Page 39 of Deceived Wrath

"If it's too early for you?—"

It's too early for anyone, unless you're a sociopath, which considering the fact that Cormac is still yet to make eye contact with me seems to be fitting.

"I'm a morning person," I reply with a chipper smile.

"I've left a stack of paperwork on your desk that will need organizing and filing."

"And my desk would be..."

"Not in here."

Charming.

I take that as my cue to leave.

It's not that I was expecting a fanfare or balloons. But considering the fact that Cormac and I are going to be working so closely, I figured he would at least make some effort on my first day on the job.

Already feeling deflated, I wander back down the hall toward the main work area, looking in all of the cubicles to see if one of them is mine.

"Fiona?"

I almost jump out of my skin at the sound of my name.

Clutching a hand to my chest, I turn around to find a girl around my age heading toward me.

She's tall, with rich brown hair down to her waist and tanned skin that I can only dream of achieving after two weeks on a beach somewhere. She moves with such grace, despite her tight-fitting gray dress that shows off her athletic frame.

My eyes flick to the stack of folders in her arms, and I sigh.

I have a horrible feeling those are for me.

She smiles. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, no, it's fine," I say, despite my racing heart.

"I'm Melody, the operations manager. Mr. Sullivan wanted me to give you these." She thrusts the stack of folders into my arms.

"Of course, he did. I don't suppose you know where my office is?"

She offers me a sympathetic look that tells me I am in for a hellish first day. "Your office is just down the hall; follow me."

Melody leads me into a reasonably sized office across the way from Cormac's.

It would have taken no effort for him to tell me that, so I make sure to shoot a scowl in his direction as we pass.

Inside, I find there isn't a window; however, the handful of potted plants scattered around the room does bring some life into the place. There is also a small couch against one of the walls that I will likely end up using as a bed at some point, and a coffee machine displayed on top of a wooden cabinet on the other.

As promised, there is already a stack of paperwork waiting for me on the desk.

"Give me a shout if you need anything," Melody says before disappearing out the door.

"A hammer to hit myself over the head will be great," I mutter before taking a seat behind the desk and pulling one of the folders toward me.

I barely even have a chance to make use of the coffee machine because Melody stops by my office three more times over the next hour with more folders for me to sort through. I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing, so I settle for organizingthe expense reports by date and hoping that Cormac will show his face at some point to tell me what exactly it is I should be doing.

But, of course, he never shows.

I catch him walking past a few times, which is not hard to do, considering the entire wall opposite my desk is glass, but he simply acts like I don't exist.