s his assistant,” Stephanie says. “And honestly, I don’t think it’s any of our business.”
“If you two have time to stand in here and gossip about your coworkers, you don’t have enough work to do,” I say from the doorway, making them both jump and flush with embarrassment. “And if you have a problem with me, you can come to me to voice it.”
“No problem,” Mary says immediately and swallows hard. “I was just going back to my desk.”
She slips past me and hurries down the hall, and I turn to Stephanie and raise my eyebrows.
“She has a crush on Carter,” Stephanie says with a sigh. “And she’s catty about it.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.”
“I’m going back to work, too. I should have known better than to come down for a third cup of coffee. I don’t need that much caffeine.”
“Pour a fresh cup.