THE MAN I SHOULDN'T HAVE INSULTED

CHAPTER ONE

EMILY CARTER

"Watch where you're going asshole!" I stumbled forward, my worn out handbag swinging violently again against my hip as I desperately tried to keep myself upright.

One more step and I would have been kissing the pavement.

My folder slipped from my hand but I managed to catch it against my chest before it hit the ground.

"Are freaken serious!!?" I snapped. The man who has nearly sent me face first into the concrete had already taken two steps away.

Two.

Not one.

Freaken two.

Like almost murdering an innocent woman before nine in the morning was simply another item on his schedule. I sighed and straightened myself I moved my hair away from my face and glared at his back.

"People say excuse me, you know" He didn't even turn around

Oh.

Okay.

So we're choosing violence today?

I looked down at myself and sighed again, today was supposed to be the day I made a good impression. A professional impression.

A memorable impression. Instead, I had nearly fallen over in front of a complete stranger and was now arguing with his back.

Excellent start, Emily.

Perfect.

I adjusted the strap of my handbag and looked up at the building in front of me

Kingsley Enterprises.

The name alone made my stomach tighten, the building stretched so high into the sky that I had to tilt my head back to see the top.

Glass covered most of the front, reflecting the morning sunlight until I had to squint. It was beautiful.

Expensive and intimidating.

Basically everything I was not, I looked down at my outfit. My shirt had once been white.

Once.

Now it has a slightly questionable shade that could probably be described as tired cream if someone was feeling generous. My skirt was somewhere between dark brown and 'please don't look too closely'

I tugged at the hem "You're fine" I whispered to myself.

I wasn't.

But confidence was free and I was currently operating on a budget.

I took a deep breath and headed towards the entrance. The moment I stepped through the revolving doors, I immediately felt like I had accidentally walked into the wrong building.

Everyone looked polished, perfect suits and dresses.

Perfect shoes and heels and perfect hair.

Even the receptionist looked like she had been professionally assembled that morning, I looked at myself again.

Maybe I should have turned around. Maybe I could pretend I had misunderstood the address.

Maybe I could go home and—

"Can I help you?"

I looked up, the receptionist stared at me, her expression suggested that she had already decided I was going to cause a problem.

"Interview" I said. She looked at the folder in hands then at me. Then back to the folder

"Name?"

"Emily Carter"

She tried something into her computer.

"Secretary position?"

"Yes"

Her eyes travelled over me again. I smiled politely, she did not smile back.

"Join the candidates waiting over there" she pointed towards the row of chairs.

"Thank you"

Nothing. Not even a nod.

I walked away. Such a friendly place.

I was beginning to understand why the building was so big. They all needed all that space to store everyone's personality.

I looked at an empty seat at the end of the row and placed my handbag in my lap.

There were about eight other candidates and every single one of them looked like they belonged here.

One woman beside me wire a fitted black dress, expensive heels and a watch that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe.

Another woman had a perfectly styled Bob and a résumé that looked thick enough to qualify as a light reading. I looked down at my own folder.

Three pages, two qualifications and one prayer

God, please.

A woman across from me glanced at my clothes, then she leaned towards the candidate beside her.

" Do you think they are actually interviewing everyone?" Her friend covered her mouth. They both laughed.

I pretended not to hear them. Then the first woman looked directly at me.

"Sorry" she said, not sounding sorry at all " I didn't mean anything by it"

"That's okay" I smiled. She smiled back then she looked at me up and down.

"I just assumed they were looking for someone with more experience" Ah. There it was.

I nodded slowly "That's understandable"

She seemed pleased

Then I added,"I also assumed they were looking for someone with better manners, but I suppose we both came here to be disappointed"

The woman's smile disappeared, her friend suddenly became very interested in her phone. I smiled sweetly.

"Good luck though"

Silence. Beautiful Silence.

I leaned back in my chair, my heart was pounding, why had I said that? Because apparently my mouth had a direct line to my brains and neither department had a manager.

I looked down at my hands.

"Please don't get fired before you're hired" I whispered.

A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened, a middle aged woman wearing glasses stepped out with an iPad tucked beneath one arm.

She looked professional enough to frighten the entire room to silence.

"Candidates for the secretary position?" Everyone stood

"Follow me please" We did.

The elevator ride was painfully quiet. I stood towards the back, clutching my folder, the numbers above the door climbed.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

My stomach climbed with them, I swallowed. Don't panic, you're going for an interview, people do this everyday and people get jobs every day.

People also embarrass themselves everyday but that wasn't the point.

When the elevator opened, we followed the woman into a quiet hallway and the atmosphere changed immediately.

The noise from downstairs disappeared.

Everything was quieter here, more controlled.

The kind of quiet that made you afraid to breathe too loudly. We were led into a room where chairs had been arranged in a straight line.

"Please wait here" then the woman walked away.

Everyone sat. I sat too and waited.

One by one, the candidates were called through a large door.

The first woman went in, five minutes later and she came out.

She looked furious.

The second candidate went in, she came out with tears in her eyes and the third went in.

He came out looking like he'd just been informed that his entire family had moved to another planet.

My finger tightened around my folder.

Okay.

Interesting.

Maybe this wasn't an interview,maybe this was an elimination ritual.

"What do you think they're asking?" The woman beside me whispered.

I stared at the door "probably something terrifying"

She gave me a nervous laugh "Like what?"

I thought about it "maybe they are asking people to explain why they deserve to live"

She stared at me. I smiled.

"I'm joking"

Mostly.

Another candidate disappeared behind the door, another emerged, another nervous expression.

Then the middle aged woman appeared again.

"Emily Carter"

My heart stopped " Oh"

That was all I managed, the woman looked at me.

"Emily?"

"Yes. Sorry"

I stood so quickly that my chair scraped against the floor. I followed her into the room.

I expected a panel, instead there was only her.

She sat behind a large desk and gestured towards the chair opposite her.

"Sit" I sat.

She opened her iPad.

"Emily Carter."

"Yes."

"You applied for the secretary position."

"Yes."

She looked at me for a moment, then she smiled slightly.

"Relax"

I blinked, "I am relaxed"

My voice came out far too quickly. She raised her eyebrow, I smiled

"This is actually my relaxed voice" it wasn't. She looked amused and for the first time since I'd entered the building, I felt like I could breathe.

She began asking questions.

My previous experience, qualifications, computer skills and why I wanted the position and I answered honestly.

I wasn't the most experienced person in the room and I wasn't going to pretend I was but I knew how to work, I knew how to organise and I definitely knew how to learn.

And when I didn't know something, I wasn't afraid to ask.

The interview was going better than I'd expected until the sound of a door opening interrupted us.

I turned.

There was another door on the side of the room, not the one I had entered through.

It opened slowly and then I saw him. My stomach dropped

No!

Absolutely not!! It was him.

The man from outside.

The one I had screamed at, cursed at.

The one I had called rude. The one whose back I had apparently felt comfortable insulting because I had assumed I would never see him again.

He walked into the room, calm.

Impossibly composed, Black suit that screamed expensive. Dark hair and Sharp features.

The kind of face that made you briefly forget what you were doing and unfortunately for me, I remembered. Very quickly at that.

My heart started pounding.

Oh no.

No no no!

Please tell me he's not a Kingsley!

He stopped near the desk, I stared at him.

He looked at me and for a terrifying second, neither of us moved.

His expression didn't change, not even slightly.

No surprise. No irritation. Nothing and that somehow made it worse.

I slowly lowered my eyes.

Maybe if I didn't look at him, he wouldn't remember me.

Maybe—

"Mr Kingsley."

The woman spoke. My soul left my body.

Mr Kingsley?

Of course, of course he was a Kingsley, because apparently the universe had decided that my life needed a sense of humour here and there.

I swallowed.

So the man I'd nearly fallen in front of was not just some random rude stranger.

He was a Kingsley.

As in Kingsley Enterprises. As in the company I was desperately trying to work for.

Wonderful. Fantastic!

I mentally prepared myself to bed for a cleaning position, I could clean. I could mop, I could polish the floors until the reflected my face.

I could—

"Emily Carter."

I looked up and he was looking directly at me. My mouth went dry.

"Yes?" There was a pause

"You're hired" I blinked once. Twice.

My brain stopped functioning entirely.

Did he just—

"What" I stared at him

He stared back and for the first time that morning, I had absolutely nothing to say.