Chapter 4: Brewing Bonds

AVA

“I’m almost there,” I said to Maisy.

My phone was mounted on the dashboard like it usually was. It was a great way to catch up, talking on the phone while we were both commuting to and from work.

The closer I got to the Brentstone building, the more nervous I felt.

“Don’t be nervous,” Maisy said—picking up on my feelings as per usual. “You’re going to rock it, you little ~illustrator~.”

The Brentstone and Sons office building had its own adjoined parking garage. I said goodbye to Maisy, parked my car on the ground level, and walked through the sliding glass doors into the building.

I found myself in a large, bright foyer with white marble floors that seemed to seamlessly turn into white marble walls.

Everything looked impossibly clean and shiny. I wondered if they had round-the-clock cleaners to polish the marble whenever someone touched it.

Across the large open space, I saw what seemed to be a reception desk.

The lady behind the desk greeted me politely and gave me directions to Publishing.

On the twelfth floor, where Publishing was, another woman led me to an office made mostly out of glass overlooking the harbor. It had a sleek white desk equipped with a large iMac and lots of workspace.

“I’ll leave you to get settled in. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Water would be great, thank you.” I stood around awkwardly while I waited for her to return and take me to the illustrations department.

Staring at the quiet, snowy harbor outside, I let the events of the last few days settle into me. I could barely comprehend what had happened—~how on earth had I ended up here?~

Just yesterday I’d been working in a dusty old office run by one of the most unpleasant men I had ever encountered, doing a job I’d come to despise.

My mind flashed back to the pitch, and how humiliated and belittled I had felt. I had sworn I’d never let a man make me feel that way again, and yet I had let it happen. Until—~Cyrus~. The thought of him sent a ripple of goosebumps over me.

Cyrus had walked into my life, and had saved me—not once, but ~twice~ in twenty-four hours. The way he had stood up to Mr. Porthouse—I had never seen anyone look so intimidating and… ~attractive~ at the same time. My cheeks flushed at the thought—I should ~not~ be thinking about my new boss that way.

I turned to look at my new workplace. The entire department seemed to be buzzing with creative energy, it was inspiring just being here. I wondered if Cyrus was around here somewhere. ~I really ought to thank him.~

My thoughts were interrupted when the lady returned with my water. She looked at me and frowned in confusion.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“You might want to sit down?” She pointed to the seat facing the computer.

“You’re not going to take me to the illustrations department?”

“Oh, no. This is ~your~ office, actually.”

I had to physically refrain myself from letting my jaw drop. “I’m sorry, what?”

The woman looked over her shoulder in the direction of her desk, clearly already over this conversation. “Yeah… I’ll send someone over to get you acquainted with the office and all.”

And out the door she went.

I sat there for what must have been a full minute before I was able to collect myself. ~What was happening?~

Right when I got up to look around the office, a young girl with a pixie cut popped her head around the corner. I recognized her from the pitch yesterday, and felt a little embarrassed about not remembering her name.

“Ava?”

“Eh, yes.” I shook her extended hand.

“My name is Ella. I’m here to show you around.”

“I-I haven’t signed anything.”

Ella gestured toward another glass office across the room.

“That’s where HR is. They’ll go over your contract with you and take care of all the boring stuff. Tour ends there. But I get to do all the fun bits first!”

Ella was a breath of fresh air with her almost childlike energy and seemingly endless positivity. She showed me all the different departments, all in their own glass offices.

There were also a few conference rooms, as well as a few “think tanks,” as Ella called them. Their glass walls were full of pictures, poster boards, and notes scribbled right onto the glass.

Just walking around got me buzzing with excitement.

Then Ella showed me the “hydration station,” which consisted of an extensive coffee and tea area, a juice bar, and a few dispensers of cooled water with different kinds of fruit in them.

Beside it was a small food court, which had an array of different foods and snacks. I could hardly believe my eyes. I was so used to Porthouse and its single overpriced vending machine.

Across from the food and drinks area was a long, mirrored wall, practically the only one not made of see-through glass.

I appreciated the opportunity to check my outfit as we walked by.

Finally, Ella dropped me off at the HR department and ushered me inside.

“Go sign that contract and come help me out! All the other creatives are boys, and I’m in desperate need of another girl to balance out the testosterone!”

I knocked on the glass door Ella had just pushed me through, and before I knew it, I was having a terms-of-employment interview and signing my contract.

I stepped outside afterward and walked back to my office. ~My office~. I still couldn’t believe it.

I was just about to enter when something to my right caught my eye.

It was an exceptionally tall man, dressed impeccably in a dark gray designer suit and a sage-green tie. His slightly tousled hair and dark brows made my breath catch in my throat again.

~Cyrus~.

He strode across the room and toward the mirrored wall, where he entered an office I hadn’t been shown, or even noticed, during my tour.

I decided I should probably go see him. He had single-handedly changed my life, after all.

Suddenly I felt very anxious. ~What if I couldn’t live up to the standards here?~ I’d really only ever had one project published.

Before I could start to spiral, I decided to text Maisy for mental support.

Ava

Maise, remind me to text you pictures of my office later. This place is AMAZING. But first, that CEO guy just walked in. Do I go thank him for the job?

Maisy

Ooooh the hottie is there??

Ava

I mean, the guy from the car and the pitch, yeah

Maisy

The guy you couldn’t stop talking about

Maisy

You described him so vividly I had dreams about him and I’ve never even seen his face

Ava

MAISY FOCUS PLEASE

Maisy

YES GO TALK TO HIM. Obviously.

I put my phone back into my purse sneakily, unsure how these people felt about texting on the job. Before I could talk myself out of it, I made my way over to the office I’d seen Cyrus entering.

I knocked on the door—it was one of the only ones I’d seen closed, and definitely the only one not made of glass.

“Yes?” I heard his low voice call out, and I nervously opened the door.

Cyrus, who was standing by the coat rack next to the door, shrugged off his jacket and hung it. He barely spared me a glance.

“Can I help you?”

“Eh, I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity. This place is amazing.”

He glared at me. “Anything else?”

I sighed internally. ~So, I’d traded up in every area except one—I still had an asshole boss. Oh well, at least this one was handsome.~

“No, that’ll be all.” I turned on my heels and immediately lost my balance. I would’ve smacked my head against the doorframe if it wasn’t for Cyrus’s hand shooting out and catching me. His palm was so large it encased half my forearm. I turned and looked up only to find his face mere inches away, his icy eyes burning holes into mine. ~Holy shit.~

We stayed like that for a moment longer than necessary, and then I cleared my throat and gathered myself. I stepped over the threshold, and turned around once more.

“Why did you hire me?”

Cyrus clenched his jaw, his eyes flitting to the food court behind me.

“For your talent. What else?” Before I could respond, he shut the door in my face.

***

The next two weeks flew by. I had thought about my last encounter with Cyrus a lot—I had hardly seen him since. When I did see him, he never even spared me a glance. He seemed to always be busy, striding through the office like he was in a hurry, followed by a girl I assumed was his personal assistant. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had offended him somehow—~maybe I shouldn’t have gone to his office that day?~ Luckily, outside of Cyrus—or should I say Mr. Brentstone—everybody seemed really kind and happy to have me around.

```

I had quickly gotten acquainted with the other ‘creatives,’ and already felt at home. I was particularly excited about the coffee setup—it was just like the coffee shop I used to work at.

I enjoyed making elaborate coffees while I brainstormed with Ella—who limited herself to one caffeinated drink per day, which was probably best for everybody. The girl would probably be bouncing for days with her everlasting energy.

The rumor of my coffee-making abilities spread around the office quickly, and I found myself making an extra coffee for an eager drinking buddy nearly every time I made myself a cup. It was a great way to get to know my colleagues, especially Tobias, who came by a little more often than the others.

Tobias was tall and lean, his short blond hair was swiped back, and he had some very light stubble. He was quite handsome, honestly, and I was happy when he started joining Ella, August, and me for lunch most days.

One day, as we were having coffee together, Tobias asked how I had come to work there. I told him the story of the Christmas ornaments, and the pitch-from-hell the next day.

“He offered you a job himself? For a position you weren’t even working in before, and with barely any experience? Jeez, I wonder if your looks had something to do with that.”

I felt my cheeks flush, feeling both flattered and offended. “I mean, he was familiar with the book, and I suppose he liked the illustrations…”

“I have never heard of Mr. Brentstone offering anyone a job, ever. So he might just have been into you.”

“Definitely not. He has barely said anything to me since, let alone anything nice. And when I went to thank him for giving me a chance here, he pretty much pushed me out of his office.”

Tobias grimaced. “All right, I believe you. What were you planning on doing with all those ornaments you were carrying anyway?”

“They were for the Christmas party at Porthouse. He put me in charge of decorating the office.”

I finished my coffee and rinsed out the cup. “Do you guys celebrate the holidays at the office here too?”

“Not since I’ve worked here.”

I put my cup in the dishwasher and washed my hands. “Yeah, I figured. Mr. Brentstone doesn’t really come across as the Christmas party type. Too cold and stoic.”

“Then again, my old boss wasn’t a ray of sunshine either, and he was all about the Christmas party. Might’ve had something to do with the booze though.”

I waved goodbye to Tobias, quickly popped into the ladies’ room to brush my teeth like I always did—nothing worse than coffee breath—and got back to work.

***

I had two back-to-back meetings in the think tank that afternoon, and then it was time to go home. As I was gathering my things, my computer chimed.

I looked over at Ella, but I found her reading something on her screen instead of sending me a meaningful look like she normally did when she messaged me. I turned to my computer. It was a message on Brentstone Intranet. ~Announcement in five minutes~, it said. I opened my chat with Ella.

Ava

Is it just me or is that a little cryptic?

Ella

It means we gather in the food court, it’s usually someone announcing a pregnancy or engagement. Sometimes there’s cake.

Ava

Ooh let’s hope there’s cake.

I shut off my computer. ~I wouldn’t mind a piece of cake before driving home.~ Ella and I met in front of our offices and walked to the food court together, where we met August and Tobias.

Much to my surprise, Mr. Brentstone was standing in front of his office door, facing his gathering employees. As soon as everyone had found a place to sit, he began talking.

“It’s been brought to my attention that we haven’t celebrated the holidays as an office these last couple of years.”

I whipped my head around to face Tobias. “You said something?!” I mouthed.

He shook his head, looking just as confused as me.

“So let’s change that. We’re having a holiday celebration December twenty-fourth. Attendance is mandatory. Plus-ones are allowed.”

“And if you happen to have any leftover holiday decorations at home, please feel free to bring them in. We wouldn’t want anyone thinking we’re ~cold and stoic~ over here, would we?”

I could have sworn I felt Mr. Brentstone’s eyes burning into me as he said those last words, but I was too busy avoiding his eyes to check.

“That will be all. Good work today, everyone. See you all tomorrow.” And he turned around and went back into his office.

Everyone started talking among themselves and walking toward the elevators, but I grabbed Tobias’s arm.

“You think he heard us?” I squeaked.

Tobias shrugged. “Maybe. Well, at least we get a party out of it, right?”