Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,19
we could hire somebody who actually knows what they’re doing…”
“Jenna knows what she’s doing,” I say firmly. “Trust me.”
Luke looks like there’s something more he wants to say, but he keeps his mouth shut. I think about all those awful things written about him online. If I didn’t stop him, would he go fire Jenna right now?
The truth is, a tiny part of me knows he’s right. Jenna is not doing a good job. But I can hold her hand through the process and get it done. You have to treat people right.
Luke hooks his thumb into his tie and loosens it slightly, suddenly looking nervous. Also, he keeps shifting in his wheelchair, which is something he does a lot, but he’s doing it even more right now. Somehow I think again of his ramrod-straight posture in college.
“Um,” he finally says. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor, Ellie.”
I never agree to a favor without knowing what it is, especially from a guy like Luke. If he asks me to fire a member of my team, the answer is going to be no. “What is it?”
“There’s this thing tomorrow…” He gives me a pained look. “It’s at an art gallery in Boston, a new exhibit opening, whatever. Really boring. Anyway, I said I’d be there. And… I was just thinking… maybe you’d go with me?”
I stare at him.
“If you want,” he quickly adds. “No big deal either way. I just thought maybe you’d enjoy it.”
I look at him, astonished. “You did? What was it about me that led you to believe I might enjoy something like that?”
He grins. “Well, I was thinking maybe it would be a little less boring for me if you were there.”
“Oh.” I bite my lip. Is he asking me out on a date? It doesn’t feel like a date. Which is a good thing, because I’m not sure how I would respond if it was. “What about Michelle? Can’t you go with her?”
Luke shakes his head. “Nuh-uh. If I go with Michelle, everyone will be thinking I’m some dirty old man boinking my hot young secretary.”
My cheeks color. “So if I go, nobody will think you’re boinking me?”
“Nah, never.”
I’ve never been to a fancy artsy event before. It doesn’t sound like my cup of tea, but then again, Luke is giving me this look. Like he really, really wants me to go. And why not? It would be fun to see how the other side lives. And I bet they’ll have great food there.
“All right,” I agree.
His eyes light up. “Yeah?”
“Don’t make me change my mind.”
His grin widens. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven.”
We spend another hour working, then I head back downstairs to my office. For some reason, whenever I’m upstairs talking to Luke, I feel a little giddy afterward. I don’t know why. But I do know it’s always hard to concentrate for a while after I see him.
When I see Nathan standing in front of my office door, I stop short. What is he doing here? Moreover, why does he look so irritated?
“Ellie,” he says. “Where have you been?”
I stick up my chin. “Lunch.”
“It’s two-thirty. You’re just getting back from lunch now?”
Is he planning to report me to Luke for taking a long lunch break? Well, good luck with that. “It was a working lunch.”
“With Luke Thayer?”
My breath catches in my throat. I don’t like the sneer on his face. Apparently, I haven’t been as subtle about my lunches with Luke as I tried to be. “We were talking about my app.”
“Oh, is that what you were doing.”
I stare at him. “What are you implying?”
Nathan shrugs. “I think it’s interesting, that’s all. You disappear into the big boss’s office and then come out three hours later with your face flushed and your hair all disheveled…”
My hand quickly goes to my hair. I pat the strands to reassure myself that I haven’t metamorphosed back into Rosanna Rosannadanna. Thankfully, my hair still feels silky and straight. As for my flushed face…
“That’s really insulting,” I say.
“Oh please,” Nathan snorts. “You want to get ahead. I get it. And Thayer probably can’t get anyone to fuck him the old-fashioned way. I mean, look at the guy.”
My right hand balls into a fist. I want so badly to hit him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I really think I might have hit the guy, but unexpectedly, his face softens. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have said that. It was uncalled