Jules

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kaylee had been pacing the office while the men stood outside the door arguing. It wasn’t a heavy door and didn’t really offer the intended privacy. She tried to ignore her feelings of embarrassment and disappointment at his out-of-hand rejection.

He doesn’t know me. It’s nothing personal. You need this job for your course, so make a good impression.

It didn’t help that Jules was intimidating or that she’d already made a fool of herself. Watching him unfold himself from behind the desk had made her breath catch in her throat. He was bigger than she’d first thought, not exactly graceful but with a smoothness to his movements that spoke to physical control and strength.

And she had assumed he was asleep at his desk, called him a slacker.

Smooth, real smooth, Kaylee. It’s no wonder he doesn’t want to work with you.

The door opened and Jules filled the doorway. “Hi. I’m Jules.”

She smiled and held out her hand as she walked to him. “I’m Kaylee.” He had a firm handshake. “Look. I’m sorry about a minute ago. It’s hard to be taken seriously sometimes. I wasn’t sure your boss would.”

“Freddie can be a bit of a hound, but when it comes to talent he’ll judge you on your work, not on your skin color, gender, or attractiveness.”

“That’s good to know,” she said.

“And the same goes for me,” he said. “It’s not a good time for me, but that’s not your fault. I’ll give you a fair chance.”

“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” She hoped the relief didn’t show too plainly on her face.

“Why don’t you show me your portfolio so I can get a feel for your style and where you’re at in your education, and then I’ll walk you through my current project list and see what you think of it. We’ll go from there, okay?”

It was Wednesday morning and Jules was getting ready to go to work. The midweek blues weren’t hitting him so hard this week. Might not need to head to the warehouse this week, he thought. Would be a nice change.

He got to the office just minutes before Kaylee. When she walked in, he said, “I won—you fetch the coffee.”

She rolled her eyes and dropped her bag on the chair. “This isn’t fair. I don’t have a car. I get here whenever the bus gets here. I can’t just choose to be five minutes early.”

He shrugged, but he was grinning. “Coffee first, complain later.”

She threw her scarf at him.

“Tell you what, I’ll over sleep my alarm one day just so you can win.”

“You’re so kind,” she said, and her laughter trailed after her as she wandered off to the staff room to fetch two mugs of coffee.

There was a tap on the doorframe and Freddie stuck his head in. “You’re not mistreating the intern, are you?”

“Oh, I’ve reduced her to a coffee-fetching serf,” Jules said. He took her scarf, one of those cotton, brightly-colored, infinity scarves, and hung it next to his jacket.

Freddie arched his eyebrows.

“What?”

“Nothing. I guess things are working out.”

“I’ll have the Peterson file in your inbox for review by lunch.”

“That’s a yes then.”

“Look out, hot coffee,” Kaylee said.

Freddie stepped back. “I’ll let you two get to it.” He shot Kaylee his womanizing smile. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

“I think I’m fine, thanks,” she said, barely sparing him a glance.

Freddie winked at Jules and then closed the door.

“Is he always like that?”

“He’ll only chase you until you sleep with him, and then you’ll be hard pressed to get him to call you again.”

“Do you know this from experience?”

“I’ve seen it enough times.”

“Firsthand?”

He glanced up sharply and caught the playful twist of her lips. “No,” he growled. “Not firsthand.”

Her smile broadened. “So, what’s on the schedule for today?”

“Peterson file first. They want it next week, and we need to give the boys enough time to print and ship it.”

“Then let’s get to it.”