Alpha Billionaire Series

ALICIA

I crashed back on the couch and propped my feet on a cardboard box. I forgot how much work moving was. But having Hannah as a roommate was going to be great—at least I hoped so.

“Are you using my bathroom stuff as your footstool?” She stood with her hands braced on her hips and sighed at me.

I lazily lifted a leg and peered at the label on the box. “Nope, it says bedding”

“Oh, that's all right then.” She stepped over to the couch. “Scoot,” she demanded as she flopped next to me and propped hei feet up next to mine.

“You know what the only thing I'm really going to miss about having broken up with Matt is going to be?”

I gave her a side-eye glance. “What, not the sex?”

She shrugged. “I mean, I guess. He was good, it was the emotional connection that made it work. Looking back, I forgave him a lot of failed 0****s because I was in love with him."

She changed the pitch of her voice as she recalled that she once held emotions for the man.

“Ew, no, not that. Having someone who felt the need to show off their physical strength and carry boxes and furniture. I never once had to assemble my own Billy bookshelf. He took on all Ikea projects. He would have single-handedly emptied that truck, and all I needed was to do was admire his strength and pour beer down his throat.”

“I think we did an excellent job. And you admired Ceejay's strength, and he didn't even need a beer as a reward."

“No, but he gets a nap, and I still have furniture to assemble.”

“We can get your bed put together in a minute. You sure you don’t need help getting the truck turned in?”

“No?” Hannah shook her head. “I left my car at the place, so I wouldn't need help ferrying back and forth. I didn't know what your kid's schedule was going to look like”

“We don't have a schedule, not while I'm out of work. The lady who watches him is so used to me pulling him out all the time, even before I got fired. I don’t know what I'l do when he starts kindergarten. I'm so used to being able to take off and do things whenever we want”

“It's not like he starts school any time soon.”

“I know, but he's growing so fast” He was growing like a weed. It seemed like weeks ago he was in diapers and babbling, and now my big boy talked like a person and could use the potty. There were days I was afraid I would blink, and he'd be sixteen taller than me, and driving a car.

He looked more and more like his father every day. Would I ever find CJ again? The odds were astronomical. He hadn't been local, not like that would have helped me to locate him.

It was weird when I met Christopher Hayes, I felt a similar jolt of attraction. There had been something so familiar about the man I had spent the first half of our interview trying to figure out if he was CJ, or if I was just being silly. Was there a way I could ask Christopher Hayes if he had a cousin, or a younger brother named CJ? That would be incredibly unprofessional of me, wouldn't itz

I could imagine how that conversation would go, “hi you interviewed me and you look like this guy I sort of had a very intense night with. 've had his kid and would like to let him know. You kind of look like him, but without a sense of humor, and older!

That would fly about as successfully as a lead balloon. Wait, bad analogy, zeppelins had been lead balloons that did fl. I needed a better metaphor, maybe a fish out of water, or an elephant that could climb trees.

“Hey” Hannah jostled my knee. “Where'd you 0? You completely zoned out on me there”

“Sorry, I was thinking about how fast Ceejay is growing, and getting sad about not being able to buy him a car for his birthday when he turns sixteen.”

“You're already planning on getting him a car? He's what? Three? I think you have some time to save up.”

“Not if I don’t get a job soon.”

“Haven't heard back from Hayes yet?"

I'shook my head and stretched. “Not yet. I was hoping to have heard something by now. It's been a week; I doubt I'll get a ca back. I basically told the man he was wasting his time with me and ran out the door after taking up an hour of his time” “Your interview lasted an hour? That's usually a good sign, I thought.”

“Maybe. I don't even know. The HR manager I met with liked me. I'l give her a call on Monday. I got the feeling if I didn't pas: the muster with Mr. Hayes, she would find something for me."

“Were you interviewed by Christopher Hayes? He's the CEO, it's his company.”

“Yeah, what can you tell me about him?"

Hannah crinkled up her face and shrugged. “Not much, I mean only what I overhear. He's stubborn, he doesn't want to pay attention to physics. It's usually about paper tensile strength and the high-speed imaging equipment needs to coordinate better. Hayes is going bigger faster, hotter, paper is still paper. At some point, it's going to break apart. You know it's mashed together pulp.”

I nodded. There were so many aspects to the printing industry. I thought I knew more than I did. Talking with Hannah made me realize how little I actually understood the implications of paper in the process. I tended to just think of paper in terms of shoving a ream into a photocopier and hitting the copy button.

How good would I be as an executive assistant for someone in the printing industry if I didn’t know anything?

Right, that really wasn't part of the job. It would be helpful, but my job was answering phones, setting appointments, and prepping PowerPoints, at least that's what I had done for Thomas. I shook my head and bared my teeth. Hopefully, I could get something new soon, and I wouldn't have to think about how badly I got screwed, and I wasn't even directly involved in any of it.

“I feel like mashed together pulp.” I confessed.

“Seriously, I know what you mean.” She looked over her shoulder, into the kitchen. “Is that your phone?”

“Huh?” I quickly padded down my pockets. Damn, I must have set it down. I pushed up out of my seat and rushed to the kitchen. I grabbed my phone and answered in time.

“Hello?” I was out of breath. I hadn't looked to see if it was a scam caller or not. I closed my eyes, what an idiot I was at times.

“Alicia Collins, please.”

“Yeah, that's me. Can I help you?"

“This is Amy Torres from Hayes Imaging Solutions.”

“Hi, Amy.” My stomach tightened and my mouth went dry. I had not expected to get a return call from Hayes at all. “How are you doing today?”

“I am calling to see if you can come in this afternoon. We would like to have you do a few assessments and meet with Valeri Mark. She had an opening in her schedule, and we'd love to get you in”

I stared at Hannah in wide-eyed panic. I was covered in sweat, and Ceejay was sound asleep.

“Can I put you on hold for a second? I just need to check on something”

“Of course.”

I put her on mute.

“What's wrong?" Hannah asked before I could say anything.

“It's Hayes, I stage whispered, afraid that even with the phone on mute Amy would be able to hear me somehow. “They wan me to come in this afternoon.”

Hanna smiled. “What are you looking at me for? Go!”

Instantly I went from panic mode to adrenaline-fueled excitement.

“But Ceejay? And you have to get the truck back.”NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

“I can take the truck back anytime today. I'll watch Ceejay."

“Really? You will?"

Hannah nodded, and I took Amy off mute.

“I can come in. What time did you have in mind? It takes me about forty-five minutes to get to your office.” It took me more like twenty, but I needed a fast wipe down and a change of clothes. I wasn't about to show up for an interview after I had spent the morning helping Hannah move into my apartment.

We would have to set up her bed later. I felt a twinge of guilt. She had taken the day off work so that we could do this when the rental truck was at a lower rate, and here I was, her first day in the new apartment and I was running out on her and teaving her with my toddler.

Amy mentioned a time well after lunch. I would have plenty of time to take a real shower, and Hannah could actually return the rental truck before Friday afternoon rush hour made driving anywhere a nightmare.

“Thanks, I will see you then” I ended the call and did a happy dance. It was more of a little wiggle. I would save the bigger jumping up and down dance if I got the job. No, when I got the job. I had to keep my thinking positive.

“You are a lifesaver, Hannah"

“Two things, no three things. This isn't the start of a habit, me watching him, okay?”

I nodded my head furiously.

“You're cooking tonight, and three”— she held up three fingers — “get that job!”