Sentient

Sentient: Chapter Two

“What’s going on?”

I hastily entered my boss’ office, attempting to put a hold on whatever they were doing but I only gained weird looks from the janitorial crew before they went back to work.

“Excuse me!” I cry to the staff. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re not allowed to touch anything here!” 

The black Oxford chair behind the desk spins, revealing a man talking on the phone. 

“Let me call you back.” He says on the phone as his blue eyes stared directly into mine. “Ms. Edwards, I presume?”

I’m afraid to say yes.

This is the moment of truth. By the looks of it, this man must be my boss’ replacement. If I say yes, he might fire me on the spot. But I suppose that would be better than being kept hanging. 

So I nod and reply, “Yes, that’s me. I’m Mr. Sandmoore’s executive assistant.”

“Not anymore.” He quickly replies. 

My heart stops. 

Oh no. I’m done for.

This is what I have been waiting for. 

“Now you’re my executive assistant.” He says, emphasizing the pronoun.

Say what now?

He twirls his index finger in the air, signaling the other staff to pack it up and leave, which they immediately do. I stare at him as he locks the door behind them and walks up to me. 

He reaches out his hand to me for a handshake, which I hesitantly accept. “Darren Cavanaugh.”

I tried taking him in. His stance screamed authority and the way that he dressed himself tells me he’s the most confident man any other human being could ever meet. He has shaggy hair but a little pushed back so it’s not covering anything on his face, especially his blue eyes. I couldn’t see any remnants of a stubble but it’s unlikely that this giant of a man wouldn't grow a beard. 

“Charlotte Edwards.” I replied. “Cavanaugh? As in—”

He nods, without returning my hand. “That’s right.” 

I know him. Well, by his name at least. Darren Cavanaugh. He’s the sole heir of the entire Cavanaugh clan—the other half of the entire LC&C Conglomerate opposite the Linus-Clyde family. He owns the second C in those initials. He’s the infamous casanova I’ve been hearing about in my twenty three months of tenure here. 

Upon realizing this, I immediately withdrew my hand. “So you’re my new boss?”

He smirks, pocketing the hand that I was just holding earlier. “That’s right.”

I quickly shuffle on my feet, rearranging my stance as if I could look any more dignified with the stunt I just pulled in front of him. “Okay… sir. Can I ask you a question?”

He responds, “Ask away.” before walking back to his desk and leaning his butt against the desk facing me. 

Taking a small step towards him, I hesitate. I want to ask if Mr. Sandmoore has been fired but I’m not sure if I want to hear the answer to that. Still, I have to know. 

I purse my lip and ask, “Where’s Mr. Sandmoore?”

“He’s been transferred to another branch.” He responds, pocketing his hands. 

Oh good, he hasn’t been fired. 

I let my brows knit together. “Why had I not been informed?”

“Not my duty.” 

“But it’s courtesy.” 

His jaw clenches and a nerve jumps inside of me. He has a hard look on his face and I recoil. 

This is not the way to make the perfect first impression on your new boss, Charlie. 

“Fact of the matter is that I am here and just starting now, Ms. Edwards and from my point of view, you arrived late to work today. My plan was to officially introduce myself to you, which I just did. Anything beyond that, I don’t owe it to you.” He pauses and looks me in the eye hardly. “If Alan Sandmoore didn’t bid you his farewell, that’s not on me.” 

I blink a few times. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Mr. Cavanaugh purses his lips and says, “That’s alright. I’m sure this came as a shock to you.”

That’s the understatement of the year.

“Do you have any more questions?” asks Mr. Cavanaugh as he leans his head to the side, measuring my expression. “Concerns? Violent reactions?”

“Can I ask another question?”

He raises his eyebrows, signaling me to continue. 

I hesitate but then continue, “Will there be any changes with my day-to-day operation?”

“I was about to get to that. Job-wise, not much. You’d be doing the same engagements you did for Mr. Sandmoore, except now you’d be doing it for me.” He responds. “Having said that, I am your boss and I think it’s safe to say that I differ from Mr. Sandmoore by a long shot, especially when it comes to my wants and needs. So I expect you to tend to them and memorize them immediately because if there’s one thing that I don’t want, it’s repeating myself.”

I nod as I take everything he was saying but my mind wanders off to Mr. Sandmoore. What happened to him? I need to call him later. 

“Your first task would be to get me coffee.” Mr. Cavanaugh says. “Black, no sugar.”

I nod before turning towards the door when he speaks again.

He says, “We’ll be spending a lot of time together, Ms. Edwards.”

I look back at him and see him folding his arms together, a smile plastered on his face. Both the corners of his mouth had deep and long dimples that paralleled his well-defined square jaw. I immediately find myself staring and growing hot in the face. 

My God. This isn’t going to be easy. 

Having Mr. Sandmoore as my boss was easy. He was a man in his fifties, short, stout and balding—but he was kind and nice. He didn’t treat anyone in this office differently from how he would treat a friend. It was one of the many things I liked about him. He was a squirmish man but he knew the things to say to make people follow him and well, respect him. He once rolled a magazine and hit Mark, the intern, with it on the head and in return he bought him a five hundred dollar watch. Mark said it was enlightening for him and that Mr. Sandmoore made him better at his job. 

Mr. Cavanaugh’s right. He’s different from Mr. Sandmooore by a long shot. Very long shot. 

“What happened?” Christie asks, putting her elbows on the counter of my desk. 

I shake my head, pulling myself out of the trance Mr. Cavanaugh’s last words put me in. “We’re going to have to be very careful from now on, Christie.”

I put a black coffee capsule into the coffee machine that was at the end of my desk and let it do its work. It was a gift from Mr. Sandmoore when he found out I was addicted to coffee and that I frequent the office kitchen more than I did the restroom, so it was his way of saying this would save me a lot of time and energy.

“Why?” She asks, plunging her head deeper and closer to mine. “Is it the new boss?”

I look around before whispering my response, “It’s Darren Cavanaugh. He’s Mr. Sandmoore’s replacement.”

Christie’s eyes widened as huge as her breasts. “Da—Oh my God! The Darren Cavanaugh? As in the owner of this company?”

I nod as a response. 

“Are you sure it’s him? I heard Darren Cavanaugh was yummy. I’ve only seen him once but it was just his back because the elevator closed on him… and may I say, his ass is muy delicioso.” 

“Thank you.” A deep voice came from behind Christie and both our bodies became rigid.

I bite my lip and eye-signal Christie, mentally screaming at her that it’s Mr. Cavanaugh’s voice. I witness her face twitch into something unnatural before she turns around and faces him. 

Christie lets out a nervous chuckle. “Hi Sir. We were just talking about my cousin.”

“You think your cousin’s ass is… muy delicioso?” Mr. Cavanaugh asks. 

Christie coughs. “Did I say mine? I meant Charlie’s cousin.” 

“I-uhh…” I stutter and blurt out, “Coffee’s almost ready!”

Mr. Cavanaugh smirks and pockets his hands. “Forget about coffee, come with me.”

I quickly gather the makings of my bag and follow Mr. Cavanaugh, whispering into Christie’s ears as I pass by. 

“For the love of God, woman, don’t let that coffee go to waste!” I say before leaving her and following my boss into the elevator. 

If there’s anything in this world that should not be wasted, it’s coffee.