"And the second reason?"
"My publishing house staff is entirely made up of women. Our biggest departments are searching for the next E. L. James submission or looking for sex toys to use with our app. Which translates into a horny workforce. I rarely interact with them for these reasons."
She tilts her head and clarifies, "The reasons being concise brutal honesty and fear of a sexual harassment lawsuit?"
I nod.
"You're wise to tread lightly. Your red-flag masculinity could definitely trigger someone. I cannot count the number of times I came to the defense of my four brothers because some stupid twat was triggered for no reason other than their feelings were activated when approached by a manly man who was simply being a young man. You can relax on that point where I'm concerned. You're not going to trigger me, and I'm not going to falsely accuse you."
I clear my throat again, not sure how to respond to the 'falsely accuse' remark. Warily, I opt for being gracious. "Thank you."
Then continue my explanation. "This is why in addition to handling my calendar, my P. A. is my surrogate and communicates directly with my staff on my behalf. Your day will begin with a meeting of the heads of each department in your office to discuss the issues from the last meeting and gather the new ones. Then we'll spend time on them."
"Thus, the size of my office as well as the sofa and soft chairs." She nods, understanding now. "Do we sing Kum Ba Ya?"
I laugh with her, "It's entirely up to you how you choose to conduct my business with them."
She nods, "It won't be chummy under my watch. So, who's the enemy or enemies I need to be aware of?"
My eyes narrow. Samaera is sharp. "Janet Brooks, my C.O.O."
"Why? Briefly. Ten words will do."
I smirk.Concise too."Inherited. Resentful. Can't fire." I count the words on my fingers. "Four is all I need."
Her eyebrows raise. "What do you mean you can't fire her? You're her boss."
"My father was her boss first, and her contract is written airtight. Trust me. I had my lawyers look over it."
"Hmm, so you're stuck with her, and she knows it."
I nod.
"Well, that's why she's the enemy. She has no incentive not to be." She smiles at me, "I'll work on that."
Then she says, "Okay. Your turn. Fire away."
10
Samaera
"Dixie Doodle. Elaborate."
His smirk is the epitome of cute. Damn, those dimples and what they do to me. God, this is going to be the hardest job I've ever held —bar none. Speaking of triggering, simply being in the same room with Bastian triggers every nerve ending in my body, but that's not harassment. That's just straight-up horniness.
I swallow my fuckstration and answer with complete honesty.
"I'm from Alabama. Grew up on a small family farm. I don't know if you know anything about roosters, but they can be mean as hell. Very aggressive. After a clumsy accident, not much different than the spill I took a little while ago, I became the Alpha Roo. Our rooster, Mr. Wonderful, never attacked me again. Therefore, it became my job to steal the eggs from our hens." I lick my lips, preparing them, and continue. "Whenever I went into the pen, I would crow to announce my presence." I cock my head back and, "Er, er, errr."
He's caught completely off guard by my impromptu impersonation and bursts out laughing. A big uncontrolled, unguarded, authentic, "HAHAHA!" Complete with tears in his eyes, and when he catches his breath, he says, "Goddamn, that's funny!"
Chuckling with him, I elaborate. "Cock-a-doodle-doo wasn't an appropriate nickname for a sweet, southern girl, but Doodle-do stuck. For obvious reasons, I added Dixie and dropped the do as my karaoke nickname."
"And Dixie Doodle's star was born." He grins, "Why New York?"
"Really? You have to ask that? Look around. New York has everything. Except for a sunset. And a bazillion stars in the sky. And peace and quiet after midnight. And strangers who smile on the street passing by." My smile fades a little with my memories of just a few of the things I miss from home, "I ran away to New York City chasing a dream, seeking fame and fortune.
"Elaborate."
