Love and Demotion Read Online Free

degree in archives and preservation.”
Sloan looked at her critically, one perfectly manicured hand on her hip. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re smart, but so was every candidate for this job. You can work your way up like everyone else. Besides — the library has Archives covered with Margaret. Have you met Margaret? She’s quite well-preserved herself. I think she’d been here since the cornerstone was laid.”
Regina felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Working at the delivery desk was not very challenging work. All she would do is sit at the desk, take people’s slips of papers, enter their requests into the computer, and then wait until someone retrieved the books from the various rooms and floors, which Regina would then hand over to the visitor, who had been waiting at a table with a number.
Regina tried not to panic. Everyone had to start somewhere, she told herself. And it could be worse: she could be working at the returns desk.
The important thing was that she was there — finally a librarian. And she would prove herself worthy of the job.

    Chapter Two
    Regina took her brown-bagged lunch and sat outside on the top stairs of the library. She opened her thermos of milk and stared out at Fifth Avenue.
“Are you the new librarian?” an older woman asked, pausing on her way down the stairs.
“Yes, I’m Regina.” She said, covering her mouth as she chewed.
“Welcome. I’m Margaret Saddle.”
It was awkward to be sitting while the woman stood over her, so Regina got to her feet, brushing off her pleated cotton skirt.
“Oh, yes – you work in the archives room, right?”
She nodded. “For the past fifty years.”
“Wow. That’s…impressive.”
Margaret had jaw-length white hair and pale blue eyes. She powdered her cheeks but otherwise wore no make-up. Her pearl necklace was large, and if Regina had to guess, she would say it was real.
The woman gazed back at the building. “This is a place worth devoting one’s entire professional life to,” she said. “Although, it’s all been downhill since we lost Brooke Astor. Well, it’s nice to meet you. Come visit me on the fourth floor any time. You might find you have questions, and lord knows that other one won’t be in a rush to answer them – if she even knows the answer. Alright then – enjoy the sunshine.”
Regina wanted to tell the woman that she had her degree in archives and preservation, but she didn’t want to appear to be jockeying for a position. But she could tell already that she’d much rather spend her days working with Margaret Saddle than Sloan Caldwell.
Margaret shuffled off, and Regina sat down back down on the steps, forgetting she had left her open thermos behind her. She knocked it over, sending milk trickling down the stairs, the heavy lid bouncing like a ball.
Regina was horrified. She didn’t know what to attend to first – the expanding pool of white liquid, or the lid picking up speed as it careened towards Fifth Avenue.
She straightened the thermos to stem the flow of milk, and then headed down to chase the lid. But before she could make it two steps, she saw a tall, broad-shouldered man intercept the lid with one swipe of his hand.
He looked up at her, his eyes a velvety dark brown, almost black. As he headed towards her, she was surprised to feel her heart begin to pound.
“Does this belong to you?” He held up the lid, a hint of a smile on his face, a face that was so ruggedly handsome, it was embarrassing. He had high cheekbones and a chiseled nose and the smallest cleft in his chin. His hair was shiny and dark and long enough that the edges curled around his shirt collar. He was older than her, maybe thirty.
“Um, yes – I’m sorry. Thank you.” She took the lid from him. Even though she was one step above him, he still towered over her.
“No need to apologize. Although, now that I see that mess up there…maybe.”
Mortified, she followed his gaze to the milk puddle.
“Oh, I’ll…I’m going