She spun around slowly to face me. “This is my office? I’m sorry for the unprofessional reaction, but oh my God! All of this is my office?”
I tittered quietly. “Yes, all of this is your office. Please don’t apologize for your reaction. As the president, you will spend a lot of time here and traveling. It is important that you are comfortable in the place that you will spend a lot of time in.” I walked over to the part of her office that housed her desk and other professional attributes. “This is where you’ll do a majority of your business as you might have assumed.”
I walked over to the closet that was on the right wall, then opened it. “You can place your things in here if you like. There is also a lock for this as well in your desk drawer.”
She walked over and placed her things inside of the closet. I probably should have backed up because I was all in her personal space. Once she had everything situated, her head turned to me, a smirk arose on her gorgeous face, then she asked, “What’s next?”
Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back into a low bun. Tresses hung down on the sides of her face. She smelled amazing.
“Over there is your lounge area with an eating area, couch, recliner, and television. Through the door back there is your personal bathroom. Go take a look,” I told her.
She gave me a soft smile before she sashayed that way. It was another prime opportunity to watch her ass jiggle. Yeah, I was a CEO, but I was still a man who liked fat asses. Ms. Plates had a nice ass.
“Oh, it’s a full bathroom with a shower,” she said after she stepped into the bathroom. “How much time do you really spend here? I’ll be here long enough to need to take showers?”
I laughed because her facial expression was tore the fuck up. “I’ll put it like this. When this was my office, I took showers and slept in that recliner several nights.”
She smiled wide. “Duly noted. Where to next?”
I loved that she took everything in stride. “Were you made aware that you have a temporary assistant? You are free to replace her if you would like.”
“Yes, I was told that. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that just yet. Once I see how we work together and vibe, I’ll make that decision,” she said.
I nodded. “That’s understandable. Well, let’s go meet your assistant.”
I extended my arm toward the door. She walked toward me with her eyes on me. Now my smirk showcased on my face. Her assistant’s office was across the hall from hers. I knocked on the doorframe of the opened door.
She glanced up from her computer screen with a smile before she stood, then walked around her desk. “Good morning, Mr. Brand.” Her attention turned to Jubilae. “Ms. Plates, I presume. My name is Zora McClain, your executive assistant.”
Jubilae smiled warmly. “It is nice to meet you, Zora. I look forward to working with you.”
“Same. I understand that this position is temporary, with no guarantee of permanent placement. If you plan to replace me, please give me at least a two weeks’ notice, as I would if I planned to leave,” Zora blurted.
My eyes bucked a little because what the hell was that shit. I understood her sentiment, but that was not how it should fucking be addressed. I started to speak, but Jubilae held her finger up. When her eyes connected with mine, I knew to let her handle this.
“Ms. McClain, today is my first day, and I will assume it is yours as well. The tone in this office, on this floor, will always be one of professionalism. While I respect your stance and request, the manner in how you addressed it has raised several red flags.” The corners of Jubilae’s lips curved up. “Per your request, please accept this as your two-week notice.”
Dick, don’t get hard. Dick, don’t get hard.See, I knew that gentle voice could boss up when it needed to. It was important to set the tone from the very beginning, or these folks would play with you in the most disrespectful ways.
Zora’s eyes bulged. “Oh no, Ms. Plates! I just want to let you know that I wanted you to be considerate because a lot of employers are not.”
Jubilae nodded. “Understood, and I can do that for you. I’ll contact your agency to let them know. I don’t think you are a fit here. Robert, where do we need to be now?”
“Follow me, please.” I had to walk out of the office expeditiously because my dick was about to embarrass the hell out of me. I snickered when I heard Zora gripe about whether Jubilae was serious. “Let me introduce you to my assistant. She has a little more sense. She’s been with me since I was president.”
Jubilae giggled. “I pray so because that back there was not it. I can’t see myself tolerating that kind of foolishness. Is it rude to have her reach out to her agency to get in touch with me?”
I glanced at her to gauge her seriousness. When I realized that she was serious, I burst into laughter. “I can see I hired the right person. You’re going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you?”
Her brow rose. A beautiful smile blessed her face. “If you’re lucky.”
When she winked, I almost lost my mind. I wanted to ask her if I should have taken that wink as flirtation, but I decided against it. There would come a day that I would be able to ask. For the rest of the morning, I showed her around our floor, introduced her to our chefs, and took her to other floors for important introductions. Her afternoon was filled with meetings with me and stakeholders for introductions. She had a busy first day, but I expected nothing less.
A Few Nights Later . . .
Family Dinner
It was family dinner night at the Verses’ house. I loved these evenings that Simonette encouraged us to do every other week. It was ironic that before Daylen, she did everything that she could to stay away from family elements. Now my baby girl craved her family. I knew enough to know that it was because now she had a full family unit that loved and accepted her.
