Gone - Part One Read Online Free Page B

nose with my index finger. "I did, yes."
    His entire body shifts in his chair. His shoulders push back as his head tilts to the side. "You used your relationship with my brother to get a job here?"
    I don't know how to answer that. I did. I didn't do it intentionally but that matters little now. Rowan had made it clear that she had nothing to offer me until I brought up Parker's name.  "I just mentioned his name."
    "You work at a café, Lilly." He leans forward now, tossing the entire file folder on his desk. "The position you were hired for is highly technical. You're not qualified for it. Is this part of the game you've been playing with my brother?"
    I fight the urge to stand and race out of his office.  Instead, I slide my ass to the edge of the chair I'm sitting in, I rest my hands on my lap and I say very clearly and calmly, "I'm more qualified to work here than most of your staff. I don't want your brother. I want you."
     

Chapter 5
     
    No. Wait. I didn't actually say that, did I?
    I pull my eyes from the file folder that contains my signed employment contracts to his face. His gaze is set on my lap and where my hands are firmly clasped together. "I'm sorry, Mr. Parker. That came out wrong."
    He doesn’t acknowledge my words at all. His eyes stay locked on my hands. I move them slightly and that's when I realize. I look down to where my skirt has inched up my thighs revealing the top of my lace garters. I fumble for a moment, teetering back and forth from one ass cheek to the other while I pull the fabric back into place. This can't possibly be going any worse. He has to think I'm an exhibitionist by now. I wouldn’t blame him. He's seen more of my body and lacy lingerie than most men I've dated.
    "I graduated at the top of my class from MIT," I begin before I stop to cross my feet at the ankles for safe measure. "I've developed several apps that are available in various marketplaces right now."
    "You what?" He reaches to pick up the file folder again, skimming over each of the papers. "Why is none of that in here?"
    I scoop up my oversized handbag from where I rested it on the floor near my chair and rifle through it. I tossed a copy of my resume and college transcript into it before I left Boston. In my haste to get ready to come here today, I'd forgotten about it. I fish the crumpled mess out of the bottom of my purse. I try to smooth out the wrinkles on my lap before I hold them in the air over his desk. "I brought these."
    I see the hesitation in his eyes before he finally reaches to take the papers from me. I can't blame him. Everything about me screams desperate nymphomaniac to him. It's a wonder he hasn't called security to have me removed from the premises yet.
    He studies both documents carefully, his brow furrowing as he scans the bottom of my resume where I've detailed the three apps I've developed in the past two years. "This is very impressive. You graduated with honors from MIT?"
    I swear that's sarcasm laced tightly into the question. Normally, I'd jump onto a soapbox and rail on the person questioning how a young woman can have the technical knowledge to go shoulder-to-shoulder with male counterparts twice her age. I can't do that now. I have to remember that I'm the one who unwittingly sent him a nude picture. It's no wonder he doubts my academic ability. Smart girls know better than to expose themselves to men they don't know.
    "You had a heavy class load," he goes on. "How did you manage to carry that and have time to invest in programming these apps?"
    "I love programming." I lean back in my chair. "Two of them began as class projects but I realized their potential so I developed something else for school and focused on these in my spare time."
    He straightens his shoulders. "I've had someone dedicated full-time to developing a mobile app that travelers abroad can use when they're faced with a medical emergency."
              I pull in a deep breath and try to contain the smile