foundation,as well as training Marlowe’s new assistant, Leah.
Everyone is excited to welcome Natalie’s former roommate from New York, who recently relocated to LA to work for Marlowe. As soon as Marlowe offered Leah the job—and offered to buy her out of her contract—Leah resigned from her teaching position at the Emerson School.
Flynn asked me to help train Leah to be Marlowe’s “Addie.” I know it’s ahuge compliment that Flynn and the other Quantum principals think I set the gold standard for Hollywood assistants, but today I can’t seem to muster my usual enthusiasm for my job.
In the thirty minutes it takes me to travel four miles to the office, I have myself convinced I can handle being in the same building with him today. I can pretend everything is fine, that I’m not shattered by hiscallous disregard after life-altering sex. I want to call it lovemaking, but that’s not what it was for him. If he loved me, if he cared about me at all, he wouldn’t have left without saying good-bye. He wouldn’t have let more than a day go by without a word.
So screw him. Screw him every which way to next Tuesday. He can go fuck himself, because he is never going to get another chance to fuckme if this is how he handles the aftermath. No wonder he can’t seem to maintain a relationship. He’s an emotionally stunted fucked-up disaster area, and I’m better off without him.
Having moved from devastated to furious in the time it takes me to get to work, I pull into the parking lot and into my space next to Hayden’s black Range Rover with the HAR license plate. Hayden Anthony Roth, namedafter both his grandfathers, and I hate that I know that, because I hate him, and I don’t want to know every little thing there is to know about him.
I don’t want to know the details of his hideous childhood or remember the photos of him with every hot young actress to come through the Hollywood mill in the last ten years. I don’t want to think about him anymore. I’m done.
Grabbing my messengerbag and purse, I head into the building and use the palm scanner to gain access to the elevator. During the ride to the fifth floor, I go over the plan for the day—act normal, pretend like nothing is wrong, smile and under no circumstances show him that you give the first shit about him. Got it. I can do that.
The elevator doors open and who do you think is standing at the reception desk, chattingwith our receptionist, Mackenzie, and laughing like he doesn't have the first care in the word? Yep, you guessed it, the man himself. And isn’t it just my luck that he’s wearing sexy faded jeans that hug his perfect ass, the same ass I clutched two nights ago as he slammed into me with that big—
Stop! You’re over him. You’re done with him and his big… thing.
“Morning,” I say cheerfully, keepingmy focus on Mackenzie as I manage to avoid looking at him at all—other than the ass shot, of course. I’d have to be dead not to notice that, and I’m done, not dead.
“Hey, Addie,” Mackenzie says. “I put a few calls through to your voice mail this morning already, and you’ve got two deliveries in your office.”
“Thank you.”
“Addie,” Hayden says, “could I have a minute?”
“Can’t right now,” Isay, breezing by him. “Got a conference call in five minutes that I’m not ready for.”
“Oh. Okay. Later, then.”
“Sure,” I say, though I’m thinking when hell freezes over . This might be a good time to mention that while Flynn is my boss and my number-one priority, in addition to what he pays me to be his beck-and-call girl, I also collect a salary from Quantum to assist the other principals asneeded. So technically Hayden is also one of my bosses. Technically, however, he can kiss my ass. I’ve got nothing to say to him, even if my nipples tingled at the sound of his gruff voice saying he wanted to talk to me.
Fuck. Him.
I go into my office and shut the door, hoping he and
Everyone is excited to welcome Natalie’s former roommate from New York, who recently relocated to LA to work for Marlowe. As soon as Marlowe offered Leah the job—and offered to buy her out of her contract—Leah resigned from her teaching position at the Emerson School.
Flynn asked me to help train Leah to be Marlowe’s “Addie.” I know it’s ahuge compliment that Flynn and the other Quantum principals think I set the gold standard for Hollywood assistants, but today I can’t seem to muster my usual enthusiasm for my job.
In the thirty minutes it takes me to travel four miles to the office, I have myself convinced I can handle being in the same building with him today. I can pretend everything is fine, that I’m not shattered by hiscallous disregard after life-altering sex. I want to call it lovemaking, but that’s not what it was for him. If he loved me, if he cared about me at all, he wouldn’t have left without saying good-bye. He wouldn’t have let more than a day go by without a word.
So screw him. Screw him every which way to next Tuesday. He can go fuck himself, because he is never going to get another chance to fuckme if this is how he handles the aftermath. No wonder he can’t seem to maintain a relationship. He’s an emotionally stunted fucked-up disaster area, and I’m better off without him.
Having moved from devastated to furious in the time it takes me to get to work, I pull into the parking lot and into my space next to Hayden’s black Range Rover with the HAR license plate. Hayden Anthony Roth, namedafter both his grandfathers, and I hate that I know that, because I hate him, and I don’t want to know every little thing there is to know about him.
I don’t want to know the details of his hideous childhood or remember the photos of him with every hot young actress to come through the Hollywood mill in the last ten years. I don’t want to think about him anymore. I’m done.
Grabbing my messengerbag and purse, I head into the building and use the palm scanner to gain access to the elevator. During the ride to the fifth floor, I go over the plan for the day—act normal, pretend like nothing is wrong, smile and under no circumstances show him that you give the first shit about him. Got it. I can do that.
The elevator doors open and who do you think is standing at the reception desk, chattingwith our receptionist, Mackenzie, and laughing like he doesn't have the first care in the word? Yep, you guessed it, the man himself. And isn’t it just my luck that he’s wearing sexy faded jeans that hug his perfect ass, the same ass I clutched two nights ago as he slammed into me with that big—
Stop! You’re over him. You’re done with him and his big… thing.
“Morning,” I say cheerfully, keepingmy focus on Mackenzie as I manage to avoid looking at him at all—other than the ass shot, of course. I’d have to be dead not to notice that, and I’m done, not dead.
“Hey, Addie,” Mackenzie says. “I put a few calls through to your voice mail this morning already, and you’ve got two deliveries in your office.”
“Thank you.”
“Addie,” Hayden says, “could I have a minute?”
“Can’t right now,” Isay, breezing by him. “Got a conference call in five minutes that I’m not ready for.”
“Oh. Okay. Later, then.”
“Sure,” I say, though I’m thinking when hell freezes over . This might be a good time to mention that while Flynn is my boss and my number-one priority, in addition to what he pays me to be his beck-and-call girl, I also collect a salary from Quantum to assist the other principals asneeded. So technically Hayden is also one of my bosses. Technically, however, he can kiss my ass. I’ve got nothing to say to him, even if my nipples tingled at the sound of his gruff voice saying he wanted to talk to me.
Fuck. Him.
I go into my office and shut the door, hoping he and
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