“Could that be because you lost another assistant?” He crosses his arms and gives me a stern look.
I shrug. “Jess wasn’t doing well on her trial, and I don’t have time to show her things.”
“You mean Jill? Her name was Jill,” he corrects me with a bit of disapproval in his tone.
I hold up a cup to see if he wants a drink, but he declines with a gentle shake of his head. “Jess, Jill, they’re all the same.”
He rubs his face with his palms, and he appears exasperated, which often happens around me. “They’re not, and now you're without an assistant.”
“I’ll just have HR send me another.”They have a few agencies on their speed dial for temps if needed. Although they mentioned that one agency is no longer willing to collaborate.
“My retirement is upon us,” he reminds me.
We talked about it the other week and set a plan in motionfor the transition. There will be a battle over who will be granted his role, but I’m good at sensing snakes and vipers.
I hit the button on my machine to drown out my sigh. In truth, I’ll miss him. He is more of a father figure than my own. But as much as I breathe work, I understand why he wants to enjoy life beyond the office. He deserves it.
Coordinating a smooth transition is leaving me with a headache.
“Listen, I’ve accepted that you’re leaving, but let’s not throw it in my face every time we see one another. Especially with some of the deals we have in the pipeline. Unless this is your way of telling me that you’ll name your new sailboat after me.”My mouth twitches, wanting to smirk due to my satisfying effort at humor.
“I only brought it up because I have had a few meetings today, as we agreed. Slowly trickling the information to our key players.” He snaps his fingers and grins from ear to ear. “Let’s talk about your assistant.”
I bring my small Italian-sized cup of espresso to my lips and take a quick sip, then approach the couch across from him. “I don’t have one. I’m waiting for Linda to return.” I settle in opposite Charles, crossing one leg over the other and leaning into the leather, getting comfortable. Our talks are always smooth and casual. Probably because he’s damn good at his job—there’s no need to chase or question his decisions. He’s been with me from the start.
He rolls his eyes. “Linda? The assistant from four months ago?”
I lift a shoulder. “She was actually good at her job. What happened to her, anyhow? I don’t remember firing her.”
“She went on maternity leave, and since our company has great benefits for our employees, it means she won’t be coming back for at least another six months, and she alreadyexpressed that she would only come back if she had a different role… away from you.”
I set my cup on the coffee table as I flex my neck side to side. “Someone is being a little honest today.”
“I need to keep you in check. As I was saying, I’ve been having meetings to inform everyone, and today I spoke with Savannah.”
My fixed expression almost falters. I don’t enjoy that woman. She’s too young, sassy, good at her job, and always tucks a honey-brown tendril behind her ear. I shouldn’t notice that. Her name is Savannah May; that chimes like a bell. Chiming melodies are for happy people. I’m not a fan of those.
“How did she take the news?” I play it cool, return to my position, and extend my arm across the back of the sofa.
“Okay. I’ll miss having her as my extra eyes to keep me in order.”
I scoff. “Tell me about it. If we hired real talent on the assistant front, someone would’ve brought me my 10 AM power bar by now. This morning’s treadmill run was tough." I always get up early to exercise before conquering the day.
“Well, that will be solved soon. As Chief of Operations, I’m ensuring you have an assistant who will stick around after I’m gone.”
I wait patiently. He’s building up to something, I can feel it.
“That’s why I told Savannah that she is your new assistant.”
My brows immediately rise from being zapped by shocking news. “What now?” I grit out.
“Effective tomorrow, she’s your new assistant. She set up a strong system so I can have someone else. You? Well, youwill drown if we don’t get you help. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this earlier. You’ve seen her, she’s sharp.”
Yes, I’ve fucking seen her. That’s the whole damn problem with his solution that he feels is wise.
I scratch my cheek, weighing my thoughts. There are a dozen other options in the company for her. Finance, import & export, legal, clients from every industry, and I’m the winner on the list? "As CEO, I do have final say. What if I have concerns about her fit as my assistant?"
He gives me an unimpressed look for my hypotheticals. “Well, her contract states we can assign her to a new role. Letting her go would be a bad move because she’s talented, and also, it would be an unlawful termination. Of course, you are well aware of that.”
