The Board Member's Single Mom
1. Sutton
Sutton
Iwas an imposter, and I was pretty sure everyone in the room could tell.
Sitting in the lobby of the office, I wrung my hands together in my lap, shaking my leg to try and get rid of the anxiety riddling my body. But nothing was helping. I was so out of my depth, I’d seriously considered not showing up today.
I had three outfits in total that were appropriate for an office.
My skirt was from a discount store and the blush blouse I’d tucked into it wasn’t my best color, but it had the least amount of wrinkles and since I didn’t own an iron, some wrinkles were inevitable.
My heels were low, which was the only way I could wear them.
My honey-blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and I’d managed to brush on some mascara and lip gloss as I ran out the door.
A lot more than I had been managing lately.
What the hell was I even doing here?
It had to be a scam. That was the only thing that made sense, but I was desperate enough to be here anyway. I wasn’t completely reckless, though—I’d looked up the charity foundation listed on the business card I’d been given.
The Maria Knight Memorial Fund was a legit charity. They funded research and provided patient and family care for those going through stage three and four cancers. They seemed to be doing incredible work.
Quinn West, the same woman who’d come into the restaurant I worked at, was listed as the CEO of their newly opened North American operations. The website had published an article about her when she joined, and it seemed like she was making great progress in her first six months.
She had increased the number of fundraising events, improved their marketing on social media, and was partnering with doctors more closely than they had in the past. All of this on top of an already thriving foundation based in the UK.
I had tried not to get too excited when I was reading about them, but I honestly loved the idea of making a difference.
Still didn’t mean I believed it would work out.
My thoughts drifted to the man I suspected was behind it all.
When he first came into the restaurant, I noticed him straight away.
How could I not? It was partially because he was intimidating—tall with broad shoulders and a thick chest, he looked more like a football player than someone who should be walking into this crappy diner—and partially because he was in a button-down, the sleeves rolled up to expose tattooed hands and forearms corded with muscles.
His dark hair was in a buzz cut, scruff covering his jaw.
Altogether he looked straight out of a catalogue.
Then I had to talk to him since he sat in my section. From the couple of times I was able to meet his eyes, I couldn’t exactly get a lock on their color. They seemed amber at first but I soon learned they could be more golden or closer to black depending on the day.
He was the honest definition of tall, dark, and handsome.
I’d initially been nervous around him, but over the next couple of weeks he would come in, order the same thing—a black coffee and a plate of fries he never touched—and then leave after a few hours.
He never said more than he needed to, but his intense gaze was always on me when I looked at him. And then one night he had another man and woman with him and she’d told me she wanted to meet me about this job.
Me. A literal stranger. He hadn’t said a word during our conversation, yet I had a feeling he was behind it somehow. His eyes had been locked on me and only when I took the card his friend passed me did the clench of his jaw relax marginally.
The second the woman mentioned that the job had a benefits plan, I knew I would show up. It meant that maybe I could stop working at both of the diners I was currently taking shifts at.
I had been in Calgary for six months and was struggling in a lot of ways.
This was the first glimmer of hope I’d had in a long time, and I was really nervous that it was going to be taken away from me.
The idea that I could work normal hours and be home for dinner every night was enough to get me here and make me incredibly nervous.
I resisted the urge to check my phone for a text from Iris, the same way I did whenever I left. She would call if there was a problem, not that there had been one yet. But it didn’t do anything to calm my anxiety.
“I am so sorry!”
I snapped my attention to Quinn, who was walking toward me with a smile on her face. She was in a pair of dark jeans, a cream sweater, and a cute pair of booties. Her red hair, perfectly curled, was tucked behind her ears.
“I got caught on a call and they wouldn’t let me off!” she said as she came to a stop in front of me.
I smiled back at her as I stood up. “It’s not a problem.” I was glad she didn’t reach to shake my hand since my palms were so sweaty. That would make a bad first impression.
With that thought, that one Eminem song queued in my head; palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…
“Come on back.” She tilted her head in the direction she had just come from, and together we walked through the open office space, passing rows of white desks, each with double monitors and many covered with books and papers.
The whole place was spacious, with wood accents and loads of plants.
The light buzz of people talking filled the air as we took a right into her office.
“I really appreciate you making the time to meet with me, Miss West,” I said as I took the seat opposite the large white L-shaped desk in the middle of the space.
A big window was on the left with plants on the windowsill.
Behind the desk were shelves filled with books and knickknacks.
A computer was on the side facing the window so that when you sat across from her, her face wasn’t blocked.
“Please call me Quinn. I think we’re probably the same age.
” She frowned as she sat in the cream leather chair behind her desk.
“But I don’t think I can ask you that so please forget about it.
I’m new here and I keep forgetting that I’m in charge.
” Her open, easygoing nature helped calm some of my nerves.
“Before we get too far, I want to remind you that I don’t have any assistant experience. I’ve never even worked in an office before.”
Maybe not the smartest thing to do, talking yourself out of a job before you were even interviewed, but I couldn’t be crushed with disappointment.
Not right now.
“You told me that when we met, and again on the phone when you called.” She smiled softly.
“And honestly, I’ve told the guys many times that I don’t need an assistant, but they disagreed because my workload has been a little crazy and the calls won’t stop.
With them it’s sometimes easier not to fight it.
I have to pick my battles.” I assumed she meant the two guys from the restaurant, but I had no idea and she kept going so I didn’t ask to clarify.
“So, I’m going to go with someone I at least like as a person.
I’m not too concerned with your background. ”
“I just wanted to be straightforward with you.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m willing to have someone learn. It’s not like I actually knew what I was doing when I was hired.” She leaned forward slightly. “Don’t tell anyone, but I still probably don’t.”
“What you’ve done here is incredibly impressive.”
“Thank you, but the foundation was already impressive. I’m just good at organizing people.” She waved away my compliment. “Listen, the job is yours if you want it.”
I blinked in surprise a few times before I spoke, letting her words sink in. “I… But you…you didn’t even ask me any questions.”
“I read over your resume already. Anyone who can work in the service industry as long as you have is impressive to me. I have a feeling about you, Sutton, and I know from experience that things always go more smoothly if you have people you can trust at your back. I think you’re trustworthy and that’s all I really need.
Like I said, I’m operating right now without an assistant so if you can answer the phone and speak to people, which I know you can, we can figure out the rest later. ”
I sat there stunned for a moment as her words settled over me. “Really?”
Was that all I could think to ask?
She smiled and nodded. “I deal with a lot of donors and most calling for me are pretty manageable. I can assure you that you’ve dealt with worse people as a server.”
I pushed down my emotions because for the first time in a long time someone was sitting there saying they believed in me and I almost lost it. I blinked a few more times to clear the tears from my eyes and shook my head.
“I don’t know what to say…”
Another smile from Quinn. “Well, if I were you, I would want to know about the salary and vacation time.” She slipped some paperwork across the desk. “If you want to take it home and review it before you sign, that won’t offend me at all.”
My hands shook a little as I grabbed the pages, and my jaw almost dropped as I scanned them.
This was more than I’d ever made in a year.
And it came with five weeks’ vacation and a full health plan for me and any dependents.
I might finally be able to keep my head above water, maybe even have extra money at the end of each month.
I was weeks away from having to get a third job to keep going and I had no idea how I was going to juggle it all.
“This is a lot of money for someone that doesn’t have any experience.” I looked up at her and bit my cheek. I should kick myself—why did I say that? My mind went blank on a way to follow up or take it back. I started to panic but then Quinn chuckled.
“I like your honesty, Sutton. We may be a charity foundation, but we’re backed by Knight Enterprises—they’re in charge of paying all employee salaries so all the money we raise can go to the causes we fund. This is what they pay assistants in their company and that is what we will pay you.”