Not Just Another New Girl

**IsaFirst-day jitters had never been a thing for me. Even when it came to my first days of school each year or going on first dates or starting new jobs, I just wasn't a nervous person. Instead, it was more thrilling to me than anything. I wasn't COO of my investing app anymore, but I would have the opportunity to try out a new area of business that I had always been interested in. As the Chief Marketing Officer of this new company, SoulMode International, I would finally get to put my Master's Degree in Marketing to use.I was excited to get started at such a prestigious place as SoulMode International Clothing. I knew I didn't have to create something with my own hands in order to feel successful, so while it was tough to leave a company I had been co-operating for more than four years, it was refreshing to get to start again. Confidence.My mother had always told me that's how businesswomen had to get through work and through life. That's how she got through divorc

**Isa"Uh, are you going to be okay?" Erin asked. I pedaled my stationary bike faster and gritted my teeth together. I could feel her eyeballing me with worry, but I just had to tire myself out before I talked about this. I'd seen his face a few times now at work, even a couple of times up close, and nothing. Either he didn't remember me, or he was hella good at playing pretend. I scoffed and tried to go faster, but I accidentally lifted my foot off the pedal, causing it to swing around and clip the back of my heel. I flinched in pain and nearly fell off the damn thing. "Woah, girl," Erin said, stabilizing me with her motherly-instinctive hand. "What's going on with you? Do we need to take a break? Take a walk?"I took the towel from around my shoulders and wiped at my hairline, sitting back on the seat of the bike. My heart was racing, and I could feel my blood pounding in my head. "Seriously, this has to be some kind of lame-ass joke, right?" I said, looking over t

**Callan"Bro, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm the driver?" Roman said, booting me over into the passenger side of the golf cart.Roman was pretty much my best friend. We were cousins who grew up together on the same street, and we even went to the same college. Some people joked that we were soulmates, two halves of the same person. It actually made a lot of sense, considering how opposite we were and how well we got along despite that. And as far as I knew, even soulmates could irritate you. I let him push me over since I didn't have the stamina to fight him all day. I'd had a terrible night's sleep because I kept waking up from the same dream of the girl on the fire escape. Every time I closed my eyes, we were kissing, we were looking up at the stars, we were swinging our legs off the side of the fire escape. This little dream was beginning to feel less like a dream and more like a curse. Her face was fuzzy, or maybe I just wasn't able to recall her upo

**CallanMy eyes fell on her as soon as we walked into the bar. I had nearly forgotten that the Luca team had invited me out for drinks until Roman called me up and asked me to go out. I wasn't planning on drinking with them, but having Roman by my side gave me a good excuse to be able to leave early or hang around longer, depending on what I needed him for. "Hey," Roman piped up. He elbowed me in the arm and nodded his head towards the table. "Does that one girl look familiar? The one with the long brown hair and nice rac—"I elbowed him back. "Don't talk about my employees like that," I grunted. Roman guffawed. But I could tell by the smirk on his face that he already knew the answer to the question. The team spotted us and waved us over to the table, pulling out a couple of chairs at the ends for us to sit in. "Boss!" Gary, the legal guy, called out. "You decided to come after all!"I forced a smile and nodded. Though I tried not to be obvious

**IsaFor a man who low-key warned me to be professional at work, Callan was sure looking like a hypocrite. Every day it was something new, some problem, some miscommunication, some expectation that wasn't met. As it turned out, I had to pride myself on not murdering my boss for over a week. Everything I did, every report I turned in, every presentation I gave, EVERYTHING had "room for improvement."Of course, as a businesswoman, I knew that everything DOES have room for improvement. But, occasionally, a person likes to hear they did a good job."What, what is it THIS time?!" I finally snapped as I walked back into Callan's office at Jeffery's bidding. Callan's office was becoming my second home. Pretty soon, I was going to pitch a tent in the conversation corner.Callan raised an eyebrow at me."Sir?" I added tersely."Better, but still insubordinate," Callan intoned, looking back down at the leather-bound folder in his hands. He was standing with his suit jacket draped