Read Online Caught Up in Us by Lauren Blakely - Free Book Online Page A

Man,” Joe
said.
    “How’s the wife? Does Megan have
her teaching degree yet?”
    Joe nodded. “Just a few more
months and she’ll be able to start working in the school
district.”
    “That’s fantastic. Keep me
posted.”
    As we walked away from Joe, I made
a mental note that Bryan knew his employees’ wives’ names, and what
they did for a living. If he were a jerk, it would be so much
easier to dislike him, as I wanted to. But instead, it was getting
harder to pretend he was nothing to me.
    We popped into a quieter area with
glass walls where a dozen people in white lab coats were doing the
finishing work on the cufflinks, tie clips and money holders.
“Looking good, guys. I’m psyched about the progress you’ve made
this month. Make sure Delaney knows how you take your coffee or
latte or whatnot. We’ll do a pick-me-up all around today from
Stella’s,” he said, and I assumed Stella’s must be the local coffee
shop.
    There were some hoots and cheers
as we left and headed to Bryan’s office on the second floor. His
assistant, Delaney, cradled a phone receiver as she scribbled down
elaborate notes. She was cute and perky, and had a librarian
sexiness to her with black glasses and blond hair fastened in a
bun.
    Bryan held the
door for me, and I followed him. His office was functional, but it
didn’t scream overly masculine. I couldn’t stand those too mannish
offices decked out in chrome and black that seemed to shout I am powerful . Bryan’s
workspace was simple, with a large wooden desk, a gray couch, a
navy blue chair, and a few framed awards on the wall. I checked
them out; they were given by the Eco-Alliance. From the train, to
the car, to his entire recycled line, he practiced what he
preached, and I was impressed.
    Another brick in my wall came
down.
    We chatted for the next hour about
the manufacturing process, his distribution strategy and the supply
chain challenges he’d been facing lately. Delaney knocked on the
door, and then asked if it was time for the Stella’s
run.
    “The usual for me,” Bryan said.
“Kat? You want something?”
    “Just an iced
tea would be great.”
    Bryan tilted his head as if he
were trying to figure me out. I was throwing him curveballs. He’d
expected one thing from me, but I gave him another.
    “And whatever you want of course,
Delaney. And if you could see what the finishing crew wants as
well,” he said, referring to the employees he’d promised the coffee
to.
    As she left, Bryan asked me more
questions about My Favorite Mistakes and how I envisioned growing
the business. The truth was I didn’t entirely know, and I admitted
that. Soon, Delaney returned with the Stella’s run, carrying a
cardboard drink holder with an iced tea and a coffee.
    As she handed Bryan the coffee, I
pictured her tripping and spilling it on his shirt and then
fumbling through cleaning it up like on a bad sitcom. But she was
graceful and poised. “I have the papers from the board on the Wilco
termination,” she told him. “I’m just reviewing their comments and
emailing them to you for your two p.m. call.”
    “Great. Thank you. I look forward
to reading them.” Delaney left, and closed the door behind her.
“She’s very involved. Eager to learn. So she has a lot of
responsibility,” he said to me, as if he felt the need to explain
why Delaney was reviewing termination papers.
    “So she’s clearly a lot more than
just a minion,” I teased.
    He laughed. “Definitely. But let
me tell you this. Minions are overrated. Once you have them, they
come in your office and want things.”
    “Minion management. Never thought
about that before.”
    “Oh, it’s not like the old days
when you could beat them with a cane.”
    “I bet HR comes down pretty hard
on you for that,” I said and that cracked him up. He sat down in
his chair, still laughing and not paying close attention. Then, he
spilled his coffee on himself.
    Now it was my turn. “I’m so sorry
for laughing,” I