up from the fact that Jamie will never be mine, but I’m stuck in this frigid, cold place anyway.
I stand up and walk over to my office door before opening it. Olive is seated at her desk, typing away on her computer.
“Olive, I’d like to see you in my office.”
She narrows her eyes and frowns but then slowly turns her frown into a fake smile before getting up from her desk. “Of course.”
I hold the door open for her as she walks into my office and takes a seat across from me. I take my time in walking back to my seat behind my desk, letting the anxiety that I know she must be feeling creep up higher and higher until I’m sure it’s seeping out of every pore in her body.
“Do you know why I called you into my office?”
“No idea,” Olive answers honestly.
It’s strange not to hear a sir or Mr. Burrows. That’s how I’m always treated—formally and with respect. Olive doesn’t bother with sir or misters though. At least, she doesn’t today.
“I wanted to talk to you about your application.”
Her eyes widen. “Is this an interview?”
I smirk at her thinking I would give her an interview so easily. “No, this is more like a preinterview.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me why you think you have the qualifications to even apply for this position?”
She takes a deep breath, and then for the first time, I see the tiniest spark in her eyes.
“Because I have more experience than anyone other than Jamie in this company. I know my title says assistant, but I do a lot more than a typical assistant would. I am Jamie’s right-hand woman. And I know that, if she had to choose a manager, she would choose me. I deserve this position. I’ve worked my ass off for five years. I’ve earned a promotion. I don’t have my real estate license because it’s expensive to take the test, and there was no need to get it if I was never going to get promoted, but I could pass the test in my sleep. I know everything there is to know about real estate, and if I don’t get this job, then I quit.” She bites her lip when she says the last word, like she didn’t mean to reveal to me that she planned on quitting if she didn’t get the job.
But her biting her lip has drawn my attention back to her lips instead of staying focused on the task at hand. It would be nice to have that lip on my mouth again.
“You should quit.”
Her eyes widen so much, I’m afraid they are going to pop out of her head. “What?”
“If you quit, then I can fuck you, and I really want to fuck you. If you stay, well, then I can’t.”
God, what am I saying? This is definitely harassment.
I’ve been forward with women before, but this might be taking it a bit too far. It’s just been too long since I’ve had a woman in my bed.
“I have a boyfriend.”
I smirk. “I doubt that.”
She frowns. “His name is Owen, and he’s a musician. And I quit, but not so that I can fuck you. I quit. Good luck running this company on your own without me. You’re going to need it.”
I watch as she stands up and begins to walk out of my office. This really isn’t going how I planned it.
“Wait,” I say, standing up.
To my surprise, she pauses. I don’t know why I’m going to say what I’m going to say next. I suspect it’s because I’m thinking with my dick instead of my brain. I should just let her walk out of here, but Jamie would be upset with me. And, for the first time today, I’ve seen something in Olive that I think could be developed into a more confident woman with just a little help. And I know just what she needs to do that. She could become my pet project, and just maybe, I can show Jamie that I’m not such a bad guy. That, if things don’t work out between her and her baby daddy, then she should give me a second chance.
“I’ll give you a real interview, just like everyone else.”
“And you’ll stop talking about fucking me and being an asshole in general to me?”
I take a step forward until I’m invading her personal space. “I’ll stop talking about fucking you, and I’ll try to behave more like your boss instead of an asshole.”