Ava Gray
“Okay, so today is a pretty big day. We’ll be attending a meeting where Mrs. Whitmore will announce and introduce the new CEO. I heard through the grapevine that it’s not Trenton, thank God.” Stephanie informed me, whispering the last part.
“When we go in here, don’t speak unless spoken to.
At the end of the meeting, I’ll introduce you to everyone, so they’ll know exactly who you are.
Use your planner to take notes and jot down any appointments mentioned.
I’ve already gathered the usual coffee orders for the Whitmores.
Each cup is labeled. All I need you to do is pass them out and stand to the side.
It’s that simple. After today, your hours will be sure to pick up because we will be back in the full swing of things. I hope you’re ready.” She smiled.
“I’m ready.” I nodded.
“Good. You look very nice today, by the way. I love the dress.” She winked.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
I had to raid my sister's closet once again because I didn’t have time to go out and shop for new attire.
Thankfully, she had a few options, but shopping was the first thing on my to do list. I had been so busy training with Stephanie.
It was a lot to take in. You might as well say I worked strictly for this family.
There wasn’t too much that I did concerning the bank itself.
Whatever business that needed to be handled in that area, Stephanie took care of.
I was more of a personal assistant for the family outside of the bank, but my office was within the company building.
Over the past few days, I had been riding around town with Stephanie as she showed me the most frequented spots I would be coming to.
The coffee shops, the luxury fashion stores, the tailors, and dry cleaners.
There were a lot of damn places to note.
Whatever this family needed, it was my job to handle it for them and get it in their hands.
Shit, I was pretty much being paid to make their lives easier.
For some reason, I was kind of nervous. I only hoped that those people were nice and welcoming.
But the way Stephanie talked about them, especially the guy named Trenton, I wasn’t too sure.
“Okay, everyone is already in the conference room. Take this, read the names, and pass them out.” She handed me a drink tray with five cups of coffee.
“It’s showtime.” She smiled.
I walked behind her into a giant room with a huge table in the center.
There were about twenty chairs, and each one was taken.
I had to remember Stephanie telling me that Mrs. Whitmore would be seated at the head of the table.
I placed her drink down first, and she nodded in acknowledgment.
I knew who Julia was. Based on the previous description, I knew who Preston was because of the fillers in his lips.
It wasn’t until then that I was thrown off because the same beautiful blue eyes that hypnotized me a few days prior were staring at me.
I placed a cup down in front of who I assumed to be Trenton because he had a scowl on his face.
“Hey.” He snapped his fingers. “Does it look like my name is fucking Ethan?” He pushed the cup away.
“Um…I’m sorry. Here you go.” I gave him the correct cup.
“Aye, you never taught this dick how to properly speak to a woman?” Blue eyes spoke up on my behalf.
His eyes were trained on Mrs. Whitmore.
“Trent, apologize to this young lady.”
“For what? She’s the one making mistakes. She apologized, so I’ll leave it at that.” He popped off.
I bit the inside of my cheek to refrain from speaking out of turn. Stephanie was right; this man was a complete asshole. I took a few seconds to woosah before I placed the last cup in front of Mr. EJ.
“Thank you.” He winked at me with a small smile.
I noticed he didn’t have his slugs in as his pearly whites were slightly displayed.
“You’re welcome.” I nodded
I stood in the corner beside Stephanie as the meeting began.
Mrs. Whitmore stood to thank everyone for being so patient and continuing to uphold their positions in the wake of her husband's passing.
She rambled on for a good twenty minutes before finally getting to the part about who now owned the company.
“Per my husband’s request, I would like to introduce a new face to the board. Mr. Ethan Whitmore will be joining us as the new CEO of Whitmore Financial Banking. I will not answer any additional questions regarding my husband’s decision because it has been set. Welcome, Ethan, and congratulations.”
I wasn’t sure if that was her normal tone, but her welcome was dry as hell.
Maybe it was because she was mourning her husband.
Either way, she could’ve perked up for a few damn minutes.
After she concluded, everyone at the table stood, walked around to shake Ethan’s hand, then immediately made their exit.
“Excuse me. If you don’t mind, I would like to introduce our new assistant. This is Ava Gray. She just started with us a few days ago. Ava, meet the Whitmores.” Stephanie beamed.
“Hi. It’s a pleasure to meet each of you. Thank you for this opportunity. I greatly appreciate it.” I smiled.
“Who hired you?” Trenton questioned.
“I did. Is that a problem?” Julia spoke up.
“Nah, it’s not a problem. We’re glad to have you here.” Ethan smiled.
“You’ve been in the circle for two seconds, and you’re already talking like you’re a part of this family.” Trenton scoffed.
“Muthafucka, I don’t want to be a part of your family.
Let’s make that shit clear right now. It’s not my fault your daddy didn’t leave you in charge.
And that might be because he knew how much of a bitch you are.
You’d probably run this muthafucka into the ground.
You’re not as big of a boss as you thought you were, and that’s why he chose me. ” Ethan smirked.
“Fuck y—”
“That’s enough!” Mrs. Whitmore interjected.
“Trenton, get your things and let's go.” She slid on her Balmain shades.
Trenton stood, red as a tomato. The hatred in his bluish gray eyes was obvious. I was all for family drama that wasn’t my own, and I couldn’t wait to see what would unfold in the near future.
“Hey, Ava, it’s good to see you again.” Julia approached me with a hug. “I apologize for my brother’s behavior. He’s a complete douche bag and extremely rude. I hope he didn’t rub you the wrong way.” She seemed concerned. “And you look nice by the way.” She smiled.
“Thank you. I have pretty thick skin, so his outburst didn’t bother me.”
“Please don’t let it. It’s good to have you with us. I know we drive Steph crazy around here.” Preston smiled.
He was a nice looking white boy. It was obvious that he was a part of the LGBTQ community.
He definitely had a good sense of style, and I loved it.
I could bet he was handsome before all the surgery done to his face.
It was also obvious that Mrs. Whitmore had work done to her face as well—her boobs too.
Stephanie informed me that I wouldn’t be needed for the rest of the day, but she said to be prepared to work my ass off tomorrow.
I gave her a hug and said my goodbyes. Before I could reach the exit, Ethan stopped me.
“Aye.”
There it was again; that electricity shooting through my body from physical contact. What the hell was all that about?
“Yes?” I looked up at him.
“I didn’t think I would see your beautiful face again. Not this soon at least, and definitely not under these circumstances.” His smile did something to me.
“Yeah. Small world, huh.”
He made me nervous.
“I guess it is. I’m about to get something to eat. How about you join me?”
“I…I don’t think—”
“Nah, nah, you can’t tell the boss no on the first day.” He grinned. “It’s just lunch. My treat.”
Something told me I wasn’t making a wise choice. I needed to keep it strictly professional. However, like he said, it was just lunch. Not a date or anything like that.
“Okay,” I agreed.
I walked beside him to his car. Like a gentleman, he opened the door for me to slide in.
The seats were warm and soft as cotton. Luckily, I wasn’t tired.
Otherwise, my ass would’ve fallen right to sleep.
We didn’t go too far from the bank; we went right around the corner, actually, to a burger joint.
Once we sat down, I didn’t really need to go over the menu because I wasn’t that hungry.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
We were silent, and for some reason, I thought that was the best thing to say.
“I didn’t lose anything, sweetheart. I only gained. I never met that man a day in my life,” he confessed while still reading over the menu.
“Oh, okay. I didn’t know that. I literally just started working there. It’s kind of crazy because the day I saw you at SweetFrog, I had just come from my interview.” I smiled.
“Word? That is crazy. You know what else is crazy?”
“What?” I giggled.
“How beautiful you are. I’m dead ass serious.”
His smile was so contagious. Beautiful. Hypnotizing, just like his eyes.
“Thank you.” I shyly looked away.
“You’re welcome.”
A waiter walked up to our table to take our order. I kept it simple and got a basket of tenders with fries. He ordered the same, except I had lemonade while he chose water. As soon as the waiter walked away, his full attention was back on me.
“Can I be straight up with you about something?”
“Sure…I guess.” I hesitated.
“I’m not too sure if it’s a good idea for us to work together.”
“And why is that?” I frowned.
“For many reasons.” He shrugged. “For one, you’re a beautiful distraction. I’m not saying that to be weird or no shit like that. I can’t help but to be honest.”
I laughed because I found that funny, yet polite in a sense.
“Okay, well thank you for being so honest. But I’m sure we can co-exist in close proximity without any problems. I’m at the Whitmores to work, not to be a distraction. But if it’s too much to handle, maybe you should just go ahead and quit.” I smirked.