Page 12 of Sunset Serenade
Rose didn’t dare touch it. The bubbly water was where she drew the line. It looked too expensive.
The driver finished loading her bag and they were off, winding through the streets and arriving at the building a few minutes later.
“Thank you again,” Rose said, opening the door before the driver had a chance to do it for her.
She stepped onto the sidewalk and looked up at the tower of glass and stone.
This was where it had all begun, except this time she wouldn’t have to beg anyone to help her with the elevator. This time, she had a badgeanda purpose.
Rose took a breath and stepped inside, the lobby bustling with people rushing to and fro.
Rose could rush, too. She picked up her pace, gliding through the gates with her badge and straight to the elevators. SerenadeMe was on the thirty-second floor, and she rode up without stopping.
When the doors opened, she stepped out and spotted Craig immediately. He stood with one arm resting on the secretary’s desk.
The secretary laughed, covering her mouth, snorting.
Was he a flirt? Or just friendly?
Rose at least didn’t have to worry about being hit on. She was used to being practically invisible to men, unless they wanted to talk to her boss or needed to know where to get coffee.
Maybe the blazer would make her slightly less invisible. Life could be different here. People could ask her how her weekend was, or what she wanted to get for lunch.
One could dream.
Rose smiled as she approached them. “Good morning.”
“Rose!” Craig turned, grinning. “You’re early. Excellent. I can give you the full tour.” He leaned back and tapped the secretary’s desk. “Thanks again.”
She nodded. “No problem.”
Craig led her around the floor – first to the gym and meditation room, then to the café with its private chef and pair of baristas, then through the HR department filled with smiling people who already knew her by name.
“I sent an email ahead of time letting people know you’d be starting,” Craig said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
She was tickled, but she didn’t want to show it. She needed to act like she expected to have such a warm welcome. “Of course not!”
Their last stop was Rose’s private office.
“I apologize. It’s on the smaller side,” he said as he opened the door. “We can arrange for something better in the coming weeks – this was all we had time to set up on short notice.”
Rose walked in. It looked like a museum. She clutched her purse close to her body, afraid of knocking anything over.
At the far end of the room was a sleek desk, the top shining white, the thin legs a rich, dark wood. A matching chair with a cushioned leather seat sat slightly askew. There was a stunning white and natural wood bookshelf sitting behind the desk and a teal velvet loveseat in the corner. Natural light poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the walls were adorned with paintings and round mirrors, all edged in gold.
“It’s beautiful,” she said before she could stop herself.
“You like it? Good!” He grinned. “Your computer is already set up…or it should be. Do you want to log in and I can show you a few things?”
“Sure.”
Rose sunk into the plush chair. It felt even better than it looked, like it was giving her a hug.
At her old job, she’d had to scrounge a chair out of the dumpster when the wheels fell off hers. With a few repairs, she was able to use it for six years, right up until the day she was fired. She wondered who had it now.
Now was not the time to think of that, though. She pulled out the credential sheet they’d picked up in HR.
Human Resources, the keepers of secrets. They were the only people who knew her actual identity. She’d had to give them her real name and her real social security number. She had told them she went by Woodson to avoid confusion with another Rose Woodley, and they didn’t bat an eye. Her name in the system was set up as Rose Woodson.
