The young man of medium height, dressed in a smart gray suit, flicked his bloodshot eyes up when the elevator doors slid open. He looked mildly annoyed at the two women who came through. Suddenly, his disinterested gaze sharpened when his eyes roamed past the short, stout woman in a mustard yellow cardigan, to the younger woman in a black skirt suit. He stood up straight and puffed out his chest as he adjusted his blue silk tie.

The older woman, with a plastic coffee stirrer clamped between her teeth, used the manila folder in her hand to give him a half-wave. "Good morning Keith. Getting out?"

" 'Morning, Christine." Keith, his hazel eyes glued on the younger woman, replied in that tone that bordered on sarcasm. "Naw. They're going through my files, so I thought I'd ride the elevator for a bit while they."

Christine shook her head. That brown plastic straw between her teeth waved up and down.

"Looking for contraband huh?"

Keith smirked. "It does feel like we're in prison sometimes, doesn't it."

When the box started moving, it almost knocked the distracted Keith off balance. Face flushed, he glanced at the silent younger woman standing on the other side of Christine. His eyes made a slow perusal down that ill-fitted black blazer and pencil skirt to scuffed black pumps. This was the correct uniform for every newly minted graduate on the very first day of their very first job. Her dark hair scraped back into a tight ponytail, was intended to make her appear severe. But her face — her exquisite face— gave off a dewy glow. Yes, she was beautiful. Large, smokey gray eyes, pert nose, and luscious pink lips. He was quick to note that her ill-fitted clothes hid a very toned figure.

Christine was speaking to her. "Don't worry about memorizing everything. It's all in the handbook. And regarding Gabe's office, I guess you might be called to cover his desk if his other three assistants aren't available. Maybe that's why he asked to see you."

The younger woman glanced down at a notebook, all business. "And that's a separate billing code?" Her first words, feminine and lyrical, filled that small space.

Christine nodded. "We share the B&B name and offices with the holding company, but we operate independently of them. It can get pretty confusing even for me."

The young woman scribbled a few words into her notebook.

Christine looked self-satisfied as she gave the straw still clamped between her teeth a tug. "Of course, we still get the occasional call about Trisha Earhart. You know, from Endless Roads? Did you watch that show?"

"Oh yes! My college roommate and I —"

"Tabloids will try anything, use any tactic including going through the dumpsters out back. Oh yeah! That actually happened a few times. You're to tell anyone who asks we don't comment on Gabe's personal life no matter what they say to you."

"Wait!" Keith roused himself from his daydream. "You're going up to see Gabe? Now?"

Christine turned toward Keith and muttered out of the corner of her mouth, "For some reason, he wants to meet the new office assistant."

"Oh, I can think of a few reasons," he smirked in response.

She gave him a doubtful look. "He wouldn't."

While Keith gave Christine a meaningful look, the younger woman remained silent, staring straight ahead. If she heard their mutterings, she gave no sign of it.

"Why does she look so familiar?" Keith thought to himself. Realizing that he was gawking, he reached around Christine with his right hand. "I'm Keith, by the way. I'm over in research. My desk is in the cubicle farm across from yours."

Those large gray bedroom eyes flicked over to him. He was taken aback to find them sparkling with intelligence. Her grip, when she shook his hand, was tight and firm. "Bethany."

A corner of Keith's lip curled. "Of course you are." His smile dropped when those large, unsettling eyes seemed to be reading his thoughts. It made him take an unwitting step back. To cover his discomfort, he muttered to Christine, "I'd keep a close eye on this one."

"You know Brooke will," Christine muttered out of the corner of her mouth to him. She gave that plastic straw clamped between her teeth another tug.

He smirked. In a louder voice, he said to Bethany. "Stick with Christine. She's the one who really runs this place. But if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask any ‌of us. We're a family here."

Those long thick lashes lowered to the polished floor. Except for a slight flush of her cheeks, her stony expression didn't change.

"Watch out!" Keith muttered out the side of his mouth to Christine. "Mayonnaise might be too spicy for this one."

Christine nudged him to silence his snickering when the elevator finally stopped. His narrowed eyes were still on Bethany as he stepped aside to let the two women pass.

Bethany charged out so fast she didn't see those rushing forward to catch the elevator. Her chest collided against a much harder, taller one. Just as she was about to lose her footing a pair of strong arms caught her by the shoulders and steadied her. She looked up to see the surprised face of a handsome young man.

"Sorry!" they both blurted out.

People rushed around them to catch that elevator. But the man, with bright green eyes and short sandy-brown hair, was no longer in a hurry. He smiled a lopsided, boyish smile. "Are you alright?"

"Let's go, Joel!" someone from the elevator called out, startling them both. "I've had enough of Bill's yelling for one morning."

"She's fine, Joel," Christine told the young man as she grabbed Bethany by the arm. "Come on, Miss Popularity! Let's not keep Gabe waiting."

Joel, his eyes still glued on Bethany, reluctantly walked backward into the crowded elevator.

It was still early, but there was an oppressive feeling despite the high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. Perhaps it was the acidic smell of old coffee lingering in the air. Or it might be the clusters of tense-looking office workers huddled with stern people in black ball caps and windbreakers. From the many rumpled suits and glassy eyes, either the work day began much earlier or it never ended.

Christine continued to walk and talk as if she didn't notice the strange atmosphere. That straw between her teeth bobbed up and down, from side to side.

"Isn't it amazing up here? They just renovated this whole floor and I won't tell you how much it cost. Of course, they might have to rip up the floor again now — All the executive offices have their own private bathrooms. The terrace behind us is where we host receptions in the summer. Oh, and that's a real Rothko. All the art you see is museum quality. On our way back, we should check in the staff lounge and see if there's any food left over from the breakfast meetings. I'd kill for some bagels and lox. Just don't —" Christine paused. She looked over her shoulder to give Bethany a quick once over. "No need to call him Mr. Blake or anything."

"No, I —"

"Hey, Tina. Is he free?" Christine called out. They had arrived in an open area with three large, interlocking cubicles. None of their occupants, two women, and a man looked up from what they were doing. Christine had to wave the manila folder to get the attention of the middle-aged woman closest to them.

The woman, with her head down, held up a finger for them to wait, She spoke a few soft words into her headset, then still without looking, gestured behind her.

They followed the direction she was pointing to a glass-enclosed conference room visible from three sides. Encased in the floor-to-ceiling glass was a group gathered around a long conference table. A slender woman with her black hair in a pixie cut stood talking and gesturing at a projected screen. Then, she paused and directed her attention toward the far end of the table.

At the very end of that table sat a large muscular man with his back to the observers. Though they couldn't see his face, it was easy to see that he was very good-looking. While the others in crumbled suits appeared exhausted, his well-muscled body, clad in sweaty workout clothes, looked rested. Even his head of thick, wavy dark hair seemed more fitting for the beach than the boardroom. As the woman waited for him, the others turned to him as well. In fact, every pair of eyes were watching, waiting for his reaction. That reaction and the way he carried himself suggested he had no equal in that room.

"That's Payton, one of our rising stars," Christine said, pointing to the short-haired woman. Then she nodded at the seated man. "And that's Gabriel Blake."

"Yes, I —"

"I know. Hard to believe someone that gorgeous is actually smart." Gnashing that straw between her teeth, Christine fanned herself with that folder as she eyed the seated man. "But never forget he's the boss. Or at least he might as well be."

Christine turned to gauge Bethany's reaction. She seemed satisfied that the young woman kept her head down as she scribbled into her notepad.

Moments later, everyone in that room stood up, gathered their things, and filed out of the conference room.

Christine nudged Bethany as she bolted forward. "Come on!"

Several men they passed paused to and effectively boxed them in as they gave the younger woman a lingering look. Christine impatiently pulled Bethany along past them. But they were seconds too slow. Gabriel Blake, flanked by several who followed him from the conference room, was already heading away towards a set of double doors in a far corner. As that entourage passed the three cubicles, on cue, their occupants stood up and joined that human train.

"Hey, Brooke!" Christine called out as she ran a few steps to greet a very tall, very polished-looking blond woman trailing that group. "This is Bethany. She's new."

Brooke, hugging a tablet computer to her chest, looked over a sharp shoulder to give Bethany a quick once over. Unimpressed by what she saw, she trotted off without a word.

Christine tilted her head toward Bethany. "Tina's been with Gabe the longest, but Brooke, um — she's the most protective of him. I'd stay away from her if I were you."

Only one panel of the double opaque glass doors to the office remained open. By the time they reached it, several people stood blocking the doorway, listening acutely to a muffled voice speaking from within.

"Should we come back later?" Bethany asked. "When it's less busy?"

"He's always busy," Christine gave her straw another tug. "If Gabe says to do something, it's better to just do it. Give it a minute."

As some left but others quickly appeared to replace them. And so it went until the two women slumped against each other out of boredom. When the crowd finally thinned Christine wasted no time rushing through the door. The inside of the enormous office was surprisingly underwhelming. It was like any executive office with the usual modern furnishing designed more for looks than comfort.

Behind a long curved desk sat Gabriel Blake. At some point, he had showered and changed into a light blue dress shirt and dark dress pants. He was pointing out something on a massive, curved computer monitor to Brooke. She nodded and then typed something on her tablet.

"Good morning, Gabe!" Christine called out. "Here's the operations plan. I know you want us to stay off the internal server for a time being."

"Thanks." Without looking at Christine, he made a motion for her to hand the folder to Brooke.

Brooke took the folder without taking her eyes from the computer screen. "You're right, Gabe. That's a blind spot right there—"

"Oh, and you wanted to meet Bethany?" Christine interjected.

Brooke and Gabriel whirled around at the same time. Brooke's stern expression was a second away from exploding at the interruption. However, he spoke first.

"Well, Bit-Bit," he said to the young woman who seemed hesitant to take another step. "Nice of you to finally show up." 

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Dear Reader,

Relentless, the final draft is nearly finished and will be leaving Wattpad soon. All your votes and comments have helped this story grow and expand. 

As always, I'm so grateful to you!

-CK