I turned my attention to Gary, who was tapping a dry erase marker on a whiteboard, ready to begin. “Great job this month, Kelsey,” Gary smiled, waving for Kelsey to come toward us at the conclusion of the meeting. She was professional as ever, never missing a beat or stumbling over her words while she presented her information. I was unsure about handing over the organic soda campaign. After all, she was still getting her feet wet in the company, but she’d proven herself with the other clients she’d worked with since being a coordinator, and I became confident she’d rise to the occasion after discussing her ideas and marketing plan.She moved elegantly toward him. “Thanks, Mr. Sneed. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge.”“Kelsey, please call me Gary,” he said sincerely. “I’m glad you’re happy here. I hope to keep you around for as long as I can.”Mindy came beside Gary. “Don’t worry, Kelsey is obsessed with this place.” Mindy brought her attention to me. I was trying my best to avoid b
Kelsey“Why do you insist on going to the gym on Mondays?” I grumbled, tugging on a black tank top to go over my bright green sports bra. Mindy was tying her shoe. “If you skip Monday, then you’ll skip Tuesday, if you skip Tuesday, you’ll skip Wednesday. Monday is the most important day to go to the gym. 99% of people who are successful in life don’t skip the gym on Mondays.”“I wouldn’t be going to the gym if you didn’t drag me here,” I mumbled, tying my hair into a high ponytail. “It’s always so busy. If I get the treadmill by the cleaning station again, I’m going to lose it.”Mindy’s eyebrows scrunched together. “What’s wrong with that spot?”I crossed my arms and turned to look at her. “People are lazy and don’t bother taking the bottle of cleaner out of the holder and just spray it on their towel. The spray bottle is always directed at the machine, so guess who gets the overflow of cleaning product in their face every time someone comes by?”Mindy pinched her lips together to st
MackThe rest of my Monday went to shit. I’d phone tagged with clients all morning, half of them were already out of town for the holiday. Since when do people take a week off for the 4th of July? I was surprised our office was closing on both Thursday and Friday in celebration. Gary was too generous to our employees. My lunch was an hour late because Ms. Biggle ‘forgot’ to put the order in, and was in no rush to deliver my afternoon coffee. She’d been in LaLa Land all day and would send me a glare whenever I’d ask her to complete a task. When five-o’clock came, she punched out right on the dot, not bothering to ask if I needed anything before she left. If she wanted me to fire her, her wish would come true soon if she didn’t change her attitude.Seven-thirty came around and I couldn’t look at my screen any longer. My mind was anxious, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of Gary and my conversation. I hadn’t meant to push him and Portia away, but my mother had trouble wh
I sauntered into my room, undoing my dress shirt as I went. The king size bed was perfectly made, too many accent pillows placed along the top for my liking. The only time they were on the bed was after the housekeeper came, otherwise they were tossed to the side of the room. Besides the amount of space, nothing else about my condo was extravagant, at least not in my eyes. I didn’t have artwork or photos but kept the walls plain. That was partially due to being the corner condo, where half the outer walls were windows. The view was spectacular. Worst case scenario for the holiday, Kelsey and I could hole up inside for the weekend and catch the fireworks throughout the city while being naked and in bed, making our own fireworks.Kelsey was undressed and throwing her ponytail into a bun when I came in, the water nearly full, patches of suds throughout the tub. I’d ordered girly bath stuff after she’d first come over and eyed the tub. I hardly ever used it unless she was here.She hadn’
I wanted to ask more, but I held my tongue. He didn’t say anything else, but I knew he wouldn’t. Not with Mindy and Cody so close to earshot.“I’m going to get some sun,” I said, shuffling past him to my towel. Miraculously, I managed to keep my hands to myself while I maneuvered around him.Taking a book out of my bag, I laid down on my stomach where I had situated my towel. Opening the book, I began to read. The cushion I was laying on was off the front of the boat, a bar being the only object keeping me from being able to roll into the water.To my surprise, Mack came over and sat on the seat below where I was laying, his chest at the height of my feet. I chuckled while I looked over my shoulder. He had the other book from my bag in his hands. “Help yourself to my things.”He shrugged. “I’ve been meaning to read this one.” I raised a brow at him. It was a book about empowerment in the workforce. “You know that’s from a woman’s perspective, right?” He shrugged. “Even better. Maybe
Setting the food on the kitchen island, we both sat down in view of the television, eating Italian dishes from the local restaurant down the street. “How’d you know I liked fettuccini?” I asked after chewing a mouthful. It was creamy and delicious, the garlic a perfect amount to not overpower the other flavors.“Women always like fettuccini,” he murmured, digging into his plate of lasagna.I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Says who?”“Every female I’ve ever met.”I rolled my eyes. “It’s not my favorite Italian food,” I sighed dramatically. “It’s better than egg salad, though, right?” he teased.I nudged his arm with my elbow, and he curled his lips into a smile. He always made fun of my egg salad sandwiches. ‘They’re high in protein, okay? Keeps me full longer.”“So is my salty semen.”I nearly spit out my food, and he laughed at my reaction.He was so fun when it was just the two of us. You’d never know how quick witted he was by his grumpy demeanor and arrogant presence in the offi
MackInstead of pacing around my home angrily, I bribed my kickboxing trainer to give me a last-minute late-night session. I was uncontrollably wired and pissed off from Kelsey’s invasive questions. We’d never become inquisitive about our personal lives, never prodded or demanded information, and she was standing too close to a line I wasn’t ready to let her cross.“You know, I was about to put my PJ’s on,” Ronnie, my kickboxing trainer, grumbled after instructing me on a warmup exercise. “I should charge you double.”My frown remained in place while I pounded the speed bag. “There’s still time to negotiate.”He shook his head and grinned. “What’s got you all in a tizzy tonight?”My hands kept moving while I bounced. “I’m not in a tizzy.”He raised his brow while he wrapped tape around his wrists. “The only time any of my clients call me after nine is because they are floored about something and are afraid to go to bed. You don’t have to tell me what it is, but let’s beat your negativ
KelseyI hadn’t communicated with Mack outside of a few lame texts in three days. He was beyond angry with me, or Gary, or who knows what. It would remain a mystery until he was ready to open up about whatever was bothering him.I did feel bad when I got home Monday night. I’d asked a lot of questions before he lost his patience. I practically cornered him about his family, and I knew better than to push him. We both had kept that side of our lives to ourselves, and I needed to respect that. But him being withdrawn the past few days was unsettling. It was Wednesday, and I debated all morning if I should go to his office and apologize in person. A half hour before it was time to leave, I made up my mind and wandered to his floor, finding Ashley on her cellphone in his reception. I furrowed my brows. There’s no way Mack would allow that type of behavior at work. If he caught her, she’d get an earful.She waved at me when I came to the table, saying goodbye to whoever she was talking t