Chapter 13 #2
“Hi, this is Great Hendrix Co., and I’m Nhuri. How can I help you?” she answered, almost flustered, hoping she answered correctly.
There was a slight pause before a deep, authoritative voice filled her ear. “Hello, Nhuri. This is Domino. I need to speak with Mr. Hendrix. Is he in?”
Nhuri straightened and glanced at the caller ID. She recognized the name flashing on the phone’s screen as one of the distributors Michelle had mentioned earlier.
“He’s unavailable at the moment,” she said smoothly. “Can I take a message or assist you?”
A heavy sigh came through the line. “We need confirmation on the barrel shipment for next week. There’s a discrepancy on the invoice we received, and we can’t move forward without it being cleared up.”
She hesitated, wondering if she’d have to call Michelle for assistance or try to solve the problem at least a little bit.
Deciding on the latter, Nhuri asked him for his company name and the invoice date.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she logged into the system and pulled up the shipping details.
It took her a few seconds to locate the invoice in question. Quickly, she scanned the numbers.
“I see the issue,” she said, keeping her tone professional. “It looks like the deposit amount was misapplied. I can notify accounting to have it corrected immediately. I’ll also flag this for Mr. Hendrix, so he’s in the loop.”
Domino let out a relieved sigh. “I appreciate that. Just need it squared away before the end of the day.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure it is.”
“Thank you,” Domino said. “Are you new?”
Nhuri smirked. “Yes. I’m the new assistant, so if you can’t contact Mr. Hendrix, you’ll speak with me.”
“Very well, then. I’ll store that information for future use. I’ll be on the lookout for the email. Thanks again, Nhuri.”
She smiled brightly. “You’re welcome. Have a great day.”
Wrapping up the call, Nhuri leaned back in her chair.
She couldn’t help but give herself a small clap for handling the call like a skilled professional.
Even though her heart was beating fast, she’d gotten one task marked off.
Now, it was time to reach out to accounting.
Nhuri woke up her monitor and prepared an email when there was a knock on her office door.
She glanced upward and was thankful that the door was open so she could see his face and not be alarmed once he walked in.
“Hello,” she greeted him with an edge in her tone as Shyriq crossed the threshold.
He nodded once and smirked. “Good afternoon. I see you’re getting settled in.”
Nhuri blinked twice. “I am.”
Shyriq licked his lips, and she wished he hadn’t.
It was bad enough that he filled her space with his energy and intoxicating smell.
He was dressed in slacks and a white button-down, looking just as good as Nhuri remembered him.
Strangely, all the nervous jitters she didn’t have came to the forefront in his presence.
Nhuri intertwined her hands together to keep from nervously running a hand down her neck.
Shyriq’s eyes flickered to her hand before lifting back to her face. “How was your morning?”
She swallowed hard, sitting up straighter. “As good as it can get.”
His brow quirked. “Is there an issue?”
Nhuri knew she was being a brat for no reason, so she gathered herself. “No,” she answered. “Here’s your chai latte. Well, iced chai latte now.”
Shyriq smirked. So, that’s her problem. I wasn’t here when she arrived. He had a great eye for reading people and saw right through Nhuri. Her cute pout made him want to kiss it off her face. His gaze swept over her desk, noticing she had already taken a few notes.
“Thank you. I’ll still drink it cold,” he said as she handed it to him. Shyriq twirled the liquid and then took a sip. “You’re sending emails already?” he asked, concerned and impressed.
Nhuri nodded. “I was about to when you walked in. Domino had an issue with the invoice, but I figured it out. I was going to reach out to the accounting team.”
Shyriq nodded, more than impressed with her efficiency. “You let me handle that. There shouldn’t have been any mix-ups.”
“Okay,” Nhuri said slowly. “Do you normally handle that, or does Michelle?”
“She does, but I’ll take care of it today. You don’t have to worry about it.”
All Nhuri could do was nod. She expected him to take a seat at least, but he continued standing. Shyriq drank from his cup, and Nhuri finally had to break the silence.
“Are Mondays your late days?”
He smirked. “Usually, yes. I’m at the distillery for most of the morning into the afternoon.”
“Hmm. Okay. Noted.”
“You seem to be doing just fine.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I am. I just would have preferred a heads-up, a have-a-good-day, an ETA—something.”
“You’re right, and I apologize. I’m used to a schedule, and though I knew today was your first day, business still had to be handled accordingly. If I recall, you have my cell number,” Shyriq said.
“You wanted me to reach out to you on my first day? Who’s the assistant?”
He laughed, and Nhuri dropped her frown. Shyriq met her playful gaze.
“No, I didn’t expect you to call or text me. I knew you were in good hands. I’m not a fan of micromanaging. I hired you because I knew you wouldn’t need me to hold your hand.”
Nhuri held his stare. “And you don’t, but common courtesy still works like a charm.”
They just stared at each other momentarily, battling on who would break first. Nhuri may have been taking things a bit personally, but Shyriq didn’t find her observation wrong.
The distillery had been so hectic this morning that he didn’t have time to check in on her.
Shyriq figured he’d just wait until he could get away and now realized a quick call or text would’ve been appreciated. He understood her completely.
Shyriq exhaled first, breaking their eye contact. A part of him liked being in control, especially of his feelings, and Nhuri was making him relinquish some of that power on day one. He glanced around her office before walking to the window and taking in the view as Nhuri had done earlier.
“You’re right, it does,” Shyriq said. “Next time, I’ll call.”
Behind his back, Nhuri smirked. “Okay.”
He turned to face her. “Let’s go to lunch.”
Her nose bunched. “Huh?”
“Lunch. I know you haven’t eaten yet.”
“I haven’t, but—”
“But nothing. We both need to eat, and I want to see how your morning went since I wasn’t here. Meet me in the lobby in five minutes.”
Nhuri stared at him, waiting for more of an explanation about why he wanted to treat her to lunch besides the logical one he gave.
But all Shyriq gave her was a subtle head nod before walking out of her office with his chai latte in his hand.
Her lips pressed together as she watched his strong back, and she shook her head. A smirk teased the corner of her lips.
“It’s just a friendly lunch with your boss, girl. Get it together,” Nhuri told herself and stood up.
Even though she’d uttered those words, she had a feeling that working for Shyriq would be nothing like she expected . . . plus a lot more.