Page 18 of Secrets We Keep
“Dom, don’t make me get IT to clone your desktop or your inbox. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I’m going to take an early lunch. Do you want me to bring you anything back?”
He shakes his head but watches me as I leave. I need to get out of here, even though I know I’m going to regret it.
Icollide with a body by the fountain in the lobby. I’m about to apologize when I see Reid is the person I’ve walked into. He looks at his watch.
“Where are you in a rush to?” he asks.
“Don’t you fucking start! I’m taking an early lunch.”
“You want some company?” he asks.
“Won’t…”
“Joys of being the boss. I don’t have to answer to anyone.” He pauses for a moment. “Well, except Adrien.”
I laugh, glad to find a fast friend in someone I never thought I’d be friends with in a million years.
“I know a great restaurant a couple of blocks away. You can be back in the office…”
“Screw the office,” I say, marching towards the front doors.
“Woah, woah, woah.” Reid comes up behind me and puts his arm around my shoulder. “I know we’ve only become friendly this week, but something tells me this isn’t standard operating procedure with you.”
He’s not wrong.
“Okay, you can either talk to me since I have a feeling you’re going to be my new best friend. Or I’ll sink fucking low and call Jenna.”
I stop to look at him and see him holding back a laugh.
“New best friend, huh?” this makes me burst out laughing.
“Yeah, I mean, if last night is anything to go by, I have a feeling I’m going to be seeing your dick sometime soon.”
This makes us both laugh so hard I wipe away a tear leaving the side of my eye.
We get to the restaurant, and Reid opens the door for us. The host has an excited look on her face. She obviously recognizes him.
“Mr. Taylor.” She says as her face gets a dark shade of pink.
“Hi. Is my usual table available?” he asks, looking around the half-full restaurant.
“It is,” she smiles. “Right this way.”
We turn a few heads as we walk through the restaurant, and it’s obvious he’s still got it. “See, the ladies still love you,” I say, smirking as I pick up the menu.
“I don’t care what the ladies think, only one.”
“She’s one special lady,” I say, continuing to look over the menu.
We spend the next half hour avoiding the elephant in the room. Reid keeps looking at me like he’s waiting for me to explain everything. Mine and Reid’s working environments are completely different. He’d never in a million years understand where I’m coming from.
12
JENNA
Itry to avoid looking at my phone that’s face down on my desk. Adrien doesn’t care if people take personal calls while at work as long as the work gets done. This seems to make people happier. We have some people who work from home a couple of days a week, and while some of the older department heads don’t love this, Adrien doesn’t care. His philosophy is that if people get the work done and are happy, they will be more productive. We had a total reshuffle not long after Sara joined the team last year. The press had a field day and thought the company was in trouble. Quite the opposite. Sara joining the team as VP of the company has been amazing. She’s made my boss a hell of a lot more bearable too. We’re not close, though. Adrien and I are the ones with the years of working together, and she gets that.
