Stiletto Sisterhood

Original Edition: Priya| Jump him or raid his closet?

Though it was commonly known you could never get a second shot at making a first impression, Priya had woke up Monday morning with just that goal in mind, as candidates were expected to arrive for eight-thirty, she walked through MNS' doors a whole half-hour early.

She wasn't the only one who'd thought to show up well ahead of schedule.

"Morning, Tiger. Don't you clean up well?"

Priya set down her satchel at her empty workstation. In the rows of cubicles, they were the only two. Hadrian's desk was four feet to the left from the one assigned to her and he sat cocked back in his chair, polished Prada shoes pitched on the edge.

Hadrian toasted her with his Starbucks coffee. "Love the suit."

She'd elected to start her first week in the candidate pool dressed in her pricey two-thousand-dollar suit—a deepest blue with fitted trousers cropped at her ankles. Paired with an ivory blouse, black pumps, hair coiled in a chignon and the barest of accessories, Priya felt she exuded capable, confident sophistication.

Where she'd dressed simple and safe, Hadrian had gone for something bolder in a soft-shouldered, quarter-lined summer jacket that appeared both comfortable but still structured. The blue green fabric had a discreet tonal grid pattern in slightly lighter shades for visual richness, complimenting his vibrant paisley dress shirt and simple lavender tie.

A look that could easily transition from the boardroom to a night out at a trendy bar. If Caitriona were here, she wouldn't know whether to jump him or raid his closet.

"Are you mocking me?" she demanded, annoyed that in the span of thirty seconds he'd shattered her confidence and now had her questioning if what she'd considered 'put together' would be interpreted as 'trying too hard'?

"Did it come out as mockery? Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. Must be the London accent. Makes everything I say sound frustratingly arrogant." He dropped his feet to the floor and pushed out his seat as Priya slid into hers, swiveling her chair around to give him her back as she slotted in her company issued laptop to its docking station and logged in.

Given they had at least twenty minutes before the morning meeting with Ms. Nagao was set to take place, she wanted to get a head on emails and any correspondence that might've popped up since she'd last checked her account at seven fifteen.

"You know," Hadrian spoke, weaving around from his desk over towards hers, "it's customary to follow someone's compliment with one of your own."

"Very well," Priya sighed, and swung a glance at him over her shoulder, "my hair looks wonderful this morning."

"Say that again?"

Rolling away from her desk, Priya rose to face him and mirrored his pose—one hand braced to the cubicle paneling and hip-shot. "You complimented my suit; I complimented my hair—as per your suggestion of 'following up with one of my own'."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Priya raised a bemused shoulder, her lips itching to curve into a grin. "We're lawyers. Specificity is essential in our line of work. Next time you'll know to be more precise."

Smiling, Hadrian slid his tongue along the edge of his teeth and a lick of heat flashed low in her belly. "Indeed."

"Ah, there you are!" Heather appeared from around the corner, hands on her his and hellfire in her eyes. "You're late. Both of you."