A Heart to Trust, A.L. Brooks [speed reading book TXT] 📗

Note to self: ease into the day before having too long a conversation with her. She turned back to her so-called desk. Where the hell had they found this—in some clear-out sale from an old school? The chair with it looked seriously unsafe. After placing her bag on the floor and her bagel on the desk, she eased onto the chair. Amazingly, it took her weight without protest.

Okay, let’s get on with this.

She stood again, lifted the box, and placed it on the desk. First out was her framed photo of her, Carl, Roz, and Tamara. It had been taken on their trip to Vegas the year before. She chuckled at the memory; that had been a wild trip. Next out of the box was her M&M’s dispenser. She placed it next to the photo and winced at how much room she’d already lost on the desk surface. Looking back into the box, she sighed. There was no way all that would fit. Sacrifices would have to be made.

Chrissy returned with the coffees. “Here you go! I’ll be right over here if you need me. Ooh, M&M’s!”

Jenny laughed; Chrissy’s enthusiasm was pretty infectious. “Yeah, my favorite. Always make sure I have a supply on hand.” She took the coffee and raised it in a grateful salute before taking a sip. Hm, not too bad. Thank God.

“I promise not to steal.” Chrissy moved back to her own desk. Her big desk.

Sighing, Jenny returned to her box of possessions. Of the stuffed tiger, the Pittsburgh Steelers mini helmet, and the desktop basketball hoop, only one would make the cut. She peeked into the box, remembering the story behind each of the gifts, and decided the tiger won. He’d been a present from Adrienne and Morgan after their last trip to China, and she figured she could use some of the love and strength he represented. She lifted him carefully from the box and placed him on the corner opposite the M&M’s dispenser.

Okay, I guess there’s just about room left for my laptop. She pulled her computer out and confirmed that if nothing moved so much as an inch, it all fit. But she had no idea what she’d do with any paperwork she generated. She looked under the desk. Nope, no drawer unit. Maybe I’ll ask Derek if he can rustle one up from whatever yard sale he visited for the desk and chair.

“Good morning.” The words were spoken quietly and in a clipped British accent.

Jenny looked around.

Olivia placed her large purse on her desk. She was dressed in a beautifully cut pantsuit in an olive-green color that made her eyes glow.

“Morning,” Jenny replied breezily.

This Olivia woman made her nervous. She was so…rigid. And holy crap, she dressed up smart for work. Way smarter than Jenny, who cast a quick look down at her own jeans and sleeveless red-and-black checkered shirt with a small frown. Did C&V expect their staff, even lowly production assistants, to dress up? Or was this just an Olivia thing? Jenny looked once more at Chrissy. She wore dark-blue pants with a white blouse made of something super silky and soft. Yeah, so also a lot smarter than me. Hm.

“Hi, Olivia!” Chrissy said.

Olivia nodded in her direction, her narrow gaze pinned on Jenny’s desk possessions. “Don’t you think that’s a little much? Especially given how little working space you already have.”

Her snooty tone made Jenny’s hackles rise. “Well, I’m sorry I don’t have the luxury of working on a football field like you do. I’m making the best of what I’ve got and I’ll be fine, thanks.”

Olivia glared at her, then turned her back to delve into her purse for her laptop.

Chrissy caught Jenny’s eye and mouthed the word “sorry” while giving her a sympathetic look.

Jenny looked to the ceiling for a moment. Sure, Olivia could have been a little nicer, but Jenny shouldn’t have snapped at her. They were supposed to work together, after all. Be part of a team. Yeah, of course, they were all competing for jobs, but that didn’t mean they had to be bitchy about it, did it? “Look, Olivia, I’m sorry I reacted like that.”

Olivia glanced up from her laptop then back again. “Fine.”

What the—?

“Oh, look, here’s Maxwell,” Chrissy said cheerily, and she stood.

Maxwell walked toward them and gave a goofy wave.

Jenny snorted. Oh yeah, that’s Maxwell. “Hey!” She stepped up to offer a fist bump.

Maxwell merely glanced at her fist. “There’s a sixty-three percent chance of rain today. I hope you all brought umbrellas.”

Jenny laughed out loud as both Olivia and Chrissy looked at him, their mouths open like goldfish.

Chapter 7

At one minute before ten, they all filed into one of the meeting rooms.

“Here, Jenny, sit next to me.” Chrissy motioned to the chair beside her.

Olivia grimaced. What are we, teenagers back in school?

Chrissy was a difficult one to figure out. On the surface, and as far as everyone else believed, she was a classic American cheerleader. Always friendly and chirpy. But there was something, something Olivia couldn’t quite put her finger on, that meant she didn’t one hundred percent trust Chrissy.

Olivia pulled out the chair opposite Jenny and managed to smile at Maxwell when he sat to Olivia’s right. He was someone she couldn’t quite read, either, but for entirely different reasons. He was so…odd. No, that was unfair. He was simply not the type of person she’d ever interacted with before. Serious, with a floppy mop of dark blond hair, he was a huge bear of a man but seemed contained within himself despite his size. And the way he threw such strange facts and statistics out at random was bemusing, to say the least.

She looked across at Jenny and held back a smirk. That one she’d figured out already. Goofy, unable to take anything seriously, and immature. She dressed like a teenager, for God’s sake. Absolutely not someone Olivia needed to spend any time with or think about.

Derek appeared moments later