Relentless

The young man of medium height, dressed in a smart but rumpled gray suit, flicked his bloodshot eyes up when the elevator doors slid open. Groaning to himself at the unavoidable chit-chat, he prepared himself to face whoever should step in. If it were someone higher than him on the organization chart, then his smile would be instant. Anyone lower might get a nod or simply ignored. When two women entered, his sharp gaze darted past the short, stout woman in a mustard yellow cardigan to the younger woman in a worn black skirt suit. Suddenly, he stood up straight and puffed out his chest as he adjusted his blue silk tie.

The older woman, with a plastic coffee stirrer clamped between her teeth, used the manila folder she was holding to give him a half-wave. “Good morning, Keith. Getting out?”

" ’Morning, Christine.” Keith, his hazel eyes glued on the younger woman, replied in a tone that bordered on sarcasm. “Nah! They’re going through my shit right now, so I thought I’d ride the elevator for a bit. Trying to stay out of their way.”

Christine shook her head while making a tisk’ing sound. The brown plastic straw between her teeth bounced up and down. “Everyone’s under suspicion these days, huh? You know what I think —?”

Keith cleared his throat twice, then cast a pointed glance at the silent young woman. Christine’s mouth snapped shut.

When the box started moving, it almost knocked the distracted young man off balance. He blushed before sneaking another glance at the quiet woman next to Christine. She wore the uniform of every intern and newly minted graduate, in an ill-fitting black suit and scuffed black pumps. But her clothes couldn’t hide a shapely, toned figure. Her dark hair, scraped back into a tight ponytail, made her appear severe. Yet, her face — her exquisite face — gave off a dewy glow. Large, smoky gray eyes, a pert nose, and luscious pink lips. Yes, she was beautiful.

Christine motioned to her. “Don’t worry about memorizing everything. It’s all in the handbook. Anyway, about Gabe’s office —” She winced as she swallowed back her next words. Instead, she said, “I guess they might want you to cover his desk if his other three assistants aren’t available.”

The young woman checked her notebook, all business. “And that’s a separate billing code?” Her first words, feminine and lyrical, filled that small space.

Christine nodded. “We share the B&B name and offices with the holding company, but we’re separate entities. It can get pretty confusing even for me.”

The young woman scribbled a few words in her notebook.

Christine looked self-satisfied as she gave the straw, still clamped between her teeth, a tug. “Of course, we still get the occasional call about Trisha Earhart. You know, from Endless Roads? Did you watch that show?”

“Oh yes! My college roommate and I —”

“The tabloids will try anything, including going through our dumpsters. That’s right! That happened a few times. So if they call, or if they stop you in the street, you tell them we don’t comment on Gabe’s personal life. And let me know right away.”

“Wait!” Keith roused himself from his daydream. “You’re going up to see Gabe? Now?”

Christine leaned closer, her voice dropping so only Keith could hear her. “For some reason, he wants to meet the new office assistant.”

“Oh, I can think of a few reasons,” he smirked in response.

The coffee stirrer stiffened. “He wouldn’t.”

The younger woman stared straight ahead. She gave no sign she heard their whispers except for a slight clenching of her fists.

“Why does she look so familiar?” Keith thought to himself. Suddenly, aware that he was gawking, he reached around Christine to extend his right hand. “I’m Keith. I’m over in R&D. My desk is close to Christine’s.”

Those large gray bedroom eyes flicked over to him. He blinked hard to find them sparkling with intelligence. Her grip when she shook his hand was surprisingly strong. “Bethany.”

A corner of Keith’s lip curled. “Of course you are.” But his smile instantly dropped when those large, unsettling eyes glared at him. Her gaze penetrated him with a fire that made him take an unwitting step back. To cover his discomfort, he turned away to say under his breath to Christine, “I’d keep a close eye on this one.”

“Oh, you know Brooke will,” Christine replied. She gave the plastic straw clamped between her teeth another tug.

He swallowed another smirk before, in a louder voice, he addressed Bethany. “Stick with Christine. She’s the one who really runs this place. If you ever need anything, feel free to ask any of us. We’re a family here.”

Those long, thick eyelashes lowered to the polished floor. Except for a slight flush of her cheeks, her stony expression didn’t change.

“Watch out,” Keith warned Christine on the sly. “This one might look like mayonnaise is too spicy, but she’s hiding some sharp teeth.”

Christine nudged him to silence his snickering just as the elevator stopped. He kept his gaze on Bethany when the two women got out.

Bethany charged out so fast that she didn’t see those rushing forward to catch the elevator. Her chest collided against a much harder, taller chest. Just as she was about to lose her footing, a pair of muscular arms caught her by the shoulders and steadied her. She looked up to meet the stunned green eyes of a handsome young man.

“Sorry!” they both blurted out.

People rushed around them to catch the elevator. However, the young man with short sandy-brown hair was no longer in a hurry. He smiled a lopsided, boyish smile. “Are you alright?”

“Let’s go, Joel!” someone from the elevator called out, startling them both.

“She’s fine, Joel,” Christine told the young man as she grabbed Bethany by the arm. “Come on, Miss Popularity! He’ll ask you out later. For now, let’s not keep Gabe waiting.”

Joel, his eyes still glued on Bethany, reluctantly shuffled backward into the crowded elevator.

Despite the tall ceilings and spacious halls, there was a heavy scent of stale coffee and the musk of too many people. Bodies hurried past them with carts full of dusty computer towers and monitors; all had the same blank, focused expression on their faces. Ruffled-looking office workers huddled with others wearing identical black ball caps and windbreakers. From the tense faces and glassy eyes, either the workday had begun much earlier, or it never ended.

Christine continued to walk and talk as if she didn’t notice the commotion. Not even when several people nearly crashed into them. That straw between her teeth, bobbing up and down, from side to side as she spoke.

“They just renovated this entire floor less than a year ago. But I imagine they’ll rip up the floors and ceilings again.” Christine sighed in disappointment. Then she perked up again. “The terrace behind us is where we host receptions in the summer. Oh, and that’s a real Rothko. All the art you see is the real deal. On our way back, we should check the staff lounge. Sometimes we might find leftovers from the breakfast meetings. I’d kill for a bagel and lox. Remember, don’t barge in—” She paused mid-step to look over her shoulder at Bethany. “Oh, and you don’t need to call him Mr. Blake or anything.”

“No, I —”

“Hey, Tina. Is he free?” Christine called out. They had arrived in an open area with three interlocking cubicles. When no one looked up, Christine waved her folder at the middle-aged woman closest to them.

The woman speaking into her headset held up a finger for them to wait. Without looking at them, she gestured behind her.

They turned to a glass-enclosed conference room visible from three sides. Inside a group gathered around a long conference table. A slender woman with her black hair in a pixie cut stood talking and gesturing at a projected screen. Finished, she directed her attention toward the far end of the table.

There sat a large, muscular man with his back to everyone. Even from that view, his well-proportioned, handsome figure was apparent. While the others in crumpled suits appeared exhausted, this man, clad in sweaty workout clothes, looked rested. His tousled dark hair seemed better suited for the beach than a boardroom. Yet, everyone in that room awaited his reaction with bated breath.

“Payton’s one of our rising stars,” Christine said, gesturing at the short-haired woman. Then she drew a line toward the seated man. “And that’s Gabriel Blake.”

“Yes, I —”

“Hard to believe someone that gorgeous can be so smart, right?” Gnashing the straw harder, Christine fanned herself with the folder as she eyed the seated man. “But never forget he’s the big boss. He is the boss since Trey’s never around anymore.”

Christine glanced at the young woman with a sly look, but the latter kept scribbling away in her notepad without noticing.

Meeting adjourned, the attendees rose, gathered their belongings, and left the conference room.

The older woman nudged Bethany as she bolted forward. “Come on!”

Several men stopped in their paths to give the younger woman lingering looks. Christine impatiently dragged a hesitant Bethany past them. But they were a second too slow. Gabriel Blake, flanked by a tight group, was heading away from them towards a set of double glass doors at the end of the hall. As the entourage passed the three cubicles, on cue, its occupants stood up and joined them.

“Hey, Brooke!” Christine called out as she ran a few steps toward a tall, polished-looking blond woman trailing that group. “This is Bethany. Gabe wanted to see her.”

Brooke, hugging a tablet computer to her chest, looked over a sharp shoulder to give Bethany a quick once-over. The new girl lifted her chin with a steady glare back, but remembered to smile and extend her hand. “Hi! I’m — “

Unimpressed, Brooke trotted off without a word.

Christine tilted her head toward Bethany. “Tina’s been with Gabe the longest. But Brooke — uh, she’s pretty protective of him. I’d stay out of her way if I were you.”

By the time they reached the office, bodies were loitering in the doorway while a muffled, though commanding, voice spoke from within.

“Should we come back later?” Bethany asked Christine as the old woman craned her neck looking for an opening. “When it’s less busy?”

“He’s always busy,” Christine gave her straw another impatient tug. “If Gabe says to do something, it’s best to just do it. Let’s give it a minute.”

Finally, the crowd thinned. Christine wasted no time in pulling Bethany into the office with her.

The inside of the enormous office was like any executive office, with modern, minimalistic furnishings intended more for function than design. Behind a long, curved desk sat Gabriel Blake. At some point, he had showered and changed into a light blue dress shirt and dark dress pants. He was pointing at something on a massive curved screen. Brooke, nodding, tapped away on her tablet.

“Good morning, Gabe!” Christine called out. “Here’s a copy of the operations plan. I know Bill wants us to stay off the internal server for now.”

With his eyes glued to the screen, he made a gesture for her to pass the folder to Brooke.

But Brooke ignored her and pointed at the computer screen. “You’re right. That’s it right there —”

“Oh, and you wanted to meet Bethany?” Christine announced.

Brooke and Gabriel swirled their heads in an identical motion. Before the tall, angry girl could scold them for the interruption, he spoke first.

“Well, Bit-Bit,” he said, easing back into his swivel chair. “Nice of you to finally show up!”