Elle

Chapter Seven

"How was your first day, love?"

At the very moment Elle opened the front door, Trent in tow with his school bag, Mae appeared to question her. It wasn't a big surprise - she had known she'd have to relay every second of her day. Brows raised encouragingly, her grandmother tapped on the wall she leant against.

"It was wonderful," Elle said, her words a direct juxtaposition to her lethargic stance.

Great as it had been, the day had exhausted her. Once she'd finished the initial paperwork, she'd accompanied Dean around the building, being introduced to her colleagues who all regarded her with more kindness than the surly receptionist Becky now did. Taking in her new surroundings, as well as attempting to commit the other employees' names and company history to memory, had proved more tiring than she'd thought.

"Here love, go sit down and put your feet up. I'll make you a brew. You can tell me all about it."

Put my feet up on what? Elle asked herself, deciding it best not to answer her grandmother back - Mae wasn't adverse to swatting her if she spoke back.

The lounge floor was as unforgiving as ever, the only comfort provided to Elle from the cushion squashed between her back and the floral papered wall. She cradled the warm cup in her hands, red fingers stinging at the sudden change in temperature, and prepared herself for questioning. Trent disappeared upstairs, not entirely interested at 8 years old in hearing their conversation.

Elle hadn't told her grandmother how she'd truly got the job - after all, if she heard of Elle's escorting, she'd have been furious - instead telling her she'd found the opportunity in the paper. Mae had seemed somewhat suspicious, wondering why such a large company would employ a person with little education to do such a well paid job, but she'd accepted it nonetheless.

"Have they had you doing lots of manual work?" Her Grandmother asked, regarding Elle with a concerned look.

"None, actually," she said. "It's been a long day is all. Lots to be learned, people to meet, you know how first days go."

"Yes well, make sure you're getting breaks. It's important to eat and drink and keep your energy up," Mae said, wagging her finger.

"My boss gives me more than enough time for break, nan."

"You'd best hope he is or I'll be down there in a flash to give him a piece of my mind."

The thought made Elle grimace. On her first week at work - and any subsequent weeks, too - she could do without her angry, cockney Grandmother having 'words' with Dean.

"Do that and I'll disown you," she told Mae with a coy grin. "You've nothing to worry about, I promise. I just need to adjust to the new routine."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a long and deep sleep, Elle felt ready for her second day. Dressed in a white blouse and fitted red pencil skirt, she greeted receptionist Becky with a warmer smile than she deserved.

"Good morning Becky."

The grunt she offered back was barely audible, but Elle shrugged it off. Whatever problem the woman had wasn't hers to deal with; she was sure Becky would get over it eventually.

"Black coffee, no sugar, with an espresso shot thrown in for good measure," Elle said, placing the steaming cup before Dean. She'd taken the liberty of stopping at a coffee shop round the corner, using the expenses card she'd been given for just that.

Dean's sparkling blue eyes looked up to meet her own, illuminated in the light pouring from the windows. They shone with something unbefitting of her simple gesture. Ignoring the swirl of desire that grew steadily stronger in her gut, she smiled placidly at him.

"Thank you," he said. "Becky has some files on a new investor for me. Could you grab them?"

Suddenly finding her mouth too dry to speak, she settled for a nod of her head in reply and took off in direction of the stroppy receptionist.

"Here," Becky said, all but throwing the yellow file at her.

Elle surveyed the thick file with interest, not knowing what it contained. Emblazoned on a label was Dean's name in bold black lettering, announcing him 'Chief Executive Officer.'

"CEO?" She asked as she handed the file over. "I thought you said you were 'part of the management team'."

"In all fairness, the CEO is part of the management team," he said with a blinding smile, as though the warmth it gave her could drown out her annoyance.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

As Elle placed her hands on her hips, Dean's eyes were drawn to them, lapping over her curves with a pained expression. His lips parted so form a soft 'o', the air thick with something Elle struggled to place. Was her desire mutual? She shook the idea from her head before she could ponder something so ridiculous.

"Would it have made a difference if I told you?"

"No!" Elle said. "I would have accepted the job whatever your position. I was interested in it, not what your role was within the company."

"Well then I hardly see what difference it makes now," he said, pursing his lips in a tight line.

"It matters because you've handed me a job already unsuited to my level of education. Now you're telling me I unknowingly accepted a PA job to a CEO. That's a different realm of responsibility."

"Handed? Is that what you think? You aren't a charity case Elle, if that's what you're thinking. I offered you the job because I knew you'd be good at it."

"It's undeserved!" She said, struggling to hold back emotion that threatened to bubble to the surface. "I'm so grateful that you've given me this opportunity, Mr Wallace, but--"

"Dean," he affirmed. "Whether middle management or CEO, I want you to treat me no different. And I can assure you I would not have 'handed' you the position if it weren't deserved."

The last thing Elle wanted to do was argue with her boss. Her job, her finances, her future were in his hands, and if he wanted to he could withdraw the lifeline he'd given her. She took a deep breath and focussed her gaze on a scenic picture hanging on the wall behind him.

"Before I created Investian, I was a Business graduate with little idea of what I wanted to do," Dean said sombrely. "My father wanted me to take over from him at his tech company, but it wasn't what I wanted. And so he loaned me a large sum of money to start my own, placing more faith in me than I ever had in myself and giving me the chance to make something of my life."

His voice, quiet yet unwaveringly strong, commanded her attention as she stood opposite him. Silently encouraging him to go on, Elle felt her annoyance melting to curiosity. Where was he going with this?

"I've never forgotten how I became who I am today because of an opportunity I was given. Just like you, I struggled with feeling it was undeserved, unearned. I swore to myself that in honour of what he'd done, I'd give opportunities to those who might struggle conventionally to get into this line of work. Strength of character and a motivation to better oneself is as important, if not more so, than a good resumé. And you have that, Elle. I see in you what my father saw in me, and goddamnit you deserve this position."

"But you barely know me," Elle unintentionally whispered, wondering how the man could possibly see something in her that just wasn't there.

"I know enough," he said firmly. "I know that you have the motivation to do whatever it takes to better your situation, that you'll do anything for those you love, and that you'll power through a task - no matter how tedious or difficult it may be - to achieve that. I need that here at Investian. You can channel all of that into being an amazing personal assistant, and to developing with the company."

Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she desperately waved them away, turning enough that they were out of his sight. With a choked cough, Elle cleared her throat and swiped the tears away, gaining enough strength in doing so to look him fiercely in the eye.

"Thank you, Dean. I promise you won't regret this."

He nodded, a smile playing at his lips once more as he sipped at his coffee and opened the file before him.

Even if Elle didn't agree with everything he'd said about her, she'd do her best to prove him right and succeed at her job. Not just for herself, Mae and Trent, but for Dean too.