“That,” I say as I march back into my office. “Was my new assistant forgetting who’s boss!”
“Ah, let me guess,” Diego says as he follows me. “She feels liberated after her night of ecstasy in the Velvet Lounge, and now she thinks she’s queen of the world.”
“Something like that,” I mutter while clicking through emails that I’m not actually paying attention to. My irritation is running so high I can’t even think straight, which only irritates me more.
Diego takes a seat in front of me. “Sounds to me like you’ve met your match,” he says with a snicker, and I shoot a laser glare at him.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
But Diego knows me well. “Come on, brother. We both know that personal assistants mean more to you than just a glorified secretary.”
“She has two jobs,” I grit out as I lean forward to get in his face as much as my giant desk will allow. “To make my day today run smoothly, all while making me look good in front of everyone else and to meet my other needs in the after hours.”
“And from the looks of it, she’s doing both. And well, from what I’ve heard.”
My eyes widen, flaring around the edges. “From what you’ve heard?”
“Calm down, boss. You know people talk about you. They’re supposed to. And the word right now is that your new AIPA is hot. The hottest yet. Which is only a flex for you. I actually came in here to congratulate you because I think you finally nailed it.”
“Okay, first off,” I start in. I’ve been winding up my pitching arm since Diego opened his mouth, and I’m ready to level him. “You and everyone else here should know better than to be talking about me behind my back. And second…” I pause. I actually stumble over my words because I suddenly find myself tongue-tied when I try to talk about her. Diego arches an eyebrow and waits for me to continue. It’s a challenge that pisses me off, and I gladly accept. “She might be hot, and good at her job; every part of her job. But she’s mouthy as fuck and spicy as hell.”
“Sounds fun,” he says with a shit-eating grin. “I’d love to have an assistant with that kind of moxie. If mine are smart, they’re boring. If they are hot, they break the rules. I feel like you’ve got the whole package here. It’s hard finding a woman who will followallthe rules.”
“Yeah, well, this one likes to bend them all. She’s gotten a little liberated since last night, and that’s not going to fly,” I say, biting my lips as I squint out the window.
“Is it finally happening?” he asks, adding another layer of annoyance to my already sour mood.
“Is what finally happening?” I ask.
“Did you find someone who might have you breaking your own rules?” he asks.
“The rule that you never have and never will let emotions get involved.”
That snaps my attention back over to him. “The only emotion involved is fury that this woman has the audacity to think she’s special.”
“So she’s not,” he says.
“Not what?”
“Special. Different. Doing something inside you no one else has before. Something you’ve never allowed before and now…have no say in the matter because that’s what women do.”
“Not to me, they don’t,” I say with solidity. “I’m not looking for…that.”
I can’t even say the words. Relationships, love, something serious. I won’t say any of those words because they aren’t in my vocabulary as far as I am concerned. I’ve never felt any of those things, and I never will. But obviously, as a man, I have needs. Which is why I have rules.
“I might be going out on a limb here,” Diego says.
“Limbs break,” I remind him. But he goes on, as Diego does.
“Have you ever considered why you have a personal assistant?”
My face screws into a look of confusion and annoyance. “Because I am running one of the most elite hotels in the fucking state, and I require employees to meet my needs?”
“You have multiple secretaries. Accountants. HR. Me. Not to mention Jocelyn, who pretty much covers all the things those people don’t, from events to aesthetics to advertising,” Diego presses, and I’m not loving it.
“You know as well as I do that having a personal assistant is detrimental to my appearance and reputation,” I say sharply.
“Nothing else? Not emotional support of any kind? Needs met perhaps?”
