Brooke
“Will this work?” Titus scans the space he’s just brought me to at McKinley Security Systems. “I know it’s pretty sparse in here right now, but feel free to order anything you need.”
“This is more than fine.” I manage a smile even though my stomach is rolling. Focusing on my new office, I try to get my brain with the program. “Who do I need to reach out to for ordering?”
The room is plenty big enough, but Titus wasn’t exaggerating when he called it sparse. It currently has a desk, a chair, and…
That’s it.
But the view is nice. And the job he’s given me is exactly what I spent four years of college learning how to do. Once I start getting paychecks, my salary will provide more than enough for me to rent an apartment. Buy a car.
Start over.
And this time I’m determined to do it right.
“As long as you don’t mind handlingit, you can order whatever you want yourself.” Titus pulls out his phone and swipes across the screen. “I’ll make sure Trevor gets you a company credit card before the end of day. Put whatever you want on that.”
My eyes flick to the open door—seeking a man I should not be looking for—before bouncing back to Titus as he continues talking.
“I’ve scheduled a team meeting in an hour.” He looks from the screen of his phone to my empty hands. “I’ll have Trevor get you a phone too.”
I know I should have gotten one of my own before now, but what for? I don’t have anyone to talk to.
And I sure as heck don’t want anyone trying to talk to me.
A laptop seemed like a better investment, so that’s what I went with. I’ve got to make the money Curtis and Lily paid me last until I get a paycheck from MSS, and between buying a new work wardrobe and shelling out for vet bills and doggy daycare, it’s draining fast.
But Bruno is worth it. He’s such a sweetheart. Even Deidre’s aging lab, Gunner, loves him. But that could just be because Bruno reminds him of the squirrel he’s obsessed with.
My new work wardrobe was also worth the expense. I love—and feel good in—everything I picked out. The best part was choosing items without needing anyone’s approval or facing questions about who I may or may not be trying to impress.
And I’m not trying to impress anyone. That would be a terrible, awful idea. I need time to get back to the person I used to be.
No.
I need to figure out how to be better than the person I used to be. Because the person I used to be is who ended up with Matt.
Titus spends the next hour going over the basics. Having a badge made, assigning me a parking spot, getting my work computer set up. The last one takes the most time. The process of signing in involves a special little device attached to a keychain. It displays a series of numbers that change every ten minutes, providing the passcode to a super secret, especially secure site. While I don’t understand all the words he’s saying, I do get the gist of what Titus is trying to tell me.
Be real fucking careful.
I’ve just set up my work email, when a reminder comes across that it’s time to head to my first team meeting. I’m not sure what to expect, but I don’t know that Titus does either, which makes me feel a little less out of my element. The job he’s hired me for is a newly created position, and my list of duties is going to be pretty fluid as we work through any kinks that come up.
It’s a little scary, but also exciting. To be back in the workforce. Making my own money. Creating my own future. Controlling my own destiny.
Titus’s team is significantly larger than I was expecting, and that has me already thinking about changes we’ll need to make. I know I’m good at what he’s hired me to do. I can juggle tasks and organize people based on their strengths with my eyes closed. But no matter how good I am, if there are too many balls in the air, I’m going to start dropping them.
The minute the meeting ends, Titus heads out. He can only stand to be in the office for a few hours at a time, and he was ready to get back to Mariah. Instead of staying to mingle, I hustle back to my office and dig through my desk in search of a pen and paper. Unfortunately, not only is there very little furniture in this room, there are literally no office supplies.
So I guess that’s my first task. Figure out where in the hell Ican get stationery and writing utensils. With Titus gone for the day, I head for Trevor’s office, giving the empty desk outside of it a questioning glance before knocking on his door.
“Come in.” He sounds pissed. Not shocking based on what I remember about him. He’s only a couple years older than Tobias, but always acted like a grumpy old man with expensive taste.
I enter his office to find not much has changed.
Where my current space is sparse and utilitarian, Trevor’s office looks like it came out of a design catalog. Considering who his mother is, it probably did. Same with his suit. I will bet every penny I have—not that there are many—it’s bespoke. Probably has to be. I imagine there’s no way a man built like he is could buy anything off the rack. Between his shoulders and biceps, seams would be popping every time he moved.
“Holy shit.” Trevor stands quickly, the phone he was clutching dropping to the desk as his wide eyes fix on where I stand. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
