Possibly naked.
And maybe even thinking about Miami, too.
But it doesn't matter what he’s thinking or feeling or doing right now.
What matters is that on Monday, I'm walking into my dream job ready to prove myself.
And no man—no matter how attractive or successful or frustratingly unforgettable—is going to derail that.
Not again.
Never again.
Chapter six
~EMMA~
By Thursday night—almost one full week at Titan Industries—I’ve come to three conclusions.
One: My new job is everything I hoped for and absolutely nothing I expected.
Two: Working for a billionaire tech company means "work-life balance" is a theoretical concept.
Like Bigfoot.
Or affordable Manhattan rent.
Three: I'm either dying of some rare stress-induced illness, or I'm the world's worst employeebecause I can barely make it past lunch without wanting to nap under my desk.
"You look like hell," Carmen declares, appearing at my cubicle at six-forty-five PM with a sympathetic expression and a protein bar.
I look up from my laptop, blinking against the fluorescent lights that have been slowly burning my retinas for the past thirteen hours.
"Thank you? That's exactly the professional image I was going for."
"I'm serious, Emma." She sets the protein bar on my desk. "You've been here since seven-thirty this morning. Go home."
"I just need to finish this market analysis—"
"It's Thursday night. The market analysis will still be here tomorrow.”
"But you said—"
"I said I wanted it by end of next week. Not end of this week." Carmen crosses her arms. "You're an excellentemployee, but if you burn out in your first month, that doesn't help anyone."
She's right. I know she's right.
But the thought of going back to my shoebox apartment with its dying mini-fridge and air mattress makes me want to cry.
At least here, I'm productive.
Useful.
Proving that I deserve this job and didn't just get lucky during the interview process.
"I'll leave soon," I promise. "Just want to wrap up this section."
Carmen sighs but doesn't argue. "Fine. But Emma? You don't have to work yourself to death to prove you belong here. We already know you do."
