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“Hey, Lily of the Valley!” the email started.
She hated that nickname and he knew it. Which was exactly why he used it.
Hey, Lily of the Valley!
I heard through the grapevine, namely Reginald London, who I now work for, that you ended up at Cameron Designs. How are you enjoying a smaller office with fewer benefits? Must be nice to skate by without the pressure to perform well.
She ground her molars together. That was his way of saying she couldn’t cut it in a corporate office. Rat bastard. And why had London hired him? Did she owe the universe a major debt or something?
I wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I’ll see you at the RSD dinner. I skipped the last two, just wasn’t into it.
Why this year, then? Just to ruin her life?
I’ve been asked to present the Designer of the Year award and wanted to give you a heads-up since it’s a guy from your office. Marcus Black. He’s impressive. The design for London’s store is perfection. We can’t stop talking about him over here. Just remember not to wear anything too revealing to the dinner. You don’t want everyone to assume you have more boobs than brains! LOL.
See you soon.
E.
The “more boobs than brains” insult turned her stomach, and made her want to take a Louisville Slugger to his car.
Emmett would be at the RSD dinner, presenting the award, while she was supposed to show up as Marcus’s date. Worse, she wasn’t sure what Emmett had told London. If London believed him, then he might assume that she was sleeping her way through designers. And since she’d slept with Marcus on Friday night, that assumption wouldn’t be wrong.
She dropped her head to her hands and pulled at her hair.
“McIntire.” Marcus knocked on the wall.
She raised her head.
“You okay?”
“Fine. What’s up?”
He lifted a takeout menu. “Chinese?”
He stepped into her office, bringing his fresh, piney scent with him. His familiar, friendly presence set her at ease instantly. “Sure.”
“Let me guess.” He put the menu to his forehead and closed his eyes. “Kung Pao chicken, spice level number seven.”
“And you’re ordering the orange beef, level ten, with a double order of crab Rangoon.”
“Nice try. It’s level twelve.”
“That sounds hot.”
“Honey, you have no idea.” With a wink, he turned to leave. In the hallway, she saw him hold up the menu to Clive and ask, “Chinese?”
Her smile faded when she looked back at her inbox. She deleted Emmett’s email with a decisive click.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The rest of the week went smoothly.
Sort of.
Most mornings, Lily ran into Marcus, who was usually scarfing donuts near the coffee maker. They ate lunch in the conference room together every day and discussed projects.
But what wasn’t normal was the way she’d avoided going to his office to ask his opinion. She asked Joanie instead. And Clive, once. It wasn’t like her to dodge him, and it wasn’t like Marcus not to call her on it.
