Rush (Breathless #1)(35)

She went into the stall at the very end and closed the door behind her. Almost immediately, she heard the door open and more than one person enter. Ugh, she hated peeing around others. But the other women evidently weren’t going down to the stalls. The sound of a faucet running gave her time to do her business, and she was prepared to finish up and exit when she went still.

“So what do you make of Gabe’s new personal assistant?”

The woman’s voice was filled with amusement—and disbelief. Mia wanted to groan. Not even here half a day and she was already the topic of gossip. Which was to be expected, but she’d hoped not to have to hear it firsthand.

“Isn’t she Jace Crestwell’s little sister?” another woman asked.

“Uh-huh. Guess we know how she landed that job.”

“Poor thing. She probably has no idea what she’s gotten herself into.”

“I don’t know. I think I could go for some of that,” the first woman said. “I mean, hello. He’s rich, he’s gorgeous and I’ve heard he’s a beast in bed. Literally. Did you hear the rumor that he has a contract he makes all his women sign before he goes to bed with them?”

“Wonder which employment contract the new girl signed,” the second woman said in a knowing voice.

There was laughter from at least three people. Great. Girls’ meeting in the bathroom and Mia was trapped. She pulled up her feet so no one could see and just prayed they never made it down this far.

“I’d rather be the filling in a Jace and Ash sandwich,” one of the women said. “Can you imagine having two dominant billionaires in your bed?”

Mia rolled her eyes and shuddered. Like she wanted to hear all of this about her brother?

“What do you think the story is behind those two?” the first one asked. “They always seem to go for the same woman. It’s kind of weird if you ask me. I mean not that I would mind having a threesome with them, but for them it’s a regular thing.”

“Maybe they’re bisexual.”

Mia’s mouth fell open. Holy shit. Not that she gave gossip much credence, but apparently the rumor mill was that Jace and Ash had some major kink of their own going on, and Gabe wasn’t the lone ranger in this company.

She so did not want to imagine her brother in those kinds of situations.

“Ten-to-one, Gabe’s f**king Jace’s sister. Can you imagine if Jace finds out? Everyone knows he’s way overprotective of her.”

Mia sighed. It was probably too much to hope for that she could come to work and not have instant speculation.

“Maybe he knows and doesn’t care,” another woman offered. “She’s an adult.”

“She’s way younger than Gabe, and if he made her sign a contract, I don’t see that going over well with Jace.”

“Maybe she’s into that sort of thing.”

“Uh, guys,” a new voice piped up in a hesitant voice. “I kind of know the contract thing is real. I snuck into his office one night when I was working late. I was curious. You know, because of the rumors and stuff. He had a boilerplate contract in his desk. Very interesting reading. Let’s just say that if a woman goes to bed with him, she basically signs her life over to him for that period of time.”

Mia’s head dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Get out! Are you kidding?”

“Are you insane? Do you know what would have happened if he had caught you? You would have been fired on the spot and God only knows what else he would have gone after you for.”

“How the hell did you get into his office? I know for a fact he keeps it locked.”

“I, uhm, picked the lock. I’m pretty good at it,” the newer woman admitted.

“Girl, you’ve got a death wish. I wouldn’t be doing that shit again if I were you.”

“Shit guys, we need to get back to work. That report’s due at two, and Gabe is not as understanding as Ash is about tardiness. I wish Jace and Ash would hurry up and get back from wherever it is they are. They’re much easier to work for than Gabe.”

There was a flurry of activity and the sounds of scurrying feet, paper being pulled from the dispenser and then finally the sounds of retreat. The door squeaked shut and Mia let out a long sigh of relief.

She scrambled off the toilet and hurriedly fixed her skirt. She opened the door to the stall and peeked out and then fled to the sink, doing a quick wash. At the door, she hesitated, cracked it open just an inch and peered down the hall.

The coast was clear so she bolted out and hurried back to Gabe’s office.

Oh, the things you learned at work.

Gabe would be so pissed if he knew his office had been broken into and his personal documents had been read. Not that she was going to be a tattletale on her first day of work. She didn’t even know which woman was the guilty party. All the names and voices had run together during the introductions.

Thankfully Gabe had not returned from his meeting, and Mia sank into her chair. She opened the folder again and the words swam in front of her eyes. It was a lot of information to process.

She jumped when her phone rang. She eyed it nervously and then hesitantly picked up the receiver.

“Mia Crestwell,” she said by way of answering. Hello seemed unprofessional, and she didn’t want to come across as a complete idiot.