The CEO’s Unexpected Assistant

CHAPTER 5

Convince Erika as much as myself.

Erika pursed her lips, then exhaled loudly. “Fine. But stay away from him as much as you can.”

“I will,” I said, then my eyes caught a tall figure at the deli’s entrance. “Oh, god!”

I grabbed the laminated menu on the table and raised it, covering my face. I sensed Erika turn around and heard her say, “Fate may have other plans, though.”

“What’s he doing here, anyway?” I hissed. “Man’s gotta eat, too.”

“Yes, but we’ve never seen him in here before.”

“Looks like he’s trying something new,” said Erika, her voice carrying over the loud conversations around us. “Wait. That’s strange.”

“What is?” I asked.

“He’s not in line to order. It looks, well, he’s straining his neck. It seems as though he’s looking for someone.”

“Who?”

“How the heck should I know?” She paused. “Oh, boy,” groaned Erika. “What?”

“I think he saw me,” she said. “Oh, no!” I cried.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like he’s… Oh s**t. He’s coming over here.”

I tried to sink lower into my seat, but it was useless. My cheeks burned, anticipating his reaction to seeing me here with Erika.

“Hello,” said Colton, his deep voice cutting through the loud lunch crowd. “Surprised to see you here, Erika.”

“Strange. I eat here every day.”

“You do?” Although it was a question, his voice didn’t seem interested in the answer. Instead, I felt his eyes on me. I knew I should say hello, but I just needed another minute to get my embarrassment under control.

“Is that you, Ms. Grady?” he asked.

My heart hammered in my chest and I could barely take a full breath. I lowered the menu and smiled weakly.

“I thought that was you walking into this place,” he said, crossing his arms.

Erika tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. “You followed her here?”

“Not exactly,” he said, shooting a glare at Erika. Straightening his tie, he turned back to me. “I forgot to tell you that I need you to start early tomorrow. Eight o’clock sharp.”

I nodded. “Not a problem.”

I prayed for him to leave quickly, but he just stood there, studying me. Oh no, here it comes. Then he fixed his gaze on Erika and back to me. “How do you two know each other?” he asked, waving a finger between us. I gulped. Erika was right. I couldn’t go through with the lie. I couldn’t deny knowing her. Time to confess, and I hadn’t even made it to the first day. Dropping the menu onto the table, I looked him in the eye. “She’s my friend. She asked me to apply for the position—”

He put his hands in his pockets, raising his suit's lapels. Turning to Erika, he said. “Good work, Ms. Jackson.” He grinned at her with a smile that would have melted my panties had he given it to me.

Erika swallowed and nodded just as Colton tapped the table and left us sitting there, both of our mouths open.

“Damn,” said Erika. “He’s hot when he’s not being a jackass.” I nodded in agreement.

She shook her head and smiled. “Lying with the truth. Not bad. Maybe you can make this work after all.”

“Of course, I can,” I said, and knew I was still lying through my teeth.

Walking back to Crawford Corp, I knew I had one more lie to tell that day, and it was to Clive. My hands trembled, so I stuffed them into my coat pockets.

“I need to take my two weeks’ vacation, starting tomorrow,” I said. I thought my voice had cracked, but Clive hadn’t noticed.

“Tomorrow? But that’s Thursday. Just start on Monday.”

Ugh, what do I say now? Think, Frances.

“No. My grandmother’s ill and I need to stay home and take care of her.” Nonna would kill me if she heard me use her health in vain. I’m sorry, Nonna. “Besides, I haven’t taken a holiday in two years. I really need this now.”

Clive sucked his teeth. He knew that was true. I hadn’t taken a vacation last year or the year before, opting to take a lump cash reimbursement for the time off instead. Please say yes, please!

“Fine,” he said. “But next time, give me some notice, why don’t you.”

My lungs emptied and I nearly dropped to the ground in relief. “I will. I promise.”

I wasn’t worried about bumping into Clive. He rarely left the mailroom and the others barely knew I existed. I was worried about working for Colton. I’d heard everyone’s complaints about him and now I'd just agreed to be his assistant. Me. The person who wants to be invisible can’t hide from him now.

What the heck did I get myself into?

***

I woke up early, knowing I’d need the extra time to choose my work clothes. It was early December and the weather had already turned cold. Staring longingly at my tights, I trudged past them to my mother’s closet.

I pulled out a black shift dress, but my eyes wandered to the curve- hugging tan dress I’d worn years ago. I loved how it fit, but I didn’t want any extra attention on Ava Grady. So, I grabbed the simple black one instead.

I arrived at the office at seven-thirty. I knew which desk in the long row of cubicles belonged to Colton’s PA and settled in. Turning on the laptop, I cleared out the previous PA’s old emails and created a signature for my outgoing messages. I opened Colton’s calendar and saw that he had several meetings booked for the day, but left only a thirty-minute window for lunch.

I should order him something.

I was just about to grab a coffee when Colton strode down the hallway. He wore a dark blue suit today with a white shirt and navy tie. His brown shoes matched his belt and he looked like he was ready for his close-up. I bit my lip while my eyes took in every stitch of that fine Italian suit.

His lush green eyes met mine and one side of his lips pulled up.

Miraculously, my panties were intact.

“Good morning, Mr. Crawford,” I said, standing from my desk.

He stepped into his office and waved me to follow him. I grabbed my notepad and pencil and took a seat in front of his desk. The back of my legs hit the soft black leather, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to straddle him in this chair. Focus Frances!

Colton tilted his head and his lips turned into a full smirk.

Sweet Lordy, did my face just give away my inappropriate thoughts? I hoped not, but a familiar heat crept up my neck and scorched my face.

“Please, call me Colton.” He took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned the first button underneath his tie.

My eyes lingered on his neck.

I cleared my throat twice and pushed back my hair. I should have tied it up instead of leaving the curls loose past my shoulders. I crossed my legs and raised my notebook onto my knee. “Yes, Colton. Where would you like to start?”