“Excuse me, I’d better check with the boss and find out if he wants me to do anything,” I lied.
To be honest, approaching Jordan at this moment was extremely low on my list of things I wanted to do, considering our previous confrontation and his revelation that he knew I was the person in the wretched video. But I needed some excuse to get away from this conversation that was now making me feel icky.
Cari’s eyes narrowed and I suspected she’d figured out I was getting bothered. I sent her my trademark hide-everything grin, hoping that would cover for me, and then I crept up to Jordan’s side.
He hadn’t noticed me, as he was having a discussion with someone next to him. Cari was watching me, so I figured I’d better at least appear as if I were talking to Jordan. I cleared my throat. “Excuse me.”
Jordan glanced over his shoulder at me and then turned and continued his conversation. I raised my eyebrows and gritted my teeth. I’d stand here until he acknowledged me, then, damn it all.
He spun suddenly and said, “Weiss, take some pictures of Mia and Kat wearing the equipment. I got video of Adam’s demo, but I need still shots. Go up there and ask them to put it on again and model it for you.”
“Uh. Okay…”
“You’ve got your smart phone on you, I presume? You seem to be a big fan of your smart phone…” he said with extra meaning layering his voice. My face and neck heated and I avoided his eyes.
Then he raised his hand and snapped his fingers inches in front of my face. “Quick, get up there before they leave! And email me the photos. Then get back to your filing job.”
Did he just snap his fingers at me? I was so mortified—and, to be truthful, terrified—that I couldn’t speak, even when I opened my mouth. He’d already turned back to his companion, who happened to be a very beautiful woman—designer suit, Jimmy Choos, expensive highlights and lowlights in her blond hair. She was all decked out. Who was she? I’d never seen her before. Maybe his girlfriend du jour?
I fumed, pulled out my cell phone—the very one that I’d used to tape mystery-man and myself having sex—and walked toward the big screens and the trio standing in front of them, still joking around.
They stopped their conversation, then turned and looked at me when I appeared. “Uh, hi.”
“Hey, April,” Adam said.
Mia glanced at me and then away, clearly remembering my offensive words about her a few months ago at the party. “Hey,” she muttered.
Adam pointed to the red-haired girl. “April, this is Kat. She works in playtesting. April is Jordan’s assistant now.”
Mia turned back to me, her thin brows raised. “Oh really? You’re working for Jordan? God be with you,” she said, making a mock sign of the cross as if she were a priest, blessing me.
Kat sputtered a laugh. “Yeah, how’d you screw up to get that position?” I bit my lip. So apparently I hadn’t gotten the memo that Jordan had a rep for being a hardass at the office. Kat and Mia seemed to know a lot that I didn’t.
Adam gave them both warning looks. “I worked with April’s dad at Sony for a little while. She’s been in marketing for so long, I figured she could use a change of scenery.”
My mouth opened, shocked. I had no idea. And now I realized why I was working in the CFO’s office. Not through my own merit. I’d been deluding myself to assume it had been my own hard work that had gotten me here.
I wondered if my dad had something to do with this—maybe asked Adam to move me up. I knew that he felt guilty nowadays. Maybe he didn’t feel his generous monthly allowance was enough to absolve him of it.
Dad and I hadn’t connected in any meaningful way in a long time. He was lost in his work, and what little time he had left was spent with his new family. It always seemed like I was an afterthought. So instead of attention, he lavished me with money. And now, I guessed, pulling strings.
I glanced quickly over my shoulder, hoping that Cari hadn’t heard Adam’s comment. But no, she was carefully watching this interaction and appeared to have heard everything. I was uneasy with her knowing any more of my weak spots. She already knew more than enough to sink me.
“Uh, Jordan wanted some photos of you two wearing the equipment, if that’s okay?” I held up my cell phone. “I promise to get only your good sides.”
Adam turned to them and quietly explained something that I couldn’t hear. Both of them nodded and pulled on their goggles before once again stepping onto the platforms. Kat posed like a comic book super heroine, doing arm curls and hulk-like poses. Mia laughed and teased her, dancing in front of her with her dukes up like a boxer while I snapped photos.