they weren’t even in the building yet.
“Uh, hey guys,” he said uneasily. “We need to move our tails.”
“Relax,” Owen said. “They can’t start without us.”
“True that.” He smiled and straightened his shoulders. But despite his bravado, this was his first day on the job and he didn’t want to screw up. He wasn’t alone though, so there was that.
They rode the elevator to the thirty-fifth floor and piled out into the lobby. Carly greeted them all casually. “Hey guys. Um, they’re waiting for you in the meeting room.”
“Thanks, Carly darling,” Dash said, striding through the glass doors.
Fuck, this wasn’t the way Levi wanted to show up. He needed to grab his notepad and a pen from his new office, which he hadn’t even settled into yet. And he wasn’t even sure where the meeting room was. Probably that big glassed-in room he’d noticed earlier. He veered into his office, grabbed a leather portfolio from his briefcase and a pen, and headed to what he hoped was the meeting room.
Fuck, he needed to take a piss. All that beer…
Yep, that was where the meeting was. Mason and Sloane sat at a long, sleek light maple table surrounded by funky black chairs. Sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows along one side of the room, illuminating big green potted plants in the corner. Others Levi’d met earlier—account manager, producer, media planner, media buyers—sat there too, along with some people he hadn’t met, and everyone turned and looked at the seven guys who crowded through the door.
“Thanks for joining us,” Sloane murmured with an edge to her tone that made Levi’s skin tingle.
“Only a few minutes late.” Scott beamed at Noah, the account manager. Noah’s lips tightened.
Levi caught Mason’s eye, taking in the notch between his brows.
“Uh, guys,” Mason said. “Where the hell were you?”
“We took Levi out for lunch,” Scott said. “We have to get to know him.”
“Yeah,” Mason agreed, with a glance at the watch on his wrist.
“We were doing research,” Dash said with a smirk, dropping into an empty chair. “Beersploring. Testing the client’s products.”
“Oh my God,” Sloane muttered.
“I do have to know the client’s products,” Levi said earnestly, also taking a seat. Christ, his bladder was about to burst. Why hadn’t he insisted on using the can before they left the restaurant?
All the others burst out laughing. Well, not Sloane and Noah and Mason. But the guys he’d been with.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Mason said. “You fucking assholes.”
They all laughed again and Levi looked around the room.
Fuck me sideways.
They’d done it on purpose. Taken him out and got him drunk and made him late. And now he had to sit there in agony through a two-hour meeting.
He pulled in a deep breath through his nostrils. He needed to handle this the right way. For one thing, he wasn’t going to make it through two hours without taking a leak.
He pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “My apologies.” He looked at Mason then Sloane. Christ, she was glaring at him as if he’d walked in with dog shit stuck to his shoe. “I’m going to have to delay things another couple of minutes while I, uh, take care of some business. Please excuse me.”
He walked out of the meeting room with his jaw clenched and eyes closed. Christ.
He legged it to the fucking men’s room. Luckily he knew where it was. Then he sprinted back, slowing his pace as he neared the meeting room and they could see him through the glass wall. He closed the door behind him and took his seat again, looking around the table and smiling. “My apologies again. And guys…thanks…for a great lunch.” He nodded so they got his meaning. He wouldn’t forget this. But he had to admire their balls.
“Levi, let us introduce you to the others here you haven’t met,” Mason said. He went around the table until finally he arrived at an older guy with silver hair who frowned at him. “Levi, you haven’t yet met our CEO, Joseph Huxworth.”
Fuck me again. Levi summoned a smile for the old guy, rising from his chair to round the table. “Mr. Huxworth. Pleased to meet you. I’m sure you’ve gotten a great impression of me so far.”
Joseph Huxworth also rose and shook his hand, his grip firm for a guy with white hair. He frowned and Levi’s heart dropped. “Indeed,” he murmured, studying Levi’s face with unnerving scrutiny.
Levi felt a sudden need to pee again.
Chapter Three
“You have got to get these guys to tone