The Cold Hearted Boss

2. Interview

I pulled up in front of a building that looked like it was once a home. It wasn’t too far from the city, but it was more secluded. I sent my mom a quick text letting her know I’m still alive and I made it in one piece. As I stepped out of my car the breeze hit me, it smelled like flowers and summertime. As I made my way to the building a man stepped out of the front doors. My jaw almost dropped at the absolute perfection of this man. He had short tousled black hair, like he runs his hands through it constantly. As if almost on que he ran his hand through it. He wore a tight, very tight, long sleeve blue button down, with black slacks that hugged his legs. His face was incredibly handsome, light stubble peppered his face, deep brown eyes, but his face was intense. He looked devoid of emotion, but I could help the allure.

“Hello, you must be Violet.” He stopped in front of me and held out his hand.

“Yes, you must be Nathaniel?” I took his firm hand in my small one, the warmth of it making me want to melt.

“Nathan, please just call me Nathan.” He made a sour face when I used his full name.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Nathan.” I slowly withdrew my hand, wishing I could feel more of him. God what was wrong with me?

“I’ll show you inside so we can get started.” He outstretched his muscular arm motioning to the front door. Once we climbed the steps he opened the door for me. Now I was sure it once was a home, there was a sitting room with a pool table in the center. There was a kitchen to the left with a quaint dining area. To the right was a front desk, behind it was a hallway with doors.

“This was the home I grew up in.” Nathan looked around, he had a slight smile that he quickly hid.

“My father started his business here, once we had more money, instead of selling the house he renovated it.” He paused, stepping out towards the old living room.

“I’m glad he kept it.” He said in a low voice that I don’t think he intended for me to hear.

“It’s quite lovely in here, Nathan.” I smiled up at him.

“Yes, thank you, let’s go to my office. It’s at the end of the hall.” He made his way down the short hall, I watched as his muscles flexed under his button up. His office was plain, a few awards and certificates hung on the walls. There was a bookshelf behind his large wooden desk, it looked like a set. Beautiful dark brown with muted gold accents, it looked antique.

“Please have a seat, Violet.” Why does the sound of my name coming out of his mouth sound so good? He strolled over to his side of the desk, shuffling his paperwork and clearing his throat.

“What made you apply for this position? Why should I pick you?”

“Honestly it just kind of stuck out to me, I wanted to move away from reality. I’m a hard worker, flexible schedule, reliable transportation, I have great customer service skills, and I’m very organized.” I bit my lip at the weight of his stare, he glanced at the movement for half a second.

“Are you able to properly schedule meetings with clients, write up receipts, and any other tasks I may need?”

“Yes to all of the above. I’m not sure if you’ve spoken with Mr. Marin yet, but I know he’d be able to verify that I am good at what I do.”

“Ah yes and why did you decide to leave your job with Bryan J. Martin realty?” I took a deep breath, I hated talking about this job. Saying or hearing his name made me nauseous.

“I’ve just decided to step away from the reality game, I was to focus my strengths elsewhere. When I came across the job posting for your business it jumped out to me. I could really see myself here, I’ve always wanted to work in the city.” He made a soft ‘mhm’ and thrummed his fingers on his desk. He shuffled the papers a few more times, it seemed as if he wasn’t usually the one to interview people.

“I see you like about an hour out of the city, will that be an issue?”

“No sir, I’m actually looking at apartments in the area, since there’s more opportunity out here.” I smiled, feeding him a half lie, I will eventually move into an apartment out here. His dark brown eyes met mine, they felt so inviting yet cold at the same time.

“Are you currently in school?” Great, a question I dreaded.

“Not at the moment, I haven’t really found anything I want to go to school for.” He gazed off, as if he was lost in memory.

“If you get a chance, you should study abroad.” I was caught off guard by the comment.

“Have you studied abroad? I’ve heard it can be quite the adventure.” He had a twinkle in his eye and a very faint smile that he soon washed away.

“Yes and yes,” he cleared his throat, “I have a few more interviews this week, but I should be able to get back to you by Friday.” He rose from his chair extending out his hand, I braced myself for the warmth of it. I fear I might be developing a small crush on my potential future boss.

“Thank you, Nathan, I hope to hear from you soon.”

Nathan POV

I watched the mousy little redhead make her way back to her blue car, I want to hire her. It just felt right. I made my way back to my office, deciding to give her reference a call.

“Hello, this is Bryan J. Martin Realty, how can I help you?” A chirpy little voice answered the phone on the first ring, and must be Violet’s replacement.

“Yes, this is Nathan Harrison, I’m calling to speak with Mr. Martin himself in regards to his previous secretary. Is he available?”

“Yes sir! One moment please!” I heard her quietly mumble “hmm which button, oh this one-”

“Hello this is Bryan Martin.” I heard a gruff voice from the other end greet me.

“Hello there Mr. Martin, I am calling to ask a few questions regarding Violet Foster? I know you are her previous employer.”

“Yes, Violet, sweet little thing, great worker.” His tone changed, thick with adoration.

“It’s good to hear that she’s a great worker, could I ask why she left?” I knew the answer she gave me, but I wanted to double check that it wasn't incompetency related.

“Ah, yes, slight disagreement on office dress code.” I raised a brow, she never mentioned a disagreement.

“Could you elaborate?” I asked, he coughed awkwardly.

“Mm, just showing too much skin, it’s okay she dresses quite frumpy now.” I frowned at the odd comment, it was my turn to awkwardly clear my throat.

“Alright, was she good at scheduling?”

“Yes, yes! She's great at what she does, she truly goes above and beyond.” The way he talked about her slightly unnerved me.

“Well Bryan, thank you for answering my questions. I think I have everything I need to know.” I replied wanting to be off the phone with him as soon as possible.

“Off the record, keep an eye on her, she can be quite the little tease.” He chuckled and I felt nauseous.

“Ah, yes, thank you.” I didn’t give him a chance to reply before I hung up. I thrummed my fingers on my desk, she seemed like the perfect candidate. The comment Bryan made about her being a tease felt off. She seemed like such a sweet girl, not some seductress. I hadn’t emailed the other candidates and decided I wasn’t going to. I found my secretary.

Violet POV

Finally, after months of searching I finally have a job. I had barely reached my parents house before Nathan called me to offer me the position. He even wanted me to start the next day, I practically bounced with excitement as I drove to the office. I was mildly embarrassed when I parked next to Nathan’s sleek, black BMW. I knew nothing about cars, but I knew that the sporty two door most likely cost more than my yearly income. Nathan stepped out on the front door, was dressed in black slacks and light purple, long sleeve button down. I couldn’t help, but blush at how handsome he was. I tried to shake the thoughts away, he was going to be my boss! I shouldn’t be almost fantasizing about what those strong hands could do to me.

“Hello Violet, thank you once again for accepting the offer.” Nathan greeted me with his stoic face, he looked so void of emotion.

“Thank you again for the opportunity, Nathan.” I gave him a small smile, he nodded in response.

“Let me show you to your desk and go over some of the paperwork with you.” He held the door open and gestured for me to go inside.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to ask, what’s the dress code?” I asked as we walked towards the desk.

“Well we don’t have many in person visits, so really anything that makes you comfortable, but still appropriate.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably at the mention of appropriate clothes, I raised my brow, but Nathan avoided my gaze.

“Yes, well, back to business.” I helped break the awkward silence.

“Yes, so my last secretary was terrible with scheduling and planning. There are some events in my personal life that I may need you to schedule around. She had scheduled two meetings on my mothers birthday.” He frowned as he picked up some paperwork.

“That won’t happen with me, sir.” Nathan’s face twitched.

“Good, that’s what you were hired for, I expect nothing less than perfect.” His voice was cold and clipped.

“Yes sir.” I watched as his face twitched again.

“There should be more files and contacts on the computer that need to be sorted. I’m not sure what state it will be in considering the competency of my last secretary. If you have any questions I’ll be in my office.” And with that Nathan disappeared down the hall into his office. I let out a deep sigh, it’s gonna be fine, I got this.

Nathan wasn’t wrong, his last secretary sucked, majorly. Everything was so unorganized it took me the full day to get everything back in order. I almost didn’t realize the day was over until I heard the sound of Nathan coming down the hall. I blinked and gently rubbed my eyes that were extremely drying from intensely staring at the screen.