Chapter 13
Juliet
The nerves in the office were vibrating from desk to desk as everyone wondered what the hell was going on.
I wondered if what Mia said was true, about someone getting the axe.
I swallowed hard, running through all the reasons why I would be the one getting fired.
Starting with the major one of me sleeping with the man upstairs. My boss’s boss. The freaking CEO.
Maybe Chester had realized we had made a passionate, tipsy mistake last night.
Maybe he realized what went on between us in the limo, on the elevator, all over his apartment, was too complicated to keep me around.
The thought made my stomach tie itself in knots as I looked toward the door of Mike’s office just across the hall.
I could just imagine the conversation playing out between the two of them as Chester came up with some excuse as to why he needed to let me go.
I was the least experienced here within the company, with the least tenure.
Blah blah blah. I was sure he would be able to think of something.
He was called a “hatchet man” after all.
I wanted to bury my face in my hands, but I didn’t want to give Mia the satisfaction of thinking she got to me.
She would probably do a little dance on my desk once I was fired, celebrating the fact that I was gone.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around why she hated me so much, or why she now sat at her desk with a smug look on her face.
Was it seriously about the livestream? I still couldn’t believe that had only been yesterday.
It seemed like I had lived three lifetimes since then.
After what felt like a lifetime of sitting on pins and needles, Mike’s office door opened and Chester strode out.
I could have sworn he gave me a little wink as he passed by the door, but he wouldn’t be so emboldened to do so.
Would he? And would he be winking at the employee he just fired?
I shook my head slightly, trying to figure out what the look could have meant.
As I internally scratched my head, I noticed Sarah staring at me with a dumbfounded look on her face.
She rolled her office chair toward me and whispered. “Wait, is that the guy from the club?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Maybe…” I said, trying to stop the color from rising to my cheeks as I covered my mouth to hold in a giggle.
“That’s the freaking CEO!” she whispered loudly.
“Shhhh!” I said, putting a finger to my mouth.
“You’ve got game, girl,” she whispered with a shake of her head, before rolling back to her seat.
I waved her off, unable to hide the smile that crossed my lips.
“This isn’t over,” she said, wagging her finger at me. “I need details.”
I looked down at my desk and shook my head, but not before seeing the look on Mia’s face.
Her brows were drawn in and she was stewing about something.
I had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with Chester.
Had she seen the look he gave me? Was she onto something?
If anyone were to figure it out, she would be the one to dig through my dirty laundry to try and ruin everything.
I pushed the thought from my head just as Mike strode into the office. My stomach sank as he approached my desk, rapping his fingers nervously on the wooden surface.
“Juliet, can we have a quick chat?” he asked, running a hand through his invisible hair on the top of his head.
I swallowed hard.
“S-sure.” I nodded.
I heard Mia snicker from the back of the room.
I ignored it and followed Mike to his office where the smell of Chester’s cologne still lingered.
It brought me right back to the night before.
The reason why I was probably about to get fired.
I braced myself as Mike took a seat behind his desk, and gestured for me to sit across from him.
“I’m afraid you’re being transferred out of accounting,” he said grimly.
“B-but I just started. Please,” I said, hating how desperate I sounded, but I didn’t want to lose this job.
“Now, now. You’re not getting fired.” Mike put his hand up as if to comfort me.
“I’m not?” I asked confused.
He shook his head. “Mr. Brandfield has requested you to be transferred.”
“Wh-where?”
“Upstairs. He wants you to be his personal assistant.”
I jerked my head back in surprise. This was the last thing I expected.
“But I’m an accountant…” I said slowly, trying to process.
“I’m just doing as I’m told. Please understand that,” said Mike with a small shrug.
“Now, as Mr. Brandfield’s personal assistant, you will be responsible for a wide range of duties, including some personal accounting.
You’ll still get to use that number brain of yours.
” Mike tapped his head before continuing.
“From what Mr. Brandfield insinuated to me, it will also come with a hefty pay raise.”
I raised my brows slightly. I thought the pay raise I received from getting hired here was big. I couldn’t imagine it getting any better, but apparently it could. I had to take the job. It didn’t seem like I had much of a choice anyway. Maybe it was just temporary, I told myself.
“Okay,” I said with a single nod. “When do I start?”
“Today. Now actually.”
I sucked in a breath. I hadn’t really expected to see Chester after last night, let alone go work for him in such close proximity.
I wondered if he was upset that I had snuck out of his place this morning without a word or a note.
Even worse, I wondered if he even cared.
He did say he knew a thing or two about “casual sex.” That’s all it was, right?
The nerves in my stomach erupted like butterflies as my mind tested out different scenarios.
“Miss Martin…” said Mike hesitantly as he looked at me, probably wondering what I was still doing in his office.
“Sorry. Yes. I’ll head up there now.”
“Thank you.” He nodded, gesturing to the door behind me.
I quickly stood and walked across the hall toward the accounting offices where it seemed everyone was waiting to hear what happened, by the way they all looked at me expectantly. Some even perched on their desks, including Sarah.
“What happened?” she asked, pulling me toward her as I passed her desk.
“I’m getting transferred upstairs,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“What? Why?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. You’re looking at Mr. Brandfield’s new personal assistant.” I shrugged.
“He can’t get enough of you, can he?” whispered Sarah with a playful nudge.
“Shhh,” I said, knowing how many eyes were on us. It seemed no one heard, though.
“I’m going to miss you,” she said forlornly. “I’ve only known you for a day, but I really will.”
I laughed. “We can still do lunch and hang out outside of this place.”
She nodded eagerly. “Please.”
I did feel sad to be leaving Sarah and this job that I had only had for twenty-four hours.
I packed up what few things I had into a small cardboard box from recycling, and logged out of my computer.
I gave everyone a little wave. I wasn’t sad to leave Mia behind.
As I walked out the door, I heard her sneer, “Maybe if I showed my kitty on the internet, I would get promoted too.” I ignored her and continued walking.
My nerves grew with each step and each floor as the elevator rose.
Finally, the gold doors slid open to the executive floor and I stepped out.
I was surprised to see it mostly empty, save for a few people who mostly seemed to be stress typing and unbothered by my presence.
I clutched the small box in my hands and looked for where Chester’s office might be.
It wasn’t hard to miss. It was the largest office on the floor and the only one with the door closed.
I strode toward it, taking a deep breath as I read the name Chester Brandfield on the gold plate on the wall just outside the door.
It felt like I was about to plummet down a rollercoaster as I rapped my knuckles against the door.
“Come in,” he said, his voice muffled through the closed door.
I opened the door and peeked my head inside, keeping the rest of my body awkwardly outside, as if I were afraid to get too close.
“Hi,” I said with a small wave, instantly regretting my casualness.
“Good morning. Please come in. All the way in.” He waved me in the rest of the way.
I stepped inside the large office and was struck by the floor-to-ceiling windows with one of the best views I had seen of Manhattan. Second to Chester’s penthouse apartment. His office was decorated similar to his apartment, with mid-century modern pieces and a deep color palette.
“Please, sit,” he said, gesturing to the wingback chair across from his large desk. There was a look in his eye that I couldn’t quite read. Was this entertaining for him? He did like to see me squirm.
I sat across from him, setting the small box of my items on the floor beside me.
“S-so, Mike says you need a personal assistant…” I said, straightening the front of my blazer. “I’ve never really done anything like that.”
“That’s okay,” said Chester. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know. But first, I need you to stop being so nervous.”
I laughed softly, as I looked down at my lap, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. How was I not supposed to be nervous? I had just spent most of the night with this man exploring every inch of my body.
“In this building,” said Chester, gesturing to the office around us. “I’m Mr. Brandfield. And you’re Miss Martin.”
I nodded.
“Now, my last assistant knew my needs well, but dropped the ball at the end. Do you have a pen and paper? You might want to write this down. These are my daily non-negotiables,” said Chester with a professionalism I hadn’t heard until now.
I reached down for my small notebook and plucked a pen from his desk.
I began writing down each task, including his morning coffee order and where his dry cleaning was and how he liked his digital calendar set up.
The list kept going and I started to wonder if I needed a bigger notebook, or if I was even right for this job.
This went beyond a personal assistant. Finally, he stopped listing things off and looked at me expectantly.
“Is that all?” I asked, immediately regretting the sarcasm in my voice.
It was hard to go from last night’s banter to this.
He raised one brow before continuing.
“No. I have your contract here.” He slid over a piece of paper and started typing on his computer, giving me the privacy to read it over.
When my eyes landed on the salary, I nearly fell out of the leather chair holding me. It was almost triple my accountant salary from downstairs. Based on the list he just allotted out for me, maybe that was what the job was worth. I signed the line at the bottom of the page and slid it back to him.
“Good. Now, let me show you to your office,” he said, standing from his desk chair and striding toward the door. I couldn’t help my eyes taking him in when they had the chance. If he was going to be wearing a different, better suit every day, it was going to be very distracting.
He led me to the office directly across from his. It was bigger than any place I had ever worked before, and it was all mine. It was decorated with the same mid-century style as Chester’s, but with a lighter color palette. The view behind the desk was incredible.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“You like it?” asked Chester.
“Oh, it will do.” I laughed softly as I turned to him.
He smiled as if holding in his own chuckle. One I had grown to know well in only just a night with him. His eyes held mine for a moment, as if replaying the night before. I could feel my cheeks burn.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he said, clearing his throat.
As he turned and walked out the door, he called over his shoulder. “Oh, and Miss Martin, make sure my phone only rings if it absolutely needs to.”
And with that, he was gone, leaving me wondering just how particular this man was.
I could handle it, though. At least I thought I could as I settled into the cush chair behind the cherrywood desk.
I looked around the office and behind me at the view, and couldn’t believe this opportunity. It seemed too good to be true.
Maybe it was.
Maybe I had only earned it because Chester saw me naked on the internet and then got me naked on his own terms. The thought made my stomach turn.
I didn’t want to get promotions because I slept with my boss.
I didn’t just want to be an object to him.
Even though he said we were different people in this building, I could still see the way he was looking at me.
The same thoughts were running through my head as I looked at him.
I looked around my desk, unpacking the small box I had brought with me.
When I opened the top drawer, I saw something shiny that caught my eye.
I sucked in a breath as I picked up one of the gold hoops I had worn last night.
I held it up and looked at it curiously.
I hadn’t realized I had left it at his place, when I was in such a hurry to get out this morning.
I looked over at Chester’s office and caught him looking back at me with a grin.