Haze(2)

I don't need her condescending attitude. I do my job well. I proved that in spades just ten minutes ago when my last customer left here with over eighteen hundred dollars of merchandise tucked into a signature pale peach shopping bag with the Liore logo emblazoned across it. Considering the fact that she came in looking for one pair of black panties, I'd call that a huge success.

"What question is that?" I ask without looking up from the cardboard box I'm currently unpacking.

Today is delivery day at the boutique which means every sales associate on duty has to put in an hour in the back sorting through the new merchandise to ready it before it can be displayed on the sales floor. I hate this part of my job because it means commissions that should be mine are instead being pocketed by one of my co-workers.

"The question about what is going on between you and Mr. Foster." She reaches into the box to yank out a short, yellow, satin robe. "You need to steam these before you hang them up."

I glance over to where the upright steamer is resting. I'd plugged it into the electrical socket immediately after I opened the box and saw how wrinkled everything was. I know how important impeccable presentation is to the Liore brand. "I'll take care of that, Cicely."

"Answer my question. What was Mr. Foster talking about? Why are you going to his office with samples?"

I make a frustrated noise under my breath. Confessing to her that I propositioned the owner of the company we both work for will cut my shift short, and it will essentially mean the end of my job. Cicely is definitely a 'by the book' type. It's just one of the many ways we are polar opposites. I take a step towards the steamer with a robe in my hand, hoping she'll jump off her current train of thought and launch into a long-winded tutorial about how to use it properly, even though she's already demonstrated that to me a handful of times since I started working here.

"It's about the shipment of lace garter slips that arrived last week, isn't it?" The robe in her hand drops back into the box as she lets it fall from her grasp. "That must be why he was here today. I was personally supposed to verify the quality of that order and report back to him. It completely slipped my mind."

I half-shrug my shoulder as I watch her scurry across the floor to an unopened box. This is the most flustered I've seen her and I have to admit, it's a good look for her.

"Drop all of that." Her hands both wave in the air in my direction. "We need to get these ready so we can take them to his office at four o'clock."

"We?" I cling tightly to the robe in my fist. "I think Mr. Foster just wanted to see me. He didn't say anything about you."

Any semblance of vulnerability leaves her expression as her perfectly tweezed dark brows rise. "Have you forgotten that you work for me, Isla Lane? You don't know the first thing about these samples. They're one of the new products that Mr. Foster just approved. I'll go with you. You'll watch and learn."

I don't say another word as I toss the robe I'm holding back into the box and walk across the room towards her. As frustrating as Cicely is and as much as I detest having her breathing over my shoulder on a daily basis, having her in this meeting may be my saving grace. I just might be able to salvage my job, if I play my cards right.



-Uploaded by Em's Emporium ORD -VK-

If you're not getting this book from Em's Emporium then the person who uploaded this book didn't care for this group. Such an ignorant person who gain benefit for her own purposes

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CHAPTER TWO


Gabriel




I see my mother through the open doors of my office before she turns to look at me. In that instant, I'm reminded that I arranged this meeting. I ordered her here because I need answers.

As I watch her make small talk with my assistant, I can't help but admire how she carries herself around others. She appears confident to a fault. The way she holds her shoulders back is evidence of that. You'd never know by looking at her that she's as careless and reckless as she is. She knows that there's little I can do to remedy her behavior other than to explain the impact her actions have on the business, as a whole. There's no doubt in my mind that she recognizes the risk she's taking. It's what energizes her and pushes her forward.

I reach to tap on the frame of the wooden double doors but it's unnecessary. Her dark eyes catch mine as her gaze wanders the reception area. She's bored with whatever, Sophia, my assistant is talking about. That's clear to me. Sophia, on the other hand, is oblivious to her disinterest and only ups the volume of her voice. The clattered chatter of her words is filling the space, seeping into my office.

"Gabriel." An instant smile courses over my mother's deep red lips. "I'm early."

She's not.

I'd asked her to meet me almost an hour ago. She'd countered with a proposed dinner meeting, but my plans for tonight are non-negotiable. When I'd explained that I needed her in my office no later than three, she'd told me she'd make it by five. It's a quarter to four now.

"Join me in my office." I hold her gaze, waiting for her to dismiss Sophia with a thoughtless flick of her wrist. It's the same gesture she's used on me time and again.

"Your secretary is telling me the most outlandish tale about a bullfrog."