Reckless Read Online Free PDF Page A

sitting at the large desk in the center of the room is in skintight jeans and a low-cut blouse, her wavy dishwater blonde hair tapering to bleached-blonde tips and curled into meticulous waves.
    I think she’s my new boss.
    My new temporary boss anyway.
    And she looks all of twenty-four. Maybe twenty-five, but that might be pushing it.
    This is what I get for staying out of the workforce for nearly ten years. Once upon a time I was the vice president of human resources for a local insurance corporation. As soon as we got pregnant with our second baby, Nathan insisted I stay home. He and I both knew we didn’t need the second income, and at the time, we were madly in love, stars in our eyes and bright, family-oriented futures ahead of us.
    So I quit to stay home with my boys, loved every minute of it, ruined my resume in the process, and now I’m here.
    Reporting for duty as the temp-hired administrative assistant for a twenty-four-year-old with fake boobs and framed selfies on her desk.
    “You must be Maren.” She doesn’t stand to greet me nor does she offer her hand. Instead she gives me a once-over, her eyes lingering on my shoes a little too long than what might be deemed professional. “Love those pumps. Are they Valentino?”
    “No,” I say. “They’re the Target version of Valentino.”
    Her face falls. “Oh. Okay. So you’re going to be sitting over there.”
    She points to a naked desk with a gray laptop centered on it. The desk is pushed against the wall, far away from windows and sitting beneath a flickering fluorescent light. It’s clearly the ugliest part of this entire room, and it’s all mine.
    Keegan’s area is filled with natural light, potted succulents, and gold lamps with warm, incandescent light bulbs.
    “You can put your stuff in one of the drawers,” she says, pointing to my desk. Finally rising, she slicks her hands down the front of her sheer blouse, smoothing the creases, and smiles.
    She might be halfway nice after all.
    “I’ve got so much filing to catch up on,” she says. “I’m so glad we were able to hire you.”
    “Filing?”
    Keegan motions for me to follow her toward a door in the back of the office, and she retrieves a badge from her back pocket, swiping it across a lock sensor. The door beeps and she pushes it open, only it catches on something.
    “So. Many. Boxes.” Keegan laughs and groans all at once.
    I peek my head inside and spot floor-to-ceiling boxes, alphabetically labeled, and wall-to-wall filing cabinets.
    “Wait,” I say. “Isn’t this a tech company? Isn’t everything you do electronic?”
    “Sure is.” Keegan gives me a wink. “You won’t be doing any literal filing. You’ll be scanning all these documents and then virtually filing them.”
    “What are the file cabinets for?”
    “After you’re done scanning and virtually filing them, just shove everything in the file cabinets.”
    “Oh, okay. So just put them back in no specific order?” I need clarification here.
    “No, you should put them back in alphabetical order.”
    I bite my tongue and force a breath through my nose. Does she not realize that that is the very definition of filing?
    My hands clench at my sides. I cannot adequately express how tickled I am to know that I wasted four years pursuing a business degree at Oregon State so I could scan and file papers while my incompetent twenty-four-year-old boss supervises.
    The sound of a cell phone chiming at her desk seems to make her ears perk, and her eyes graze past my shoulders. She’s like a dog that’s been classically conditioned to react at the sound of a text message notification.
    Keegan places her bony hand on my shoulder. “All right, sweets, just start in that corner over there with A-C and let me know if you have any questions.”
    I nod as she scampers off, her sky-high stilettos click-clacking on the stained concrete floor. A man designed this office. No doubt.
    Grabbing the first box, I hoist it up, steadying