“How did you end up with us? To go from bartending to a company as massive as ours is not a small thing.” He’s right. It’s not. Being assistant to the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company is a big deal.
“There was a visiting professor in my fourth year. He took a liking to me. He said he liked my drive and my out-of-the-box thinking. So when I graduated, he had a job waiting for me in his executive office. I worked my way up there, but I hit a bit of a ceiling.”
“Ceiling how?”
“I wasn’t going to be promoted any higher. I had the credentials to be an assistant, but at that level, I needed more schooling.”
“So what did you do?”
“I quit and found a job with a smaller company. One that needed me to jump in all over the place. It was the smartest thing I could have done.” His eyes widen when I name the company.
“They designed some of my favorite video games.” I hear the fanboy in his voice.
“Yeah. It was awesome working there. I realized I liked running around and doing a bit of everything. So once they went public, I moved on to another company. Then I did it again. Before I knew it, I had developed a bit of a reputation as an asset to up-and-coming companies.”
“So what made you sign on with us? We’re not small. We’re not bootstrapping anything.”
“Honestly? Your story. I was getting antsy at my last job. I felt like I’d done all I could. This job popped up the day I was looking. I don’t know what made me apply. Even though I have a ton of experience, I’ve never worked in a setting like this, and I didn’t have all the qualifications I’m sure the other applicants had. But the way he framed the ad, it somehow seemed like a fit. I didn’t expect much, honestly. So getting an interview was great.”
He laughs. “I remember those days. Ransom was a pissed-off bear for a week. He kept complaining about ass-kissers and stuffed shirts. Then one day, he came in smiling. Told us he’d hired a tiger. Seemed quite pleased. I always wondered what you said in that interview.”
I smile, remembering the attitude I walked into Ransom’s office with that day. I had nothing to lose, so I didn’t try to pretty up my words or mask my true personality like I have in other interviews. I went in there balls-to-the-wall. “I didn’t think I’d get the job, so I did my research, and I told him some things he wasn’t doing very well.”
“Told him?” he asks, lips twitching.
“Well, I told him he was a dumbass for going with some of the suppliers he was working with. We ended up talking for a couple of hours. He gave me the job on the spot.”
“No wonder he hired you. We all knew it was a good fit the next day. That whole chair thing convinced us.”
“Seriously? How?”
“All of his previous assistants were afraid of him. No way would they demand anything from him. Which is stupid. We’ve never been a company to pinch pennies...at least not once we had some money.”
“I didn’t really think of it that way. I just knew I’d be working a lot, and the chairs you guys had were shit.”
“They were,” he says with feeling.
“That’s the day, you know,” I say, studying him over the lip of my beer bottle.
“The day what?”
“The day I fell for you. You and Jonas were playing with the chair.”
His ears redden adorably. I wish his hair had been shorter all this time. I might have caught onto that tell before. The only time I would have had the chance was when he had the mohawk, but every time I got near, all I could think about was what it would feel like against my inner thighs.
“Yeah, I remember. I remember how sexy you were. You leaned down while I was sitting in it, and I got a view down your shirt.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded, before the laughter bursts out of me. “That’s why you fell out of the chair?”
“Well, yeah. They were right there,” he says, putting a hand in front of his face. “It’s like they jumped out and hit me in the face.
I dissolve into giggles. He rolls his eyes, watching me with a grin on his face, then stands.
“Be right back. Just heading to the washroom. Maybe when I get back, you’ll have gotten yourself together?”
“Not likely,” I say through my laughter. He groans but presses a quick kiss to my palm before sliding out of the booth. I curl my fingers over the spot he kissed and watch him walk across the room and disappear down the hallway. Everything is tingly.
Gray fabric blocks my view. Annoyed, I look up into the bloodshot eyes of one of the suits. He’s leering at me, licking his lips. I peek around him, spotting his buddy still at their table, eyes on me.
