Chapter 6: My New Secretary
1908 Words
Scott hated changes.
He especially hated changes he hadn’t approved.
He stared at the coffee sitting on his desk.
Black.
No sugar.
Exactly as he’d ordered.
He took a sip.
Perfect.
That irritated him more than it should have.
Scott put the cup down and looked through the glass wall of his office.
Eliana was at her desk.
She had been there for less than an hour, yet his schedule looked completely different.
His ten o’clock meeting had been moved to eleven.
His lunch had been shortened.
Two unnecessary appointments had disappeared.
And someone had somehow managed to squeeze a forty-minute break between his afternoon meetings.
Scott picked up his phone.
“Come in.”
The door opened almost immediately.
Eliana stepped inside with a tablet in her hand.
“You called?”
Scott pointed at the schedule on his desk.
“What is this?”
“My schedule.”
“My schedule was fine.”
“It had three overlapping meetings.”
“They were supposed to overlap.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted them to.”
Eliana looked at the screen.
“Then you would have been in three places at once.”
Scott leaned back.
“I have people who can handle that.”
“Then why do you need a secretary?”
He stared at her.
She didn’t look nervous.
That was becoming annoying.
Scott tapped the paper.
“You moved my lunch.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You had a meeting at the exact same time.”
“I could have eaten afterward.”
“You have another meeting afterward.”
“I’ll eat later.”
“You said that yesterday.”
Scott frowned.
“How do you know what I said yesterday?”
“I read your schedule.”
He leaned back again.
“You’re very comfortable for someone who has worked here for less than a day.”
“I’m trying to do my job.”
“Your job isn’t to tell me what to do.”
“No.”
She looked directly at him.
“It’s to make sure you do what you already agreed to do.”
Scott’s mouth twitched.
“Who taught you that?”
“No one.”
“You came up with it yourself?”
“Yes.”
He stared at her.
Then he laughed.
“You’re going to be a problem.”
Eliana smiled politely.
“That’s what Margaret said.”
Scott’s expression changed.
“You’ve already been talking to Margaret?”
“She showed me around.”
“What else did she tell you?”
“That you don’t like people hovering.”
“She was right.”
“And that you don’t like being told no.”
“She was also right.”
“And that you cancel meetings.”
Scott nodded.
“Anything else?”
“She said most people don’t last long.”
Silence.
Scott looked at her.
“And you?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
He laughed again.
He couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to him this casually without wanting something.
“You’re serious.”
“Usually.”
Scott picked up his coffee.
“Sit.”
Eliana hesitated.
“Why?”
“I said sit.”
She pulled out the chair opposite him.
Scott studied her.
“How much do you know about this company?”
“Enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I’ve spent the morning reading through the documents Margaret gave me.”
“How much did you understand?”
“Most of it.”
“Most?”
“I’m still learning.”
Scott nodded slowly.
“Good.”
Eliana waited.
He pointed at a folder.
“Tell me what’s wrong with that report.”
She looked at it.
“Which part?”
“The second page.”
She opened it.
Scott watched her.
He wasn’t actually interested in the report.
He was testing her.
He wanted to see if she would pretend to understand.
Most people did.
Eliana read through the figures.
Then looked up.
“The sales projection doesn’t match the quarterly target.”
Scott said nothing.
She continued.
“The difference is small, but if this number is used for the investor presentation, someone will question it.”
Scott leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Because the projected growth is higher than the actual increase from the previous quarter.”
He stared at her.
“You understand finance?”
“Not professionally.”
“Then how did you notice that?”
“Numbers don’t need a job title.”
Scott smiled despite himself.
“Interesting.”
He took the folder from her.
“You can go.”
She stood.
Then stopped.
“Your eleven o’clock meeting.”
“What about it?”
“The client requested twenty minutes.”
“And?”
“You gave them an hour.”
Scott looked at her.
“I like long meetings.”
“They don’t.”
“How do you know?”
“They asked if the meeting could be shortened.”
He stared at her.
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“You’ve been answering my emails?”
“No.”
“Then how did you—”
“They called.”
Scott shook his head.
“You’ve been busy.”
“That’s what you hired me for.”
“I didn’t hire you.”
Eliana paused.
Scott realized how that sounded.
He corrected himself.
“The company hired you.”
“I know.”
Something about her answer made him feel as though she knew more than she was saying.
Scott didn’t like that feeling.
He reached for his phone.
“Leave.”
Eliana nodded and walked out.
Scott watched the door close behind her.
Then he picked up the coffee.
He took another sip.
Still perfect.
“Annoying,” he muttered.
Outside, Eliana returned to her desk.
Her heart was beating faster than she’d admit.
Not because Scott frightened her.
Because she was beginning to understand what Mr. Eliot had meant.
His son wasn’t stupid.
He was observant.
He tested people.
He watched reactions.
And if she made one wrong move, he might start asking questions.
She opened the notebook she had brought from home.
At the top of a fresh page, she wrote:
Scott Eliot.
Underneath:
Difficult. Impulsive. Observant.
She hesitated.
Then added:
Doesn’t like being controlled.
She stared at the words.
Then underlined them.
That was going to be important.
Inside his office, Scott was doing something he rarely did.
He was looking at his secretary’s résumé.
He had asked HR for it.
There wasn’t much.
Education.
Previous employment.
Skills.
References.
Nothing suspicious.
Nothing interesting.
Nothing that explained why she seemed completely unimpressed by him.
He picked up the phone.
“Send HR in.”
A few minutes later, the HR manager appeared.
“Sir?”
“Who interviewed Eliana?”
“I did.”
“Why was she selected?”
The woman looked confused.
“Her qualifications.”
Scott raised an eyebrow.
“She’s never worked as an executive secretary.”
“She has excellent organizational skills.”
“That’s what the résumé says.”
“And she was highly recommended.”
“By whom?”
The woman hesitated.
Scott noticed.
“Who?”
“Mr. Eliot.”
Scott’s expression went still.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“I’m not sure.”
Scott leaned back slowly.
“Did my father tell you to hire her?”
“No, sir. He only recommended her.”
Scott dismissed her with a nod.
The door closed.
He stared at the desk.
His father.
Of course.
Scott picked up his phone.
He called him.
His father answered on the fourth ring.
“Hello.”
“Did you recommend my secretary?”
Silence.
Then,
“Yes.”
Scott frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you needed one.”
“There are hundreds of qualified people in this city.”
“I liked her.”
“You barely know her.”
“I know her well enough.”
Scott stood.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“You’ve never cared who works for me before.”
His father laughed softly.
“Maybe I should have.”
Scott ignored that.
“Did you tell her anything about me?”
“No.”
Scott paused.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Another silence.
Scott walked toward the window.
Eliana was sitting at her desk.
She was reading something.
Focused.
Composed.
Completely unaware that he was watching her.
Or perhaps she knew.
It was difficult to tell.
“She’s strange,” he said.
His father laughed.
“You’ve known her for a few hours.”
“Exactly.”
“Give her a chance.”
Scott frowned.
“Why do you sound like you already know how this is going to end?”
“I don’t.”
“You’re hiding something.”
“I’m your father, Scott. Not your enemy.”
“Sometimes I can’t tell the difference.”
His father’s voice hardened.
“Then perhaps that’s something you should think about.”
The call ended.
Scott lowered the phone.
He hated conversations with his father.
They always left him feeling like there was something he had missed.
Something everyone else seemed to understand except him.
He looked through the glass again.
Eliana stood.
She walked toward his office carrying a folder.
She knocked.
“Come in.”
She entered.
“You have five minutes before your meeting.”
Scott glanced at the clock.
“You’re counting?”
“Someone has to.”
She placed the folder on his desk.
“The client requested the updated proposal.”
Scott opened it.
Everything was organized.
Tabbed.
Labeled.
Easy to find.
He looked up.
“You did this?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“While you were on the phone.”
Scott flipped through the pages.
“You work quickly.”
“I try.”
He nodded.
Then he noticed something.
“You changed the order.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The information flows better this way.”
Scott looked at the pages again.
She was right.
He didn’t tell her that.
Instead, he said, “Don’t change my documents without asking.”
“All right.”
He looked up.
She was already turning toward the door.
“Eliana.”
She stopped.
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow, come in ten minutes earlier.”
“Why?”
“I want to see how you prepare my schedule.”
She nodded.
“Fine.”
She walked out.
Scott leaned back in his chair.
He should have been annoyed.
Instead, he found himself wondering what else she could do.
That thought irritated him enough to make him reach for his phone.
A message from a woman he’d been seeing flashed across the screen.
Dinner tonight?
Normally, he would have answered immediately.
He didn’t.
His eyes drifted toward the glass wall again.
Eliana was back at her desk.
Working.
Scott locked his phone.
This was ridiculous.
She was his secretary.
Nothing more.
And yet, somehow, his new secretary had managed to disrupt his morning without raising her voice, flirting with him, or asking for anything.
Scott didn’t know whether to fire her or keep her around just to figure her out.
For now, he chose the second option.
He had a feeling she wasn’t going to make it easy.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD