Arista Simmons glides into the room with a smile on her face, one so bright it can light up the whole big space around her—and it does. She's being trailed by a young girl who looks very much like her, a pretty pink ribbon in her bright red hair, cute freckles winking as she climbs up into a nearby chair and prepares herself with a pose that most business moguls only wish they could pull off with so much poise.
Arista's hand rests gently on the girl's head as she smiles down at her. "I hope you don't mind that I brought my daughter with me. Her father's busy today, and he needed a break, so she's moonlighting as my little intern."
"I'm not little," the girl huffs, pulling a pen from her mother's briefcase nearby. "I'll take the meeting notes."
"She's a professional already," I say with a chuckle, watching in awe as she pulls out a notepad next, and legitimately puts the pen to paper, looking to me like she's waiting for something.
"Ari, sweetie, why don't you?—"
"Arista? Mr. Kobayashi has arrived, and?—"
The receptionist barely has time to stick her head in the door before a man with striking features strides right around her and throws himself urgently into a seat, his knee bouncing as he glances up at Arista first, then me.
First impression: anxious mess.
His eyes are hard, and he looks like he's got very little patience for whatever this is right now. "I've got a half an hour before I have to be across town for an interview with theDaily Times,and the drive in this traffic will take at least twenty minutes. Let's make this fast."
Oh, great, a man who's already running late and making it everyone's fault but his own.
I hate men who won't accept responsibility and own their own problems.
And now, it appears I'll be working for one.
Second impression: asshole.
Arista sits down next to him and leans in for a hug, which the man accepts with a friendly smile. "Kai, how nice to see you. I'm glad you're settling in okay?—"
"Arista," he grunts, crossing his arms as she pulls back. "We don't have time to shoot the breeze now. Maybe later, after I'vebeen worked to the bone by kNight Entertainment, we can catch up?—"
"Are you still mad because they're making you do remedial stuff?"
She's biting back a smile, and that makes me want to laugh, too. If she finds him ridiculous, then I'm not the only one who thinks his whole attitude pretty much sucks.
But I can't start laughing at my new boss before I even get the job.
So I wait, and I look at my lap, and pick at my nails, until a folder slides in front of me with a pen attached to the top.
"Kai, meet Denali Stone. She's going to be your new assistant."
"Excuse me?"
"Um, what?" Assistant? "I'm a social media manager." Not a personal assistant. "I don't know?—"
"I don't have any social media management work right now, but I do have dire need for an assistant for Kai. He's been managing his own schedule for a week now, since his last assistant?—"
"I didn't run her off, and don't you start with me, Rizzo," the man snaps, his brows furrowed. "It's not my fault she wanted to slack off and take a two hour lunch. It cost me an endorsement."
He soundsdelightful.
Arista waves off his protests and continues like he's not even in the room. "Kai is a bit of a fierce taskmaster, and he expects a lot from his team, but as long as you're willing to give it a hundred and ten percent, I think you'll be okay?—"
"I don't know the first thing about being an assistant?—"
"It's not hard," she says, nudging the folder at me as Kai scowls at her. "Kai just needs someone to manage his schedule, see that he gets everywhere on time, and arrange things like transportation, take calls, and field requests and companyrequired appearances." She nudges the folder over again, and this time, I take it and flip the first page open with a sigh.
And then I start to read through the sections of what appears to be a contract as Kai Kobayashi starts to throw a man-fit.
"You want me to take on an untried assistant in what is arguably the height of my busy season, and what—train her myself? Arista, I expected your company to have a higher level of competence than this?—"
