Page 12 of Anti-Hero (Kensingtons: The Next Generation #2)

I have a sinking suspicion the woman wearing a full face of makeup and designer spandex is headed this way, even before she stops directly in front of my desk.

“Good morning. Can I help you?” I ask politely.

She glances at the shiny nameplate affixed to the wall behind me, then twirls a piece of hair around a finger. The shade of her nail polish matches her outfit exactly . “Hi! I’m here to see Kit.”

I stare at her.

Unexpected visitors were not covered in Laura’s tutorial, and I didn’t think to ask. I’m not sure how this woman made it this far into the building. She’s not wearing a visitor badge, and her athletic attire makes me doubt she’s a fellow employee.

Is this a thing ? Does Kit invite random women to his office for …

My expression stays carefully neutral as I ask, “Is he expecting you?”

She giggles. “No. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

I attempt a smile, but my facial muscles aren’t cooperating. Not only am I uncertain how to properly proceed, but I’m annoyingly bothered by her presence here.

And I’m irritated that I’m annoyed. Kit can do whatever he wants. Here. Wherever. But I’d really rather it not be here.

I glance at the calendar open on my screen. According to it, Kit’s schedule is free until a conference call at noon.

I pick up the phone. “I’ll check if he’s available. What’s your name?”

“Sadie Carmichael,” she chirps.

I nod an acknowledgment before hitting the button that connects to Kit’s direct line.

He answers on the second ring. “Kensington.”

“Hi, K—” I falter on calling him Kit in front of his … something. It sounds too casual. “Hi. There’s a Sadie Carmichael here to see you. Should I send her in?”

Kit hesitates. And I have no idea what that means. “Sure,” he finally responds .

I clear my throat. “Okay. I’ll send her in.”

Sadie beams, then beelines for the door before I can address her directly.

I get a brief glimpse of the sailboat painting on the wall before the door shuts again. A few seconds later, I hear the low rumble of Kit’s voice on the other side of the wood, followed by a high-pitched giggle.

I answer two emails, vacillating between desperately trying to decipher the murmuring and adamantly blocking out any surrounding noise.

Five minutes later, I lose the battle with curiosity. I dig my phone out of my purse, duck under my desk, tap record, and whisper, “Does Kit have a girlfriend?”

Once I’ve sent the voice message, I straighten.

My spine hasn’t even hit the back of the seat before my phone’s vibrating in my hand. After a furtive look around—no one seems to be paying me any attention—I answer. “Hey.”

Lili’s laughing. “Kit? A girlfriend? What the hell gave you that crazy idea? He’s firmly anti-commitment.”

I relax. Kit’s close with his siblings. If he was seeing anyone, Lili would know.

And he said he was single— that night . Apparently, I do have some faith in men remaining because I believed—believe—him.

Yet I’m still bothered by the faint voices I can hear through the door.

“Some woman just showed up at the office and asked to see him. Clearly not work-related.”

“Really? Who?”

“Sadie Carmichael.”

Lili laughs again in response to my distasteful tone. I didn’t mean to say her name that way. It just sort of slipped out.

“Wow, you really don’t like her. Was she rude?”

“No. I just wasn’t expecting … I mean, I wasn’t sure what to do about her showing up. I didn’t know if I should … know her.”

Job security is my only concern , I tell myself. If Kit gets admonished for having a random woman in his office, it could affect my role.

“What are they saying?”

“I don’t know. I can’t make it out.” I cringe at the admission, realizing I just admitted I have, in fact, been trying to eavesdrop.

“Aside from Kit’s fan club showing up, how’s the job?”

“Uh, it’s—” I catch sight of two women headed this way. They’re dressed in business attire, so hopefully, they’re not additional members of Kit’s fan club. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you later. Bye!”

I hang up before Lili can reply, straightening in my seat and dropping my cell back in my bag.

“Hi! We just wanted to say, well, hi,” one of the women says, smiling.

“And offer you a sweater,” the other states, holding up a navy cardigan. “We think whoever is in charge of cooling the building grew up in Antarctica and has some superhuman tolerance for the cold.”

I smile as I stand. “I thought it was just me.”

“Definitely not just you,” the first woman who spoke replies. “Layers are key all summer long. Dress for summer on the commute, but for winter once you’re inside. I’m Stella, by the way.”

“And I’m Margot.” She offers the sweater she’s holding. “Here you go.”

“Thank you so much,” I say, draping it over one arm. “I’m Collins.”

“We know.” Stella grins. “The company sends out a welcome email for any new hires. You were the only one today. ”

“Oh. I haven’t seen that yet.”

I get cc’d on most of Kit’s emails. And Kit gets a lot of emails.

Margot’s expression is sympathetic. “It’s overwhelming at first. You’ll figure everything out; don’t worry.”

I nod. “Thanks.”

“Have you worked as an assistant before?” Stella asks.

“Not exactly. But I was a paralegal in Chicago after college, so I have some office experience.”

“Everyone thought they were going to hire internally for this position.”

There’s curiosity in Stella’s statement. Friendly curiosity, but still curiosity. Interest I don’t want aimed my way.

I lift one shoulder and let it drop in what I hope is a casual maneuver. “Yeah, I lucked out. A college friend knows someone high up here. She put in a good word for me.”

Margot nods. “Good for you. I swear, connections are the only way to get a job anywhere these days. My college adviser was sorority sisters with Sanborn’s wife. That’s how I ended up here.”

The door behind me opens.

“… appreciate it so much,” Sadie gushes. “You’re the best , Kit.”

My lips press tight together. It’s an involuntary reaction, some impulse to school my reaction before I can scowl or snort or do anything else. I’m not sure why Sadie irks me, but she does.

Stella’s and Margot’s attention has jumped behind my desk. Reluctantly, my head turns in that direction too.

Sadie is smiling at Kit as he escorts her out of his office.

Kit’s eyes are on me, casually posed with my hip propped against the side of my desk. I straighten, my grip tightening on the folded cardigan .

It’s just Kit , I tell myself for what feels like the hundredth time today.

Years of disregard have suddenly snuck up on me, coalescing into this blistering awareness.

“See you later,” Sadie trills, wiggling a few manicured fingers before she saunters down the hallway.

Stella and Margot exchange a look. I grab a few papers off my desk and shuffle them, trying to appear busy until Kit disappears again.

“I need to talk to you in my office for a minute, Collins,” Kit says, then heads inside. He leaves the door open, that crisp, commanding sentence lingering in the cold air.

I still, papers clutched in my hands.

Why does he sound so curt? He wouldn’t fire me for letting Sadie in, right?

I asked him first.

He could have said no. I wanted him to say no.

“We’ll swing by and grab you at lunch,” Stella whispers before she and Margot scurry down the hallway.

Neither of them struck me as shy, but both seem intimidated by Kit. Honestly, I’m a little intimidated too.

I start toward the door, then pivot back to my desk to deposit the papers. I also pull on the cardigan from Margot and suck in a deep breath before stepping inside Kit’s office for the second time.

It looks the same as it did earlier, but I make a show of looking around rather than immediately focusing on him.

When my eyes do land behind his desk, he’s reclined in his chair. I should feel powerful, standing while he’s sitting, but I don’t. I remember how eagerly he got on his knees and pulled me to the edge of that bed, and it makes mine weak .

“Close the door,” he instructs.

I swallow as I comply, then turn to face him again.

“Unless it’s my father, uncle, or they have an appointment, say I’m unavailable,” Kit states.

“Understood.”

“And I need you to reschedule my afternoon.” He nods toward papers spread on his desk.

“I have to review these by three, then attend a presentation, so everything else has to wait. Make sure the Viridian Ventures meeting that was at two p.m. takes place by Wednesday morning. Everything else, by the end of the week.”

I nod, rapidly repeating Viridian Ventures in my head to ensure I don’t forget to prioritize it. “Got it.”

“Laura showed you how to use the calendar system?”

I nod again. “Yes.”

Kit leans forward, resting his elbows on his desk. His suit jacket is off, slung over the back of his chair, which makes it too easy to notice the definition of his shoulders and biceps under the stiff cotton of his button-down. “You could have asked me about a job, you know.”

I tense, although I was already braced for this moment. It was one thing in front of Laura. But I wasn’t expecting Kit to keep up the farce of us being total strangers when we’re alone.

“When?”

I watch that word land. I know it does because Kit doesn’t even blink. He doesn’t tease or joke or feign confusion. He was anticipating this moment, same as I was. He was waiting to see how we’d move past that night, same as I am.

“You want to pretend it never happened?”

The question is matter-of-fact, his typical joking demeanor still noticeably absent .

“I want to pretend it never happened,” I confirm.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” I echo. “If, uh, if Sadie comes back, should I?—”

“She won’t be back.” Kit flips open one of the binders on his desk. “Let me know if you have any issues rescheduling.”

“Will do.”

“Thanks.”

He doesn’t look up again before I leave the room, and I tell myself I’m not disappointed.