One Night Forever (The Cinderella Chronicles) by Lisa Renée Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

Lauren peered out at the view, thrilled to see the
towering skyline of Manhattan.
    “ You should
see it at sunset,” Celia said. Lauren swiveled back around to face
her. Celia continued, “I’ll help you through the first few days.
Anything you need, just say the word.” Celia winked and perched her
hip on the arm of a visitor’s chair. “Including the insider
scoop.”
    “ Thank you
very much. I have to admit, I’m nervous.”
    “ Don’t be.
You’ll do great.”
    For the next forty-five
minutes, Celia settled into a chair across from Lauren and covered
basic orientation material. She finished with, “You should have a
phone list, access cards and codes, a general run-down of the
staff, and who does what with explicit details.” Celia sighed.
“I’ll leave you to study up and get settled. Buzz me if you need
help with anything.”
    She started toward the
door, but stopped a moment, turning back to Lauren. “Coffee is in
the kitchen by the reception area. Make yourself at home.” Then,
she left.
    The minute she was alone,
Lauren searched through her drawers and found a pair of scissors.
She quickly hopped up and cut off the tags dangling from the
visitors’ chairs. She preferred to forget her newness. She didn’t
need any reminders that she was the new kid on the block. Her
nerves were doing that job quite well without any extra
help.
    Before Lauren could even
get through a small portion of the staff rundown, Celia poked her
head back into Lauren’s office. “Lauren you need to be at a meeting
at nine o’clock, and it is already eight-forty-five. You’ll have
these meetings every Monday. Sorry, I didn’t tell you sooner, but I
honestly didn’t think they would have you join them your first
day.”
    Lauren sat stunned. “Me
either. Are you sure?” There was nervousness in her voice she
couldn’t hide.
    “ Tyler
specifically asked for you by name,” she said with a shrug of her
shoulders.
    Grabbing a legal pad and
a pen, Lauren followed Celia to the meeting location, adrenaline
rushing through her body and making her heart beat double time.
Moments later, she stood at the door of the gigantic conference
room, silently sizing up the six men and four women who sat around
the table. All eyes went to Lauren.
    Tyler sat in a seat
directly to the right of the head of the table. That seat remained
open. Lauren looked at the empty chair assuming it belonged to the
new president of Carlson. The industry was abuzz about the
retirement of the former executive of the firm. His son Matthew was
now taking over, having relocated from another state.
    And when she had heard
his name, she’d desperately searched for a picture of him with no
results. Though she knew this new president had just relocated from
Los Angeles his name was familiar and a hint of fear had grown to
near panic. What if? After all, he had ties in New York. It could
be her Matt. Her stranger. Still, what were the odds?
    Tyler pushed to his feet,
and waved Lauren forward, a warm smile on his lips. He spoke to the
group even as he focused on her. “This is Lauren Reynolds, team,
our new associate. Please make her feel welcome.”
    Tyler was in his
mid-forties, with red hair and fair skin, and confidence he wore
like a second skin. Lauren liked him from the moment she’d met him
in her interview. He came off highly professional but also
approachable. Not too full of himself.
    People nodded and
murmured greetings.
    “ Grab a seat
and we’ll get started,” Tyler said motioning to some open chairs at
the opposite side of the long table. Before Lauren even found a
place to sit, Tyler was talking. “Team, we have terrific news. We
have landed a chance to pitch to BG Clothing.”
    There were whispers
around the table. Lauren wasn’t sure why.
    “ I know we
thought we couldn’t get heard on this campaign, but Matthew’s
presence has opened doors. He pulled some strings, and the outcome
is a win for Carlson. We have one shot and one shot only to