And when she extended her hand to shake on it, I slipped my palm against hers, knowing damn good and well I’d never have to cash in on this insane, tumultuous, ridiculous promise.
7
Trey
Istood by Leslie’s new desk, perched right outside my office, as the elevator doors dinged open. I heard her heels first, plucking against the carpet as she strode down the hallway. With her black pencil skirt clinging to her hips and her ruffled blouse attempting—and failing—to detract from her prominent bosom echoed sentiments of a phrase that had rattled around in my mind for days.
It was a big mistake to hire her.
Somehow she looked even sexier than the last time I’d seen her. With her perched outside my office in those fucking tight-ass clothes of hers, I knew I was in for multiple practices of the idea of self-control. Nevertheless, I was determined to make this as professional of a setting as possible for her.
So, I forced myself not to drink her body in with my eyes. “Good morning, Leslie.”
She set her stuff down on top of the desk. “Good morning, Mr. Cataline.”
I almost growled at the sound of my name on the tip of her tongue. “I was able to pull some strings and get you all set up with your technology. You’ll be able to take this laptop home with you regularly, which will enable you to work from your house if your daughter is ever sick. Or, if there’s a teacher workday at school or something and you don’t have a babysitter.”
She sipped her coffee. “I appreciate that. Thank you so much.”
I pointed at the headset. “I’ve also got you one of these to use with your phone. My last secretary loved having one because she didn’t constantly have to keep propping the phone against her shoulder that way. And right there, in the middle, is your work phone. I haven’t set it up, but the number is written down on the back. Only use it for work phone calls. My home number, cell number, and office number are already pre-programmed into it. You can also sync it with your laptop so our schedules can be seen across the board.”
She paused. “Our schedules are synced?”
I nodded, clasping my hands behind my back. “Yes, they are. That’s so if you make shifts in my schedule, or you need to shift your schedule, we both see it in real-time and can stay up-to-date on things. It’ll also help when you need to schedule some vacation time. All I ask is that you schedule out two weeks in advance. Other than that, just put it on the schedule, and I’ll keep track of how many vacation and medical leave days you have left.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Wow, that’s efficient. Thank you for that.”
I nodded curtly. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll give you the quick guided tour of the other seventeen levels below us. They each serve a function, and being my secretary means you’ll have to make yourself familiar with all of them to be just as efficient as the tech I’ve just shown you.”
“Lead the way, then, Mr. Cataline.”
I started for the elevator. “You’ll work closely with floors three through eight, but that’s because most of the office spaces are there. If you need to transfer a call, they’ll be on one of those levels.”
“That makes sense.”
I slipped inside the elevator, feeling her stand beside me. “And before I forget, once you open your laptop at your desk, you’ll find a numbered sheet of paper with some names on it. Those are the transfer numbers for those offices. There’s a column with their titles, names, office numbers, and extension numbers to transfer a call from your phone. Keep it somewhere safe until you have it memorized.”
Relief washed over her face. “Wonderful, that’ll make things a bit easier than simply punching in random numbers and hoping one sticks.”
The satisfaction that washed over her face at my words was the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my life, and I enjoyed the fact that she wore her emotions on her face. Her eyes were expressive, and she had no idea how to mute the way her face contorted with some of the things I said, which meant I would never have to try to decipher her like most women I’d come across.
I cleared my throat. “Now, the floor directly below us—”
“Shit,” Leslie hissed.
I blinked. “Something the matter?”
She quickly put her phone away. “No, my apologies.”
The elevator doors opened. “If I can’t depend on you to pay attention through a basic tour, then we are going to have issues with you going forward. I need someone who’s attentive, someone who’s punctual, and someone who understands that when you’re at work, you’re at work. Unless, of course, it’s an emergency.”
She quipped back quickly, too. And in front of some of my staff. “Well, how would you know if it’s an emergency if you don’t even bother asking what’s going on?”
I felt all eyes on me as the elevator doors closed behind us. I glared down at her and watched as she squared her shoulders, digging her heels into the mound she had just created for herself. I drew in a sobering breath, unsure of whether or not to be turned on. I’d never had someone mouth off at me like that, and while the abrasiveness was shocking, I enjoyed her spunk a lot.
However, people were watching. “Let me put it this way: unless there’s something on the phone you can share with the class, keep your phone out of your hands when you’re on company time. Understood?”
Then, she smirked. “How will you get in touch with me, though, if I’m always working and don’t have my phone?”
