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Kind of rude, but that wasn’t enough to bring me down from my high. “Thank you, Mr. Cox.”
He swiveled in his chair, and his fingers began typing away at his keyboard before I could say anything else, giving me a view of his impressive wide back.
I loved his work ethic. No time wasted on useless, polite chit-chat. Work was my priority, too. I rushed to my new office, confident I would get along wonderfully with my new boss.
Igave her half an hour to settle in. But if I was being completely honest, I needed the time more than she did to regain control of my body. Once I had mastered my urges, I called her back into my office.
She sat eagerly across from my desk with a pen and notebook, and I busied my mind with random calculations to keep it from focusing on her voluptuous body.
“Ms. Bloom, for today, please familiarize yourself with the employee manual.” One thousand three hundred thirty-five times five hundred forty-six is…carry the three, then add the four…
“I’ve already finished reading it.”
Not possible. Dammit, I lost count. “It’s only been half an hour.”
“I read it over the weekend when HR emailed it to me. What else should I do?” She asked with an eager expression on her face.
I had a pile of books I usually bombarded new interns with, a test to weed out those who were not cut out for the workload. Most failed. I couldn’t bring myself to give them to her. I was too curious about this woman to get rid of her so soon.
And it wasn’t lust affecting my judgment. I had chosen her before laying my eyes on her. Before even knowing her gender. I never looked at the names on the applications. I had picked her out of hundreds of the most brilliant minds coming out of the Ivy League business programs.
There was something about her application that had stood out from all the others. She had had much more to offer than just top grades. All those jobs she had held while staying at the top of her class proved to me she would work harder than the other applicants. I saw a bit of myself in her when I was her age and recognized that potential for greatness.
“Please review them again. You will be working closely with me, and I need you to know these rules inside and out. We manage and invest billions of dollars here at Wealth Asset Group, and we have the strictest rules in our industry to protect our clients’ assets.”
“I assure you, I’ve not only memorized them, but I’ve analyzed how to apply them while trading and investing our clientele’s portfolio, and I’ve studied how to integrate them with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulations. I knew security would be severe here when I went through all those security checks in the hiring process. The investigators even interviewed my neighbor and their dog Fluffy’s veterinarian.”
The beauty in front of me snorted as she laughed at her own words. And the snort did nothing to diminish my desire for her. It showed how confident she was as if she didn’t care what she sounded like to anyone. Snorts and all.
The corners of my lips twitched as I watched her. How was she so comfortable around me? Even if she didn’t know my reputation, most people were nervous in my presence. I always assumed it was because they had a healthy dose of respect for someone high up on the corporate ladder, my intellect, power, and status making people nervous around me. But John said it was the grinch vibe I gave off along with my perm-a-scowl.
“Do you have any other work for me?” she asked.
I put a book on the desk, watching her reaction carefully. “You can read this.”
She tilted her head. “Ah. Yes.” A look of adoration crossed her features. “This is my favorite book. I can read it again, but I know it pretty well. ‘Calling someone who trades actively in the market an investor is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a romantic.’”
It was my favorite too. “No one has ever quoted fromThe Essays of Warren Buffettto me before. Impressive, Ms. Bloom.” I handed her another book, the anticipation of her reaction building inside me.
She looked at the book cover and grinned. “I’ve read this book three times already. In the words of the Father of Value Investing, ‘The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists…’”
“‘And buys from pessimists’,” we said together.
Impressive was an understatement. This woman was fucking amazing. Out of my pile of ten books, there was only one she hadn’t read. I instructed her to spend the day studying the book on advanced derivatives.
Most interns had grumbled, viewing the task as beneath them as if it was homework they thought they would never have to do again now that they’d graduated. None of them understood that there was always something new to learn when it came to stock options and swaps. Arrogant newbies always thought they could waltz in here and start managing a multimillion-dollar portfolio from day one. But this intern…
She grabbed the book, hugged it like it was a cherished present, and dashed into her office.
I silently congratulated myself for finding the brightest woman in the country. As an intern. Just an intern. Nothing else, Steven.
Remember your rule.
My assistant ambled into my office, her pace slower than usual. Had I been working her too hard? There was a time when she used to sprint back and forth between our offices, but now… “When was your last vacation, Mrs. Barnes?”
She tsked as she reached my desk. “At the same time as yours.”
When was that? Two years ago? No, more like three. I should have forced her to take her vacation days.
