Read Online Five Minutes Late: A Billionaire Romance by Sonora Seldon - Free Book Online Page A

and said, “Thank you, sir, I’ll try.”
    He smiled and nodded, and then he disappeared through the outer door without another word.
    My heart pounded like a jackhammer. I barely remembered how to breathe.
    While I was trying to remember how to perform basic life functions, Dana returned.
    “Mr. Killane is ready to see you now, Ms. Daniels. Please follow me.”
    I lurched to my feet, still clutching the box of my stuff, and I stood there gawping at her like an idiot.
    She pasted professional understanding onto her carefully made-up face. “You’ll be fine, Ms. Daniels, I’m sure – and perhaps you’d like to leave your belongings on my desk while you speak to Mr. Killane? As you probably noticed yesterday, there’s not any place to set things down in his office, other than the floor.”
    I blurted my thanks, set my box on her desk, and dropped my thrift-store purse on top of it, right next to my still-dead jade plant.
    Wish me luck, Lester.
    I turned to face Dana. I took a deep breath, I squared my shoulders, and I did my best impersonation of someone who knew exactly what was going on.
    “Swell, Dana. Let’s do this.”
    She smiled – a sweet, genuine smile that lasted for all of two seconds – and then she led me into Mr. Killane’s personal office.
    Yesterday, I’d faced Devon Killane across an ocean of empty hardwood floor, with the fading light of late afternoon pouring in through the wall of glass behind his desk, and the world clocks ticking faintly in the silence.
    Today, a dozen conferring executives filled the room, as aides circulated among them, passing paperwork from hand to hand while simultaneously talking on their phones and tapping away on hard-used iPads. The room was blazing with morning light, multiple conversations filled the air, and I couldn’t even see Mr. Killane through the sea of suits.
    “Mr. Killane, Ms. Daniels is here.”
    Conversations stopped. Heads turned. A scene of bustling activity went dead in an instant, and everyone was staring at me.
    I stared back, like a deer caught in a storm of headlights. I felt ten times heavier than I was, my off-brand business casual clothes stretched over my extra pounds like a badge of shame, and I knew every one of these bastards was picturing the slutty big girl frolicking with their boss.
    I concentrated on holding still, clasping my hands in front of me, and waiting for their concentration to be called back to whatever business was at hand, but the silence drew out. Someone coughed. Less than a minute had crawled by, but it felt like at least five or ten. Eyes still drilled into me from all over the room – had these people never seen a nervous big girl before?
    Okay, this was getting ridiculous.
    I wanted to keep my mouth shut, but I just couldn’t. If Practical Ashley didn’t step up and take control of this little scene right now, these clowns would feel entitled to treat me like a sideshow freak for the rest of recorded time.
    I clapped my hands together over my head. “Listen up, people.”
    Everyone still stared, and now a few jaws dropped. I dropped my hands to my hips, spreading my fingers wide to emphasize what great hips they were – well, in my opinion, anyway – and I turned slowly from left to right, scanning the crowd of gawking faces with what I hoped was a condescending smile.
    I let the silence draw out a tad longer, just to let them sweat a little more. The bastards couldn’t have been listening up any harder if they’d all gone out and bought extra ears.
    “Here’s the deal, folks – how about you limber up your smartphones and just take all the pictures you want, all right? Go on, I don’t mind.”
    I turned in a slow circle, displaying myself like a fashion model. On the outside, I did my best to project the image of a bored queen accepting the adulation of the local peasantry – on the inside, I was screaming, ‘Ashley, what are you DOING?’
    I came to a stop facing them. There sure as hell was no