“Yep.” He shuffles papers, eyes a drawer, as casual as someone bringing birthday cake to the staff room. “He’s simply misunderstood. You’ll be fine.” I just blink at him. He looks up. “You two know each other. You’ve been in plenty of meetings with him.”
That is probably one of the problems in this new situation. I’ve witnessed the way he pretends to fix his expensive cufflinks right after he turns the conversation in his favor without giving anyone a mere glance, including me.Despite my tenure of two years here, he has rarely had to speak to me in relation to work. The few times his eyes have set on me, they felt challenging, dangerous even. I’ve always had a tiny piece of curiosity about what he was thinking about on the rare occasion when he decided I should grace his vision.
The workday will be like talking to a wall. I’m sure his conversations outside of work probably wouldn’t be thrilling, either. More straight to the point and an undressed kind of soul… Why did that even come to mind?
Get it together, Savannah.
Charles seems overly confident right now about the news he just delivered.
I frown in defeat. “Of course. I’ll miss being your PA, but better sooner than later to change positions before you leave.”
He sticks his thumb into the air. “Exactly. That’s the mindset you should have. But really, you are the one I trust, and we need to get someone in now to help Julian. He’ll drown, otherwise. The man is pure strategy and only measures outcomes in terms of 100% success. The problem is that he needs someone to keep him in check and ensure all departments use his time wisely. Schedules, reviewing presentations, all that stuff.”
“I understand.”
“Good.”He studies me for a few ticks with his head tipping to the side, studying me, and he softens after a deep breath. “You have wit, and more importantly, backbone. I doubt you will be scared away like the others. Not to mention, it will be a great experience for your resume. People would envy you. I want to leave comfortably, believing that Julian has calmed and has a stable workday that doesn’t involve a lack of an assistant.”
Simply, I nod my head in agreement and attempt to smile. He isn’t wrong about all those things, and I don’t want to let him down. Challenges are part of professional development, right?
Still, when I leave his office with my shoulders sagging, I dread what my future employment looks like.
Dropping into my desk chair, I reach for my jar filled with fruit snack gummies. I don’t care if it’s the food choice of a kindergartener; they’re good, and the box says they're made with real fruit juice. I rip open the little packet and throw a purple grape-flavored gummy into my mouth.
I do my best to let go of the feelings of my career demise, because nobody survives him.
But in that moment, it takes over. My confidence.
I have zero tolerance for arrogance, and there was even that time we got stuck in an elevator together for a minute. I didn’t fawn over his presence as other women do, even if it was a tiny bit tempting. That feeling is always ruined, anyhow, when he does something borderline despicable.
I will focus forward, remain calm with a smile the sun would be jealous of, and take no prisoners on my insistence that I will survive him. That backbone that Charles has seen is very true.
I accept this experiment, and it isn’t because my student debt will be paid off.
I’m doing this because I’m not a quitter.
Instead, I’ll challenge him.
I won’t falter.
2
JULIAN
Islam my laptop screen down, completely frustrated. I don’t understand how to read the calendar; the assistant had some color-coding system that gives a freaking rainbow a run for its money.
This is the last thing I need. We are restructuring, with many internal changes on the horizon, and I need everyone on their A-game. The previous assistant was too slow, and I didn’t appreciate her inability to make a proper espresso, nor did I need to tell her what to order for my lunches. She should have been ahead of the curve.
I twirl on my office chair so I can soak in the view of the skyline. This company is important to me. I didn’t break away from my father’s claws only to fail. Succeeding is the only option. My thoughts drift briefly to him. We don’t speak anymore, his lacking qualities as a father and husband made sure of that. Before I can dwell on it, I shove the memory aside. Now isn’t the time to dig up old wounds. Let’s just say he gave me one more reason to start my own company and excel. My sister follows the same policy. We both cut tieswith him. Never looked back. Now, I focus on what really matters: running my billion-dollar empire.
Hence, I have limited tolerance for assistants who do not meet expectations.
A sudden knock interrupts my train of thought, snapping me back to the office.
“You look like you could use a break.” Charles smiles as he strides into my office. The man doesn’t have a single ounce of stress in his body, and that alone is irritating as hell, but he’s a good guy, so I can’t fault him for it.
“Nah, simply not caffeinated enough.”
He sits on my dark leather couch. I leave my desk, cross the room, and head to the coffee machine on a side table by the wall.
