I think of my own desk and cringe, stepping out to assess the mess. Each surface is covered in a rainbow of Post-it notes, like someone has sprinkled giant confetti over my desk. Pulling my notebook and the files from my bag, I begin to tidy it. I’m not naturally a neat person, because having things out in the open reminds me they’re there, that they need to be dealt with, otherwise I forget. Case in point, those files Aidan gave me. I vaguely remember putting them aside to deal with later, then completely forgot about them. Don’t ask me how they ended up in my bag.
“Morning, Iris.” Tash’s voice cuts through the quiet, and I glance up to find her smiling, the red of her lipstick complementing her dark brown skin. She sets her bag on the desk next to mine, her mahogany eyes scanning my desk.
“I know, it’s a mess,” I mumble, realizing I’ve gotten distracted from my task of cleaning and have instead been doodling in my notebook.
But Tash simply shrugs. “Hey, whatever works for you.” Her tone is without judgment, her face open and kind, and I feel myself relax a little.
“Morning, biatches.”
I wrinkle my nose before turning to smile at Dani, the other Aidan’s assistant. We met briefly yesterday, but she and her Aidan were out at meetings for most of the day, so we didn’t get to talk much. In the moment we did chat, I got a weird vibe from her. Like maybe she’s not a very nice person. But it’s probably me. Yesterday overwhelmed me, and I wasn’t in the best headspace. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I smile as she sashays past.
“Morning, Dani.”
She pauses by my desk, snorting. “Better get this cleaned up. Mr. Brooks likes thingsacertain way, if you know what I mean.”
I actually don’t know what she means, but there’s something in the way she emphasizes those words that makes it sound sexual. When she smirks before continuing to her own desk, jealousy surges through me. Has Aidan slept with her?
I shake the thought from my head before it can spiral. Of course he hasn’t. And even if he had, it’s none of my business.
Get a grip, Iris.
But she might have a point about my desk, even if Tash was kind enough not to say it. So, I get back on task tidying, stacking the Post-it notes into neat piles, finally filing the documents Aidan gave me yesterday, and turning on my computer for the day, even though I have no intention of using it. Everything I need is in my trusty notebook.
By the time I’m done, it’s after 8.30 and Aidan still hasn’t arrived. My father nods a coolly professionalgood morningat me on his way past, Tash filing into his office after him, and I sit at my desk, twiddling my thumbs, wondering where Aidan is.
Two desks over, Dani files her nails as she sips her morning coffee. Maybe she knows.
I clear my throat. “Uh, Dani, do you know where Aidan—” Wait, that’s her boss’s name, too. Need to clarify. “I mean, Brooks—” Her eyebrows pop up at the use of Aidan’s nickname, and I remember her calling himMr. Brooks. Of course. He’s my boss. Need to be professional. “I mean, Mr. Brooks, is?”
She flips her blond ponytail over her shoulder, smirking like she did before. Like she knows something I don’t. Which, to be fair, she probably does.
“Um, that’syourjob, sweetie,” she says, her tone so saccharine it makes me want to vomit.
I swallow, gritting my teeth as I turn away.Thanks for nothing.
But she isn’t wrong. Ishouldknow where my boss is. Only he barely spoke two words to me yesterday, so how the hell wouldI know? I check my notebook to see what he’s got scheduled for today, but there’s nothing until the 9 a.m. meeting. He should be here.
I head back into Aidan’s office to check his desk, wondering if I’ve missed something. A note about an early morning meeting or game of squash or something, but there’s nothing. The coffee I went to such great lengths to obtain is now stone cold, and I dump it in the trash in the kitchenette with a sigh. Tash appears behind me, grabbing a coffee from the machine.
“Ready for the meeting?” she asks, and I give a tentative nod.
“I think so. I’m assuming I just need to take notes?”
“Exactly.” Tash smiles encouragingly. “It’s the senior architects discussing current projects, and Mr. Prescott will assign new projects during this meeting too, so take notes of anything Mr. Brooks might need to know. Speaking of…” she trails off, glancing over my shoulder. “He should be here. Do you know why he’s held up?”
I twist my lips to one side, nerves rippling through me. Why do I get the sense thatI’vesomehow messed this up?
We file into the conference room on the first floor, taking seats around the large oak table. Aidan is still nowhere to be seen, and my stomach gives a lurch.
“Where the hell is Brooks?” Dad barks as he enters the room, his gaze finding me.
Shit.
“I’m… not sure.”
Irritation flickers across my father’s features. “Well, find him.”
“Right. Yes.”
