Page 10 of Most Eligible Boss


Font Size:  

Myfirstfewweeksat MIM were intense. After the first day, Jeremy got really tough. I didn’t get away with anything under his watch, including failure to arrive early to scheduled meetings. He had some hang-up about if you aren’t early, you’re actually late.

It was only one of his many strange and seemingly arbitrary office etiquette rules. I learned about being early in my first three weeks on the job. I also learned not to wear brightly colored patterns or clothing with logos when we were scheduled to speak to outside media. He felt it was unprofessional and said it didn’t photograph well. I learned, also that he and Stacey loved “good-cop, bad-cop” situations. If one of them came at you acting friendly, it was because the other was about to come down on you hard.

Every day, I was learning more about the job and what was expected of me, and every day I was applying everything I had learned to try to do better. It often felt, though, that nothing I did was enough. I was struggling, stress was building, and the pressure had me feeling like I was near a breakdown.

I’d been keeping an eye on local employment ads, hoping that by some miracle, there would be a job listing that I was qualified for that would come up offering a hefty enough salary to continue affording my new “big city lifestyle,” which was a joke all on its own.

Everything in the city was far more expensive. Even with my impressive salary, by the time rent was paid, my subway fares were covered, and I had bought groceries, there was barely anything left to enjoy myself with.

I was promised my salary would double once my six-month probationary period ended. Judging from the feedback I had been getting at work, I wasn’t counting on that probationary period ending well.

I had started considering other options. I’d even considered packing up and heading back to Ohio. The only thing stopping me was knowing Cole would be waiting for me to crawl home so he could boast and try to win me back. I wasn’t ready to deal with him.

At least for the time being, the only thing I could do was keep trying harder every day at MIM and hope that I would eventually do enough right to ease the pressure. Despite how it felt at the end of some days, I loved my job. I loved the new life I was trying to build.

I decided that I refused to give in to my negative thoughts. Instead, I would focus on the positives. For everything Stacey or Jeremy said that made me feel like I wasn’t doing well enough to stay, I would remind myself of two things I had been doing better at work. The positivity would help me through the harder times and encourage me to keep going.

I was also lucky to have a sound support system outside of work.

Aleshia had proven worth her weight in gold as far as neighbors go. We grew a stronger friendship every day and now spent most evenings hanging out together. We loved to cook, so we took turns preparing meals and having each other over in our apartments. Then, we’d spend the evening gossiping, venting about our frustrations, and binge-watching our favorite shows.

Aleshia loved to tell me about the other residents in the apartment building, too, now that she had grown comfortable with me. We would laugh for hours about the elderly couple in the basement unit who also were swingers. On Friday nights, we’d hear techno music and see flashing lights through the basement windows when we sat outside and speculate on whether they were hosting a wild sex party or not.

There was a single dad in one of the second-floor units that Aleshia had the hots for, but he didn’t seem to pay her much attention. Twice when we’d run into him outside, I’d tried to start a conversation on her behalf, but he always seemed in a hurry to get wherever he was going. We finally resigned ourselves to the idea that he probably was already taken, didn’t like women, or had sworn off love for the time being. It was the only explanation for any man not noticing someone as gorgeous as Aleshia trying to get to know him.

She’d also encouraged me to get into the dating scene, but I wasn’t ready. I told her everything about what had gone on with Cole, and she understood but was of the mindset that the sooner I moved on from him, the faster I’d heal.

Together, Aleshia and I had gone out dancing at a few nightclubs, and we’d flirted and talked to some guys, but there was nothing that really seemed to click as far as mutual attraction.

Truth be told, I was crushing hard on Jeremy. Even though he treated me like an enlisted foot soldier, I couldn’t stop drooling over how gorgeous he was. I had even had a couple of dirty dreams about him, waking up wet and horny. I would have to roll over and grab my dildo from my nightstand and finish the job, moaning, “Oh Jeremy, fuck me…” which made work all the more awkward.

Of course, I told Aleshia everything, and she was no help overcoming my attraction. She often encouraged it by asking me how much time I spent with Jeremy when I came home every day, what he was wearing, and so forth. When I told her that he and I had spent several hours alone together working on a major project, she couldn’t resist making kissing noises and teasing me for hours afterward.

The cherry on top of her silliness was how she always did wardrobe inspections before I left for work, reporting on what she thought Jeremy would think of the outfit.

“Ooh, leggy!” she’d squeal when she saw me coming down the stairs. Or “Hmm... I think you should undo that top button.” Her commentary was spoken in her best raspy impression of his voice and accompanied by a wink.

“He doesn’t like me in that way,” I said, laughing in the stairwell one morning after she had assessed my dress. I wore a brown skirt, white blouse, and brown loafer flats with gold buckles.

“Don’t argue with me!” she said. “Tug that skirt up a little and show some more thigh. He will like you a lot better today if you listen to me.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, laughing as I walked past her. “You overestimate how much I can change by looking good. I swear he hates me. Every day, he finds something new to be hard on me about. He isn’t even trying to be nice at this point. I feel like he’s actually coming down harder on me than other employees.”

“He doesn’t hate you!” Aleshia argued.

“How would you know?”

“Because I know you; you are impossible to hate. Who knows why he’s acting the way he is? Maybe he’s under stress or trying to be a tough boss. Have you ever tried just being more personable to him? If he saw you as a person and not just one of his employees, maybe he’d lighten up.”

I laughed. “You clearly do not know Jeremy. He’s not exactly approachable, you know? The first day, I thought he would be great to talk to and get to know. Since then, I've felt like I’m being barked at by an angry drill instructor every day. Trying to get to know him would be like conversing with a royal guardsman, except they aren’t allowed to say anything to you. The idea of trying to be friends with him is absolutely terrifying, Aleshia. You have no idea!”

Aleshia stood laughing as I voiced my complete horror at her suggestion.

“You’re being very dramatic right now. It’s not as hard as you’re making it seem. When you are alone together, bring up something small about your life and try to relate to him. You know he’s probably not as bad as you’re imagining. He probably just is very uptight and professional. You said he was nice to you on the first day, so he’s probably a very nice person. You’re just catching him in work mode. Get him out of work mode and be his friend. He will lighten up, I guarantee it. Maybe he will offer to give you an orgasm and end your drought!”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes again as I turned away from her and headed out the front door to catch the subway. “You’re crazy!” I yelled over my shoulder.

“I want to hear you had a nice chat or a great fuck with him later!” she yelled back before the door closed.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com