I grabbed our coffees and took them to the table.
“You’re in trouble,” she said as she set the bagels in the center of the table.
“Why?” My brows furrowed.
“Because you’re falling for him and you barely know him.” She pointed her knife at me. “Did you google him yet?”
“No. I don’t think there’s a need to. He’s genuinely a nice guy.”
“Who are you?” She shook her head. “You don’t trust men at all. Especially after Kevin. You went into hiding for a year, decided to have a child on your own and now all of a sudden, this man whom you’ve known like two days is suddenly the best thing in the world? I’m worried about you, Harper. I don’t want to see you get hurt again. Things are different now.”
I sighed as I took a bite of my bagel.
“You’re trusting way too fast,” she said. “Listen, I love you. But your hormones are all over the place right now. All I’m saying is just be careful. A high-powered man like Grayson Rhodes doesn’t seem like the family type of guy. Did you know that he’s number one on the New York’s most eligible bachelor’s list?”
“And how do you know that?”
“I googled him last night.”
“Of course you did. I’m done talking about this. Let’s get these boxes unpacked,” I spoke with irritation as I got up from the table.
“Don’t be mad at me. I’m just asking you to be careful. Sometimes people aren’t who they seem. You of all people know that.”
Maybe Charlotte was right and what I was feeling were my hormones way out of control. I had a hard time trusting men, so why was I so quick to trust Grayson?
The next morning, I got up early, got dressed and headed down to the lobby of my building.
“Good morning, Miss Holland.” Sammy smiled.
“Good morning, Sammy. Please, just call me Harper.”
“Can I get a cab for you?”
“That would be great. Thank you. Today is my first day at the office. I’ll only be working there two days a week and then working from home the rest of the time.”
“Sounds like the perfect schedule.” He smiled as a cab pulled up to the curb. “Have a great day, Harper.”
“Thanks, Sammy. You too.”
I walked into the building and took the elevator up to my small office. As I was putting my purse away, I heard a voice from the doorway.
“Good morning.”
I turned around and smiled when I saw Grayson and another man standing there.
“Good morning.”
“I trust you got your apartment in order yesterday.”
“I did.” I grinned.
“Excellent.” The corners of his mouth curved upward. “Harper, I’d like you to meet, Curtis. Curtis, Harper Holland.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you.” He greeted me with a wide grin as he extended his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Curtis.”
“Curtis is going to be your partner so to speak while you’re here in the office. He’ll show you around and any questions you have, he can help you.”
Curtis was a man in his early forties. He stood about five foot ten with spikey blond hair, a clean-shaven face and bright green eyes. Too bright to be natural. I suspected he was wearing colored contacts.
“I have a meeting to get to. We’ll talk later.” He gave me a wink before walking out of my office.
My insides fluttered at the sight of him. It wasn’t only how he looked in his designer suits or the way he kept himself perfectly groomed. It was the confidence he exuded. I needed to focus on my job and not Grayson Rhodes.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Harper, but I’m really shocked that Grayson is letting you work here only two days a week and the rest at home. He’s never done that before and I’m afraid it might cause some problems with the other employees. Especially the ones who wanted to cut back to part time, and he told them no. He said if they couldn’t fulfill the full-time hours here, then they needed to quit.”
“Shit. Really?” I bit down on my bottom lip. “Maybe he’s changing and he’s starting with me?”
“I doubt it. He must have some ulterior motive as to why he’s letting you split your time. There’s a motive behind everything he does.”
As I stood there and listened to him, I got the impression Curtis wasn’t too fond of Grayson. The last thing I needed were the other employees hating me because of my work schedule. That was why I never liked working in an office setting. Between the backstabbing, gossiping and assumptions, it was draining. Not to mention that you couldn’t trust anyone even if you thought they were your friend. That was a hassle I didn’t need in my life and why I did freelance work on my time from home. Away from all the office politics and bullshit. Two days a week at the office wouldn’t be so bad. It wasn’t like I really had a choice. I needed to make sure that my baby would be taken care of and I would sacrifice everything to make sure that happened.
Chapter 17
Grayson
My meeting ran longer than I thought it would. I stopped by Harper’s office and found her sitting behind her desk staring at her computer.
“Well? How are things going so far?”
“Great.” She smiled. “How was your meeting?”
“It was long but good. That’s why I stopped by.” I glanced at my watch. “I’m starving. Have you had lunch yet?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Then grab your purse and let’s go.” I grinned. “You need to feed that baby. We can talk business over lunch. There’s a diner a couple blocks over that have the best Rueben sandwiches.”
“Sounds good.” A smile crossed her lips as she grabbed her purse and we headed out of the office.
We were seated at a booth looking over the menu when Harley, the perky redhead approached the table with a flirty grin across her lips.
“Hey, Grayson. Long time no see.”
“Hello, Harley. My secretary has been picking up my orders. Busy times at the office.”
“It’s good to see you. Still looking as handsome as ever. What can I start you off with?”
“Harper?”
“Just water for me.”
“And for me as well. I think we’re ready to order. I’ll have the Rueben sandwich.”
“And I’ll have the same.” She smiled as she closed the menu and handed it to her.
“Two Reubens coming right up.”
The moment she walked away, Harper stared at me.
“Looking as handsome as ever?”
“She loves to flirt. What can I say?” I smirked. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay. I’m listening.”
“The meeting I was in earlier, it had to do with a piece of property I purchased. We’re bulldozing the building that’s already there and building brand-new high-rise apartments. I want you to design the building.”
“Me?” She pointed to herself. “You want me to design the building?”
“Yes. Now I know graphic design is your thing but from what I saw in the back of your portfolio you’re a damn good architect too.”