Possessed By You (Overworld Underground Book 1) (17 page)

A man riding up the lift with me gave me a sideways look, probably trying to decide if I were some homeless bag lady who'd somehow stolen her way past building security. He exited on the tenth floor, and I continued upward. The doors slid open to reveal several people gathered around Sandra's desk.

Janet, Hinkle, Stan, Mr. Jones, and Sandra regarded me with looks varying from cool disdain to stolen donut outrage.

I forced a smile, held up the bags of goodies while my tired arms screamed in pain, and said, "Pastries anyone?"

Nobody seemed amused.

"Leave the donuts with Sandra and come with me," Mr. Jones said. He looked at Hinkle. "Fred, why don't you come along too?"

Janet grabbed a bag from me and pulled out a box with an angry huff. "You shouldn't steal from people." Her gaze shifted to Sandra. "Don't people like this get flagged with a criminal background check?"

Oh yes, I'm a dangerous donut thief.

I set the other bags on the table, wiped a wet lock of hair from my face, and followed Mr. Jones and Hinkle without another word. Jones motioned toward a seat and closed the door behind me before settling into his leather chair. Hinkle took a stance near the door, his beady little eyes scouring me with scorn.

"I knew there was something off about you, Miss Glass, from the moment I first spoke with you." Jones leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "You not only disrupted an important sales meeting this morning, but resorted to thievery to cover for your poor planning skills."

"But—"

He held up a hand. "I'm not finished speaking, young lady."

I shut my mouth, pressing my fingers tight into the palm of my hand, and feeling the bite of fingernails against skin.

"You were unprepared with the coffee. Then you stole Janet's donuts and took Ted Grafton's bagels. I don't know how your parents raised you, but they obviously did a very poor job of it."

He paused, as if testing to see if I'd blurt something out again. I realized that anything I said probably wouldn't help, and I didn't want to get Jack in trouble. At the same time, I wanted to strangle Jack for not coming up with a better method than making off with Janet's donuts. Why hadn't he simply offered to buy them from her, or something reasonable?

"She's been disrupting operations in my department all morning," Hinkle said. "The coffee wasn't ready, and then she outright refused to give Stan any coffee."

"The coffee was ready!" I said, unable to keep my mouth shut. "And I needed the coffee for the meeting."

"Unprepared," Jones said, shaking his head. He looked up at Hinkle. "Anything else you want to add, Fred?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." The piggish little man crossed his arms and assumed a rather smug air. "She's also been making eyes at some of the male programmers. Flirting with them and causing them to shirk their duties to talk to her. I would say it's bordering dangerously close to sexual harassment."

I felt my eyelids fly wide open with outrage. A cold, icy feeling formed in the pit of my stomach, and my hands started to shake again. "I did not—"

"Thanks, Fred. I'll take it from here."

Hinkle nodded. Gave me one last disdainful glare, and left.

"I have
not
been flirting with anyone," I said. "When Sandra was sick I took over her duties and performed them exactly as asked. There hasn't been one complaint I know of. This meeting was rescheduled at the last minute, and she didn't tell me, nor did Kevin even know about it until I told him." I was so angry that hot tears pressed against my eyes. I didn't want to cry in front of this bastard. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Frankly, I don't need to know anything else, Miss Glass." He pointed to a poster on the wall behind him. Beneath the image of a man with crossed arms and a stern look on his face were the words:
A lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine.

This bastard had things reversed. His lack of planning had caused an emergency. I eyed the stapler on his desk and wondered how many times I could hit him before security got to me.

Jones continued his stern lecture. "The fact that you stole from coworkers to make up for your own lack of planning is enough to settle the matter. I want you to clear out of here in fifteen minutes. Gather your things. We'll mail your paycheck."

Chapter 15

Shock rolled through me, and I felt my mouth open as if to respond, but no words came out. With great effort, I stood, feeling like a ragamuffin with my still-damp hair and wet clothes, and proceeded from his office without another word.

Every positive feeling I'd had for Thomas twisted inside me, boiling into hatred for Mr. Jones. I wanted to slap the smug look off his face. Scream at him. But that would only make things worse. Sandra turned in her chair when I emerged from the hallway, one eyebrow arched, as if regarding a hangnail.

She sighed. "Well, I guess we'll need a new intern."

If she expected a response, I hoped to disappoint her by keeping my mouth clamped shut. What was I going to do? Where would I find another job? It was enough to make me want to run home to Daddy. Except Mum would be furious with me for not standing up for myself. But what else could I have done?

I found a small box and scooped my plushy pens into them, along with a picture of me and Dad and a few other knick-knacks I'd decorated my desk with. Just looking at the pens filled me with conflicting emotions. Thomas had given them to me before the blow to his head—or whatever had truly happened—turned him into Mr. Jones. I loved them. They were adorable. But they reminded me of something precious that I'd lost and would never have again, unless I wanted to risk murder and knock Jones on the noggin. If that would even work.

A part of me wanted to throw them away or burn them. Another part wanted to keep them because they were cute. A third part of me wanted to throw the box against the wall and scream at the top of my lungs.

Instead, I took a fourth option, and after putting my coat on over damp clothes, forced my head high and went to the lift. I didn't turn my head to look at Sandra as I waited. When the doors opened, I stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby.

The minute the doors slid shut, my entire body trembled, and I sagged against the side of the carriage. A sob shook my shoulders and tears blurred my vision. I tried deep breaths, but nothing helped and the dam broke. By the time the lift hit the ground floor, I was a soggy mess. I searched my purse, but I'd used my last tissue some time ago. The mirrors on the lift walls showed how awful I looked—blotchy faced, tear streaked, and with a red runny nose.

The doors slid open. I put my head down to hide my awful complexion, rushed forward, and promptly rammed against a warm body.

Someone shouted in alarm.

My box fell, spilling its contents all over the floor, and something hot and wet ran down my hands.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," I said, looking up to see a young man with striking green eyes. I couldn't help but think how much they looked like Thomas's...before.

His gray suit looked as if it had been hand-tailored and fitted. It also looked drenched with coffee, from the jacket to the slacks. What was it with me, hot coffee, and men?

I started apologizing and blubbering like a lunatic, brushing his suit with my hands as though they could soak up the liquid. "I'll pay for the dry cleaning," I said as more tears blinded me.

"Oh man, you got hot coffee all over your hands," he said, and shouted something to someone else. A moment later, I felt a damp cloth pressing against my hands.

My hands felt fine, probably because they'd been so cold earlier, or possibly because my coat had soaked up most of the coffee before it had gotten on me. I wasn't exactly feeling on top of things at the moment.

Someone pressed a tissue into my hand. I wiped away tears and looked back at the man. He looked young, late twenties perhaps. He wore his dark hair combed to the side, exposing a chiseled face, square chin, and a strong nose. He was gorgeous in a manly way that pretty boy Stephen could never be. I, on the other hand, looked like some prostitute they'd rounded up off the street.

"Are you okay?" the man asked.

"I'm so sorry about your suit."

He smiled. "Don't worry. Coffee comes out." He knelt down, picking up my coffee soaked items from the floor and putting them into the box, which had somehow remained dry. "Why are you so sad, pretty lady?"

"I—I lost my job." Why I was telling this perfect stranger my business, I had no idea. At this point, I almost didn't care. I was beyond mortified.

His eyes went hard as diamonds. "You were fired?" His voice was calm. Cold as ice.

"Yes."

"Why don't you ride back up with me? Let me talk to your boss. Maybe I can help out."

I laughed through my tears. "I wish you could."

"I'm not joking. I'm really good at persuading people to do things."

"Not this fellow," I said. "He used to be such a great person, but then he hit his head and lost his mind. Now he's a right asshole." I had no idea why I was spilling my woes on this poor fellow. Perhaps he really was good at persuasion if he'd made me confess this so quickly.

He laughed and retrieved an attaché case from the floor. "I love challenges." Tucking my box under one arm, he held out his free hand, looking a bit silly with the coffee stains running down his clothes. "Trust me."

I didn't know why in the world I listened to him. Perhaps it was because he wore an expensive suit and looked like he knew what he was doing. Perhaps I was simply curious to see what in the world this man would do. Something about his eyes made me want to trust him. One thing was certain. I had nothing left to lose at this point, not even my dignity.

We stepped into the lift. He reached for the buttons, and seemed to stop his finger before pressing the button to the twentieth floor. "Which floor?"

"The twentieth."

"Ah." He hit it.

The doors slid open a moment later. Sandra was talking on the phone. "It was pathetic. I almost felt sorry—" She saw me. "Oh. What are you doing here?"

The man left the lift. "She's back for her job," he said, smiling.

A slightly dazed look came over Sandra's eyes. "Hello."

I waited for her to continue, but she simply looked at him, a slight flush entering her sickly cheeks. I could hardly blame her. He was a pleasure to stare at.

"Who do I need to speak with?" the man said.

"His name is Thomas Jones," I replied.

"I'd like to talk with Mr. Jones," he said, turning back to Sandra.

She gave her head a quick shake, as if waking up and said, "He's in a meeting. I can make an appointment if you'd like."

"Interrupt his meeting."

"Sir, I can't do that."

"Tell him Mr. Rock is here to see him."

Her eyes went a bit wide. "Yes, of course, sir."

With that, Sandra actually got up from her desk and hurried down the hallway rather than using her phone to buzz Mr. Jones.

"Your last name is Rock?" I said.

He held out a hand. "Tyler Rock. Nice to meet you Miss..."

"Emily Glass," I said, taking his hand.

He squeezed my hand in his very warm grip and gave me a smile that almost made my panties melt.

Oh dear.

I caught myself staring and looked away before I lost myself in those eyes.

"What do you do here?" he asked.

"A bit of this, a bit of that. I'm just an intern."

"Everyone is important." Tyler gave me a lopsided grin. "So don't give me that 'just an intern' garbage."

A little smiled crept onto my face despite how icky I felt. A warm, embarrassed flush quickly followed when I thought back to how awful I looked right now. And in front of this man. But why should I even care? True, he was quite yummy looking, but he probably used his looks to get a lot of women in bed.

Pretty plays around.

It was true. A desirable man had no shortage of women willing to sleep with him. Then again, I looked
horrid
. There was no way this man wanted to bed me. He quite likely felt truly sorry for the ragged little intern girl. For some reason, this made me laugh out loud.

Tyler gave me an amused look. "What's so funny, Miss Glass?"

I snorted with laughter, and quickly clamped both hands over my mouth, shaking my head. I really had no idea what I found so funny except how ridiculous I must look with this coffee-stained gentleman next to me.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I do believe I'm going mental."

He burst into a loud laugh. "I like a woman who can admit she's crazy."

A comfortable flush filled me. My flustered senses slowly returned, and with them, a distinct tingling from my radar.

Before I could get a feel for the vibe emanating from Tyler, Sandra appeared with a grumbling Mr. Jones in tow.

Mr. Jones looked Tyler's stained suit up and down with a grimace. "Can I help you Mr. Rock?" The tone of his voice sounded like he wanted to do anything but help him.

"Yes, you can." I noticed Tyler didn't hold out a hand to shake the other man's. "Miss Glass here informed me that you just let her go."

"She's a thief and a slacker."

Tyler pursed his lips. "Perhaps you can explain the situation."

Mr. Jones scowled and he looked even more annoyed than usual. "Just because you're in negotiations with Mr. Jameson doesn't mean you can—"

"The negotiations are over, Mr. Jones. Hadn't you heard?"

"Negotiations?" I said, feeling completely lost.

Sandra dropped like a stone into her chair, eyes wide.

"No, I have
not
heard," Mr. Jones said. "And Burt would tell me before making a decision."

"Ah, well, maybe he hasn't had time." Tyler gave Mr. Jones a wolfish grin, baring his teeth like a predator that had just cornered his prey. "My lawyer will be here in a few minutes with the final paperwork."

"Mr. Jameson is at lunch," Sandra said. "But he'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"Paperwork?" I said.

"So, given that, Mr. Jones, I'd like you to explain your decision to fire Miss Glass." Tyler crossed his arms and regarded the shorter man.