Dalton, Tymber - Love and Brimstone [Brimstone Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Tymber Dalton Page A

when she stepped out.
    He took her laptop case from her and smiled. “Yes, it is. Why should you have to spend time looking for parking and walking around? It’s a great time-saver.”
    “I guess.”
    He led her to her office and set the case on her desk while she looked around.
    “Mr. Hawthorne might not be in today,” he said, “but he told me to make sure you’re comfortable. Also, he told me to call the decorator if you wish to change the office around.”
    “No, that won’t be necessary,” she assured him. “It’s fine.”
    “And if the chair”—at least a five-hundred dollar, top-of-the-line model that was like sitting on air—“isn’t comfortable, feel free to get whatever works best for you. Just put it on a corporate card.” He handed her an envelope with three different credit cards. Platinum Amex. Visa. MasterCard.
    She looked around and resisted the urge to pinch herself. “I’m waiting to wake up and find myself in a dream.”
    Thompson smiled. She really liked him, sensed he was a powerful man to have on her side. Maybe it was because his eyes were the same clear blue as Robertson’s that he reminded her so much of him.
    “Mr. Hawthorne is well aware his company is run by employees, not by him. He knows that to be the best, you have to hire the best and treat them like royalty to keep them.”
    “I bet the Christmas party is a real hoot, huh?”
    “Wait until you see the employee cafeteria.”
    Thompson gave her the tour. Hawthorne International owned the entire building. The lower eight floors were leased to tenants. From there up, the other twelve floors were corporate offices. Well, except for the five-star restaurant—employee cafeteria—occupying most of one floor. In addition to two floors containing a health club, complete with Olympic-sized indoor pool, medical clinic, dental office, day care center, hair salon, massage—
    “Did the Google guys ever work here?” she half joked.
    “No, but one of their vice presidents did. He liked many of our ideas.”
    A golden retriever ran out from one office and greeted them in the hallway. Thompson laughed as he bent down to pet it. “Hello, Winston, old boy. And there are other perks.”
    “So I see.”
    Okay, so obviously Matthias Hawthorne can’t be an asshole if he lets people bring pets and kids to work, right?
    They worked their way back to the top floor, which contained their offices, a security station with three guards on duty, conference rooms, and a private library. There were no administrative assistants or receptionists on their floor, which she thought was odd. It was very private. Except for meetings and the practically invisible security staff, it would normally be just the three of them.
    “Mr. Hawthorne values his privacy,” Thompson said as if reading her thoughts. “Considering the nature of our many businesses, it’s best not to have people poking around. Easier to bring in those we need rather than worrying about keeping others out. If you were wondering, only certain ID cards allow access to this floor unattended. If you need assistance with paperwork or tasks such as that, your assistant is one floor below. You can video conference with her or she can come up to you. You don’t have to go down to her unless you want to.”
    “Saves my time?”
    “Correct. Janice is assigned to you. She has been with us for many years and is very—”
    “Efficient?”
    He smiled. “Quite. The main receptionist downstairs screens our calls. For now, most of Mr. Hawthorne’s calls will come to me. Once you’re up to speed, you’ll take most of his calls. Few go directly to him. Usually if he gets a private call, it comes through his work or personal cell phones. There will be few things you won’t be authorized to handle for him. With the exceptions he’ll go over personally, the rare others can come to me.”
    “How often is Mr. Hawthorne in the office?”
    “He might be here for a month straight, and then gone