Offside Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dulcie’s low voice as she approached.
    “She’s driving me crazy with all her
questions,” Honey heard. “Oh. My. God. Why did Trent saddle me with
her when I’m trying to take care of stuff before I go?”
    Honey paused, her insides seizing.
Heat washed down over her and her fingers tightened on the paper
cup of coffee she held. She blinked unseeingly as another voice
responded, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Maybe
we can keep her busy sorting paper clips.”
    Celina, the other Programming
Coordinator.
    Honey closed her eyes briefly then
drew in a big breath. “Hey, Dulcie,” she called out, moving her
feet forward again. She stretched her lips into a smile and moved
into the opening of Dulcie’s cubicle. Celina half-sat on one side
of the L-shaped desk and Honey caught the flash of something that
might have been guilt on both their faces as they realized she’d
been so close while they’d been talking about her. She lifted her
chin, keeping the smile in place, but the tension in the air
clearly told her they could tell her smile was fake and they
suspected she’d heard them. “Matt Heller is here for our
meeting.”
    “Oh, great,” Dulcie said quickly,
swiveling in her chair to reach for some files on her desk. “We can
go into the boardroom.”
    “Okay. See you there.”
    Honey returned to her own desk for her
paper and pen then headed back to the reception area where Matt sat
on one of the small chairs, dwarfing it. Nerves jittering now from
seeing him and from the conversation she’d just overheard, she
struggled to keep her composure.
    “Come on in to the boardroom,” she
said. “Dulcie will be right with us.”
    He followed her down the hall and she
was acutely aware of him behind her as she walked on her high heels
in her snug pencil skirt. She led the way into the boardroom and
gestured for him to have a seat. He threw his big body down into a
leather chair.
    “How are things going?” he asked.
“Second day on the job, right?”
    “Right. Things are going great.” She
flashed the biggest smile she could. “I have a lot to learn, but
I’m super excited to be here.”
    His gaze moved over her face and she
had the feeling she might have been a little too enthusiastic in
her response. She certainly wasn’t about to tell him the truth.
God. She caught Dulcie entering the room from the corner of her eye
and said, “Dulcie’s helping me out and being so patient with all my
questions.”
    “That’s good,” Matt said.
    Dulcie took a seat and Honey looked at
her and caught the flicker in her eyes. Honey smiled at her again. Bitch.
    “So,” Honey said brightly. “Let’s get
to work.”
    They spent the next hour focusing on
which charitable group Matt wanted to work with and what he was
willing to commit to.
    Honey wasn’t going to let Dulcie shut
her out of this and kept politely interjecting, offering to look
after specific tasks, and with Matt there Dulcie really couldn’t
cut her out without it looking odd. By the end of the meeting Honey
had an actual to-do list and Matt’s phone number and email address
so she could touch base with him at the end of the week.
    She felt marginally better when she
returned to her desk, even though she had to sit there and take a
few deep breaths. But she’d done it. She could do this. Except,
damn, doing this meant working with Matt. Holy bajesus.
    She brought her computer back to life
and realized it was noon. Lunchtime.
    Dulcie and Celina passed by her desk
talking about where they were going for lunch. They didn’t even
look at her. The rest of the office was quiet, so everyone else
must have gone out for lunch too. As they had yesterday.
    From now on she would bring a bag
lunch, which she could leave in the small fridge in the break room.
She could eat at her desk while she was working. Assuming she had
some actual work to do.
    But today she had no lunch, so she
picked up her purse and left the office. There were