Thus, the tacos.
Staple.
Staple.
Staple.
I finally look up.
Jack’s green eyes lock onto mine as he continues to staple what looks like blank paper
Over. And Over. And Over. AND OVER.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” I snap.
He staples again, his annoyingly sexy smirk looking hotter and hotter, damn him. “This is work.”
“You’re costing the company a shit ton of money in unnecessary staples.” I smile, my lips tremble at the sides because it’s so hard to actually keep it frozen like that when I want to rage. “Don’t you think?”
He staples again. “No, I think I’m good.”
He has no business having such pretty green eyes that almost look like he’s wearing eyeliner, they’re so intense. He has gorgeous long black eyelashes and perfectly manicured fingernails, which is a weird thing to fixate on, but because of the staples, I can’t look away.
Bet he could do a lot with just one of those fingers.
Stop it!
I take a deep breath. “What are you working on that needs so many aggressive staples?”
Swear if he staples one more time…
Staple.
I jump to my feet; the scrape of my chair being shoved backward fills the room as the rest of the interns look over at us in interest; then again, this is a regular occurrence or has been since we all started working.
“Jack.” I grit my teeth. “Why do you have to be so hateful?”
“Why do you have to be so loud?” he counters quickly. “I’m doing my job, and all you’re doing is standing there… wearing…” He frowns. “But seriously, what are you wearing?”
I self-consciously look down at my older pair of black heels, my black tights, and matching black dress with my white tuxedo jacket.
I literally clutch the pearls around my neck—the ones my grandma gave me—and want to hurl them at him, but then I wouldn’t have them anymore, and I never take them off.
I haven’t since her death.
Never will, I think.
“And now she’s clutching her pearls, literally.” He sighs. “You look like you went into your grandma’s closet, raided it, and came out with the worst possible outfit.”
It stung because it was true.
She’d helped raise me.
And I didn’t exactly have work-appropriate clothes, so I raided pieces from her closet that were too precious to toss out or donate.
I bite back tears of anger and hurt.
“Jack,” Anderson says from his spot down the line. “Lay off it for today, yeah? It’s almost time for happy hour anyway.”
“Like she ever comes,” Jack mumbles and starts to staple again.
I swipe my cheek and slowly slump back into my chair and stare at my laptop screen as it continues to blur in front of me.
“Boss is here!“ One of the receptionists rushes around the corner in her heels, nearly colliding with my desk. “Get your badges on now!”
We all fumble for the badges we keep in our desks and put them on as fast as possible, even staple boy.
I quickly check my face in selfie mode and set my phone down only to catch Jack doing the same. As if he has anything out of place; the guy’s a walking magazine spread, and I mean that literally.
He’s also so rich I’m actually offended he’s working with me. Can’t he just work for his dad or something? Become a lawyer for his firm?
I‘ve spent way too much time thinking about it, and stress is bad for my soul, so I turn toward the footsteps coming our way.
I tense.
I‘ve never actually met Max Emory, but I’ve heard he’s… extremely out there. As in, he has a pet gecko in his office rather than a fish. Keeps goats randomly on hotel property, actually has a foundation for them now called Hades and Persephone Farms, and well, the list goes on and on.
And on.
Some people say he even thinks of himself as a matchmaker of sorts in his spare time, but they also say in that same sentence that he nearly killed the last two interns he promoted, so who knows?
You’d think that would deter anyone from working for his massive empire, but the pay is really good for an intern; plus, you smack that on one of your resumes, and people are impressed you actually survived Hadesgate.
Whatever that is.
I mean, I’ve heard rumors that the goat attacked an employee, but I’m sure that’s all just office gossip.
He turns the corner, dressed in a smart navy blue suit with his chocolate hair slicked back. His strong jaw is shockingly attractive, as are his eyes. Actually, if I was into men in their late thirties, I’d say he was sexy.