Breathless by Emily Snow, Heidi McLaughlin, Aleatha Romig, Tijan, Jessica Wood, Ilsa Madden-Mills, Skyla Madi, J.S. Cooper, Crystal Spears, K.A. Robinson, Kahlen Aymes, Sarah Dosher Page A

could tell you.”
    “It’s a date,” I blurted, even though I’d made a goal not to become attached to any of my co-workers during my time at Emerson & Taylor. I would use them for information, but that was it. Already, I could tell Stella was someone I’d honestly enjoy being around. The thought of becoming genuinely close to anyone who knew me as Lizzie terrified me just as much as thinking of Los Angeles as home .
    And yet, I was still chomping at the bit to hear those stories Stella alluded to. “You’re paying,” I told her.
    “You got it.” She deposited the coffee on the desk of a woman who was in the middle of a call, and I followed suit with the box of pastries. Grabbing something from the corner of the desk, Stella crooked her finger at me. “Come on, I’ll take you to HR.”
    She waited until we were back inside the elevator, on our way down to the second floor, to hand me what she grabbed from the desk—a matte silver business card boasting Emerson & Taylor’s logo with Stella’s name and job title, Marketing Manager , along with her extension and email address. “You could call Claire, the receptionist downstairs, and she’d put you right through, but this makes it easier.”
    “Thank you for making me feel less like the new kid. I mean that, Stella.”
    The doors slid open, and she sashayed into the human resources lobby—a smaller, less luxurious, carpeted version of the main lobby downstairs. Her glossy lips were curled into a grin when she gazed back at me. “We were all new once, baby. Plus, I think it’s only fair to prepare you for the crazy mess that’s Emerson & Taylor.” She flashed her dark eyes to the short row of black leather armchairs. “I’ll let them know you’re here, but Dora’s usually quick if she’s already expecting you.”
    I sat in the seat closest to Dora’s office and watched as Stella leaned over the receptionist’s desk. Although I tried, I couldn’t make out a word of what they were saying. The only thing I—and probably the rest of this floor—could hear was all the commotion drifting from behind the HR director’s closed door. It was incredibly loud and definitely belonged to a woman and a man.
    When I heard the female forcefully say, “Get out of my office, Oliver,” shock flared through me.
    Oliver ?
    It couldn’t be.
    I tried to convince myself thatit could be another Oliver, but the odds were certainly not in my favor. The door crept open, each inch seeming to take a lifetime. Even though he was still turned toward her, I had a clear view of his back. Sure, it was completely covered by a crisp, white shirt, but the tight muscles beneath the impeccable stitches sent my imagination into overdrive. He had one of those backs—the type women could picture dragging their fingernails down. A little too unabashedly, I allowed my eyes to wander over the rest of his towering form.
    Medium-length, light brown bed hair, an ass that competed with his toned back, and long legs inside tailored black dress pants.
    Curiosity would be my undoing, I was sure of it.
    “Next time, Isadora,” Oliver began in a husky voice that held a note of laughter. “Don’t ask me down here if you’re just going to—”
    “I won’t because you don’t even work here,” Dora growled from inside her office. “So get the fuck out!”
    “God, the professionalism...” His broad shoulders shaking, he turned around and entered the lobby, looking both devilishly gorgeous and completely relaxed in spite of his obvious argument with Dora. When he noticed Stella and the HR receptionist gaping at him, he stopped short.
    And then, he smirked. It was a cocky, deliciously sexy turn of his lips that had me gripping my bag to my chest like it would ward him off from casting his spell on me. Smiles like Oliver’s...they were dangerous—they were the ones that shattered the resolve of even the most cautious, and I clearly wasn’t cautious.
    “Good morning,” he drawled,