AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thinking to arm herself for the job ahead, she asked Gretchen for some tips how to handle Adam Bronson.
“First, always be on time,” Gretchen said. “If he wants you somewhere in an hour, make sure you’re there in thirty minutes. Never pass up a chance to impress him. He notices everything – not just when you do things right, but also when you go out of your way in fulfilling a task.” Gretchen then smiled in encouragement. “You must have made quite an impact to be hired over all the others. I know it’s on trial basis, but you should give it your best shot. Congrats.”
“Thanks. And I intend to give it all I’ve got,” Gabrielle said with feeling.
Over a few days, she’d already gotten herself accustomed to her main duties. As Adam Bronson’s personal assistant, she was in charge of his contacts, his schedule and appointments. She kept herself informed about it all, since according to Gretchen it was best to have too much information rather than too little with Mr. Bronson.
And that was on top of all the errands she had to handle, with the coffee runs and admin tasks, but Gabrielle was just happy for the stability of an actual job. She showed up each morning with enthusiasm, determined not to be deterred by Adam’s cool attitude or his taskmaster persona.
On her fourth day, she arrived with the same exuberance she felt every morning since she started the job. When she reached Adam’s huge doors she faltered, drawing in a calm breath for a moment. Every time she had to come face to face with him, she noticed that her heart did a big flutter till she stamped it down.
Hesitating a few more moments to check that her attire was immaculate, she made sure to knock first. When that deep voice told her briskly to enter, she did so with a smart step and a confident tip of her chin.
*
Gabrielle had expected to find him sitting in that big chair with a pen in his hand while his eyes focused intently on his papers. Instead he was standing at one of the windows, and he turned to face her when she appeared. His startling eyes met hers.
Adam took in her hair, tightly bound in a bun, with a loose lock styled to hang just to the side of her beautiful brown eyes. He raked his gaze over her body, caressing every prominent curve encased in her gray pencil skirt and shimmery black blouse.
It took every inch of his willpower to stay in one spot, resisting the powerful urge to walk up to her and slip the strand of hair behind her ear, while staring deep into her eyes.
Her cheeks seemed to go warm, and he hid a subconscious chuckle. He must have been staring too long and hard. Just like the first night, when she’d caught his eye like no woman had in months. Most women would shamelessly flirt and show him their cleavage any chance they got. Adam was easily put off by them – and they hardly backed off even after he gave them all the signs he wasn’t interested. If Gabrielle tried that, he wasn’t sure how he would be able to resist.
But she was too inflexible to do anything like flirt with him, her boss.
Adam was just as hell-bent on keeping that damn attraction to her at bay.
He moved behind his desk while unbuttoning his suit. Now it was his turn to catch her checking him out. Her liquid dark eyes trailed over his body, taking in every detail as he’d done to her. Was it his imagination, or did he see small rounded points sticking from her breasts as she watched him? His member started to stir in his pants, and he quickly killed the instinct.
She opened her mouth to make a greeting, but he cut her off. “We’ll start off with the order of the day. You may have noticed from the overall atmosphere that this is a critical time for the company.”
Gabrielle nodded, then when he arched a brow at her, she cleared her throat slightly and said, “Yes, sir.”
“We just won a major contract and soon will be edging into new markets, new alliances. Which means I can’t afford to have anyone get sick, take leave or feel stressed. It’s not too late to back out if you aren’t sure you can deal with the pressure.”
Gabrielle straightened her shoulders even more. This wasn’t the first time he’d indicated that she could bow out of the current situation. It hurt and angered her pride, but she didn’t let it show. “This job is the break I’ve been waiting for, Mr. Bronson. I’m not going to take it for granted. I’m confident in my abilities.”
“Well, at least one of us is, which is good,” he said, making Gabrielle want to roll her eyes. Fine, so he obviously didn’t think she was qualified – he’d made that clear more than a few times. But no matter how much of a hard time he gave her, she wasn’t going to quit. She needed him to get that into his finely coiffed head.
