Page 165 of Hale Damage
“Can I help you?” I ask, calming my nerves.
“Remington is receiving an award?”
“Yes,” I say cautiously.
“What’s the dress code for the event?”
“Um, it’s black tie.”
Serena claps her hands beneath her chin. “Oh goody. I love black tie.” She taps her chin with her index finger. “Though I do need to get a new dress for the event. I’ve gotten rid of most of my wardrobe because I’m in my non-hue era right now,” she says, waving her hand up and down her long-sleeved jumpsuit.
It takes me a second to realize she’s talking aboutwhite. “Well, it looks very nice with your dark hair,” I say because seriously… how else am I to respond to her “non-hue” announcement?
She flips her short, black blunt-cut. “I think so too. I’ve replaced everything with non-hues… my clothes, my shoes, my lingerie, everything. Non-hue is really the way to go,” she says, her blue gaze dropping to my very hued red dress.
Before I can formulate a response, the phone rings again, and I rush to answer it. Thankfully, Serena returns to the seating area while I continue to work.
Twenty minutes later, my phone rings with a call from the inner office.
“Good morning,” I purr.
“Hi, baby,” Remi says, sounding weary. “I’m finally done. I swear to god, if they would just do what I tell them in the first place, these meetings could be cut to five fucking minutes.”
“Like I do?”
That makes him laugh. “Oh please. You never do what I tell you to do. I think you live to defy me.”
“Never?” I ask coyly, and his voice drops into that sexy tone I love.
“I take that back. You were pretty obedient last night.”
I squirm in my seat at the memory of Remi fucking me with my legs draped over his shoulders. “I’m still paying for that today.”
His sultry tone changes to one of concern. “Does your back hurt?”
“A little bit.”
“Hmm, why don’t you book us a couples massage tonight at my penthouse? You can stay over since it’s Friday.”
“Okay,” I agree.
His voice registers his surprise. “Well, that was easy.”
“I told you,” I counter. My eyes flit to the woman wandering around the office looking at the cosmetics ads dotting the walls. “You have a guest. She refused to give me her name, but she says she’s your bestie.”
To my delight, he groans instead of sounding happy. “Serena. I just checked my phone and she’s been blowing it up with texts. She’s pissed I didn’t personally tell her we were dating, but for fuck’s sake, it just happened last weekend, and she’s been in Greece for the past three weeks.”
I have no idea how someone with no job is able to flit around the globe like that, but whatever.
“Is that Remi?” she asks, suddenly standing directly in front of my desk again. Jesus, she’s like a fucking cat, even in heels.
I nod at the same time Remi says, “Send her in, and I’ll get this over with.”
Serena reaches for my phone handset, but I hang it up and smile. “Mr. Hale says you can go in now.”
“About time,” she mutters, stomping over to the door. Once again, she bumps into it and curses.
“Oh, let me get that for you,” I say solicitously, rising and pressing my thumb against the scanner. Maybe it makes me a petty bitch to feel such a deep satisfaction when it successfully unlocks the door with the flash of a green light, but I don’t care. I can’t tolerate rudeness.
