Free CLEAN ROMANCE: Finding Peace (Christian Romance, Inspirational Romance, Second Chance Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Romance/Clean and Wholesome) by Grace Warren

Chapter
One
     
    Julie sat in Mr. Ladbrook’s office,
patiently waiting for him to call her in. She’d only ever been here once before
when she was being interviewed for a position in the company. That was over two
years ago.
    “Miss. Grey?” said the secretary looking
up at Julie. “Mr. Ladbrook will see you now.” She stood up, readjusted her
dress and took a deep breath in. She went into his office and slowly walked up
to his desk. John didn’t look up; he had his head buried in a mountain of files
and papers.
    “Just give me a sec Julie, I’ll be with
you soon. Go ahead and take a seat.”
    She did as he asked and sat down. She
watched him closely. She remembered the first time she saw him, she felt a
little intimidated. He was a stout man with one of those permanent expressions
of anger or annoyance on his face at all times. He had a big, bushy, brown and
grey moustache, like something from an old cowboy movie. But as she got to know
him, she began to grow fond of him. He had helped her out in so many ways over
the past two years. Whenever she panicked over a looming deadline he calmed her
nerves and helped her get it done. He was like a father figure to her. Now when
she looked at him all she saw was a big cuddly teddy bear. She liked the way he
twiddled his moustache as he worked. It always made her chuckle.
    “What’s so funny?” he asked, finally
looking up and acknowledging her presence.
    “Oh nothing.”
    He got up and stretched his back.
    “So Ms. Grey, as you know, it’s time for
your review and this is a special one.”
    He sat back down and put his feet on the
desk.
    “But first let me ask you, how do you
think you are doing?”
    “Yes, I think I’m doing very well. At
first when I started it was a little shaky, but with your help, I was able to
ride the wave and now I feel like…”
    “Like what? Go ahead, you can tell me
anything.”
    “Now I feel like I’m flying,” she said
with a big grin on her face.
    “Hmm,” replied John looking down at the
floor, deep in thought.
    The grin slowly slipped away and was
replaced with a feeling of anxiousness.
    Have I said too much? She thought. I
was too cocky, I knew it.
    “What is it?” she asked, “what’s wrong?”
    “You’re right, when you first came here
you were so shy and timid, but since then I’ve seen you grow into a confident
young woman. I’m so proud of the progress you’ve made Julie, I really am.
Furthermore, I agree with you about you flying. Everybody can see it. You’re
even picking up on mistakes made by some of our senior partners, which is
unheard of. That’s why I’ve come to a decision.”
    He got up and came around to the front of
the desk.
    “Julie, I’d like to offer you a position
as a Junior Partner. If you maintain this level of commitment and
determination, you should reach senior partner status in a few short years. I
have no doubt you can do it. Your promotion is effective immediately, that is,
if you’re interested. What do you think?”
    “I…I…I’m completely speechless, John. I
don’t know what to say.”
    “Then just say yes.”
    Her eyes began to well up with tears and
she felt like hugging him.
    “Yes.”
    She got up and shook his hand. They both
looked each other in the eye and John grabbed her
shoulder.         
    “You made it Julie, you’ve finally
escaped your past.”
    “Because of you, John, I couldn’t have
done it without you.”
    “It wasn’t me, it was Him.”
    John pointed to the small cross hanging
around his neck. They hugged and then she left, still drying her eyes as she
walked through the secretary’s office. Once she got back to her cubicle, she
received a text.
         Take the rest
of the day off. See Janine at 8:30 sharp. She’ll get you started.
    Julie pumped her fist in the air, grabbed
her stuff and left the office. Her life was turning around; she could feel it.
No sooner had she got home and put her briefcase down that her phone