Page 10 of Irresistible Temptation
I slid behind my desk and shakily gripped the edge of the light wood, thankful that the rest of the accounting team hadn’t arrived yet, but one quick glance at my watch showed the workday was about to start for the rest of the office.
“Get it together,” I whispered to myself.
Not only had I just made a fool of myself in front of my new boss, the freaking CEO of the company, but he had seen this morning’s livestream. To think that was his first impression of me made my cheeks burn like I had been lying out at the beach all day without SPF. Not only that, but my stomach churned with unease, expecting this to be my first and last day here. I doubted after the little peep show I had accidentally given the internet, that I would be able to keep my job here.
It had been too good to be true anyway. The fancy office, the higher salary, the boss who made it difficult to look away from his chiseled chin and deep brown eyes. It was probably for the best. I sighed and looked around the office, as if it would be the last time I would ever set foot in some place this luxe. It was then that the rest of the accounting team strolled through the door with talk about their weekends and the day ahead with the merger. I kept waiting for any of them to react to seeing me, “shower girl,” sitting in their office, but none of them seemed to recognize me. I breathed a small sigh of relief as they began making their introductions.
They either didn’t see the livestream or they were respectfully keeping quiet about it. Either way, I was grateful as they each came up to introduce themselves before starting the workday. There was one girl who took me by surprise, with her dark, purple hair that hung straight down her back, the glint of her nose ring catching under the fluorescent lights. She approached with a warm smile that seemed to juxtapose her rebellious look. Not quite what I expected for an accountant in this type of office setting in one of the nicest high rises in the city.
“You’re new!” she said brightly, placing her hand on my desk, her black manicure drumming against the wood.
“I am,” I nodded. “Juliet.” I smiled up at her.
“Sarah,” she answered back, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. “Where did you come from?”
“A nonprofit. Much smaller than this one,” I said, feeling my imposter syndrome taking over.
“You’ll do just fine,” said Sarah with a smile. “Although, with this merger, who knows what the new CEO will do…”
“I wonder why he decided to merge with a nonprofit…” I said thoughtfully, thinking back to him standing in the doorway not long ago. I tried to shake his sly smirk from my head.
“Regulations, I’m sure. It’s everything to these big CEOs. Anything to make them look like saints,” said Sarah with a roll of her eyes.
“Makes sense.” I nodded, though there was a pang in me that wished he actually cared about the work.
“Have you met him yet?” I asked, looking around as if he might be wandering the floor.
“Not yet. I think everyone is on their toes.”
I nodded worriedly.
“Let me show you around the office,” she said, rapping her knuckles loudly on the desk.
“S-sure,” I said hesitantly, not sure I wanted to run into the CEO or really anyone else who might have seen the video. I knew I couldn’t hole up in this office forever, though. I stood up andadjusted my blazer before following Sarah out of the accounting office and onto the floor.
She introduced me to a few more people, showed me where the breakroom was, and pointed out a few select people she deemed as “cool,” as she put it. I felt comfortable with her. She had an ease about her that most everyone seemed to like. She definitely wasn’t like the usual stuffy, number-crunching accountants I had come into contact with.
When the mini office tour was over, we walked back toward the accounting office, and I was thankful I hadn’t seen Chester. Based on our tour, he didn’t work on this floor and I found myself relieved by the fact his presence wouldn’t be consuming me day in and day out. I wasn’t sure I would be able to work in such close proximity, knowing he had seen me naked and that part of me wanted to seehimout of his well-fitted suit.
“So, accounting, huh?” I asked Sarah, my curiosity getting the better of me, wanting to get to know her more.
She laughed softly. “I don’t look the part?” she asked, putting her hand to her heart in mock offense.
“You just seem a lotcoolerthan most accountants,” I said, thankful I hadn’t offended her.
“Thanks,” she said with a confident toss of her hair as we walked. “The truth is, I’m really trying to save up for culinary school.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise. It was refreshing to meet someone who hadn’t quite figured their life out just yet.
“Mhmm.” She nodded. “I love cooking. Baking. Creating. When I’m not here, I’m in my kitchen experimenting and feeding my friends.”
“Lucky friends.” I smiled at her.
“Come over anytime,” she said as we approached the door to our office.
As we entered, the room fell silent and I suddenly felt eyes on me, like we had just interrupted something. My stomach did a turn of unease as I sat down at my desk, Sarah sitting at the desk to my left. It was that feeling like you had just walked in on a roomful of people talking about you, and I was reminded of the video that was surely viral by now. I glanced around the room and caught eyes with a petite woman with raven black hair cut into a pixie cut. She looked so sleek in her gray linen pantsuit, her pointed chin up as if she knew how good she looked. Her green eyes quickly darted away when she saw me.
“Who is that?” I whispered to Sarah, nodding toward the woman who seemed to already not like me.
