The Allure of Dean Harper (The Allure #2)(19)

Chapter Fourteen


Lily





Being roommates with Josephine had certain perks. She was tall enough to reach the cereal boxes on the top shelf of our pantry and she had a never-ending supply of designer clothes. As an in-house blogger for Vogue, she got to raid their closet for her weekly blog posts. Next season’s Valentino? Special collection Manolo Blahniks? Nothing was off limits to her, which meant nothing was off limits to me.

“How about this sleeveless wrap dress with a cardigan in case you get chilly?”

I glanced up to see Josephine holding a sky blue dress. The cotton material looked soft enough to sleep in, but the cut and design made it fancy enough for work.

“It’s gorgeous, but will it be too long on me?”

“Nah. It’s way too short on me. That’s why I haven’t worn it yet.”

I held it up against my body and stepped in front of our floor-length mirror.

“Are you nervous?” Josephine asked, stepping up behind me.

“A little bit,” I admitted. “But Julian will be there to help ease the pain of working for Dean.”

Jo laughed. “I’m still kind of shocked you agreed.”

I arched a brow. “It’s not like restaurants were knocking down my door or anything. I pretended otherwise, but I didn’t really have a choice.”

She nodded. “Okay well, hurry up and change. We can share an Uber.”

I frowned. “What’s that, some kind of German energy drink?”

She closed her eyes, clearly embarrassed to know me. “It’s an app people use to find rides. It’s much faster and cheaper than using a taxi.”

I frowned. “So you find someone on the app and trust that they aren’t going to murder you the second you get in the back of their car?”

“They’re not random people. Most of them are just off-duty taxi drivers trying to make extra money.”

Right. Because off-duty taxi drivers are the most trustworthy people in the world.

“Sure, sounds good. On a totally unrelated note, do you think mace would fit in this clutch?”

…



When I stepped into Provisions the morning of my first team meeting, my heels echoed around the restaurant, announcing my presence to the unmanned hostess stand. The lights were half dimmed overhead and the empty dining room was quiet, save for the morning crew working to make the restaurant spotless.

I took the long way around the courtyard, admiring the trees, and then stepped into the hallway that led toward the back offices. I was only two steps in when voices spilled out into the hallway from the back manager’s office.

“Wait, wait, wait. She actually agreed to take the job?” a woman asked.

“Why wouldn’t she? It’s a great opportunity,” Dean replied. Obviously, I quickly pressed against the sidewall and listened.

“Well yeah that would be enough for anyone else, but not for someone that you’ve been such a dick to. Let me guess, you mentioned the fact that you have a mega boner for her?”

“Zoe, cut that shit out. I mean it.”

Zoe, the Provisions manager who’d hired me for my one and only shift tending bar.

“Yeah, you’re right, wouldn’t want her to know that you actually have a wittle baby grinch heart beneath that scrooge suit.”

“If I wanted to show someone my heart, I’d adopt a puppy.”

She grunted. “The idea of you with a dog is too scary to imagine.”

“Lost?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice spoke directly behind me. I’d been so focused on eavesdropping that I hadn’t noticed Julian until he was right behind me.

“Christ, Julian! Maybe announce yourself next time.”

He smirked. “LILY, IT IS I, JULIAN,” he boomed.

I narrowed my eyes. “Clever. Really clever.”

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Zoe leaning out of the manager’s office.

“Get in here you two,” she said.

One look at her and Julian proved that I was one hundred percent overdressed for my first day on the job. Julian was in jeans and a button-down and Zoe was in white distressed overalls with a silky purple tank top underneath. Her colorful tattoos were on full display and she had a gold decorative ring adorning each one of her fingers. She looked like an Olsen twin, and I looked like a stuffy corporate lawyer in comparison.

“After you,” Julian said, extending his arm for me to lead the way. “Good morning so far?”

I nodded. “Your girlfriend had to teach me how to use Uber.”

He laughed. “Did she tell you that she used to think it was a dating app?”

“As fun as it is to listen to you two out there, we were supposed to start this meeting five minutes ago,” Dean called from his office.

Julian arched a brow and I tried my best to suppress my laughter.

“I hate to say it, but I doubt either of us will win employee of the month now,” I whispered.

“Damn. I really wanted that parking spot and a bad picture up on the wall,” Julian said with a wink.

His comment pushed me over the edge. I lost it to a fit of laughter just as we rounded the corner into Dean’s office. I was mid-laugh with my mouth open, clutching my chest, when my eyes locked on Dean. His sharp features were locked in a scowl, proving even further that the man was a walking time bomb.