4. Daisy #2
I shifted in my seat. This was an odd conversation to have with my boss, but then again, we’d passed odd before we even officially met.
“Yes, very. I talk to them a few times a week and go home whenever I have some spare time—which, I will admit, is not very often. They’re busy bees with no plans to retire. Then again, they had me very early, so they’re still quite young.”
“Where did you go to college?”
“You didn’t even glance at my résumé, did you?”
Oh, Daisy, you’re playing with fire.
He shook his head. “I never do. I trust Dorothy to pick the best candidate for me.”
Which would explain why he had so many assistants. Maybe no one would ever be right for Anthony. What did I get myself into?
Well, she’d picked me, so I wasn’t going to complain.
“I went to Cornell. Then I worked in Chicago until this summer, when I came here to do a summer course in digital marketing at Loyola. I felt the need for a change.”
“And then you decided to stay?”
“Only because I got offered a position at the beverage firm.”
“Was that at Thornton’s?” he asked. There weren’t too many big companies around, so it was pretty obvious which one.
“Yes, that’s it.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
“It was a blow for sure, but this is a great opportunity. I’ve never been involved in the music industry.”
“It’s a very dynamic one. You like to look at things in a positive light?”
“Always. What’s the point in viewing everything through a negative lens? Just makes life more difficult.”
“I agree with that. ”
Well, well. Something we agreed upon. We were making progress.
“You’ve always run this branch of The Orleans Conglomerate?
I couldn’t find much more on the internet except who’s running what nowadays.
” I looked at Anthony intently even though it was a dangerous thing to do because his profile was unbelievably sexy.
He reminded me of a movie star, although I couldn’t quite remember who.
The chiseled jaw, the high cheekbones, and the straight nose were picture-perfect.
“Yes, always. I knew what I wanted to do since I was a teen. Music has always been a big part of my life.”
“Is jazz your favorite?” I asked him, just because there were a lot of clubs that offered the genre down here.
“I really like it all. Jazz is my favorite, but I also enjoy classic rock. Give me a Led Zeppelin song any day.”
We both laughed at that. Then he asked, “You?”
“I’m a country gal.”
“Good to know.”
“And you’ve always known that you’re going to stay with The Orleans Conglomerate?”
Usually, I’d never ask my boss something so personal, but since he’d done the same to me, why not? The way I saw it, we were just exchanging information.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Yes, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind. My dad and grandparents worked in various capacities in the company growing up, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps.”
“I think my dad hoped I’d do the same,” I mentioned.
“Was he supportive when you told him that you had other plans?”
“Yes. I’m very lucky. My parents are always supportive. They were ecstatic when I got a scholarship for Cornell and then later my first job in Chicago. I think they hoped that after a few years of living in a big city, I’d return home. Only that never happened. ”
“We all must find our own way,” he said as he pulled the car into a parking spot.
“The drive didn’t take long at all.”
“There’s no traffic at this time of day. It’s madness in the afternoon, though.”
He turned to me. “All right. Before we get out of the car…”
I sucked in a breath. Oh God, he was going to bring up this morning again, I was sure of it. He was going to say he couldn’t forget it, that he still wants that coffee date.
Wow! Where on earth did that train of thought come from? That was the opposite of what I needed to happen.
“This is how things will go. You’ll be with me at all times, and I’ll tell you what to write down. Mostly to-dos, either for me or for you.”
Well, that went differently than what I’d imagined. I felt as if I’d jumped into a cold pool. I guess he had no intention of rekindling what happened earlier.
Why did that bug me?
“Perfect.”
How could I be disappointed that my boss was behaving like a boss and not like a major flirt? I needed to get a grip.
I took a deep breath as I got out of the car.
I couldn’t understand why I was having so much trouble pushing this morning to the back of my mind.
It was no big deal. Anthony certainly seemed to be able to completely compartmentalize, so why couldn’t I?
After all, he’d been the one to hit on me first. He asked for my number.
Yeah, but you gave in pretty easily, didn’t you? a voice said in the back of my mind.
There was no need to chastise myself any longer. I was going to do my job impeccably, and that would be enough.
On the property, there were several tents and small stages at various points of construction. Anthony headed to a small cabin with determined strides. I was struggling to keep up with him. The man was much taller than me, so his legs were proportionally longer too.
“First things first, this is where the location manager is stationed day in, day out,” Anthony said, pointing to the cabin. “If you ever come here without me, go straight to him.”
“Noted,” I assured him.
“Gregory, hi,” Anthony greeted the man as he came out of the cabin.
“Hey, Anthony,” Gregory responded. “I was wondering when you’d stop by.” He was looking at me.
“This is Daisy.” There was a pause, and then he said, “My new assistant.”
Gregory looked incredulously at me and then back at Anthony. “Hi, Daisy. Nice to meet you.”
“Is everyone going to be ready on time?” Anthony asked, glancing around.
“Yes. We’re cutting it close because of the shitty weather last week, but everyone will be ready tomorrow evening.”
“Is there an event program I can download somewhere?” I asked.
“Yes. I even have printed copies here.”
Gregory went back into the cabin and came out with a folded sheet of paper. I read through it and instantly understood why the festival was so popular. They had some big names, and the entry price was fair considering how much music you got for the money.
I pocketed the sheet of paper, listening intently to Anthony’s conversation so I didn’t miss out on anything. This was fun. He had an interesting job, so shadowing him would be fun for me too.
There were plenty of food and beverage stops along the way. This was a huge operation. No wonder Anthony wanted to come here in person and check on how it was going.
“Are you going to stop by during the concert as well?” I inquired .
“We’ll see.”
For the next hour, I followed Anthony around as he spoke to two dozen people. He asked pointed questions, and he was clearly on top of everything. I was impressed with the level of detail. I’d assumed he simply oversaw the whole thing.
I learned soon enough what things I was to jot down. Anthony sometimes clued me in by gesturing at me, but others were just intuitive.
At the end of the tour, three hours later, I had a lot of notes.
“Right, Gregory, that’s all,” Anthony said as we returned to the cabin. “I’ve kept you long enough.”
“Sure. I’ll call if we run into any issues I can’t solve.”
“Perfect. It looks good, and I can see you’ve got it under control. Thank you.” He shook Gregory’s hand.
Gregory then turned to me. “It was nice meeting you, Daisy.” The corners of his mouth twitched. “And good luck in your new job. Hope to see you around for a while.”
“Thanks.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at Anthony; his eyes had bulged. He was staring at Gregory as if he’d suddenly sprouted a second head.
Once the man went inside the cabin, I hugged the iPad to my chest, focusing on my boss. “I’ll edit my notes and send them to you later today.”
Anthony nodded, still not looking at me. He was watching the cabin, as if he needed to process what Gregory had said. Finally, he tilted his head toward me. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving, actually. Is there a deli anywhere around?”
“I’ll do one better. How about I take you out to lunch?”
I swallowed hard. Did he take all his assistants to lunch?
It doesn’t matter, Daisy .
“Thanks, that’s very generous of you. Can’t say I’ve had many bosses who took me out to lunch on my first day.”
“I bet you didn’t have any boss who started off the way I did this morning either.” To my astonishment, he winked at me. I’d never thought winking was particularly sexy, but damn, it worked for this guy.
I bit my lower lip. “So, we’re back to not ignoring what happened this morning?”
Anthony shook his head, coming a smidge closer to me. “We’re definitely forgetting it.” A smile played on his lips. “But I’ve got some things to make up for.”
The way I saw it, I had some things to make up for, too, but I wasn’t going to say no to lunch with him. Maybe I could find out more about him. It would help me do my job, right?
The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. In all my previous jobs, it was all about the product and the company. Here, it was all about the boss. As his assistant, I was here to make his life easier.
Going to lunch with him was a great idea.