Leilani climbs out of bed and crosses to the dressing room. She’s already decided on a simple, professional black dress and blazer. She steps into the dress and reaches around to pull the zipper, but it gets stuck halfway up. There’s barely a bump on her stomach, but she has already gained weight. She tugs at the zipper, getting angrier and angrier.
She hears footsteps behind her, and warm hands skim her back. Waylen takes the zipper and tugs it carefully but firmly until it goes up. He runs a hand down her back to smooth the fabric, and she fights the urge to arch into his touch.
Leilani grabs her blazer and steps away from him to study her reflection in the mirror. The dress has a high neck with three quarter length sleeves. It brushes her mid-calves, and she’s wearing it with simple black suede flats.
“A powerful but tempting woman,” Waylen says.
“If I had things my way, I’d be taking that dress off of you instead of helping you put it on.”
Leilani meets his eyes in the mirror and scowls at him. Waylen crosses the dressing room and twirls her long hair around his finger. He kisses the ends of the hair and lets it fall back down her back.
“What time do you want me to pick you up for our meeting with Andrew?” Waylen asks.
“I’ll just meet you there,” Leilani says quickly.
Waylen always makes a show out of everything. If he gets her from the office, he’ll probably show up with a small army of bodyguards and a fleet of sports cars. She doesn’t want to draw attention to herself on her first day. She just wants to fit in at the company.
The D.O. headquarters in the city is an architectural marvel. The building is shaped like a diamond, and the surface is covered in blue glass that glints in the sun. In front of the building is a huge fountain with crystal clear water. The fountain is shaped like a circle with a hole in the middle. Anyone entering the building has the impression that the building is the sparkling jewel on top of a large ring.
“Good morning,” a receptionist says brightly.
“Welcome to D.O.”
“Hello, my name is Leilani Peters,” Leilani says.
“I’m supposed to start working here today.”
Leilani asked Sophie to keep her identity a secret. She doesn’t want the other employees to think she’s getting special treatment just because she’s married into the Bamford family. The receptionist looks down at a tablet on the desk and nods.
She lifts the phone and buzzes up to one of the floors, “Miss Peters has just arrived.”
Within minutes, a young woman steps out of the elevator. She’s wearing a simple but stylish black suit, and she looks to be about thirty years old. She has straight black hair that falls just below her shoulders and around, open face. She walks toward Leilani and warmly shakes her hand.
“Welcome, Leilani,” the woman says.
“I’m Emily Johnson. It’s great to meet you.”
Leilani instantly likes the woman. She seems professional and friendly, and there’s something about her face that seems honest. Leilani takes her hand and smiles with slight embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry to be late on my first day,” she says.
“Traffic was a nightmare.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Emily says.
“Anyway, Sophie wanted to be here to welcome you herself, but she was called away on business. So I have the honor instead. Are you ready?”
Leilani nods, and Emily leads her toward a large bank of silver elevators. They get on a waiting elevator, and Emily pushes a button to the second floor.
“The building has eighteen floors,” Emily explains.
“The first is just the lobby, and the second is our company dining hall. Then we have workshops, offices, studio space, conference rooms, and the vaults. The entire 18th floor is Sophie’s office, of course.”
After a quick tour of the common spaces, Emily takes her to the Design Department on the 6th floor. A group of men and women are cl.u.s.tered around a desk, sipping their morning coffees.
“Did you hear that our department is getting someone new today?” a short, curly-haired woman asks.
“I heard she was appointed directly by Sophie.”
“Is she from abroad?” asks a tall man.
“I know all the rising stars in this country, and none of them seem ready to work here. She must have done something extraordinary to catch Sophie’s eye.”
“I peeked at the woman’s employee file,” says another woman.
“You know she hasn’t even studied design?”
“You must be kidding,” the man says.
“There’s no way Sophie would hire someone so inexperienced. She must have backdoor connections to get in here.”
“I suppose that’s a sort of skill,” the curly-haired woman sniffs.
“Though all of us had to rely on our actual talents to get in here.”
“Yes, Crystal, we all know that your talent speaks for itself,” the man says in a flattering tone.
“Crystal, have you had breakfast yet?” the other woman asks.
“I can go buy it for you.”
Emily looks awkwardly at Leilani and says, “Don’t mind them—they just love to gossip.”
Leilani bites her lip nervously and follows Emily over to the other employees.
The woman called Crystal turns to stare at Leilani. She’s wearing black Louboutin heels and an expensive-looking skirt suit. A young man who looks like an intern runs over and gives Crystal a fresh cup of coffee. Crystal sniffs it and wrinkles her little button nose.
“This smells like 2 percent, not skim milk,” Crystal says. She tosses the cup at the employee and hot, milky coffee splatters the man’s shirt and drips all over the floor. The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small rag; he wipes the floor before dabbing at his ruined shirt.
“I’m Crystal Stone,” Crystal says.
“Are you a new employee?”
Leilani stands tall and stares down at Crystal. She doesn’t want to be intimidating or aggressive, but she hates bullies. If nothing else, Crystal is a bully. Leilani can feel the eyes of everyone in the room on her, but she focuses on Crystal.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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