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"I’m Lena. Lena Richards, Mr. Kane’s new executive assistant."
She ignores my proffered hand. "I’m Karen Day, hispersonalassistant," she replies in an icy voice that implies, somehow, being his personal assistant is much more important than being his executive assistant.Whatever, sister. I have no wish to be his secretary. That position is all yours.
Jillian blows out a breath. "You know he doesn’t like to be kept waiting, Karen," she warns.
Karen tosses her head, then presses the Bluetooth receiver in her ear, "Yes, Mr. Kane. Jillian is here with your new executive assistant."
Her face falls as she listens, and she touches the earbud, then nods toward his door. “Go ahead.”
"Good luck," Jillian whispers.
"Wait, you’re not coming in with me?" Why do I sound so panicked? I’m a professional, about to start my first day on a new job. I should be happy. This job is everything I’ve always wanted. It’s my chance to leave my mark on the world. All I have to do is see this through, make enough money to be able to pay the rent and deposit on a new place, and Isaac and I will be out of this asshole’s hair.
"You’ll be fine." Jillian squeezes my arm. "And if you need anything, just call me. My office is down the corridor."
"Thanks." I draw in a breath, then turn and pull open the door.
I step through, and the door closes behind me with a soft click. The hair on the nape of my neck stands on end. Why do I feel like I’ve walked into the den of a predator? If I thought the corridor outside was hushed, boy, this room is completely silent, except for the hum of the air-conditioning and a very faint voice that sounds like a tiny man trapped inside of a tin can. Rays of sunlight pour through floor-to-ceiling windows that constitute the far wall. In front of the window is a massive desk with at least three computer screens. And between them is my boyfriend’s father with his back to me. He’s speaking on the phone.
"No, that doesn’t work for me. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Make sure the shipment reaches me on time, or the deal is off." He disconnects, then swivels around to face me. He’s wearing eyeglasses—square, black-framed, Clark Kent-style specs that turn him from gorgeous to sinful, all the way to number eleven on my imaginary scale. Jesus, is there anything this man can’t do to make himself even sexier?
He sits down behind his desk and pulls up sheets of paper. He begins reading through them as I stand there wondering what to do next. Didn’t he notice me? I’m sure he did. Maybe this is his way of telling me I don’t matter? Well, big fucking deal. He’s paying me. It’s up to him how he decides to use my time, right? I march up to his table and rap my knuckles on it. "Excuse me, Mr. Kane—"
"JJ," he snaps.
"Eh?" I blink.
"My name is JJ," he says with exaggerated patience.
Fine, if that’s what he wants me to call him, I can oblige. "JJ," I begin again, “what do you want from—"
His phone rings again, and he picks it up and listens to the person on the other side. "No, that doesn’t work for me. It’s a million. That’s my final offer; take it or leave it." Once more, he disconnects and drops his phone on the table, then leans back and places his fingers together. "I suppose you want me to tell you what the scope of your role is going to be?"
"That would help, yes." I feel my eyebrows scrunching up into a scowl and smoothen out my forehead. "You offered me the role, so it would be best if we establish what you expect from me."
"Hmm..." A glint appears in his eyes, but when he speaks his voice is professional. "I expect you to fill in for me in meetings I can’t attend, to be the first point of contact for my team, to intercept emails before they get to me, to be my chief of staff, and to make decisions as needed. In short, you serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies, serve as a liaison to the board of directors and senior management teams, and oversee special projects. You’ll do everything except the administrative duties, which will be fulfilled by Karen, who from now on, will be reporting to you."
"She will?"
"You are the gatekeeper of my time and you’ll ensure it's streamlined so I get the most out of it." He jerks his chin toward a desk I only now notice in the far corner of the room. "That’s your work station. Your email is set up and you’ve been copied on different task lists already."
I blink, then whip my face in his direction. "Wait, we’re working in the same room?"
"It’s how I always intended my executive assistant to work."
"But why? Isn’t it better if I worked from a different room?"
"It’s more convenient this way. We’ll save time by being able to discuss things without my having to hunt you down."
I hunch my shoulders. Dammit, he does have a point. I hate it when he sounds so logical. I have no reason to challenge him.
"Okay," I breathe out, then turn to head to my desk.
"If you could, ask Karen to get me a coffee while you get started."
An hour later, I stretch my arms. I managed to log into my computer without any issues. The password the IT department had given me actually worked. Imagine that? I ordered his coffee and Karen walked in within minutes, swishing her ass in a way that was designed to grab the attention of every man and woman within a mile. To his credit, JJ paid no attention to it. He was buried in whatever it was he was working on in between answering phone calls. I managed to keep my eyes off of him and focused on the emails that were coming thick and fast into my inbox. The scope of the businesses he handles is mind-boggling. From Trinity Media, one of his most profitable ventures, to interests in a series of amusement parks, to the ownership of one of the biggest advertising agency networks, which he took over recently, and investments in various well-known social networking platforms, not to mention an upcoming joint venture with 7A Investments, the man is running a conglomerate.
My opinion of him has certainly changed by the time I shoot him a glance to find him staring back at me.
