Realizing he’d have to have a company credit card put in her name if she worked out, he rose and reached into his pocket for cash, handing her money to pay.
“I need your address,” she reminded him.
He picked up yet another business card, his, and handed it to her. “I’m uptown. Keep track of mileage, bus or subway fares, and you can submit expense reports.”
“Yes … Boss.” She rose and hugged the clipboard to her chest. “You’ll be happy with me,” she promised him. “You’ll see.”
Oh, he was plenty happy with her. He was more curious how long she’d be happy with him and his endless demands.
Chapter Two
Lexie didn’t know how she’d held it together in front of Kaden Barnes. She’d been expecting a geeky nerd with a Napoleon complex who’d changed the face of social media. Instead she’d gotten a hot, arrogant, sexy-as-sin, pain-in-the-ass, panty-melting boss. And he’d seen through her, literally, in her damp, see-through blouse. No way had the man been impressed with her in any way. Great way to begin her new job, she thought, her mood sinking even further.
She let herself into her apartment to find her sister wasn’t home and she’d taken Waffles with her. She headed straight for the bedroom. She changed into a new blouse, freshened her makeup, and pulled her straggly hair up into a bun. The best she could do given the circumstances. It was still humid outside after the rain passed, and she didn’t want to leave her hairstyle up to the elements.
She knew Kendall wouldn’t expect her back midday, so she decided to do a spot check on her meds and make sure she’d been taking them. Or at least pretending to take them. The most she could hope for was that today’s pills were gone from the container. Whether her sister took them or flushed them, time would tell. She hoped for the best but expected the worst. The doctors said people with bipolar disorder often had multiple hospitalizations before coming to terms with the illness and beginning to take their meds on a regular basis.
She looked in the kitchen, where she’d left the pills along with a note, but the counter was empty. With guilt but also a sense of resignation, Lexie knocked once to be safe and opened the door to her sister’s bedroom, planning to do a quick visual sweep of the counters. Her gaze immediately went to department store shopping bags on the floor, and it felt like her stomach plummeted.
Compulsive shopping usually happened on one of her sister’s manic episodes. Lexie sighed, wondering where she’d gotten the money. She didn’t have credit cards of her own thanks to the last time she’d abused the privilege and their father had to bail her out. She hoped Kendall hadn’t talked either parent into giving her money or a credit card behind Lexie’s back. Both her mother and father found it hard to say no to Kendall when she asked nicely and made excuses that were too easy to believe for why she needed something.
Lexie didn’t have time to dwell on it now. She glanced at the nightstand and saw the medicine holder, with today’s pills gone from the container. Well, maybe something was going right. She’d just have to deal with the shopping issue another time. She stepped out and shut the door behind her.
She gathered her things, made sure she had the email on her phone, and headed to food shop for her boss. As she went up and down the aisles of her local grocery store, she discovered he was a heath nut with a sweet tooth, from his coffee to the four large packages of Twizzlers red licorice on the list.
She wondered what his dental bills were like. Which led her to think of his gorgeous smile, which he didn’t use often. In fact, she thought she might have seen it once in their first meeting, when he’d realized she wouldn’t let him push her around.
She grinned at the memory and finished up her list, then paid for the items with the money he’d given her. A bagger asked to help her outside while she hailed a cab, and she gratefully took him up on the offer.
A little while later, she arrived at his luxury building. A doorman met her. She gave her name; he greeted her with a friendly smile and a nod and pulled out a cart, proceeding to transfer the bags while she paid the driver.
Every so often, worry over the shopping bags she’d found in her sister’s room and the fact that Kendall hadn’t been home surfaced, but Lexie pushed the concerns aside. She’d have to compartmentalize if she wanted to succeed at this job, and she did. Badly.
Despite the part of her nature that needed to be a caretaker, she also wanted to earn her own way and succeed in whatever employment she chose. Not only wouldn’t she let Kaden Barnes drive her off with his demands, she wouldn’t allow her family issues to intrude on her professional life.
Her personal problems already prevented her from having a private life, and she’d lost so much by putting Kendall before everyone and everything else. She couldn’t allow her sacrifices to keep extending into all areas. She’d keep this job if it killed her, she thought, and worry about things like dating and sex when her sister turned a corner.
“Go on up. I’ll bring these up the service elevator,” the doorman said. “Penthouse.”
Of course, she thought. No regular floor for Kaden Barnes. She took the elevator up and stepped out into a well-lit hallway with only one apartment door to be found.
She rang the bell. Nobody answered. She rang again. If he’d stayed at the office and forgotten to tell her, she’d… Before she could finish that thought, the door swung open wide, and he stood before her, wearing nothing but a towel tucked around his waist in all his bare-chested glory.