DON'T FORGET ME

CHAPTER 2

"I seriously can't go through this every day" Charlotte muttered under her breath as she got

off the bus. This was her third bus, all after the disturbing train ride from Greenport to the

Bronx. She hadn't realised yet how far Queens was from her house, and the impromptu

drop-off at Amelia's school was a major delay to her journey.

She hissed as people bumped into her on their way out of the bus, but that soon didn't

matter as she looked up.

"There it is" she smiled

She walked into the MacChip building and it looked as good as it was outside. Her flats

squeaked on the waxed tiles but were covered by the chatting and rambles of a bunch of

men in grey suits with briefcases In their hands. Charlotte walked with no direction until she

saw the statue of a man at the centre of the building, she stared and ran her hands over the

detail. So fascinating.

"Excuse me miss?" A voice pulled her from her thoughts

"Yes" She quickly answered

"Are you lost?" A lady pale as ever with burgundy red hair and a skirt as tight as rubber

spoke softly into her eyes.

"Yeah kind of" Charlotte laughed trying to hide her confusion " I'm Charlotte Reese, I..."

"Oh, Charlotte!" She bubbled like she'd known Charlotte for ages " We've been waiting for

you, come along" She smiled as she directed Charlotte to the reception

"I'm Lucy Davis, the head receptionist here at MacChip Headquarters" she smiled stretching

her hand to Charlotte "You were assigned a meeting with Mrs. Frances at 10 am...you're

late" She checked her watch. It was 12:46 pm.

"I'm so sorry, I ran into some major inconveniences, I'm coming from Greenport and I didn't

realise how f..."

"Greenport!" Lucy exclaimed, cutting her off "Oh dear that's far!"

"I know!" Charlotte muttered in her head and wondered how a front-row receptionist was this

bubbly. She once worked as a cashier when she was 20 and not even vodka could get her

this happy.

"Well, you're in luck, Mrs. Frances just finished a meeting with some contractors I'll go check

if this would be a nice time" Lucy smiled "Follow me" she said as she briskly walked up to

the elevator.

Charlotte followed Miss. Lucy to the 5th floor. Lucy directed her down a hallway until they got

to the door at the end.

"Sit here, I'll go in and talk to her" Lucy gestured at the two-seater at the left.

Charlotte obeyed and sat down, she stared at an antique placed in the corner before

straightening her skirt.

"She's 2 hours late!" A voice beamed from the conference room

"Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into" Charlotte thought to herself hoping Mrs. Frances

could have some sympathy. What a tragedy it'll be for her to lose her position before even

getting the chance to prove herself.

"Greenport?" The voice said a little calmer after which some mumbling continued.

The large conference room doors opened and a lady in her late 30s about 5 foot 10 inches,

and a little plum walked out. Immediately, Charlotte stood up whilst the latter adjusted her

cat-eyed frames and sized Charlotte up.

"Mrs. Reese? Right?" The lady's brows furrowed

"Yes that's me, Charlotte Reese" Charlotte fidgeted

"You're late" Mrs. Frances said sternly

"I'm so sorry ma'am" Charlotte looked down

"You have to work on your transportation scheme, FAST. I'll give you the grace of your first

day, but never again. If I say 10 am I want you here by 10 not 10:05, am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am" Charlotte nodded

"Lucy, please prepare the contract papers and have them ready in conference room 4, we'll

round up in there" Mrs. Frances faced Lucy before Lucy scurried out of their midst

"Let's begin shall we" Mrs. Frances smiled "Follow me everywhere I go, listen attentively, you

can take notes if you like, just put all your attention on me"

Charlotte followed Mrs. Frances' lead into the elevator after retrieving a little notepad and a

pen from her purse.

"Welcome to MacChip, a nationwide leading tech company running since 1976." The

elevator doors opened and they stepped onto the second floor. They took a left and walked

down a well-lit hallway with motion sensor lights. Charlotte couldn't help but stare at the

pictures framed at the side of the walls.

"Who are these?" She asked

"Our CEOs, from the founders to the current, you can come back to look at them, I doubt

you'll have the time, but these aren't our main focus here" Mrs Frances replied and stopped

right in front of the last picture "He is"

"Mr. Sebastian Stone, your new boss" She turned to Charlotte "Your work doesn't revolve

around this building unlike these men in grey suits, it revolves around him, you are now his

personal assistant, and you offer your assistance to him to any length he demands, is that

clear?"

Charlotte stared at the man in the picture, so perfectly structured, "yes" she gulped

"Good, follow me" Mrs Frances walked into the room labelled conference room 4. "Have a

seat"

Charlotte took a seat right beside Mrs Frances. The large conference room wasn't something

she was familiar with but she couldn't be caught with her tongue on the floor on the first day.

"Don't be intimidated with this room, this might be your last time here" Mrs. Frances laughed

bringing the file of papers in between them" This is your contract, as I said earlier you are

solely Mr. Stone's personal assistant" she emphasised the personal

"I'll give you time to read through before appending your signature, all terms and conditions

of this agreement between MacChip and Mrs. Reese are clearly stated here, I advise you to

take your time" Mrs Frances handed the pen to Charlotte

Charlotte took a deep breath and skimmed through each page. Although Mrs Frances

wanted her to take her time, Charlotte couldn't help but read faster as the feeling of Mrs

Frances' eyes on her made her tense. Charlotte signed everywhere she needed to and so

did Mrs Frances, after which they rounded up from the conference room and Mrs Frances

gave her another little tour of the building before escorting Charlotte to the exit door.

"Mr. Stone is on a business trip, but he'll be back tomorrow. You need to be at the airport by

2 pm with an espresso and a diet coke, room temperature. You can just make your way to

the building and Lucy can direct you to his personal chauffeur. You ride in the passenger

seat always while Mr. Stone stays in the limo. He needs enough time to rest before he

catches up with his meeting with some advertisers. I'm sure you got all that, don't come late

and don't mess up the formation, everything needs to go perfectly." Mrs Frances ordered

while Charlotte penned them down "If any changes are made you would be contacted.

Welcome to MacChip and have a good day Mrs. Reese"

Mrs Frances smiled and walked back into the building. Charlotte skimmed through her

notepad making sure she got everything before packing it back into her purse. She stared at

the busy streets of New York and sighed. The work begins.

**********

"Girl you lucky!" Sandra squealed toasting her glass of wine with Charlotte's

"Am I?" Charlotte chuckled

"Girl" They both laughed

Sandra and Charlotte had been inseparable since high school. Sandra was always outgoing

and energetic, while Charlotte was reserved and preferred her own company. They were the

complete opposite but made a whole pair when together. They'd stayed together all through

college and their bond is still as strong as ever.

"But seriously, how did you go from working at a local coffee shop to working in MacChip?

And to make it better you're the CEO's assistant how much luckier are you girl" Sandra

laughed

"Girl I don't even know. It still feels like a dream, like I need someone to pinch me back to

life" Charlotte laughed refilling her cup of wine " But I didn't know Queens was so far from

here"

Sandra shook her head "You just used the wrong route, take a train to Elmont, MacChip is

the next bus stop"

"Hmm that makes sense," Charlotte thought.

They were at Charlotte's apartment having a little hangout with their favourite wine and

homemade lasagna. Charlotte loved intimate moments like this, a chance to forget her

worries. Amelia was fast asleep, she had after-school music lessons and was already half

asleep on the ride home.

"So, is he cute?" Sandra leaned forward

"Mr. Stone?" Charlotte almost spat her wine "I haven't seen him in person, but he looks neat

In his picture. And I am not going to flirt with my boss, Sandra not again "

"How's Mike?" Sandra asked taking a bite of the lasagna

"However he wishes to be, he came over earlier today, yelling like a monster" Charlotte

scoffed "Hadn't seen him for about 3 months before that. That's his new game, stay away for

some months, come home unannounced and expect some respect"

"Ever thought of a divorce?" Sandra stared into her friend's eyes. She never really liked

Mike, from the day he got mad at Charlotte for 'over accessorising' she knew he was a prick,

but she wondered what blinded her girl.

"Maybe later, I don't even have enough money for it" Charlotte sighed

"That's not the issue" Sandra dropped her fork and wiped her mouth "And you know that,

you don't have the courage to leave, you know Mike is messed up, but some atom of hope in

you wishes he'll come back changed, not because you love him, but because you don't want

to be seen as a failure again.."

"Sandra stop" Charlotte sniffed "That's in the past, don't bring him up" She wiped her eyes

Sandra got up to hug Charlotte. "I love you girl, and I hate seeing you get treated like a

doormat. Whatever you decide on, I'm here, but don't lower your worth for some prick who

never has gas money" Sandra spoke softly and Charlotte laughed " ok girl?"

"Ok," Charlotte smiled and hugged her friend.

"Well, we need to clean up because my girl needs to go get her hot boss from the airport

tomorrow!" Sandra yelled

"Sandra!" Charlotte laughed "Don't let Amelia hear you!"

"So you do admit he's hot" Sandra teased and Charlotte threw a fake punch.