Which Way the Wind Blows
folder
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
1,889
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
1,889
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
“Where are those photocopies I asked you for?” a sour-faced young woman with mousy brown hair demanded as she approached Victoria’s desk with her hands on her rounded hips.
She had been a thorn in Victoria’s side since they’d met and Rita informed them that Victoria would help with support until a new assistant could be hired for Elaine and the other rep, Roger. Victoria had no idea what bothered the other woman either. She’d just narrowed her eyes and smirked at her every time she came out to assign another “task”. And the jobs seemed to be made up on the fly, to. Victoria had trouble believing that Elaine needed to have all of her clients’ files moved from one cabinet to another in the same room. And she seemed to be photocopying the same group of files over and over again.
“I had to do some research for Rita first,” Victoria replied smiling as sweetly as she could. “As soon as I finish this email to her, your photocopies are next on my list, Elaine.”
“They should have been done hours ago!”
“I’m sorry, but you only asked for them 20 minutes ago. In any case, Rita told me when I started that her requests came first.”
“Listen, rich girl,” Elaine hissed, leaning on the edge of the desk and giving Victoria a hard look. “I know you’re used to having things easy, but this is the real world.”
“Excuse me?” Victoria squealed, trying to keep calm. “I don’t believe you know me well enough to make snap judgments like that.”
“Oh, I know all about you,” the brunette smirked. “I went to school with a whole bunch of you.”
“Again, what exactly do you think you know about me?”
“You’re Victoria Kensington, of the Seattle Kensingtons,” Elaine said in a haughty voice.
“I am,” she said softly. “What of it?”
“Your face is normally plastered in the Seattle Times society section. And all you rich girls are alike. You think since you were born into money you can run everything!” the woman spat. “I worked twice as hard as any of you to get where I am, and you think you can just waltz in here and become a PR rep? Just like that? Well now you work for me, Madame Secretary! And I want those photocopies!”
“Elaine!” an authoritative voice sliced through the air.
Both women turned to see Rita standing in her doorway shocked and red-faced. She was holding a stack of folders, presumably on their way to Victoria’s in-basket, but right now she was glaring a hole through Elaine’s forehead.
“You do NOT speak to MY assistant in such a manner!” she said evenly. “Am I making myself clear?”
Elaine stepped back from Victoria’s desk and nodded slowly. Rita walked the short distance to her assistant’s desk and placed the pile of folders on it gingerly.
“I’m afraid you’ll need to do your own administrative work today,” the older woman went on, casting a cursory glance over her shoulder before looking back down at the files and opening the top one. “Victoria will be busy for the rest of the day calling my contacts.”
“But … I thought I was helping you do that,” Elaine stammered.
“They’re rich people,” Rita shrugged. “I’d hate for them to have to hear that speech you gave.” She turned and looked meaningfully at the now-cowering woman. “Whatever type of upbringing your co-workers have had has no bearing on the work they do here. Those who abuse their power don’t deserve to have any over others. From now own, you don’t get admin help.”
Dismissing the woman with the turn of her back, Rita then began explaining what information she needed Victoria to get from the clients while Elaine sulked and slinked away.
-------------------------------------------
“Catch!”
Warren looked up just in time to duck the object flying at his head.
“Hey!” he grunted.
“Hey, yourself,” Pete replied as he trooped in with Jake and Freddy on his heels. “That’s your sandwich!”
Warren looked quickly around him and picked up the paper wrapped lunch he’d narrowly avoided having hit his nose.
“Good thing they always wrap them tight,” Jake laughed.
Jake and Freddy had taken chairs in with them from out side and Pete slumped into the guest chair in Warren’s office.
“We figured you weren’t coming to us,” Freddy explained. “So we came to you.”
“Workaholic,” Pete added.
“Slackers,” Warren replied with a grin.
-------------------------------------------
Chris was glad he was settling into his new job fairly easily. Monique, the woman who interviewed him and the one he would be working most closely with, had set him up in the second desk in her office. He observed the fairly close quarters with a keen eye, understanding immediately why she would be so careful about the replacement she hired for the last guy. As he’d hoped, his friend got Monique’s call and gave her an honest, frank opinion of Chris’ work back in Seattle. When she called to tell him he had the job he was so relieved.
He and Vic had been apartment hunting since then, but they could relax now as they were planning to take a unit in the old building they’d seen during their lunch hour the day before. In fact, he’d just finished arranging for his furniture and boxes, which he and Vic had left already packed, to be delivered by the end of the week. They’d already had two new beds delivered to the two-bedroom unit, as he’d been thinking of replacing his mattress anyway, and Victoria had lived in her parents’ sizable mansion before they’d moved to New York. It would be their first night in the new apartment and Chris found he was really looking forward to leaving the cramped hotel room.
He’d been working on a men’s cologne campaign with Monique all morning and the ideas were finally beginning to flow freely, now that some of his stress seemed to ease. He and Monique were bouncing catchphrases off each other when a gorgeous golden blonde haired man materialized in the doorway with a handful of sketches and a friendly grin.
“Hey, you have some drawings to show us!” Monique greeted him brightly. She turned to Chris and nodded to the man who loped in and plopped into a chair on the other side of his desk. “This is Joe, the design guy!”
“Thanks,” the man chuckled. “Not like I need my own last name or anything.” He stuck a big hand out to Chris to shake. “Joe Gillson.”
“Chris Wainsworth.” He gave the man’s firm handshake a glance then dropped it promptly, realizing that in the old days he would have taken the opportunity to make a casual flirtatious squeeze. But that was then, and he finally acknowledged that he really was becoming a different guy.
“Welcome to the firm.”
Meanwhile, Monique took the sketches and laid them out on Chris’ desk, and they all set about discussing them. Chris would catch a questioning glance from Joe every now and then but he chalked it up to simple curiosity about the new guy.
“Okay, we’ll go with this style,” Monique said thoughtfully as she fingered the corner of one of the drawings. “But can you add some of Chris’ suggestions?”
“Sure,” Joe grinned.
“I really wish you were here when we first started this campaign,” she chuckled at Chris. “Your ideas would have saved this slacker some work.”
“Hey, who you calling a slacker?” Joe grumbled and crossed his arms dramatically.
-------------------------------------------
“I am so tired,” Victoria yawned as she and Chris trudged up the stairs to the building housing their new apartment. “I made so many phone calls today, my dialing finger is cramped. I can’t wait to get to bed.”
“Neither can I,” he mumbled as he tried each key on the ring they were given. He hoped he found it soon.
“I thought you liked your new job,” she smiled.
“I do, but it’s still hard work,” he chuckled. “I’m glad you picked up some take-out on the way home because I don’t feel like waiting for something to heat up.”
“Not even in the microwave.”
“No.” Finally the door opened and they sighed as they stepped over the threshold.
“Oops!” Victoria cried as her purse went down. She bent and started shoveling its contents back in and Chris knelt to help her. “I’m sorry!”
Meanwhile another tenant’s keys could be heard in the outside lock and Chris moved back so that he wasn’t blocking the doorway. Just as he handed Vic her lipstick back he straightened and mumbled a soft apology to the tenant who seemed to be standing in the doorway, motionless. He looked up and gasped as his blue eyes met a pair of familiar dark ones.
“Wa-Warren?” Chris murmured in shock as he gaped at the man he’d been looking for the last few months.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” his ex hissed at him coldly.
“Where are those photocopies I asked you for?” a sour-faced young woman with mousy brown hair demanded as she approached Victoria’s desk with her hands on her rounded hips.
She had been a thorn in Victoria’s side since they’d met and Rita informed them that Victoria would help with support until a new assistant could be hired for Elaine and the other rep, Roger. Victoria had no idea what bothered the other woman either. She’d just narrowed her eyes and smirked at her every time she came out to assign another “task”. And the jobs seemed to be made up on the fly, to. Victoria had trouble believing that Elaine needed to have all of her clients’ files moved from one cabinet to another in the same room. And she seemed to be photocopying the same group of files over and over again.
“I had to do some research for Rita first,” Victoria replied smiling as sweetly as she could. “As soon as I finish this email to her, your photocopies are next on my list, Elaine.”
“They should have been done hours ago!”
“I’m sorry, but you only asked for them 20 minutes ago. In any case, Rita told me when I started that her requests came first.”
“Listen, rich girl,” Elaine hissed, leaning on the edge of the desk and giving Victoria a hard look. “I know you’re used to having things easy, but this is the real world.”
“Excuse me?” Victoria squealed, trying to keep calm. “I don’t believe you know me well enough to make snap judgments like that.”
“Oh, I know all about you,” the brunette smirked. “I went to school with a whole bunch of you.”
“Again, what exactly do you think you know about me?”
“You’re Victoria Kensington, of the Seattle Kensingtons,” Elaine said in a haughty voice.
“I am,” she said softly. “What of it?”
“Your face is normally plastered in the Seattle Times society section. And all you rich girls are alike. You think since you were born into money you can run everything!” the woman spat. “I worked twice as hard as any of you to get where I am, and you think you can just waltz in here and become a PR rep? Just like that? Well now you work for me, Madame Secretary! And I want those photocopies!”
“Elaine!” an authoritative voice sliced through the air.
Both women turned to see Rita standing in her doorway shocked and red-faced. She was holding a stack of folders, presumably on their way to Victoria’s in-basket, but right now she was glaring a hole through Elaine’s forehead.
“You do NOT speak to MY assistant in such a manner!” she said evenly. “Am I making myself clear?”
Elaine stepped back from Victoria’s desk and nodded slowly. Rita walked the short distance to her assistant’s desk and placed the pile of folders on it gingerly.
“I’m afraid you’ll need to do your own administrative work today,” the older woman went on, casting a cursory glance over her shoulder before looking back down at the files and opening the top one. “Victoria will be busy for the rest of the day calling my contacts.”
“But … I thought I was helping you do that,” Elaine stammered.
“They’re rich people,” Rita shrugged. “I’d hate for them to have to hear that speech you gave.” She turned and looked meaningfully at the now-cowering woman. “Whatever type of upbringing your co-workers have had has no bearing on the work they do here. Those who abuse their power don’t deserve to have any over others. From now own, you don’t get admin help.”
Dismissing the woman with the turn of her back, Rita then began explaining what information she needed Victoria to get from the clients while Elaine sulked and slinked away.
-------------------------------------------
“Catch!”
Warren looked up just in time to duck the object flying at his head.
“Hey!” he grunted.
“Hey, yourself,” Pete replied as he trooped in with Jake and Freddy on his heels. “That’s your sandwich!”
Warren looked quickly around him and picked up the paper wrapped lunch he’d narrowly avoided having hit his nose.
“Good thing they always wrap them tight,” Jake laughed.
Jake and Freddy had taken chairs in with them from out side and Pete slumped into the guest chair in Warren’s office.
“We figured you weren’t coming to us,” Freddy explained. “So we came to you.”
“Workaholic,” Pete added.
“Slackers,” Warren replied with a grin.
-------------------------------------------
Chris was glad he was settling into his new job fairly easily. Monique, the woman who interviewed him and the one he would be working most closely with, had set him up in the second desk in her office. He observed the fairly close quarters with a keen eye, understanding immediately why she would be so careful about the replacement she hired for the last guy. As he’d hoped, his friend got Monique’s call and gave her an honest, frank opinion of Chris’ work back in Seattle. When she called to tell him he had the job he was so relieved.
He and Vic had been apartment hunting since then, but they could relax now as they were planning to take a unit in the old building they’d seen during their lunch hour the day before. In fact, he’d just finished arranging for his furniture and boxes, which he and Vic had left already packed, to be delivered by the end of the week. They’d already had two new beds delivered to the two-bedroom unit, as he’d been thinking of replacing his mattress anyway, and Victoria had lived in her parents’ sizable mansion before they’d moved to New York. It would be their first night in the new apartment and Chris found he was really looking forward to leaving the cramped hotel room.
He’d been working on a men’s cologne campaign with Monique all morning and the ideas were finally beginning to flow freely, now that some of his stress seemed to ease. He and Monique were bouncing catchphrases off each other when a gorgeous golden blonde haired man materialized in the doorway with a handful of sketches and a friendly grin.
“Hey, you have some drawings to show us!” Monique greeted him brightly. She turned to Chris and nodded to the man who loped in and plopped into a chair on the other side of his desk. “This is Joe, the design guy!”
“Thanks,” the man chuckled. “Not like I need my own last name or anything.” He stuck a big hand out to Chris to shake. “Joe Gillson.”
“Chris Wainsworth.” He gave the man’s firm handshake a glance then dropped it promptly, realizing that in the old days he would have taken the opportunity to make a casual flirtatious squeeze. But that was then, and he finally acknowledged that he really was becoming a different guy.
“Welcome to the firm.”
Meanwhile, Monique took the sketches and laid them out on Chris’ desk, and they all set about discussing them. Chris would catch a questioning glance from Joe every now and then but he chalked it up to simple curiosity about the new guy.
“Okay, we’ll go with this style,” Monique said thoughtfully as she fingered the corner of one of the drawings. “But can you add some of Chris’ suggestions?”
“Sure,” Joe grinned.
“I really wish you were here when we first started this campaign,” she chuckled at Chris. “Your ideas would have saved this slacker some work.”
“Hey, who you calling a slacker?” Joe grumbled and crossed his arms dramatically.
-------------------------------------------
“I am so tired,” Victoria yawned as she and Chris trudged up the stairs to the building housing their new apartment. “I made so many phone calls today, my dialing finger is cramped. I can’t wait to get to bed.”
“Neither can I,” he mumbled as he tried each key on the ring they were given. He hoped he found it soon.
“I thought you liked your new job,” she smiled.
“I do, but it’s still hard work,” he chuckled. “I’m glad you picked up some take-out on the way home because I don’t feel like waiting for something to heat up.”
“Not even in the microwave.”
“No.” Finally the door opened and they sighed as they stepped over the threshold.
“Oops!” Victoria cried as her purse went down. She bent and started shoveling its contents back in and Chris knelt to help her. “I’m sorry!”
Meanwhile another tenant’s keys could be heard in the outside lock and Chris moved back so that he wasn’t blocking the doorway. Just as he handed Vic her lipstick back he straightened and mumbled a soft apology to the tenant who seemed to be standing in the doorway, motionless. He looked up and gasped as his blue eyes met a pair of familiar dark ones.
“Wa-Warren?” Chris murmured in shock as he gaped at the man he’d been looking for the last few months.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” his ex hissed at him coldly.