Office Affairs (+18) | Completed

CHAPTER 9

Jane POV

It was a couple weeks before I felt adequately trained and acclimatized to the work environment. Things cooled down by then, too. The deal had gone through smoothly in the end, and everyone in the office was in a jubilant mood because of it.

There was an office party planned for that weekend, and I was excited to go and socialize with everyone. They were all very tightly knit, and I wanted to ingratiate myself as much as possible. Alana had warmed up to me a bit more after her workload had gone back to normal, but other than that I still rarely talked to anyone. I was getting a bit lonely.

I still hadn't found out what had happened to Amanda, either. I had even gone so far as to try looking her up online. The problem was that White was a very common last name, so I didn't even know where to start. My internet sleuthing skills were well below par.

The weekend arrived, and I picked out my favorite little black dress. I paired it with red high heels, and knotted my hair back into an elegant and attractive braided bun. We were having drinks at a fancy bar downtown—probably the only fancy bar in Fairview—and Peter had rented out the whole venue just for the office.

I took one final look at myself in the mirror before I left, and repeated the mantra that had become a staple for me ever since I learned that we'd all be going out together.

Don't sleep with your boss. Don't sleep with your boss. Don't sleep with your boss.

Peter POV

Dane's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when I told him he could come to the office party. Since he was more or less grounded for the time being, he missed the pleasures of the big city. Going to a party with my staff was about as close as he would get.

Dane hated the model I worked on. He thought that with a business as big as Bricks Industries, I should be working on the east coast in some fancy high rise in the middle of the city. He didn't understand why I worked out of the smallest of our offices. It didn't seem to matter to him that I spent a lot of time traveling to the other offices—he still thought I was too small town.

That wasn't to say I didn't live a life of luxury. I had the cars, and the apartment with the view, and the nice clothes. I just didn't spend my time being reckless and pointlessly extravagant like he did—which was exactly why the business had been left to me, not him.

When we arrived, most people were already there. While the Fairview office was small, there were still at least a hundred or so members of staff. Those staff were the hub of the company, so I was careful never to alienate them.