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“Are you ready?” he asks.
He flashes me a smile that makes my knees tremble. Thank god I’m sitting down.
I nod. I'm still not exactly sure why he needs me to go with him, but I know better than to air my confusion in front of him. He fumbles on the back seat and retrieves a thick folder, tossing it on my lap. I glance down at what I’m holding, a shiver of excitement racing through me. Not many people would get excited about statistics and numbers, but I’m definitely one of them. Forget flowers and chocolates; hand me a folder full of statistics, and I’m all yours.
I don't know much about the merger between Trung and Einswing because as a junior assistant, the closest I've come to seeing the file is when I'm entering information into my computer. I’d been following it in the media, so I knew enough to know that the amount of money this merger was going to bring to the company would come close to matching every other client combined.
This merger was huge, and I’m excited to be sitting in on any part of it. At this point, I don’t care what his motivations are.
“Have a read-through and tell me what you think,” he says.
You don’t need to tell me twice. I dive in, aware that he’s watching me.
“You actually find this stuff interesting, don’t you?” he remarks, his lips twitching.
“Don’t you?” I reply, glancing back down at the folder on my lap. “A lot of this just comes down to numbers and how far is Einswing willing to compromise to stay afloat. All you needed to do was find something they have to offer to use as bait to get the attention of a competitor. Like Trung,” I conclude.
Chase smiles at me, and I swear I see a flash of admiration in his eyes.
“You know your shit,” he acknowledges.
I flush. “This kind of thing fascinates me,” I say with an embarrassed shrug. “Math and statistics have always been my kind of thing because everything always comes down to numbers.”
“Well, maybe not everything,” he teases. I blush furiously, which makes him chuckle even more. “What did you study in college?”
“I majored in statistics and minored in business,” I say proudly.
“And you’re my junior assistant?” he says with a low whistle. “A little over qualified, wouldn’t you say?”
I shrug. Finally, he’s noticing me.
“My degree is definitely something I hope to have to use one day. I’d really love to challenge myself.”
I still remember as a little kid going over complex math problems with my dad. I was always a few years ahead of the other kids in class, which meant I was quickly bored with the syllabus. School just didn't motivate me enough, so Dad did his best to help out. In my junior year, I was passing exams meant for sophomore college students.
“What did you say this meeting was for?” I ask with a frown, forcing myself to focus back on the notes in front of me.
Admittedly, I’m no expert, but it looks like this merger is all but complete. I certainly can’t see anything that would require bringing me along to take notes. In fact, I can’t even see a reason as to why Chase would need to be here. I struggle to believe that he attended all the closures for his mergers. Maybe just the ones he wants to impress me with.
“I didn’t,” he grins. “I just like to keep my hands in things. I like making sure I’m aware of everything that’s happening around me.”
The idea of his hands anywhere near me makes me shiver. Why bring me along, then? Is this all just his way of messing with me? I flush. Could he be any more self-centered? Like he would waste an entire day of his busy schedule just to mess with me. Stop being so ridiculous and just use this as a chance to learn. And with any luck, I’ll be able to show Chase Winston what I’m capable of.Twenty minutes later, we park in front of Trung Enterprises. I climb out, smoothing out my skirt whilst juggling my bag and the thick folder of notes. I follow Chase inside, watching with interest how everyone we pass acknowledges him. It’s like being out with a celebrity. I’m not used to seeing people act like this around him. At work, people are scared of him. He has a reputation for being hard and fearless, but all I see here is admiration and appreciation.
My extensive late-night googling on Chase had informed me that he lost both parents when he was very young, leaving him and his brother in the care of an aunt. The day he turned twenty-one, he invested nearly his entire, modest inheritance into his business, and then he slowly built it from the ground up. If that didn’t spell guts, I don’t know what did.
