Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Well, sure, I know that. But you can’t just bypass my assistant. There’s a protocol here, a way we do things—”
He was blustering now. I let him ramble until he ran out of steam.
“Mr. Frazier, you have an obligation to meet with your primary investor. And it’s my job to facilitate that. All the hemming and hawing in the world isn’t going to dissuade me.”
“I won’t be pressured into scheduling a meeting.” He was trying to sound authoritative, but I caught the nervous edge beneath his bluster. “I’m a very busy man, and frankly, I don’t have time for this conversation.”
I sensed he was about to hang up so I spoke quickly. “If you don’t have time for a phone call, I can’t imagine it will be convenient when I show up at your office in person.”
“What?”
I smiled at the shock in his voice. He was starting to realize he’d underestimated me. “The last thing I want is to inconvenience you, Mr. Frazier,” I said, keeping my tone professional. “So I hope we can resolve this now. It might not reflect well on you if I have to make an in-person visit. The other executives at your firm, and Mr. Cooper, might question why such lengths were necessary just to schedule a simple meeting.”
Dropping the CEO’s name was a calculated move, a pointed threat wrapped in politeness. I was walking a fine line, and I hoped Simon wouldn’t think I’d overstepped to accomplish this task.
“No—don’t come here.” The bluster had evaporated, replaced by resignation. “Just… give me a moment to pull up my calendar. We’ll get something scheduled for next week.”
I leaned back in my chair, listening to the clatter of a keyboard on his end. Five minutes later, we had a meeting confirmed. I updated Simon’s calendar immediately, a small thrill of satisfaction warming my chest.
The rest of the day flew by and before I knew it, it was five o’clock. While I knew my hours would fluctuate based on Simon’s needs, he’d told me this morning I could leave at five today.
Before shutting down my computer, I headed to his office to give him a rundown of everything I’d accomplished.
“Come in,” he called when I knocked on his closed door.
He was behind his desk, jacket off, sleeves rolled up again—exposing those forearms that had no business being so attractive. I stepped inside and launched into my summary, trying to keep my focus on the information I was delivering rather than the way his green eyes held mine.
His face remained impassive as I worked through the list, until I reached the end. “And if you check your calendar, you’ll see I’ve scheduled a meeting with Harry Frazier for next week.”
Finally, a reaction. His eyebrows lifted, and something flickered through his eyes—too quick to identify, but I wanted to believe it was surprise. Maybe even a hint of being impressed.
“You completed everything I assigned you today?” he asked, as if I hadn’t just rattled off the entire list.
“Yes. Of course.”
This time, the surprise was unmistakable. Had he really expected me to fail on my very first day? Yeah, I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Good,” he said, glancing down and shuffling papers on his desk.
I told myself not to be disappointed by the lack of praise. I’d known him less than ten hours, but I could already tell Simon Powers wasn’t the type for abundant positive reinforcement. He probably doled out compliments like they cost him money.
That was fine. I didn’t need a gold star for doing my job. I’d operate on the assumption that if he wasn’t complaining, he was satisfied.
“Is there anything else you need today?” I asked.
“No. You can go.”
A clear dismissal. I turned toward the door but abruptly paused with my hand on the knob. I glanced back and caught Simon watching me. Something in his gaze made my pulse skip—an intensity I couldn’t quite read.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I said, meaning it. “For the job. I’m not sure what Kurt said to convince you to hire me, but I won’t let you down.”
His expression didn’t change, but he gave a single, short nod.
As I turned to leave, my eyes caught on the plastic container still sitting on the corner of his desk. It was empty. Every single cookie, gone.
I walked out of the office with satisfaction blooming in my chest, along with a good dose of happiness, which was something I hadn’t felt in months. My new boss wasn’t warm and fuzzy, not by any stretch of the imagination. He was demanding and gruff and clearly impossible to please. But he’d eaten all my cookies and seemed to enjoy them, and he hadn’t asked me to compromise my integrity.
For now, that was more than enough.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Simon
“Good morning!”
In the past two weeks, I’d started to get used to Raina’s chipper greetings. At first, they’d annoyed me to no end. I was never chipper myself, and that was especially true first thing in the morning.