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“Yes, sir?”
“May, would ye please step into me office?’
“Yes, sir, of course.”
When the older woman came in, she greeted me with a bright smile. “May, this is…”
“Gisella Edwards, your new assistant,” she smiled, “I was waiting for her to check in before I took her around as your father asked me to.” Her kind eyes and easy demeanor helped my anxiety to level back down. “He wanted that done while you were upstairs. So go on now, you have a meeting you should be in already. I will take good care of her.” She looked at her watch then back to him.
“Aye, I couldn’t just leave her here upset, now could I?” There was no anger in his words, just true concern. Be still my thundering heart. Maybe all wasn’t lost to the dogs today.
“No, you would not do that. You’re a kind man. But go before your father has my head.”
He chuckled, leaned in to kiss her cheek, then turned to me. “I’ll see ye when I get back.”
I watched him walk out that door, and something in my gut clenched. Could this all be real? Was he real? I’d never had any luck with the men in my life treating me any other way but like a servant or the trash under their boots. My father, my ex…I had a complex. I needed to push through the doubts and get my head on straight.
Lord help me not screw this up any further. Please, with sugar and a cherry on top.
“Gisella—”
“Please, I’m sorry.” Breathe and speak like an adult. “Please, if it’s okay, can you call me Ella?”
“Absolutely, Ella, will you come with me? Let me show you around.”
“I’m a mess…” I looked down at my bare feet. I hurried to snatch up my oversized bag and pulled out the flats I kept in there. They looked so cheap next to her kitten heels.
“I broke my heel. These are all I have. I need to—” I pulled my jacket off, praying my blouse was still damage-free. A tug and it was back in place. I shoved my jacket in my bag and sighed. “This is not how I planned for this day to start.” Stupid tears welled up in my eyes.
“Hey, take it from me, we all have those days. If you’d like, you can keep a pair of heels in your car. That way you don’t have to race around in them. They’re hard on your feet.”
I smiled, saying, “I don’t have a car. I took the bus. That was how it got broken, running from one to another. I will get a new pair soon. Honest. And a new jacket. Is it okay to go without for now? This was the only one I had…”
“Ella, honey, take a deep breath. Today will be only a memory tomorrow. We will get you something. What size shoe do you wear?”
“An eight.”
“Very well, what about your jacket and slacks? Ten?”
Ten? Ha, I wish. “No, it’s fourteen.”
“Very well.” She motioned to my bag. “This can go in the desk just over here.” She opened another door and stepped inside. The small office had a glass wall that looked out into the larger office. The sun felt good coming in on me from the large windows looking out over the city.
“This is so nice.”
“Did you think we would put you in a broom closet?”
“No, of course not, but I didn’t dream of anything this spacious and open.”
“Fair enough. Now, put your bag under the desk, and we will go have a look around this place. There are a few people you need to meet.”
I did as instructed, tugging at my blouse again. She smiled as she took my arm in hers and headed out of the office.
“Lori, Tammy, Christine, this is Ella, Malcolm’s new assistant. Ella, these ladies are our ad and social media marketing team. They work very hard to make what we do here shine.”
“Nice to meet you, Ella.”
“Girl, you will have your hands full with that man.”
