Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,20
for. I’m just under a lot of stress and worried about my job.”
“It’s okay,” I mumble. I still hate him, but at least he apologized.
“Anyway,” he says, “I know you wouldn’t fuck a cripple just to get ahead. That would be really low.
I flinch at his words, but before I can say anything, he’s already walking away. My head is spinning. Everybody thinks I’m hooking up with Luke—there are probably rumors about it all over the company.
And the worst part is, I wish the rumors were true.
Chapter 10
I go out to dinner with Jenna that night, mostly to reassure her that her job is safe and the sky isn’t going to come crashing down on her any time soon—although the truth is, if it wasn’t for my efforts, she probably would have been out on the street by now. We get dinner at a local bar and Jenna bemoans the fact that men never buy her drinks anymore.
“I’m getting too old,” she sniffles.
“Oh, stop it,” I say. Jenna is five years younger than me. I don’t get bought drinks either, although I was never really the type of girl that men hit on in bars.
“So,” she says, “how is Luke Thayer in bed?”
“Jenna!” I roll my eyes. “Come on…”
“Well, I don’t mean ‘in bed,’” she corrects herself, grinning. “Because obviously it happens in his office. But you know what I mean.”
“Nothing happens,” I insist. “And nothing’s going to happen. Luke just wants my help with the company.”
“Look, you don’t need to be embarrassed,” Jenna says. “I mean, I know he’s in the wheelchair, but he’s still hot. Really hot.”
“Jenna,” I groan.
“How does that work anyway?” she asks. “Do you guys do it in his chair? Can he get it up?”
“Jenna!” I cry. “We don’t do it anywhere! I repeat, I’m not having sex with him.” Unfortunately. “Come on—you know me.”
Jenna blinks. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re way too square to sleep with the boss.” She runs a hand through her hair. Jenna has pretty blond hair and she’s slim but stacked—she’s much more Luke’s type than I am. Maybe I should’ve suggested her as a date for the art gallery—except that’s not what I want at all. “So what are you up to tomorrow? Do you want to catch a movie?”
“I can’t,” I mumble. “I’m going to this… art… thing.”
Jenna’s eyes widen. “Oh my God, are you going to the opening of the new exhibit at the Kimball Gallery?”
How the hell does she know about these things? “Um, yeah.”
“Who are you going with?” Her eyes narrow. “You’re not seeing anyone, right?”
She’s got me. My face is scarlet. “Luke.” I quickly add, “As friends.”
Jenna looks at me for a long time. She takes a sip of her beer. “Really, Ellie, what’s going on? I believe you’re not sleeping with him, but… well, your face is like a beet. I’ve never seen you like this before. Do you like him… you know, that way?”
No. I don’t. I don’t like Luke. He’s disagreeable, to put it mildly. He’s a rich, arrogant, cold, heartless businessman. The only reason I’m spending any time with him at all is for the good of the company. I certainly am not thinking about him at all in a romantic way. Even if I were looking for a boyfriend now, which I’m not, the last person I would pick would be Luke.
Right. I just have to keep telling myself that.
“You do!” Jenna cries, her eyes widening. “You do! You like him!”
“No, I don’t,” I mumble. “I just… think he’s sort of interesting. That’s all.”
“Well, he’s available, right?” she asks. “I mean, he’s got to be single.”
Everybody seems to make that assumption about Luke. And I suppose they’re right—he is single. “Yeah, he is,” I confirm. “But he’s not for me. He’s not my type at all.”
“Hey, it can’t be too bad having a rich boyfriend,” she points out. “I bet he’d buy you lots of expensive things.”
“Because I love expensive things, right?” I laugh. I’m the kind of girl who buys most of my furniture at Ikea. Expensive things make me uncomfortable.
Jenna brushes a strand of blond hair from her face, and I can’t help but think again that she’s so much more Luke’s type than I am. By the end of freshman year, I had a very good idea of the sort of girl he liked, and I wasn’t it. I was a fluke. A drunken mistake.
The first time I ever saw Luke with one of his Barbie dolls