The tension in the room curls around us like thick clouds of smoke, suffocating us. A thousand unspoken words hang in the air.
“Good, because he’ll be working with us for a while. Collaborating with someone as successful as Mr. Kamado here could bring a lot of profit to our company,” Veronica says. “We can finally be number one and beat Velocity.”
Velocity is another athletic wear brand that happens to be our biggest competitor. Veronica consistently seeks to develop new ideas to outperform them in sales, but Dauntless always falls short.
She picks up her coffee, taking a sip. “Did you make sure it was soy milk? I donotneed a repeat of what happened last time.”
I try to stifle a laugh as I recall the incident. I forgot to ask for soy milk, and Veronica took multiple trips to the restroom during a very important meeting. I was shocked she didn’t fire me on the spot.
“Yes, it’s soy milk,” I reply.
“So, Annalise,” Maddox starts, shifting his gaze to me, “will you be one of the designers on the team?”
Veronica nearly spits out her coffee. “Oh, please! She’s just an assistant,” she snorts. “She can barely get my coffee orders right. There’s no way I’d trust her to handle designs.”
Heat floods my cheeks as I stare up at the ceiling, fingers twisting the hem of my shirt. Drawing in a shaky breath, I fight back the tears that are threatening to spill over.
I can feel Maddox’s gaze lingering on me, heavy with pity. I straighten my spine. I won’t let him see me break. Being belittled by Veronica has become a normal occurrence, but having Maddox of all people hear it is humiliating.
“That’s a shame. Ms. Monroe is extremely talented. I’ve seen what she’s capable of,” Maddox says.
Veronica ignores his comment and quickly changes the subject. “Mr. Kamado, would you like some coffee? I’m sure Ava here won’t mind going back to Rise and Grind to grab you a cup.”
“Annalise,” Maddox grumbles.
“Pardon?”
“Her name is Annalise,” he says firmly and I pinch my eyes shut. Him correcting her isn’t going to get us anywhere. She won’t learn it. And it’ll only serve to piss her off.
“Isn’t that what I said?” she asks, feigning innocence.
Maddox gears up to say something but I cut him off.
“I don’t mind going to get you something.” I smile through gritted teeth. “What would you like?”
“I’ll have an iced macchiato.” He smiles at me, dimples creasing his cheeks.
Those damn dimples.
They still have the same effect on me after all these years. His smile, paired with that ridiculously handsome face, can make any girl swoon. I was foolish enough to fall victim to his charms.
I return from my second coffee run of the day—thanks to him—and hand over his iced coffee. “Here you go, Mr. Kamado.”
“Thank you so much, Ms. Monroe. I appreciate it.” He takes a sip from his coffee and it spills all over his shirt—which probably costs more than what I make in a week.
I may have “accidentally” loosened the lid slightly before handing it over to him.Oops.
“Oh, my goodness!” I gasp, putting on my best innocent act.
Maddox’s glare lets on that he knows it was no accident.
“Mr. Kamado! I’m terribly sorry!” Veronica pulls tissues out of the Kleenex box and hands them to him. “I’ll pay for your dry cleaning and if the stain doesn’t come out, I’ll buy?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Maddox interjects, waving her off. “Do you have a shirt I can borrow?”
“Oh, of course!”
On her way out the door, she pauses in front of me. Her upper lip curls into a sneer. The vein on her temple pulses. “We need to have a chat later.”
