Play with Me (Novella) by Lisa Renee Jones

“Yes.”
    “You didn’t want the other job?”
    “No.”
    She frowns. “You do know I’m being nosy and you aren’t cooperating, don’t you?”
    I laugh. “Yes.”
    She looks aghast. “Give me a pebble.”
    “He thought I wanted to be in the press department. He was wrong, and now all is well.”
    She lets out a blast of air. “Well, at least I don’t have to find a new secretary for him. He’s not easy to please.”
    I grin. “That’s nice to hear.”
    “You’re officially perfect for him,” she declares. “Most people would freak out when I said that and get nervous about pleasing him.”
    “But not Ms. Miller,” Damion says, appearing behind us.
    We both turn and I barely contain an intake of breath at just how tall, dark, and hot he looks standing there. I swallow hard. “That’s because I’m used to men like you.”
    Maggie chokes out laughter she tried to contain.
    “Men like me,” he says. “What does that mean, exactly?”
    “Powerful, career-oriented men, with big personalities and lots of demands.”
    “That’s how you see me?” he asks.
    “That’s how I see you,” Maggie inserts. “Add good-looking and that all the girls around here melt when he walks in to the room.”
    Damion shoots her a hard look. “Don’t you have work to do?”
    She smirks. “Yes, sir. I sure do.” She winks at me and heads toward the lobby.
    “She isn’t afraid of you at all,” I comment.
    “No. You two should get along well.”
    “Considering we started out rocky yesterday, I’m pleased to agree.” I hold up my phone. “Let me text you my new phone number and my email.” I push send.
    His phone beeps and he looks at it. “Got it.”
    “I thought you had a Skype call?”
    “Delayed another ten minutes.”
    “Do I have a schedule for you I’m supposed to keep?”
    “I’ll email it to you.”
    My phone buzzes. “Kali?”
    I answer on the speakerphone, and it’s Dana, sounding flustered.
    “Yes?”
    “Help. I’ve had twenty media calls inquiring about yesterday, and I don’t know what to do with them. My phone is going constantly.”
    “Why are they coming to you, not to the press department?” Damion asks.
    “Oh,” Dana says, sounding dumbstruck. “Mr. Ward. They say the press department isn’t taking the calls.”
    “We’ll handle it,” Damion instructs, and glances at me. “Get with Jessica Michaels and find out what the hell is going on.”
    “What’s the official statement?”
    “A power surge and we shut down to prevent a breach. All is normal now.”
    “Got it. I’ll handle it.”
    “Like you handle me,” he says softly.
    “I’m not sure that’s a true statement.”
    His lips quirk. “Well, you’re all mine now, so I guess we’ll see soon.” He heads back into his office.
    * * *
    The press department swears to me they are taking the calls, but after I answer another ten calls, I’m at my wit’s end. When I discover we haven’t even sent out a press release, I think Damion has some issues in his PR department—namely the manager. I’m never going to get to the charity event if I’m taking these calls, so I decide to take action. I type up a press release.
    For immediate release:
    Due to a power surge, all three of the Vantage properties were shut down temporarily on November 5, 2013 to avoid vulnerability to security breaches. All operations are functioning as normal. No further statements will be given
.
    The minute I see Damion’s line blink, I know he’s off his call. When I knock on his door, he calls out for me to enter and turns from where he’s standing at the window.
    “Can I get you to sign off on something?”
    “Of course,” he agrees, and meets me in front of his desk, grabbing a pen and accepting the release from me. He glances up after reading it. “Is this from the PR department?”
    “No. They haven’t sent one out, and we are still getting pounded, despite their claim that they’re taking the calls. I’d like permission