Read Online Push Me (To The Edge series, #1) by Jill Macintosh - Free Book Online

and finally saw him breathing. He stirred, repositioned his head on his folded arms, and resumed shallow breaths.
    I decided not to wake him, and left.
     

Chapter Six
     
    Benson dropped me off at the office shortly before eight. He didn’t say anything about Ian not being up yet, and I didn’t raise the topic either.
    I was almost in my office when Corrine stopped me.
    “Dawn,” she said, coming out of her office. “How’d it go in Atlanta?”
    I told her about the store, how great it was looking, and then she told me about her trip to Houston.
    Corrine and I had the same job title, but I had been at it a year longer than she had. In fact, when she first started with the company, I trained her, taking her on a few trips. We were friendly at work and sometimes grabbed lunch together, but that was about it as far as social interaction between us.
    We didn’t know many personal details about each other—and she certainly knew nothing of my private romantic life—so most of our discussions revolved around office gossip, which is why she stopped me in the hall that morning.
    “Did you hear?” she said in a conspiratorial tone.
    “About what?”
    “They’re opening up a new Creative Director position.”
    My eyes opened wider, but I caught myself before letting my mouth do the same. “Really,” was all I managed to mutter. Thoughts of a major career advancement swirled through my mind.
    “ Yeah,” she said. “Stein’s starting the interviews soon. Do you think I’ll get one?”
    Frankly, I didn’t care if she got one. I wanted one. But I tried to be diplomatic about it. “Oh, definitely.”
    “God.” A huge smile took over her face. “I’d be perfect for it, don’t you think?”
    I nodded, and managed the same false sincerity from a few seconds ago. “Absolutely.”
    The rest of my day consisted almost entirely of going over early versions of some graphic requests that Beth—the Creative Director I worked for—had put in a couple of weeks ago. My job was to weed out the ones I knew she would reject, so that only the possibles and sure things got through for consideration.
    A little after three in the afternoon, I was getting nervous that the second batch of proofs I was expecting wasn’t going to make it. I sent a quick email to the graphic design department, and they got back to me by phone, telling me there would be at least a one-day delay.
    Beth was easy to work for if you were competent. But when something went wrong, she could be , well, let’s just say…quite assertive about it. The graphics people knew this from experience, which is why they preferred to call me.
    Beth had risen to her position for a reason, and if I had any hope at all of attaining that level in the company, I’d have to be more like her. I’d known this for a long time, but now that I was up for a possible promotion, there was no better time to model myself after my mentor.
    “We’re pressed for time,” I told the guy from graphics. “This can’t wait. What’s the holdup?”
    “We’re short two people today.”
    “Look, let’s do this. You get me the final proofs tomorrow, but I need the initial composites today. By five.”
    The guy sighed, but said, “I can do that.”
    I hung up the phone, pleased with how I had taken control of a situation I might have let go just last week.
     
    .  .  .  .  .
     
    “I’ve made up my mind. I’m definitely going to tell him tonight.”
    Rachel looked at me, put her fork down, finished chewing her mouthful of salad, put one hand in the air and said, “Hallelujah.”
    Her reaction made me laugh, and I was grateful for it. If there was one person in this world who could always cheer me up, it was Rachel. That’s why, when I got off work, I called her and asked her to meet me for dinner.
    “What are you going to say?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Where is this going to happen? At home, or out somewhere?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Are you going to bring it up out