Page 3 of Hooked on Lane (Hooked #1)

Chapter Three

Jennifer

I sprang from my chair, yellow Post-it notes rustling in my hands.

“Good morning, sir. I left your messages for you on your desk.” My boss stood with a younger man in a navy suit and spoke without taking his eyes off him.

“Jennifer, this is Mr. Kneeland, who will replace me. I’m ready to hang up my hat. ”

My stomach tightened, and I fought to keep my fear from showing on my face. Why is he just now telling me? I put on a polite smile and offered him my hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

The man’s dark-brown eyes scanned over my body as if he were undressing me with his gaze.

His rough hand grasped mine, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he said, “Pleasure is all mine.” I saw something pass between him and my boss before he handed me a white paper cup.

“I know how hard assistants work, so I brought this for you.” My gaze flicked over to Mr. Longford, and I tilted my head.

Coffee was a way into this girl’s good graces. Most of the workers here had their coffee delivered, but it was so expensive. “Thanks. I’ll leave you guys to work. Don’t forget your meeting at noon, sir. I’ll have the conference room set up by eleven thirty.”

Mr. Longford smiled, revealing a set of straight white teeth.

“See, Lane, you won’t have anything to worry about, because Jennifer has things covered.

I’ve never had to write her up. She’s a keeper.

” He winked at me, and Lane’s eyes followed my every move as I walked behind my desk.

My cheeks burned as I sat down in my chair, but then a wave of sadness washed over me as I thought of Mr. Longford’s impending departure.

Every Friday morning, he would have breakfast delivered to the office, and we’d settle in for an hour and go over the schedule for the upcoming week, and sometimes even share stories about our weekend plans.

He listened to my ideas, and he had become like a father figure.

The firm was lucky because he had a knack for calming down even the most difficult clients, and he knew which cases to refer to the newer partners who were looking to impress.

I hoped Lane could carry on that same tradition.

Confusion and uncertainty bubbled in my chest as I tried to make sense of what this meant.

He mentioned retiring before but hadn’t been specific about when.

Whoever held the answers needed to provide them soon, so I could begin planning a retirement celebration worthy of his thirty-five-year legacy. An accolade he more than deserved.

The steam from the creamy latte warmed my hands as I slowly sipped it.

I had a flutter of surprise in my stomach as I saw my name written on one side of the cup.

I couldn’t be the only one who thought it was weird Lane brought me coffee.

And he didn’t just get any coffee; this cup was from the best café around—Coffee Chaos—the best coffee within a five-mile radius.

Everyone loved to fuss over the national chain that charges an arm and a leg for some fancy coffee, but they weren’t even close to being as good as Coffee Chaos.

The small family-run café was a preferred spot by many of the locals.

I liked my coffee to be bold and robust. The barista was always willing to accommodate my desire for extra shots of espresso, something that must have baffled her as she watched me leave the counter each time.

I tapped away at my computer, attempting to get through my never-ending email inbox.

Despite my best efforts, the task seemed insurmountable.

My eyes darted over to Laura, my best friend who had been stuck with Mr. Curran since day one.

He was notorious for losing his temper, especially when the job wasn’t going perfectly, and he loved to yell right outside his office door in front of the entire staff.

His office door slammed open almost every day as he bellowed criticisms of her work, regardless if she’d done anything wrong or not.

He stomped around, face red with anger and spit flying from his lips.

Everyone else averted their gaze to avoid becoming a target themselves. He was a complete menace.

Mr. Curran perched behind his desk since dawn, wearing a pair of glasses on the edge of his nose and a deep scowl that never seemed to fade.

Laura stayed until late in the evening to keep up with him, her eyes heavy and back aching from hours of sitting at her desk.

Her hours were much longer than mine. Hell, Mr. Curran doesn’t believe in work-life balance.

If there was work to be done, they were staying until it was completed.

Whereas, my boss strutted in a bit before eight in the morning and left by six every day, never staying past seven.

My gaze shifted from one end of the inbox to the other, watching as the number of emails dwindles from over a hundred to thirty-four.

I knew what was coming—Mr. Longford was going to announce his retirement to the clients.

His replacement would need to be briefed to take over all his ongoing cases.

I could just imagine competing firms biding their time and waiting for this news so they could swoop in and try snatching up our corporate clients with lucrative offers once they got wind of his retirement.

It was such an underhanded move, but part of the game.

I read two more emails marked urgent, archiving them in a folder before standing up and walking over to Laura’s cubicle.

We were like sisters, but right now her focus was on her computer—her fingers typing away as she bit down on her lower lip.

“Did you know Mr. Longford is retiring?” She looked up, pausing from her work with a small shrug of her shoulders. “Yes, didn’t you?”

I waved my hands in frustration as she was still typing. “I’m his assistant! You would think I would be the first to know.”

Laura’s slender fingers stilled on the keyboard, and she grinned. Her eyes sparkled, as if it was a secret shared only between us. “Can you believe our luck? A guy that looks like that graces us with his presence. You are so lucky!” She wiggled her eyebrows before turning back to her computer.

Her sharp wit and quick tongue made me chuckle every time.

She made me laugh even in the darkest of days at work, which was no small feat, considering most of the men had a permanent scowl on their face.

Some of the newer partners were good-looking, but their attitude was less than desirable.

It was all about how much money they were bringing in and they rejected any other topics of conversation in favor of self-aggrandizing stories about their achievements.

They overestimated their worth compared to their salary.

I rolled my eyes and took a drink of my lukewarm coffee. “He’s just like all the rest,” I muttered under my breath. “I’ve got enough work to keep me busy for a year, and now I’ll have even more. But what choice do I have? Gotta pay the bills somehow, right?”

She leaned back in her chair. “Look, I don’t want to be negative Nancy, but Mr. Longford’s replacement is going to have it rough.

The last three new guys flamed out within a month, and I’m stuck picking up their slack every time, because you know how my boss loves to work eighteen-hour days.

” She glanced toward her boss’s office behind her.

“It’s exhausting. If I didn’t have to worry about bills, I’d be out of here faster than you can say ‘overworked and underpaid.’”

Her computer chimed, the familiar sound of receiving a new email.

Laura shook her head and continued typing.

“Mr. Curran is on a warpath today. I swear he has emailed me twenty times already, and I haven’t even had time to finish my first cup of coffee.

Why can’t he be the one retiring?” She patted her leg and leaned back in her chair.

“Oh wait, there is always a chance I would get stuck with someone even worse.”

Mr. Curran strolled out of his office and his eyes landed on me.

His pinstriped suit was immaculate, his expression scary.

The disapproval was radiating off him as I sat on the edge of her desk.

Laura peered up as his eyes shifted between the two of us.

I chose my words and met his gaze without flinching.

“Anyway, I’ll get out your hair.” I stepped away from her desk and his stern gaze followed me until I was back in my chair.

I contemplated all the changes that would come with his departure. Laura had been working longer days and I would soon be in her shoes.

As his assistant—oh, wait… Stupid me, I just assumed I was staying on as his assistant, yet I hadn’t even thought to confirm that with them.

Surely they wouldn’t be letting me go? My fingers tugged at the hem of my shirt as I thought about my future with this company.

What if he already had his own assistant? There would be no room for me.

I took a deep breath and tried to swallow the anxiety bubbling up in my throat.

Years of experience had taught me to expect the needs of my boss.

As Mr. Longford’s assistant, I was his scheduler, excuse maker, even wedding gift sender when necessary.

I knew everything about his personal life, including what groceries he ordered.

Pathetic, right? I started thinking about Mr. Kneeland.

He was in his late thirties, had brown hair, a bit of scruff, and big brown eyes.

Judging by his looks, he had no problems getting attention anywhere he went, and that worried me.

Dealing with crazy ex-lovers or clingy one-night stands was not my thing. That was where I drew the line.

I stared at my computer, clicking away as emails and phone calls flew in from every direction. Suddenly, Mr. Longford and Mr. Kneeland emerged from the conference room, laughing uproariously. They walked right past my desk without stopping and went into his office. I took it the meeting went well.

My mouse pointer drifted over the home icon on my desktop before I double-clicked and brought up the shutdown option.

I detached my phone from its charger, slipping it into my purse as I grabbed my keys.

My work day was done, unless Mr. Longford had a last-minute request. I was looking forward to a long soak in the tub.

The chair squeaked as I rolled it beneath the desk.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He called out to come in.

I stepped in, my eyes shifting around the room. He was sitting at his desk with a pile of paperwork in front of him, his glasses perched on his nose. He waved me forward until I was standing next to Mr. Kneeland, who was sitting in a chair in front of his desk.

“Things going well today, sir? You seem more chipper than usual.”

He removed his glasses. “It’s all because of this guy. You’re going to like him. He has an old soul despite his young appearance.”

Well, there went my worries. “So, you are keeping me on as your assistant, then?” My eyes landed on his.

“I wouldn’t dream of anything else. Taking over his spot are some big shoes to fill, but hopefully you can keep me grounded. The master scheduler, he calls you.”

Before I started here, Mr. Longford had an assistant who couldn’t for the life of her keep his schedule straight.

She kept overbooking him for meetings, and when they let her go, he found my application.

“I'm great at making sure you don't have to be in two places at once.” Mr. Kneeland was staring at me, and I didn’t dare meet his eyes. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”

“I’ll see you in the morning with another cup of coffee. I stop on my way to work, so I can save you a trip. Mr. Longford said your favorite is a venti mocha with extra whipped cream and two extra shots of espresso?”

A grin crept onto my face. “Precisely, sir.”

“Oh, and don’t call me sir . No offense to my partner here, but I’m not a sir. You can just call me Lane.”

He wanted us to be on a first-name basis after one day?

“Understood. See you tomorrow, Mr. Longford and Lane,” I said, shutting the door behind me before grabbing my purse off the floor and racing for the elevator.

Tomorrow should be interesting…