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“Please.”
I didn’t remember scheduling a meeting. Most of them were scheduled for the afternoon after I’d had some time to get some work done. Julie didn’t know that though, so I couldn’t hold it against her for scheduling one. She popped out of her seat and went to make some coffee while I got settled in my office. I was already elbow deep in paperwork when she strolled back in with a cup of coffee and a notebook under one arm.
“Who’s my meeting with?”
“Me.”
Looking up at her, I frowned. “Pardon?”
She smiled, completely at ease. She reminded me a lot of Luka in that moment, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing.
“I know you have a lot to do and I don’t want to waste a ton of time pestering you with a bunch of questions so I scheduled us a fifteen minute meeting just so that we could get on the same page before the day started. I hope you don’t mind.”
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “No, that’s a good idea. I never thought of doing that.” I gestured to the chair across from me. “Please sit.”
She perched on the chair, flipping open the notebook and grabbing the pen that she had tucked behind an ear.
“I wrote out a few questions that I felt would be pertinent to us working together, but if you have anything else you feel is important to add, please let me know. I’m here to help you, after all.”
I nodded, answering her questions as she rattled them off. They started off pretty simple, like how I took my coffee and what phone calls were important enough to interrupt me for. She was intuitive enough to ask me what times I preferred to have meetings start for the day and even what time I preferred to finish.
“That doesn’t matter. I work until the work is done for the day.”
A frown flashed across her face before she quickly masked it and made a note in her notebook.
“Alright. And what about lunch?”
I waved it off. “Don’t worry about that.”
The frown came back, and she shook her head. “Mr Andrews, it’s not good for your health to skip meals. If you feel like you’re too busy to go downstairs for lunch, I can bring your meal to your office. If the cafeteria doesn’t work for you, I’ve heard there are some great restaurants in the area that do takeout for lunch.”
She didn’t look like she was willing to let it go and I fought back a smile. “Fine. Lunch in my office works since I can still get my work done. The cafeteria is fine for now. I’ll let you know if that changes.”
She nodded once. “Any food allergies I should be aware of?”
“Shellfish.”
We both glanced up at the voice at the door. Luka leaned against the doorframe, a mischievous grin on his face.
“And he won’t admit it out loud, but he can’t stand eggplant.”
I sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with eggplant as long as it's cooked right. You can’t cook it right, so I never eat it when you make it.”
He looked scandalized, and Julie burst into giggles. The tinkling sound made Luka’s smile falter for a second before he straightened and loped over to join us, taking the seat next to her. I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t want him harassing my secretary when she was the first person who seemed like they could actually do the job properly.
“I’ll make note of it. He’s not wrong though, eggplant has to be cooked properly, otherwise it goes all mushy.”
Luka scoffed. “I make it perfectly. He’s just a grouch with poor taste. I’ll make it for you some time and you can be the judge.”
She shook her head with a smile before giving me back her attention. “Is there anything else you can think of, Mr Andrews?”
I was about to shake my head before Luka interrupted.
“Watch out for headaches.”
I rolled my eyes, but his warning caught Julie’s attention and she glanced at him with a frown. “What do you mean?”
He gave me a significant look. “Our fearless leader works too hard and gives himself headaches with the effort. If he starts rubbing his temples a lot, he needs pain meds, water, and a break from screens if you can pull it off.”
