the Castle on the Hill

Chapter 2

Ava arrived at the building ten minutes early. She grabbed two coffees from the bagel cart outside the office. Kathy, another assistant told her Enzo, her boss, liked that coffee and she would save herself a trip if she just grabbed it on the way in. 

If she was being honest, meeting Enzo was weighing on her the closer Ed got the building this morning. Enzo had a reputation with the other secretaries. He was ruthless. The assistants had been whispering all week about him being absent. He wasn’t the kind of person to take a vacation apparently. She just wanted to start off on the right foot with him. She knew he was busy and in demand from the number of calls she took for him last week. 

Thanking the man behind the counter, she made her way into the building and onto the elevator. She made her exit on the 38th floor. The view in the windows took her breath away each day. A view of the sound, especially today, was enough to take anyone’s breath away. Even if they weren't new to Seattle. 

“Hey Ms. Ava! How are you today?” Catherine, managing partner of the firm, asked her. 

“Good morning Ms. Williams. I’m doing well, how are you?” 

“I am doing well. Please call me Cathy. I am glad to see you come with two coffees today. They have the best coffee on the block. Don’t forget, we have an office meeting today at eleven. Please make sure Enzo is there and has no distractions.” SHe said and sauntered away. 

Ava made a mental note. Several people smiled at her on the way to her desk. She was amazed at how nice and welcoming everyone had been to her. She had zero office experience, aside from the forty hours she’d spent interning for a small office in San Diego one summer during college. Arriving at her desk, she noticed the light in the office behind her cubicle was on, but the office was empty. She wasn’t sure if she should enter and put the coffee on his desk or wait until he introduced himself. She decided to just go put it on his desk. She had other things to get started with, copies to make and calls to begin forwarding. She didn’t want to miss him and for the coffee to go to waste. 

Setting the coffee in the center of his desk, she glanced back out the window taking in the beauty of her new city. Ava had made herself a promise. No matter how much she thought she was to blame in her divorce, it was not her fault. Ava was not to blame, her shitty husband was. She was no longer going to be sad about his actions. That was on him. She had to move forward. She was moving forward. 

“Can I help you?” a deep voice came from behind her. 

She jumped and turned to face the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. His dark, wavy hair was loose but held back by a little mousse. The scruff on his face highlighted his chiseled jaw and perfect lips. His chocolate colored eyes looked guarded but curious. Her breath caught in her throat. 

“Hi, um, hi. I am Ava, your assistant.” She took a few steps toward him, extending her hand. He cautiously took it. His hand engulfed hers and she noticed the hint of a tattoo on his wrist, the electricity coursing through her. 

“Enzo Monticelli. Is that for me?” He asked, pointing to the coffee as he walked towards his desk. 

Trying to find her voice, she nodded. 

Looking at her through raised eyebrows, she finally decided to spit out “Yes. It came from the cart downstairs. I heard it’s your favorite.” 

“It is. I’m sorry, I forgot I was meeting you today. I have so much work to do and catch up on. I will send you an email of all your job duties. I need you to write your number down for me. Close the door on your way out.” He said as he opened up his laptop. 

“If you need anything, let me know.” She said as she backed out of his office, closing the door behind her. 

He wasn’t mean per say, but he wasn’t very welcoming. He had an accent of some sort, probably italian. Writing her number on a post it note, she sat it aside for the next time she had to go into his office. She didn’t want to become bothersome, he seemed very intent on working alone. 

Hours ticked by and Ava realized she was getting hungry. A few things had been dropped by for Enzo and she was wondering if she should get him lunch. He hadn’t moved from his desk all morning, intently staring at his laptop screen. She wondered if she could get lunch delivered before their office meeting in forty minutes. 

Gently knocking on the door, she glanced in and noticed his eyes dart up to her. He shut his laptop and motioned for her to come in. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I have a few things that were dropped by and my number for you.” She said, crossing the room to his desk. She noticed him looking her up and down, as if sizing her up. She sat the papers on his desk. 

“Thank you. I will get that email sent over to you soon. Have you ordered lunch yet?” He asked. 

“No, I was wondering if you’d like anything from any place. We have a meeting in about forty minutes.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. 

“Cathy emailed me. She is having lunch delivered for the meeting. Here is a list of your job duties. I travel frequently, will that be a problem?” He handed her the paper. 

Grabbing it from his hand, she shook her head. 

“Good. All your expenses will be paid when we travel. Weekends and holidays will be overtime pay.” 

She glanced up at him. 

“I go with you when you travel?”

“Yes. You’re my assistant.” He seemed to find humor in my question. 

This made her uneasy. Not that she didn’t trust him or the job, she just didn’t think that her life would be dependent on a man’s schedule again. 

“Ok. Is there anything you would like me to do before the meeting? I have sent through all the updates to your calendar.” 

“No. That’s all for now.”

 She gave him a half smile and left the room, closing the door behind her. She could feel his eyes on her as she left.