Making It Personal by Wells, C. (best ebook reader ubuntu txt) 📕

“There will be days when we have to work late, you understand. And there will be business trips to book fairs in Europe. So it won’t be a regular hours kind of job.” Will nodded. “Well, as long as I have your word that the job will come first, then yes, I can live with that.”

Will could have kissed him. “Thank you,” he said, shaking with relief.

Blake grinned. “So does that mean you are officially accepting my job offer, Mr. Parkinson?” His eyes gleamed.

Will returned his grin. “Yes, Mr. Davis. It would be a pleasure. When do I start?”

Blake chuckled. “Tomorrow morning. I’m usually there by seven thirty, and Ed Fellows, the office manager, isn’t far behind. The rest of the staff are there by eight thirty. That will include you.”

Will determined there and then that if Blake started work at seven thirty, so would he. Not that he was about to tell Blake that. He’d surprise him tomorrow morning. He glanced at his watch. “In that case, I might go home and get a good night’s sleep. Want to make a good impression on the boss on my first day.” He winked.

Will was dying to ask Blake if he would ever hire his services again. The previous night had been a revelation. He’d never expected to find so responsive a client, and it had shaken him to connect so intimately with Blake. Not that Blake would ever know that. Nor would Will ever tell his new boss the full extent of his experience with J’s. In fact, if last night was anything to go by, Will wasn’t sure he could do that again, despite his experience. ’Cause after one night with Blake, he was hungry for more, and the thought of being with someone else wrenched him hard.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Will was pleased to see Blake’s eyebrows shoot up when he caught sight of Will leaning against the glass door of the office when Blake arrived. Better yet was the approving look Blake gave him.

“I’m impressed.”

Will shrugged nonchalantly, secretly pleased. Blake unlocked the door and led him into the office. He paused at the door to the kitchen and turned to Will.

“I learned pretty fast that if I have the coffee ready and waiting, this bunch were much more enthusiastic about getting to work on time.” He winked. “Especially Ed. The man loves his caffeine.”

“You maligning’ me again, boss?”

Will turned at the sound of a gruff voice behind him. This was clearly Ed Fellows, Blake’s right hand man. Blake had given him the lowdown on all the team the previous night, so that Will wasn’t walking in blind. Ed looked like he was probably the same age as Will, maybe even younger, with green eyes and straggly brown hair. Will noted the dark swirl of a tattoo beneath Ed’s shirt. Blake had summed up Ed in three words—loyal, rough, committed—and he obviously trusted Ed implicitly with the smooth day-to-day running of the office. Will held out his hand to greet him and Ed shook it with a tight grip.

“Well, mate, I for one am bleedin’ delighted to ’ave you ’ere. Maybe now I can get on with me job and leave you to deal with ’is ’ighness over there.” Will had to smile. Ed’s manner was such a refreshing change to the stuffed shirts he’d worked with in his last job. The small publishing company had been a great first step. However, Will had seen where they could have made huge leaps forward in their business, but there’d been so much resistance it had been a daily slog to make even the slightest change. He already liked Ed’s way of speaking, and it was clear he and Blake had a great working relationship.

“Pleased to meet you, Ed. I’m Will Parkinson.”

Ed grinned. “Just do us all a favor, Will, and stick around. An’ don’t put up with any shit from the boss. He may crack the whip sometimes but underneath he’s about as ruthless as a kitten.” Ed winked at Blake who was shaking his head, but even Will could tell he wasn’t offended by Ed’s words. Ed watched Blake fill up the coffee machine. “Coffee not on yet, boss? You’re slippin’.” His eyes sparkled.

Blake emitted a low growl. “Any more of your lip and you can make it yourself.” The twitch of his lips gave him away, however. The machine started gurgling, the aroma of coffee already in the air. Blake beckoned to Will with a crooked finger. “Come see your office.” He gave Ed a brief nod and then led Will out of the kitchen and along the corridor to the office next to his. Will took a look around. It wasn’t huge, but then he didn’t need huge. There was an identical window to the one in Blake’s office, a wide desk in front of it and two chairs. Two filing cabinets stood against the wall, and beside them a door connecting the two offices. Next to the desk was a work station with a printer and scanner. Will smiled. This would do nicely.

“If you want to add some stuff from home to make it seem more like your own space, feel free,” Blake suggested. Will was way ahead of him. There was a space on his desk next to the computer monitor that was perfect for his peace lily, and he could put his potted gardenia on top of the filing cabinet. There was plenty of light for it.

Blake opened the connecting door to his office and waved Will through. “We have a team meeting every morning at nine. Not a long, drawn out affair, but a chance for everyone to give updates on progress.” He glanced at his watch. “Maybe it would be a good use of our time if we spent a while until then bringing you up to