Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
LUKE
I t’s ten to nine on Monday morning and I’m waiting for Enrique’s daughter to come to my office which is where she was told to go in the brief I sent her. I hope she isn’t late, because that’s a really bad start and although I have promised Enrique that I will ride her hard, and I meant it, I don’t really want to have to sack her before we have even said hello. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Enrique’s aim either.
I’ve already decided that for at least this week, Louisa will be working directly under me. I won’t let her loose in the web development team until she has proven herself. I want to be able to give them someone who will help them, not a lazy spoiled brat who will slow things down for them.
It’s eight minutes to nine when there’s a quiet knock on my office door.
“Come in,” I call.
The door opens and a beautiful blonde woman steps in. She’s tall, about five foot eight or five foot nine, and she is slim to the point of her sleek body being almost androgynous looking, although there is nothing androgenous about her face. She is stunning, with bright, ice blue eyes that I feel like I could drown in and long, white-blonde hair. I have no idea who she is or why she’s here, but she has certainly brightened up my morning.
“Can I help you?” I say after a pause when it’s clear that she isn’t going to speak first.
“I’m meant to be starting work here today. I’m Louisa Sanchez,” the beautiful blonde says.
I try to hide my surprise. She is the last thing I expected when I pictured Enrique’s daughter. I thought she would have black hair and olive skin. In short, I didn’t expect her to look like a damned Viking queen like this woman before me does. I realize I have failed to hide my shock when she smiles at me.
“I take after my mom. She’s Swedish,” she says.
That should clear things up, but it doesn’t. I’ve met Enrique’s wife and she’s Latina too. I guess Louisa must be Enrique’s child from a previous marriage, but no, I have met her older sister too, who is also Latina. Could she be Enrique’s love child or something? I tell myself to get a grip. She could be adopted or anything. And whatever it is, it’s definitely none of my business.
I stand up, smile, and walk towards her with my hand extended.
“I’m Luke. Luke Jackson,” I say.
She smiles back and gives me a nice firm handshake.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Jackson,” she says.
“Oh, just Luke please,” I say. “Being called Mr. Jackson makes me feel like I should be twice my age.”
She laughs and it’s a pretty, feminine sound. God she’s gorgeous. She’s actually the first woman in ages who has captured my attention in this way, who I feel like I want to get to know. And who I definitely want to be inside of. Typical she has to be a board member’s daughter, and therefore off limits to me, especially while she’s working for me.
I gesture to the seat opposite mine, and she sits down, and I go to my own seat and sit behind my desk. I wipe my suddenly sweaty palms on my knees and then I place my hands on my desk. I tell myself to get a grip. It’s not like I haven’t seen a beautiful woman before.
“Tell me about your degree and your experience,” I say.
“My degree covered the basics in most areas of IT, but it’s main focus and my main area of expertise was web development. I did several placements throughout my degree where I designed and built websites, apps, that kind of thing,” she says. “And I also did a bit of web building and maintenance prior to going to college.”
I nod.
“Ok,” I say. “Now keep in mind that this position is an internship, and you will learn as you go. Sitting through lectures and actually doing the work are often very different things and there’s no shame in admitting it if there’s something that comes up that you don’t know or aren’t sure about.”
Louisa nods her agreement. So far, she’s surprisingly enthusiastic in her approach and she isn’t coming over as entitled or spoiled, but to be fair, I haven’t actually asked her to do anything except sit down and talk about herself yet.
“Until I think you’re ready to get into that side of things, I have some tasks for you to complete. The first thing you need to know and remember is Americano with milk and two sugars,” I tell Louisa.
I wait for some sarcastic comment about her not being a barista or a waitress or a servant or something like that, but she just nods her head.
“Noted,” she says. “For the record, mine is a caramel macchiato.”
“I can think of no circumstances where I will need to know that, but thanks for the information,” I say. I stand up and Louisa follows suit. “I’m going to introduce you to my personal assistant. She will show you around and show you where you will be working. Once that’s done, come back here and I will give you your first task.”
I head out of the office without looking back to make sure Louisa is following me. I hear her footsteps behind me which confirms she actually is. I take her to Mel’s office and tap on the door and go inside when she calls out to come in.
“Louisa, this is Mel Rose, my personal assistant and general superwoman. Mel, this is Louisa Sanchez, the new intern and general dog’s body I told you was starting today. Can you give her the tour, get her set up on the systems, all of that kind of thing?” I say.
Mel nods her head although she is looking at me kind of strangely. I know why. It’s the dog’s body comment. Something I would never normally say about a new intern, especially not in front of them, not even as a joke. I felt Louisa bristle beside me at my words too, but to her credit, she didn’t comment on them. Maybe her mean girl side will come out more with Mel, someone she probably thinks is beneath her if she’s so entitled, rather than with me, her boss. If it does, she will be sorry, because Mel is one of my most valued employees and if this jumped up intern upsets her, there will be hell to pay.