LITMIR.BIZ

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      “For you to settle a debate.” She waved at him to follow her into the office. The older woman with short, styled silver hair sent him a warm smile. Try as he might to remain immune to her friendliness, he liked her.

      Something told him this wasn’t work related. “I really need to get going. Sage needs this information.” He held up the papers in his hand. And for emphasis, he added, “Right now.”

      Louise shook her head. “Don’t worry. This will only take a moment.”

      He glanced around, finding he wasn’t the only one who’d been drawn in. Ron, from subscriptions, was propped against a file cabinet in the corner. He waved and Trey returned the gesture. On the other side was Jane with the short blond hair with pink streaks, but he couldn’t recall which department she worked in. She flashed him a big flirty kind of smile. He didn’t smile, not wanting to encourage her attention. Instead he gave a brief nod. What in the world had Louise drawn them in here for?

      Louise moved to the doorway, checked both directions in the hallway and then proceeded to close the door. She turned to them. “It’s come to my attention that Sage’s birthday is this month. And I think we should do something for her.”

      Trey didn’t like the sounds of this. He’d come to QTR to shut it down, not to make friends. The longer he was here, the harder it was to keep his distance. Just like he knew that Ron loved to surf. He could tell you anything you wanted to know about surfing—even some things you might not care to know. Once Ron started talking, it was hard to get away.

      Day by day, the employees of QTR were changing from nameless numbers on spreadsheets to smiling faces with families to support. He hadn’t factored that in when he’d devised his plan to put his father’s cherished company out of business.

      And worse yet was Sage’s unflagging devotion to saving the magazine. In the little time he’d been here, he’d witnessed her long hours and her attention to details. How was she going to take it when they closed it—when he closed it?

      “Trey?” Louise’s voice drew him from his troubled thoughts.

      He glanced up to find everyone staring at him as though expecting an answer. The only problem was he didn’t know the question.

      As though sensing the problem, Louise held a plate of cookies out to him. “Go ahead. Take one of each. I need to know which to make for Sage’s birthday.”

      He made a point of eating healthy, preferring fruit to desserts. He’d watched his mother drown herself in food after his father abandoned them. His mother’s health problems had eventually spiraled out of control. As he waited for her at a doctor’s appointment, he swore not to follow in her footsteps.

      Still, Louise had made a point of making him feeling welcome at QTR. And it wasn’t like one cookie was going to hurt anything.

      He took the double chocolate cookie with a swirl of white frosting. “But isn’t a birthday cake more traditional?”

      Louise sent him a knowing smile. “I’ve already done some investigating and the birthday girl prefers cookies. And since this is her milestone birthday, she can have whatever she prefers.”

      “Milestone?”

      Louise nodded and placed a couple of other flavored cookies in his hand before moving to Jane. “Yes, she’s going to be thirty. I couldn’t believe it when she’d mentioned it, but I double-checked her personnel file.”

      Trey had to agree with Louise. His boss didn’t look like much more than a college grad, if that. And he was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate on his work with Sage around. Her beauty was stunning. He just wished that she didn’t try so hard to micromanage everything—including him.

      He made short work of the baked goods, finding them all quite good. In the end, he voted for the double chocolate cookie. Louise beamed as he complimented her culinary skills.

      As he walked away, guilt settled on him. He was about to take jobs away from these people. The QTR employees weren’t cold and heartless like his father. They were warm, friendly and caring. The exact opposite of his father.

      On the way back to his desk more people greeted him with a smile. This was the friendliest office he’d ever been in—even on a Monday morning. It only made him more conflicted about his plan.

       CHAPTER THREE

      TREY LEANED BACK in his chair, stretched and placed his feet on the corner of his desk. After days of pulling numbers from various sources, the advertising report was officially done—well, at least until Sage gave him yet another adjustment or addition.

      Today marked his sixth day on the job and he’d not only completed the report but he’d also managed to cut his workload in half via a combination of macros and a few short computer programs. He was feeling pretty pleased with himself.

      He removed the eyeglasses that he hadn’t quite adjusted to, closed his eyes and leaned his head back as classic rock music pounded in his earbuds. It was nice to just sit back for a moment and enjoy all that he’d accomplished. After all, he deserved it.

      He’d been working nonstop since he’d taken this undercover position. He’d made inroads with the new managing editor, but so far he had yet to uncover her secret to success. Sure she was first in the office and the last one out, but there was more to it. She did keep her office door closed a lot. So what was she up to in there? Were there bribes involved—

      His feet were shoved off the desk.

      He jerked forward in his seat as his feet hit the floor. His eyes snapped open. Was this someone’s idea of a joke? Because it wasn’t funny.

      And then his gaze met Sage’s. Her eyes darkened and appeared almost violet. If it wasn’t for the distinct frown on her face, he might have been moved to compliment the striking color of her eyes. But now definitely wasn’t the right time.

      He straightened up, not sure what to say.

      Sage continued to frown as she gestured for him to remove his earbuds.

      He’d totally forgotten about them. His full attention had been on his boss. Was it strange that he found her even cuter when she got worked up? Her face flushed. It made him want to pull her into his arms and kiss away her worries. Not that he would ever act on the impulse.

      Trey scrambled to pull the earbuds from his ears and then press the pause function on his phone. “What did you need?”

      “I’ve been buzzing you. Didn’t you hear?” And then realizing the foolishness of her question, she continued. “There’s a red light on your phone. Right here.” She pointed it out.

      “I was busy.”

      “Doing what? Taking a nap?”

      “Hey, that’s not fair. I just finished that report—again. And I needed to rest my eyes for just a moment.”

      “You finished it?” The frown on her face eased.

      He nodded. He reached around her and retrieved the printed and proofed copy from the top of his desk. He still wasn’t quite sure of the purpose of this report, but as he handed it over, he noticed Sage’s pleased expression.

      He hadn’t known her long, but in that period of time he’d studied her. She cared a lot about the people that worked for her—except him. They butted heads a lot. He realized that was as much his fault as hers. Thankfully this arrangement wouldn’t last too much longer.

      He’d also noticed that she held back a lot. Many women he’d dated had been more than willing to share the intimate details of their lives. Not Sage. It wasn’t like they were dating. That would never happen. But she never mentioned anything about her life outside these office walls. He found that a bit odd.

      “Thank you for this.”

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