Chapter 2
2
LINCOLN
T oday has turned into a damn dumpster fire of a day. My assistant forgot to send out a very important email that needed to go out yesterday while showing zero signs of remorse. Then she proceeded to sit on my desk and hike up her dress like I would give a fuck about trying to catch a glance at her legs.
I’m so over these women who parade around here, desperate for my attention. I even told Scarlett no more female assistants, which completely backfired on me. All it did was earn me a gay man who was just as keen on getting my attention.
Apparently, there are no straight men out there who want to be an assistant for a CEO. Total bullshit if you ask me. The pay is great, and the benefits are even better. I take care of my employees.
All I ask in return is to take your job seriously and not spend your time trying to get into my pants.
Don’t get me wrong; I love the feeling of sinking my cock into the warmth of a beautiful woman. I just don’t do it at work. To be honest, I’ve been less and less interested in doing it at all lately. It’s become too easy, the women too desperate.
They can sniff out my money from a mile away. Even the ones who come from money and don’t need mine act annoying as fuck around me. It’s all a damn game to them. Who can snag the hottest, most eligible bachelor to brag about at their next event?
The second whatever-her-name-was decided to try and get me to slide my hand up her skirt rather than run to her computer to fix her mistake, I knew I needed to let her go. But now, here I am, starving because I’ve been too busy to get myself lunch and going through my own inbox like I’m a secretary and not the CEO of a billion-dollar organization.
I take pride in being the CEO of Nova Sky Airlines. Mostly because I did it on my own without my father’s connections or the power of my last name, which I’d changed years ago. No one can take credit for my success, and I’m damn proud of that.
I know my reputation around this office. I’m the dreaded CEO who is impossible to work with and has a bad attitude. I’m fine with playing that role if it makes everyone feel better to have a villain in their life. Maybe I am the bad guy. No one ever said life was easy, and I sure as hell am not going to coddle my employees through it.
At some point in my day, I begin rummaging through my assistant’s desk, looking for a contract, when I see Scarlett approach. There’s a woman trailing behind her, who I can only assume is my new assistant.
She’s not the typical long-legged, every-perfectly-colored-piece-of-hair-in-place kind of assistant I’m used to, but she is beautiful. I look back at Scarlett, no longer interested in my assistant’s appearance.
“Mr. Monroe, I have wonderful news. Meet your new assistant, Miss Kylie Ricci.”
Miss Ricci extends her hand, but I know better than to allow physical contact anymore. They always linger too long.
“Thank you, Scarlett. We have it from here.” I turn my attention to my new assistant. “There’s a contract between us and Harvest Brew somewhere in this mess. I need it. Find it. Also, I haven’t gotten around to lunch. Go down to the café on the corner and get me a turkey on wheat.”
Scarlett pats her arm and walks away. Miss Ricci stands there, looking a little shell-shocked at my abruptness. I learned a long time ago if I’m too friendly, they get the wrong idea. And I don’t have time to welcome each new hire when they don’t last longer than a couple of weeks.
“Did you get that?” I ask loudly as I look down at her still-extended hand.
It must dawn on her what she’s doing, and she pulls her arm down quickly. “Yes, Mr. Monroe. Contract and lunch.”
I roll my eyes. Great. She seems young and inexperienced. I don’t have time for that shit. “I assume you’ve been given a company card for all my expenses?”
She nods her head.
“Words, Miss Ricci. I don’t do head gestures.”
“Yes. I have been given a company card. I will use it to get your lunch as soon as I find the contract you are looking for.”
“Good.” I storm back into my office and close my door.
From the outside of the office, the glass walls appear to be frosted. But it’s this new technology where you can see everything in perfect clarity from the inside. It gives everyone the appearance that I can’t see anything when, in fact, I see everything.
I watch as Miss Ricci takes a seat and begins sifting through the papers all over her desk. Gosh, it’s such a mess. How did I not see how unorganized the other assistant was? She was too busy touching up her makeup and batting her lashes at me.
Much to my surprise, Miss Ricci appears to have found what I was looking for. She stands up straight and adjusts her skirt and blouse, then walks toward my door. A light knock sounds, barely audible. It annoys me. How the hell would I have heard that if I wasn’t already watching her, knowing a knock was coming?
I decide to ignore it, hoping she gets the message that if she’s going to cut it as my assistant, she needs to be a hell of a lot more assertive. I watch her as she looks left, then right, like she’s waiting for someone to help her.
Where the hell did Scarlett find this one?
She takes a deep breath, as if garnering enough courage for something, then knocks again—with more force this time.
“Come in,” I shout as I lean back in my chair and fold my arms across my chest.
The door opens, and she walks in slowly. “Mr. Monroe, I have that contract you were looking for.”
For a minute, we stare at each other. I notice her eyes are a deep shade of green with spots of hazel scattered around like glitter. I’m not sure why I noticed such a specific quality, but it irritates me. I don’t pay attention to stuff like that.
When she realizes I’m not going to extend my arm for the contract, she takes the necessary steps in my direction to place it on my desk.
Again, she stands in front of me like she’s waiting for me to do or say something. I raise my eyebrows at her, not sure what she wants from me. Her eyes open wide in panic, and then she starts to back away.
“I’ll go get your lunch now,” she says as her voice cracks.
I roll my eyes. What’s with her? Why does she act like she’s so out of her element?
I grab the contract and begin to go over it to make sure there aren’t any errors before I give it to our legal department to approve.
Miss Ricci interrupts me with my lunch. I begin opening my sandwich when she takes a seat across from me with a pad of paper and pen in her hand. I’m a bit taken aback.
“Can I help you with something?” I ask.
“Oh, um, I figured you’d want to let me know what you want me to do next,” she says softly.
I cock my head to the side as I examine her. “Why would I do that? It’s your job to tell me what’s on my calendar.”
“I just thought since it’s my first day—” she starts.
I interrupt, “Scarlett was supposed to get you set up.”
Her eyebrows turn down. “You dismissed her before she could do anything. I’ll figure it out.”
As she stands up, I notice a bit of moisture pooling in her eyes. I blow out a breath of frustration when she turns her back to me.
“There’s a binder with everything you need to know somewhere at your desk,” I say.
She turns her head and nods. “I’ll go find it and start to study.”
I don’t know what made me help her out. Normally, if an assistant can’t even manage getting herself started, I’m a dick, and I watch them suffer. Maybe it’s the emotion I saw on her face that made me feel slightly bad for her.
Am I getting soft? That’s no good. I can’t have that.
I likely just need to get laid. It’s been months, and it could be starting to mess with me.
A couple of hours later, Miss Ricci appears at my door with a loud knock. When she walks in, she has a more confident demeanor about her. I’m not sure what it is that makes her appear more confident.
“It’s time for your three o’clock meeting,” she says with a small smile.
“I’ll be right there.”
I stand up and grab my suit jacket, then slide my arms into it. After I adjust my sleeves and button it, I look up and see Miss Ricci still at my door.
I walk past her with a bit of annoyance. Is this when the flirting begins? Did she google my net worth and now has decided to attach herself to my ass? Figures that she’s just like the rest of them.
I round the corner and walk into the conference room, where my CFO and COO are laughing.
“Ah, there he is,” Roy, my CFO, says casually as I take a seat at the head of the table.
“We were beginning to think you’d stood us up,” Carson adds.
I look down at my watch and notice it’s five minutes after three. I’m never late to meetings. How the hell did this happen? My body instantly burns with anger. I swivel in my chair to find my assistant sitting in the corner of the room with red cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know where the conference room was. It took me a couple of minutes to find it and get the waters and coffee ready before I got you.”
“It’s no problem. This floor is like a maze,” Roy interrupts. “No one is perfect on their first day. Right, Lincoln?”
I hear the tone in his voice. He’s telling me to give the woman a break. I don’t give people breaks. No one ever gave me a break. The only thing that stops me from firing her on the spot is knowing how bad it will look that I fired two assistants in one day.
“Now you know where it is. Don’t let it happen again,” I warn.
Roy glares at me, but I’m not in the mood for his shit today. I know he’s going to say I need to loosen up and stop being such a dick. He tells me this every day. I never listen, so I don’t know when he’s going to give it a rest.
Before I turn back to the guys, I swear I see pure hatred reflected in her eyes. It throws me off-kilter a bit because I’m used to lust reflecting back in the eyes of my assistants. I’m sure I’m just imagining it because they are all the same. Maybe she was just momentarily embarrassed for fucking up on her first day.
Either way, I shake it from my head and focus on starting the meeting.