Accidental Meeting by Susette Williams Page A

that would rumple sheets
with him and that was one thing she wasn’t about to do. Gary seemed to take
some sort of sick satisfaction in keeping her as his assistant and under his
thumb.
    The
only other person up for the promotion was Stacey—blonde, leggy, and
skin-tight-clothes-wearing competition. Those were Stacey’s main attributes.
Abbey couldn’t help the smirk that crept to her lips. There was no way Gary
could honestly pass her over this time. If he promoted Stacey instead, it would
become obvious to others how his promotions worked. Abbey had better qualifications
and an associate's degree. The only thing Stacey had going for her was… Gary.
    Abbey
turned into the parking lot and parked.  Smoothing her hair, she gave
herself a quick look in the review mirror and then grabbed her purse and
briefcase and exited the car.  She rushed into Abbot & Ellingsworth , took the elevator to her floor, and didn’t
stop until she reached her desk and opened up her briefcase.
    “Little
late today aren’t you?”
    Abbey
looked up in time to see the smirk on Stacey’s face.
    “Oh,
by the way, Gary wants to see you in his office right away. The meeting has
been postponed an hour.”
    Abbey
nodded. “Then I don't guess I'm late.”
    Stacey
smiled sweetly. “I don’t think Gary’s in a very good mood. Be careful.”
    Glancing
at her watch, she frowned. She wasn’t that late. Not that it took much
to set her boss off.
    Smoothing
out her black, pin-striped skirt, Abbey directed herself towards Gary’s office.
Outside the door, she took a deep breath and knocked.
    “Come
in.”
    Abbey’s
hand shook a fraction as she gripped the handle and entered. “Stacey said you
wanted to see me, Mr. Hartman.”
    Gary
hadn’t donned his jacket or tie, the top button of his white shirt was still
unfastened. It didn’t look like he was in a rush this morning. He glanced at
his watch before his gaze focused on the clock on the wall, almost as if he was
confirming that his watch was right. When he finally looked at Abbey, her pulse
raced. She knew he wouldn’t miss using this opportunity to his advantage.
    “Sorry
I was a few minutes late.”
    Gary
frowned.
    “My
car wouldn’t start and I had to borrow a friend’s car to get to work.”
    “Sounds
like your day isn’t starting off well.” Gary sat down on the black, leather
loveseat and motioned for her to sit down next to him. Abbey took a seat. File
folders lay strewn across the coffee table in front of them. He picked up one
and thumbed through its contents.  “I hope your day turns out better.
Maybe we should go ahead and plan a celebration? Where would you like to go for
dinner tonight? I know of—“
    “No,”
Abbey cut in. “I can’t. I promised my roommate I would stop and run some
errands for her after work.”
    Gary
seemed to contemplate her words. “No reason we can’t celebrate now. The meeting
starts in an hour.”
    Gary’s
hand reached to caress her cheek.
    Abbey
pushed his hand away and stood. “Stop!”
    “I
thought you wanted to move up in the company?”
    “I
don’t plan,” Abbey motioned frantically to the couch as she continued in a
strained voice, “to do it this way.”
    “There’s
no harm in having a little fun at work. Why not enjoy your job?”
    “ Argh . Don’t you get it? I’m not interested.” Abbey backed
further away from the loveseat.
    “Apparently
you’re the one who doesn’t get it.” Gary stood and moved around the coffee
table toward her. When Abbey backed away, he stopped. “If you want to be on the
team—you’ve got to be willing to play.”
    “I’ll
be sure to tell Mr. Linden you said that.” Abbey folded her arms across her
chest.
    Gary
laughed. “Go ahead. He already knows you’re uncompromising.”
    Abbey
felt her mouth drop open. Gary took a couple of steps, closing the gap between
them.
    “I
told him I’d let him know this morning who I felt was best suited for the
promotion. Now it’s up to you.”