I floated lifelessly back down the hall, lifting one foot after the other with almost robotic precision but not a single shred of emotion left in my vacant eyes.
“Miss Jones!” The secretary I’d met just minutes before rushed after me, with the beginnings of a smile curling her lips. “How did he like them? What did he think?”
What did he think?
My hand slapped the button to open the elevator, and I disappeared inside without a word. It wasn’t until the doors were already closing that I managed to give her a weak thumbs up. “It was...memorable.”
Yeah, that’s one way to put it.
The second the gap between the doors disappeared, I collapsed against the elevator wall and pulled the red emergency stop lever. I had to, because the five-floor plummet wouldn’t give me enough time to collect myself.
The whole horrible, awkward scene played out before me in slow motion, every second stretching on with excruciating detail: the way his body stiffened as I smashed the pastry in his face; the way his eyes blinked in shock as dollops of crème slid down his perfect cheekbones; the way my teasing grin faded into a look of dread as I realized that the moment was not going to turn out to be the grand memory-jogging gesture I’d hoped it would be.
Oh my gosh! I-I literally walked into the office and assaulted my new boss with a French dessert.
A shuddering breath ripped through me as I pushed the lever back up to start the elevator again. The lift jerked a bit and then begin to sink, just like my pride and my heart. Before I knew it, I was back on the sixtieth floor.
This time, I didn’t bother checking in with Madison. I couldn’t even stand to imagine what look would stretch across her face when I broke the news that our plan didn’t work. Instead, I ducked below the frosted glass in the hallway so she wouldn’t see me as I made a mad dash around the corner to get to the temporary solace of my office. I pulled the door open with a soft creak I hoped no one would hear, then slipped quickly inside and leaned against it, closing my eyes in defeat.
“Took you long enough!”
I literally jumped and let out a shriek, clamping a hand over my chest. My office chair rotated slowly toward me, and Madison Montgomery spun into view, her eyes dancing with anticipation and the expected mischievous grin stretching from ear to ear.
“I... Wait. How’d you get in here?” I asked. “I thought I have the only key!”
“On the contrary...” She reached in her purse and dug out a large brass ring with no less than fifty keys hanging on it. She gave it a quick jingle and looked at me proudly before slipping it back in her bag. “I have the key to every office in the building...and the coffee house across the street.”
Knowing it was no use to try to convince her to leave, I just plopped down in the chair on the other side of the desk, the one reserved for visiting partners or potential clients. “Of course you do.”
“So? Don’t make me wait!” she said excitedly. “Did you give him the crème puff?”
The horrifying image flashed through my head, and I stifled a shudder. “Sure did.”
“Ah! That’s great!” She clapped her hands excitedly. “And what did he say?”
“Not much,” I answered after a brief, uncomfortable pause.
Her feet came down off the desk as she leaned forward, looking at me with a sudden frown on her face. “What do you mean, not much? They were the same ones from the same place you two went. Not only that, but I presume you were alone with the man in his office. What was to stop him from—”
“Listen, Madison...” I looked innocently down at my nails, painted a very humble shade of normal, as compared to her Go Go Girl red. “Do you remember that whole escape-to-Down-Under plan I was kicking around? I really think we should revisit that.”
“Oh no. What did you do? Or, really, what didn’t you do?”
An instant wave of defensiveness welled inside me, and I placed my hands firmly on my hips even as I sat. “Hey! What makes you think I did anything wrong?”
Madison didn’t even blink. “Spill it, Della. What happened?”
My fingers knit nervously together as I tried to come up with an answer that would sound somewhat reasonable. Finally, I decided honesty was the best policy, and I simply blurted the truth: “I smashed a crème puff in his face.”
After one beat and then another, Madison lifte
d her hands slowly to her perfectly painted lips and stared at me with a truly indescribable expression on her face.
I knew it. This is bad, right? The kind of bad I can’t come back from? Great. I’m going to have to quit my job and give up my flat. I’ll be homeless in the freaking UK, begging for people to put pounds in my teacup. Are there homeless shelters here, or—
Before I could finish the grim thought, a burst of laughter exploded in the air. “You did what?!”
My heart slowed tentatively to its normal pace as my mentor fell to hysterical little pieces right before my very eyes. Never in my life had I see someone laugh so hard. The deep chuckles seemed to overtake her completely, filling her eyes with tears and shaking her entire body, till I finally stopped her by throwing one of my shoes in her direction.