“That is your job,” he responds mundanely, still focusingon his cell phone while I sit down on the chair in front of his desk.
I stay composed, flip open my laptop, and list his morning meetings. He doesn’t respond. When I glance up, he’s staring at me with an unreadable expression.
“Everything okay?”
“You left a protein bar on my desk?” I could swear there is a hint of being impressed in his voice.
One point for me.
I shrug. “Yeah, I saw a note about that. I assumed you were at the gym or something.”
He inspects me warily. “Huh, the other assistant never thought of that.”
“I think you mean assistants, plural.” I smile tightly at him.
His jaw pulses. “Next time, make it peanut butter. I hate berries.”
Point down for me.
He wants to make it difficult for me. I sense it. "Sure," I say. "Great weather. The bagels in the break room are excellent. I can bring you one, unless that disrupts your protein regimen. There'll be cake later—someone has a birthday."
“Are you always cheery this early?”
“Yes. Have to start your morning right. Plus, my hockey team won last night against Buffalo, so I’m naturally in a good mood.”
Julian sinks back in his chair, and his eyes probe into me as he stretches his fingers. “Tell me, anything I need to know about you that Charles hasn’t mentioned? He sings your praises.”
“Well, you’ve seen me in meetings, so my work should speak for itself,” I justify.
“I mean outside of the office.”
His sentence catches me off guard. My mind scrambles—what does he mean? "Uh, I’m finishing my master’s degree?" My drawn-out voice betrays confusion and anxiety, unsure if that's what I should say.
“What else?”
I smirk as my snark slips out, though I meant to keep it in today. “Oh gee, you want to play the get-to-know-you game?”
The corner of his mouth lifts, and he splays his hands out while his elbows rest on the chair arms. “You are the one handling my day.”
“Fine.” I square my shoulders and close my laptop, unsure how long this will last. “Small town background. Close-knit family. Hate sushi. Anything else relevant for my job?”
“Nope. Now, continue with the meeting schedule.”
“Don’t you want to share any tidbits of your life? I’m sure your life is oh so festive outside of these walls,” I challenge with a fake smile.
His jaw sweeps side to side as his gaze pierces me. “No need. It’s my company.”
I study him for a second before a sound vibrates under my breath. “Well… let’s continue. You have a call at 10 AM with London. Keep the time difference in mind, so there is no pushing back meetings today. At 11 AM, you have a marketing meeting, they want to give a presentation, but I told them to cut it to ten minutes so you don’t have to sit through the thirty minutes they had planned.”
He interrupts. “Don’t you need your laptop for this?”
With purpose, I thrum my fingers on the closed laptop. “Or I know your schedule, and we are good to go.” I throw him a contrite smirk.
Julian seems surprised by me. Maybe he expected anassistant to be nervous or to make mistakes, but I’m calm and precise around him. I notice his brows lift slightly, a flicker of curiosity in his gaze.
He clears his throat and adjusts in his seat. “That’s, uh, refreshing.” There is a struggle in giving the compliment.
“Shall we continue?” I say, not waiting for his answer. “I’ve cleaned up your inbox that sat unattended fora while. Assistants are helpful for that. I’m sure you get it.”
