Page 99 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

HAILEY

T he phones had been ringing off the hook for four hours straight.

I ate my lunch at my desk—leftovers from the dinner I’d cooked for us last night that weren’t nearly as good cold as I’d hoped they’d be—and spent the second half of my break frantically trying to arrange my work station into a practical, functional space.

It was easier said than done.

Whoever had sat at this desk before me did a terrible job of keeping things tidy.

What was more annoying was nobody had bothered to come in and clean the desk out before I arrived.

So, while I sat on calls with irritated customers, I simultaneously disinfected and wiped drawers, tossed out gum wrappers, loose papers, chocolate-bar wrappers, half-used erasers, and pens with dried ink.

By the time all the junk was cleared out, my stomach was rumbling and I felt lightheaded and uneasy.

The New York call center was definitely busier than the one in Nashville.

I was going to have to adjust to the change of pace but I needed a break.

I removed my headset and pushed my cue of callers back into the general calls so they would be distributed to one of the other fifty employees in my office.

I slumped back in my desk to take a breather and have another snack.

I was famished. I’d packed a banana and some chopped-up cucumbers and carrots with hummus.

I couldn’t eat the banana without feeling a bit of nausea in my belly.

It was something about the texture that wasn’t agreeing with me.

So I set it aside and dug into the veggies, which gave me no issues.

“Have you tried roasted garlic and jalapeno pepper hummus?” a thin voice asked from the other side of my cubicle wall.

I pumped my chair up to peer over the divider.

A young man, probably no more than twenty-two or so, sat on the other side. His headset was wrapped around his neck and he was twirling the cord around his fingers over and over.

He gave me a sheepish grin that showed off deep dimples and big white teeth. “I’m Jeremy,” he said. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be nosy. I’m the guy in the office who always takes interest in what everyone is eating.”

I smiled back. “Not nosy at all. It’s my first day and I’m always too shy to break the ice. I’m Hailey.”

“Brown,” he said with a knowing nod. “I know. I scoped out your resume when I saw it on the boss’s desk the other day. You’re a transfer, right?”

“From Nashville.”

“Welcome to New York,” Jeremy said. He popped up to his feet and extended his hand over the divider.

He had several bracelets on his right wrist. Two were sterling silver and one was studded with diamonds.

The others were black volcanic rock and turquoise.

A charm hung from one of them but I couldn’t tell what it was.

“If you need anything, let me know. This place is pretty chill. Busy for sure, but everyone who works here is friendly enough. Except for Tasha.” He nodded across the office toward the wall of windows, where I saw a middle-aged woman with a head of wildly curly blonde hair.

“She’s a bit of a black hole. She likes to gossip and stir up drama.

If you’re into that kind of shit, she’ll be your best friend. If not, keep your distance.”

“Anything else I should know from a pro?” I asked.

Jeremy giggled and ran his fingers through his frosted-blond hair.

He was a good-looking guy with an elongated oval face and symmetrical features.

His brows were black, suggesting his hair took quite a lot of time and effort to get it to the near-white shade it was, and his eyes were dark brown and rimmed in thick voluminous lashes.

One might say he was beautiful instead of handsome.

“Well, for starters, don’t leave your lunch in the fridge,” he said. “Someone will eat it. Also if you need time off, ask the assistant manager, Jocelyn. She’s much more accommodating than Moe. And feel free to flag accounts of verbally abusive customers. That shit doesn’t fly here.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Turnover rate in this office is lower than anywhere else in the country. Moe won’t stand for his people being bullied. If you need to pull him into a call for backup, you’d best believe he’ll have your back. Even if you’re wrong.”

“Sounds like a good boss.”

“He is,” Jeremy said. “He’s got a temper though. So like I said, if you need something—”

“Ask Jocelyn. Got it.”

Jeremy arched a dramatic eyebrow and looked me up and down. “You catch on quick, Nashville.”

“I try.”

“How much longer do you have on your break?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

Jeremy walked out from his cubicle and came to stand at the entrance to mine.

He draped an elbow on the divider. “Wanna grab a coffee and chat? I love getting to know fresh meat before anyone else. And you can explain to me why you decided this was the right outfit to wear on your first day in a new office.”

I looked down at my clothes. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Jeremy chuckled. “You are country, aren’t you?”

I licked my lips. “Um. Yes?”

“I love it.” He held out his hand and I took it.

He interlaced his fingers with mine and pulled me out into the aisle with him.

We strode between the rows of cubicles until we reached the break room.

I hadn’t had a chance to check it out yet and I was impressed by the fancy coffee machines complete with steaming wands for frothing milk to make lattes or cappuccinos.

The counters were spotless and there were trays of snacks out for the employees to help themselves to.

They were loaded up with individual-sized bags of chips as well as candy bars, granola bars, fruit gummies, pretzels, and crackers.

Another basket was overflowing with apples and bananas.

Jeremy busied himself with making us each a latte. He finished mine first, drizzled it with caramel, and handed it to me in a fluid motion before going back to steaming a second pitcher of milk.

“You look like a pro on this thing,” I said.

“I worked at a coffee shop for a few years before I decided to shift gears. There’s something therapeutic about frothing milk and pulling espresso shots, you know? How is it?”

I licked caramel and foam from my upper lip. “Delicious. Thank you.”

“Good answer, Nashville.”

Jeremy finished his coffee and slid his arm through mine. He led me out of the break room and back into the office, and as we walked side by side, he leaned in close to say in my ear, “Let me give you a tour and point out all the hotties in the office. Are you single?”

“Um. Yes.”

He stopped walking and pulled me to the side so we weren’t blocking an aisle. “Why the hesitation?”

“No hesitation,” I said.

Jeremy lifted his chin and looked down the length of his nose at me. “I know that look. There’s a special someone in your life, isn’t there? But they aren’t yours?”

Damn. He was good. “Maybe,” I admitted.

“Is this someone a he or a she?”

“Are you allowed to ask me that?”

Jeremy snickered. “Well, seeing as how I know you’re straight, I figured it was a safe question. I think what you really mean is would you be allowed to ask me that question. Right?”

I blinked in confusion. “What?”

He chuckled. “I’m gay, honey. Very, very gay. That’s why I thought we could check out all the cute boys in the office. But I don’t want to get between you and a special someone—if there is a special someone.”

He was walking circles around me and I had a feeling Jeremy wouldn’t be the sort of coworker I could hide anything from. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I had a tendency to keep things bottled up inside and he seemed like the kind of person who would become a fast work friend.

“There might be someone,” I admitted.

“Ooh,” Jeremy gushed. “What’s he like? Is he handsome? Do you have pictures?”

I laughed and we made our way back to our cubicles, apparently abandoning his original plan of touring me around and pointing out all the hotties. “He’s very handsome. But he’s my best friend so nothing can happen between us.”

Jeremy scoffed. “Oh please, girl. Who made that a rule anyway? Plenty of relationships that start as friendships become passionate love affairs. Have you two ever… you know?” He winked and gave his hips a quick little thrust.

His forwardness surprised me. I giggled and covered my hand with my mouth as my cheeks burned.

Jeremy pushed me into my cubicle and then down into my chair.

It squeaked softly beneath me and I rolled back a few inches until the back of my chair hit the edge of my desk.

Jeremy stood in front of me and leaned against the cubicle wall so he could cross one ankle over the other while sipping his coffee.

“Well, that was transparent,” he said. “So yes, you two have hooked up.”

“This hardly seems like appropriate work conversation.”

“You can tell me now or over drinks one night.”

I sighed and thought about that night with Jackson back in Nashville. “Yes. We’ve had sex. But it was only one time and it can’t happen again.”

“Why?”

I shrugged. “Neither of us have talked about it since it happened, so I got the impression he didn’t want to. Besides, I’m not his type.”

“What?” Jeremy asked dryly. “Are sexy, curvy, natural beauties not his style?”

I blushed fiercely. “No, he tends to lean toward the less natural beauties with itty bitty waist lines and calves the size of my forearm.”

Jeremy sipped delicately at his latte. “I can appreciate the beauty in a dainty woman. But you? You’re pretty gorgeous, Nashville.”

I broke eye contact and stared into my coffee.

Jeremy pushed off the cubicle wall. “Maybe you’d believe me if you weren’t wearing terribly out of style slacks and a unisex blouse. But what does the gay guy know?”

I bit my bottom lip.

Jeremy put a hand on my shoulder. “I have to get back to my calls. But if you ever want to go shopping together for some new clothes to show this friend of yours what he’s missing, I’m your man. Deal?”

I smiled involuntarily. There was something compelling and trustworthy about Jeremy. I wanted to like him as much as I wanted him to like me. “Deal. So long as you don’t try to make me into someone I’m not.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Nashville. You just need a little sprinkle of spice to add to your hourglass of nice.

” Jeremy swung around the cubicle and I heard him answer his next call in a sing-song, delighted voice.

“Thank you for calling customer support. My name is Jeremy. Tell me how I can help you today.”