Page 95 of Saved By the CEO

My salad suddenly feels heavy in my hand, ridiculous and impossible to eat. I put it back on the nearest shelf and leave the cafeteria without buying anything.

TWENTY-FOUR

Iam halfway through rescheduling a budget review Andrew does not want to attend and Finance absolutely does want him to attend when an email appears at the top of my screen.

Communications Coordinator Interview

For one second, I just stare at it.

Then I click.

Dear Carly,

Thank you for submitting your application for the Communications Coordinator position. We’d like to invite you to interview with me and HR tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Please let me know if that works for your schedule.

Best,

Marissa Kane

For two whole seconds, I am happy.

I got an interview!

Then my stomach flips so violently that I have to press a hand against it.

Oh god. I got an interview.

With Marissa and HR, which means people who will ask questions and expect answers, probably in full sentences.

But this is what I want,I remind myself.

Thank you for the invitation. Tomorrow at 10:30 works for me.

For approximately half a second, I feel like a competent adult woman with goals and a future. A woman who didn’t cry in her best friend’s arms last night because of a stupid comment from a stupid man in a stupid cafeteria.

Then another email appears at the top of my inbox. It’s from Martha. HR Martha.

I’d like to speak with you regarding an incident that was reported earlier today. Please come by my office when you have a moment.

And just like that, my tiny moment of joy is over.

Martha’s officeis very beige.

Beige walls. Beige carpet. Beige chair that somehow manages to be both too soft and deeply uncomfortable. Even the framed print above her filing cabinet looks beige, though I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be a landscape. Maybe a desert?

She asks me to walk her through what happened, so I do. She takes notes while I talk, nodding now and then, her expression calm and steady. When I’m done, she clicks her pen closed.

“Thank you, Carly. I know this isn’t comfortable.”

“No,” I say, then force a tiny smile. “Not really my dream lunch break.”

Her face softens. “If Josh approaches you or says anything else, you come directly to me.” She closes her notebook. “And because this involves your role and Mr. Bennett’s name, I do need to inform him that a complaint has been made.”

Please don’t.

When I get back upstairs, Andrew’s office door is open. He’s standing behind his desk with his phone pressed to his ear, looking down at a contract with the kind of expression that has probably made grown lawyers rethink their entire careers.

It’s incredibly attractive.