Page 53 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

“Then today’s weather doesn’t bother you at all, does it?”

I smile because finally, I can tell the truth. “Not in the least.” I've already made peace with New York’s climate as well as its exotic scent.

Thandie’s back to sounding like a tour guide as she directs my attention to the spin, Zumba, and FITT classes to my right and kickboxing, yoga, and treadmill workouts to my left. This gym certainly isn’t suffering from a lack of engagement. Even at the start of the day, it’s lively. The current employees are checking me out, especially those of the opposite sex. Suddenly, I'm aware of how I look. Being cooped up in Max's old house for so long made me forget how it feels to be an object of observation and attraction. I used to shrink under a man's admiring gaze, feeling as if he was seeing only the worst parts of me. I don't feel that way anymore.

We make it to the other side of the gym, and Thandie tells me that classes are free but I have to sign up online because they fill up fast. “But don’t worry, because fitness is important to the Valentines. If it becomes hard for employees to book a class, they’ll hire new instructors and make more classes. The Valentines are the best. Have you ever met any of the brothers?”

Rolling around in bed with Hercules comes to mind. Stay calm, cool, and collected, Paisley. “No,” I say, my voice too high. “I mean, just one of them. We rode up in the elevator with him.” That was better. I stuff my hands in my coat pockets so she won’t see them shaking.

Her eyes expand. “What? They normally use the private executive elevators. I wonder what that means? Which brother?”

I’m caught off guard by how nervous she’s suddenly become. What she said about the Valentines taking the executive elevators explains why Mason asked Orion if he was slumming it.

“Orion, I believe.”Well… I know.But I need to sound extremely unfamiliar with the family.

For the first time since our tour began, Thandie seems distracted as she stares at her watch. “Listen, we should get you to your pod if a Valentine is in the building. They need all hands on deck.”

My chest constricts. “All hands on deck?”

That sounds serious.I would hate to have to spend more time with Orion Valentine than I already have. And the fact that he could see Treasure in my facial features says a lot about how much he truly cared for her.

Thandie studies my expression. I’m certain she sees my worry. Suddenly, she shakes her head jerkily. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you on your first day.” Her nervous chuckle isn’t comforting. “But this is a software company, and a lot can go wrong when we rely so much on computer technology to survive.”

I force a smile. “I’m not afraid. I’m fine.”Lie and lie.I make my fake smile bigger.

Thandie darts ahead of me to use her badge to unlock a private elevator at the back of the gym. The elevator feels motionless as we ride down two floors. Not only is her anxiety through the roof, but it’s contagious as well.

“It sounds like this Orion is hard to work for,” I say, fishing for any kind of reply.

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I don’t want to give you that impression.”

Well, it’s the impression I got.“Then what is it?”

“It’s just, he’s…” The elevator doors slide open.

Looking her in the eye, I make sure my expression indicates that I want her to finish whatever she was going to say.

“It’s nothing big.” Thandie steps out into the hallway.

People are walking past us consistently, so there’s no way we can have a private chat about the Valentines. But I get the sense that there are whispers about Orion Valentine, and I want to hear them all.

My tour ends at Thandie’s desk, where she officially inputs Lark Davenport into the system, givesLarka badge and then has her assistant escorthertoherteam’s pod.

Applause erupts as soonas I walk into the wide-open corner office with tall windows and inspiring views of the surrounding metropolis. It’s difficult to smile with all the tension squeezing my face, but I think I’m doing a good job because my coworkers, standing at their large desks, keep clapping.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” a girl with heaps of shiny brown shoulder-length hair and bright eyes says. She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Everyone else is dressed casually, too, including Mason, who was hiding his easygoing work outfit under his nice black cashmere trench coat. I’m overdressed today, but I won’t be tomorrow.

The girl with the beautiful hair walks toward me with an outstretched hand. “I’m Lake. Welcome to the pod.”

“Thank you,” I say as we shake hands.

I’m willing myself not to tear up. With the warm welcome and all the people in one big room, I become undecided about whether I should follow through with my mission to sabotage working in this environment.Who am I kidding, anyway? I’m here under false pretenses. I couldn’t stay even if I wanted to.

But still, happiness swirls through me like good drugs as I’m shown to my desk and introduced to those who will be under my supervision—Jonah, Harv, Rina, Rob, Natali, Lim, and Lake. I remember each of their names and faces.

The fanfare doesn’t last long. My coworkers quickly get back to work. Mason takes charge of me. I work hard to get my nerves under control as he tells me he wants me to try to fix a number of bugs that have been making it difficult to get new products out the door.

“Is this like a test?” I say, remembering to smile so that he knows I’m joking.