King of Lies (Empire of Lies 1)

“Mr. Lauren is currently sitting in your office,” I said. “I talked him into stopping by for a late lunch once I saw that he was in town via Instagram.” I picked up a red binder and held it out for her. “Jason Wu sent this over an hour ago. I wanted to go through all the things I knew you’d hate before handing it over.”

Her lips curved into a smile and she stared at me for several seconds. “I don’t normally say this, and I doubt I’ll ever say it again, but I’m very impressed with you, Miss Thatchwood. I honestly thought you wouldn’t last beyond a week, or that you would break down and return to your heiress-empire a lot sooner, but you might end up being one of the best assistants I’ve ever had.”

Might? “I think I already am…”

“No, not yet.” She shook her head. “Last another two years and I’ll make a decision on that.” She looked at her watch. “You can leave now. I don’t need you here any longer today.”

I shut my laptop before she could change her mind. I grabbed my oversized bag and rushed to the closest bathroom, where I traded my blue button-down shirt and khakis for a simple beige lace dress. I swapped my silver toned flats for nude colored stilettos, and coated my plain pink lips in my preferred shade of sinful red.

I walked in front of the floor-length mirror and made sure everything matched before hailing a cab to The Brunch 7.

By the time I made it through rush hour’s grueling gridlock traffic, I was three minutes late to meet Bennett. When I walked inside, I noticed he was sitting in a booth near the back.

Dressed in a light grey suit and bespoke tie, he looked exactly like the brown-eyed boyish accountant in his picture. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, though.

I didn’t feel any sparks or butterflies fluttering in my stomach. There was a small hint of attraction—the same feeling I’d felt this morning when the building’s postman dropped off our latest runway catalogues, but nothing more.

Taking my seat across from him, I smiled. “I’m sorry I’m late, Bennett.”

“No worries. I wanted to make sure I was here early to ensure a good impression,” he said. “You look beyond amazing in person. Even better than your photos.”

I waited to feel my body react to his compliment. Nothing.

“Thank you very much,” I said.

“Let’s start this off simple to break the ice,” he said. “How was your day today?”

“It was pretty good, but hectic. Even though my boss gave me a huge compliment about my performance, I spent most of today—”

“I bet it wasn’t as hectic as my day.” He cut me off. “I work an insane schedule that you wouldn’t believe, one that most people can’t even dream of handling.”

Okay, so you’re one of those annoying, boastful guys… Welp! This date is getting cut super short.

“No one in this city works as hard as me,” he said. “I can guarantee you that. You’ll be amazed at how I’m even awake right now once I walk you through everything that I do.”

A waitress set two glasses of water on the table, briefly pausing his spiel.

“What can I get for you two today?” she asked. “All treats are half off for happy hour.”

“We’ll have an order of cookies for the first course,” Bennett said. “Then we’ll have the double brownie and beignet tray with extra baked peanut stuffing.”

“I’m allergic to peanuts,” I said. “It’s not deadly, but it’s two levels right below that. I could’ve sworn that I told you this yesterday morning via our chat thread.”

“This place serves amazing peanuts, though.” He smiled. “A few bites won’t kill you.”

“They literally will.”

“Nah, trust me.” He looked at the waitress. “We’ll also have two coffees and a truffle. Light with the peanuts on that one since she’s a little sensitive to them.”

I rolled my eyes and opened my purse, making sure I had my epi-pen.

“Like I was saying,” he said, leaning back in the booth. “My day has been really crazy, so I’m looking forward to bringing you back to my place tonight for some much-needed Netflix and chill time. Speaking of which, on your profile, you answered a few questions about certain fantasies and although I left mine blank, I wanted to discuss them with you.” He lowered his voice. “One of my favorite things to do in the bedroom is…”

Tuning him out, I tried my best to keep a straight face as he continued to have a one-sided conversation.

Annoyed, I stared past him and looked out the window as snow fell over the streets. Just when Bennett took a breath, when I thought I could turn around and make an excuse to leave, he opened his mouth even wider and vomited more words.