Things Money Can't Buy

Chapter 1

~*~

It was my first day of work at my new job today. The moment that I woke up, the butterflies in my stomach started, reminding me just how important it was to make a good impression on my first day.

"You got this, Anna," I muttered to myself. 

This was my first job that wasn't working in retail, so I was excited to be doing something new. After graduating from college a few months ago with a degree in human resources, I'd been applying for jobs constantly without much luck. I was only twenty-two years old, but the expectations were still so high. Every entry-level job seemed to want at least five years of experience; since I was fresh out of college, they didn't want me. 

When I got the e-mail from Bennett Corporation inviting me for an interview, I assumed that it was a mistake. Bennett Corporation was a multi-billion-dollar restaurant management company in my city, and I was only a ten minute drive from their main office, so the location was perfect.

Bennett Corporation was notoriously selective about the people that they hired, so I'm still not sure why they ended up hiring me, but I wasn't about to complain about it.

The main office for Bennett Corporation was enormous. The building had a glassy exterior, so I was forced to squint as the reflection of sunlight bounced off the building and hit my eyes. 

As I opened the doors to the lobby, a sense of anxiety hit me. I flashed my new employee ID badge to the receptionist as I walked through the turnstile near the security desk. This morning, I made sure to give myself a few extra minutes. I'd only been here once before for my interview, so I didn't know how long it would take to find my department. 

As I roamed the lobby, I felt lost. While looking at the signs on the wall for directions, I must not have been paying attention because I turned a corner and then--

"Watch out!" 

The voice that shouted those words was deep and masculine. Without realizing it, I had just about crashed into a person because I wasn't looking. They had already put their hands out to brace themselves for impact.

"I'm so sorry!" I said, finally looking up at the man in front of me.

The first thing I noticed about the man that I'd nearly bumped into was that he was very tall, very attractive, and very well-dressed in a tailored, gray suit that emphasized his slightly muscular physique. Something about him exuded power and masculinity, even though he was probably only a few years older than me.

He had perfectly-styled dark hair, dark eyes, slightly tanned skin, a chiseled jawline, and a bit of stubble. He looked like he could be on the cover of a magazine.

He had a playful look in his eyes. "Why do you look so confused?"

I sheepishly scratched the back of my head. "Sorry. It's my first day working here, so I'm lost."

He chuckled, and then motioned towards the elevator, which I hadn't noticed before. "Well, I'm going upstairs if you're going there, too."

Nodding, I followed him over to the elevator, which was large and spacious.

"What floor?" he asked me.

"Um," I mumbled, looking down at my phone where I had taken a screenshot of the e-mail. My heart was pounding so fast. "31st floor."

"You're in HR?"

Human resources.

"Yep," I responded.

He pushed the button for my floor and then the 55th floor, which was the highest floor of the entire building.

"The view on the 55th floor must be amazing," I said mindlessly. Forcing small talk was one of my many awkward habits when I was nervous, but we were going to be in this elevator for awhile.