The Non-Disclosure Agreement
Kelsey McKnight
Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: May 9th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
I left my old life, and my broken heart, back in Michigan. When I moved to New York City for a fresh start, I didn’t know I would be made a sinful offer I couldn’t refuse…
My billionaire businessman boss decided that being the most powerful man on the East Coast wasn’t enough. He needed political power, too. But who would vote for a womanizing playboy with a different model on his arm every week? If he wanted to win, he needed a respectable wife…he needed me.
I had the looks, the small town charm—I was even already his employee, but I was willing to pretend to be so much more. And I’ve already signed a non-disclosure agreement, making me the perfect choice.
But will there come a point where pretend just isn’t enough?
She stepped over to
the security desk and dropped her license and proof of employment in front of
the guard. Her hands were sweaty and she kept glancing nervously around the
busy lobby. Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry. “Excuse me, sir, but I
believe you have a badge for me? My name is Holly McIntyre and I just moved
here from Michigan to work for Mr. Cantrell. I’ve never been to New York City
and—”
“Here’s your card,
sweetheart,” the guard said in a thick Brooklyn accent, slapping a piece of
plastic down on the desk. “And a word of advice? Don’t talk so much. You need
to be tough to make it in this building.”
Holly nodded and
meekly slid the ID off the counter before turning toward the elevators. She
felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment and internally abashed herself for
rambling to a perfect stranger. She was used to chatting with everyone back in
Michigan and now she’d just made herself look like a fool to the first person
she met in the building. What a great way to start to her first day.
The elevators were
packed, going up, and Holly had to squeeze herself between two very large men
carrying briefcases to make her way up to the top floor. As people left the
lift to exit to their levels, Holly gave herself a short, meaningful pep talk
to fill the time during the long ride up.
Okay, Holly, you can
do this. You can make it through this. This is just a building in a city, not
one of the most major companies on the East Coast for marketing and
international sales. So what if it controls eighty percent of the sales to
China? All you’ll be doing it fetching coffee and picking up dry-cleaning. No
big deal! Maybe you’ll address envelopes sometimes or water plants. Totally
doable! Fake it until you make it. Or crash and burn…oh, God.
When she stepped onto the
top floor, she was the last person aboard the elevator and entirely sure she
should never be a motivational speaker.
The seventieth floor
was as white and bright as the lobby below, but primarily empty. A receptionist
tapped away on a keyboard. Across from her desk was a bright red couch for
visitors, and three heavy oak doors against the far wall. Holly quietly walked
up to the receptionist, her ID card clutched in her hand. The woman was a
statuesque brunette wearing a chic sweater dress and a pair of fifties-inspired
glasses. She stopped typing and looked up at Holly from behind her vintage
eyewear.
“H-hi, I’m Holly
McIntyre, the new assistant.“ She cleared her throat and held up her ID for
proof, hoping the receptionist wouldn’t notice the wild shaking of her hand.
“Lovely.” The
receptionist purred in a way that made Holly think of a cat that’d just spotted
a defenseless mouse. “Go on in to Mr. Cantrell’s office. Begin filing the
papers on top of the filing cabinet in alphabetical order. He’ll be in shortly
to give you further instruction.”
Holly waited to be
dismissed, but took the woman’s return to typing as her release. She walked
back to the far wall to the three doors. One was labeled Meeting Room 1,
the second Meeting Room 2, and the third read Cantrell in bold
golden letters next to the door. Slowly, she grasped the handle and pushed the
door open to let herself inside.
The room was large and
richly furnished with a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows behind a stately desk.
It was almost sterile-looking with no personal items to be seen between the
imposing grandfather clock and leather armchairs. Holly looked around for a
picture of her future boss, but the only art on the wall was a modern painting
a man might’ve chosen—bright squares of red, blue, and black thrown onto a
canvas. She thought a child could’ve put it together. It was nothing like the
fine Italian frescos she’d seen online, nor like the famous reproductions of
Monet paintings her parents had hanging in their restaurant back home. But what
did she know about modern art? Holly had no doubt, however, that the simple
piece had cost him thousands.
She placed her
secondhand purse on one of the two guest chairs facing the desk and made her
way to a very tall, large filing cabinet tucked into the corner of the room.
Her hands began to sweat as she saw how monumental the cabinet was. While she
was around five feet tall, the cabinet must have been seven feet high.
Wondering if she could actually do her duties with this monstrous piece of office
furniture, she tried reaching the stack of papers and manila envelopes, but her
hands barely grazed the top of the cabinet. She glanced around for a
stepladder, or a stool, but only saw the expensive chairs meant for guests. Not
finding any other option, she pulled the empty chair toward the cabinet and
hopped on, balancing on the plush cushion.
She had just grabbed
the heavy stack when the office door burst open, causing her arms to fly up in
surprise and the papers to scatter all over the floor, mimicking the worst kind
of snowstorm. Holly immediately jumped off the chair with her hand covering her
mouth to stifle a small shriek of surprise that escaped as a pained squeak. She
had not been in the office more than five minutes and she’d already made a mess.
What made it worse was that the only person to witness her shame was her boss,
Jackson Cantrell.
***
Jackson raised a brow
as he inspected his new assistant. She seemed as flighty as a bird, and almost
as delicate.
“Oh, goodness! I’m so
sorry, Mr. Cantrell…sir…I can’t believe I…” Holly dropped back to the floor and
began sweeping the papers into a pile with her quivering hands. “I’m sorry…I
didn’t…I couldn’t reach…”
Jackson bent down to
her level and began sorting the papers into small piles, slightly uncomfortable
with the anxious woman fidgeting on his office floor. “I take it you
must be my new assistant?”
“Y-yes. I’m Holly
McIntyre.” She looked up at him, green eyes glassy with fear. “I promise, I’m
not always so clumsy.”
He was taken aback
upon seeing her fully. She was a pleasant-looking woman with a heart shaped
face and full lips. As she lifted her emerald eyes to his, peeking at him from
beneath her thick lashes, Jackson had to clear his throat. “Good to meet you,
Holly.”
“I’m really not like
this. I’m very well organized and—”
Jackson held up a
hand. “Please, it’s really not a big deal. Why don’t you just go get settled at
your desk for now, and I’ll fix this.”
“My desk?” Her face
was still pink from embarrassment; a feature Jackson found oddly endearing.
“Yes. Your office
connects with mine so that I’ll be able to reach you easily during business
hours.” He scooped the rest of the files up and stood, holding a hand out to
her.
Holly smiled uneasily,
showing off a row of perfectly white teeth. Her hand was delicate in his, and
when she rose to standing, he was surprised to see she had rather shapely legs
beneath the unflattering sack she wore. “Of course, Mr. Cantrell. Is there
anything I can get for you? Latte? Coffee? Tea?”
He shot her a small
smile, amused by her nervousness. “No, thank you. Go get settled.”
Holly snatched her
purse and tucked it under her arm, disappearing into her adjacent office.
Jackson watched her leave, noting how that dowdy suit, and ugly shoes, did
little to show her apparent charms. His other assistants were always
well-groomed and expertly dressed, looking at ease in their designer clothes.
Holly McIntyre almost seemed like a little girl playing dress-up in her
mother’s closet. He thought she would do better if she embraced her
girl-next-door beauty instead of hiding it.
As he arranged the
last of the files on his desk, he wondered if Holly had what it took to survive
life in the big city.
Kelsey McKnight is a university-educated historian from southern New Jersey. She has married her great loves of romance, history, and literature to create her newly finished works. Her first books, "The Scottish Stone Series", are coming in April of 2017 by Limitless Publishing. Book one is titled "Queen of Emeralds", and is available now. "The Scottish Stone Series" take readers on a journey through the bustling streets of Victorian London and into the lush hills of the Scottish Highlands. Her second book, a contemporary romance titled "The Non-Disclosure Agreement", will also be available in May of 2017 and feature a bad boy politician and the small town girl that could change his ways. When she’s not writing, Kelsey can be found reading, drinking too much coffee, spending time with her family, and working on two nonprofits.
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