Page 19 of The Boss and the Adoption Mess
I suck in a breath, peek in through the doorway, stunned.
Wait… there’s no one else? This jerk isn’t even here?
I’m speechless, staring at Gabriel, who looks back surprised. I slip inside, quietly close the door, and hurry over. "What’s going on here? Where’s Mr. Kensington?" I hiss, glancing around nervously. No, really, there’s no one else. Just the desk, some chairs, tall windows, and shelves. No Mr. Kensington.
Gabriel grins, leaning back in the black leather chair, totally at ease while I try to figure out what the hell is happening.
"Three full hours," he says.
"Yeah, I’ve been waiting three hours for Mr. Kensington to show up. I thought he was already in there interviewing you!"
Gabriel looks at me, then furrows his brow. "You still don’t get it, huh? That’s definitely going to cost you major points."
"Shut up. You have no authority here. And get up. It’s rude to sit in his chair. Mr. Kensington is incredible, and you can’t even begin to compare!" I step closer, trying to look threatening.
"Is that so?" Gabriel just grins, not moving an inch. "Tell me more. What else do you know about him?"
"A lot. But I’m definitely not telling you." That would be insane. He’d use it to butter him up. If this guy had done his homework, he wouldn’t be asking me.
"I hear he’s supposed to be really attractive," he says, raising his eyebrows provocatively.
"Not interested. I want to work for him because he’s the best, and I only work with the best."
"You wouldn’t be opposed to… an affair, would you? I mean, for this job, you’d probably do a lot, right?" How dare he even suggest that.
"I don’t need to stoop to that." I’m done here. Wherever Mr. Kensington is, I’m not waiting another second. Especially not with Gabriel.
"Just a moment." Gabriel stands, but I shoot him an angry glare. He presses a button on the phone. "Sally? Bring me Miss Prescott’s documents. And another coffee, please." He looks at me. "Juice? Coffee? Water?" Okay, now I’m totally lost. "Some of each.”
"Very well, Mr. Kensington."
"What the…?" The secretary should be able to tell an applicant’s voice from her boss’s, right? And she’s been in this office several times. Unless Mr. Kensington jumped out the window…
"Sit." He points to the chair in front of the desk.
"No…" I mutter, my brain trying to make sense of this. Pieces of the puzzle are forming—but it makes no sense. Like a completely bizarre fever dream.
"I thought you’d have asked after an hour at the latest. But three? You really want this job." He looks impressed for a second, then sits back down, while I’m still standing there, not wanting to believe what’s happening.
"My name’s Gregory Gabriel Kensington. But I go by Gabriel—it sounds a bit more approachable," he explains,gesturing againto the chair in front of him. "Please. Sit."
"No." Absolutely not. First, I need to figure out what’s going on. "This is a joke, right?"
"I told you last night I had an important appointment today. Steven—Mr. Bones, that is—called in sick yesterday evening, so I’m running the interviews myself. Otherwise, this would’ve been my day off."
"Please tell me this is a joke," I beg, desperate. This can’t be happening! "We kissed!"
"Yes. And you tore me a new one top to bottom." Gabriel laughs. "That’s why I can’t hire you, but…"
"And then you make me wait outside for three hours? Even though you never planned to hire me? Do you think I’ve got nothing better to do than sit in a lonely hallway waiting for His Lordship to finally decide to let me in?"
"Steven still needs a personal assistant, so I thought…"
"You can kiss my ass!" I explode. I don’t usually swear like this, and I’m a little shocked at myself, but the way he’s acting right now is completely undeserved.
"I would’ve kissed it, but you just fell asleep." Gabriel laughs, adding, "You’ve really got a temper."
For that, he gets the middle finger. I spin on my heel and storm out,slamming the door so hard it feels like the walls might shake.Well, they don’t actually shake—modern building—but I imagine it like an old cartoon, dust and plaster flying everywhere.
