Chapter 5
FIVE
I woke on Friday with a broad smile on my face. By some sort of luck, I’d managed to survive my first week working with Theo. It felt like a minor miracle that he hadn’t killed me, or worse—fired me. After Theo calmed down about the redecorating debacle, everything had gone pretty smoothly.
The job itself was relatively simple. The biggest challenge was trying to read Theo’s moods. I’d tried to get a sense of his needs and anticipate them the best I could. Some were easy.
A long client meeting: he’d need a glass and scotch and silence in the office.
A phone call with the main office back in LA: he’d want me to print out every single client list and take meticulous notes about their plans.
And anytime his ex-wife called: I should toss the message into the trash and never bother asking if he wanted to call her back.
Most of the time, Theo was a workhorse, constantly keeping himself busy, which in turn meant that I was always busy, but at this point, it was kind of a blessing. My usual social life was a joke, and most nights, the apartment felt more like a tomb than a home. Devyn was rarely around, and if she was, she was buried in briefs and other court documents.
And while I liked that work distracted me, I was also exhausted . The majority of nights, Theo worked until at least midnight. He’d often try to tell me to go home, I didn’t feel right leaving him behind. Still, I drew a line at crashing at the office. There were a few times when I’d accidentally dozed off at my desk, but I refused to sleep there willfully, a sentiment that Theo did not share. I found him passed out on the couch twice already, his suit rumpled from his all-nighter.
At least he stopped complaining about his new furniture after that first night.
After getting ready and springing for a cab to the office, I shoved the door open with my hip, shocked to hear other people inside. After it being only Theo and me here all week, it was a little jarring to hear others in our space. I walked down the hall to find Theo in his office with six other men.
I looked around the room, taking in their designer suits and powerful auras. They must have been the other agents he told me about. I had the date marked on my calendar, making sure their offices were assigned and stocked before they arrived, but I forgot that they were getting in late last night.
As I stood in the doorway, none of them seemed to notice me. They were too focused on the documents, charts, and spreadsheets sprawled all over the coffee table. One of the other men, a younger guy with slicked-back blond hair, glanced up first, giving me a sideways smirk before standing. “And who do we have here? ”
Theo rolled his eyes at him. “Jack Fischer, this is my assistant, Calla.”
“Ah,” the man— Jack —said as he walked over to me, extending his hand. “The new Marie.”
“That’s yet to be determined,” Theo muttered, not even bothering to take his eyes off the paper he was studying.
Well, so much for him warming up to me. The words struck a nerve for a moment, but I quickly brushed it off. I straightened my shoulders, refusing to let Theo rattle me. It would take a lot more than that. My mother and stepfather had practically made it a blood sport. Theo would have to work harder if he wanted to get under my skin.
I placed my hand in Jack’s, noticing the strength in his grip. “Don’t mind Mr. Ayad,” I winked. “He’s not used to having someone call him out on his surly attitude.”
Jack and the other men barked a loud laugh, and he smiled down at me. “I like this one, Theo.” He lowered his voice, “When you get sick of his shit, come find me. I could use an assistant with some spark.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Theo warned, finally looking up at us. Please . I rolled my eyes. With his constantly shifting moods and attitude problem, I should jump at the chance to work for someone else, but I felt a sick sense of loyalty to Theo. He was willing to give me a chance when no one else would even let me in the door.
But it was nice to have options.
I coyly smiled up at Jack, “Tempting offer, but I’m good right now.” I winked at Theo, secretly loving how annoyed his expression had turned. “I can handle him.”
Theo stood, placing his hand on my arm to steer me out of his office. He let the door close behind him, bringing me to my desk and depositing me into my chair. “Do I need you to reread the employee contract? ”
I arched my brow. “What for?”
“There’s a strict no-fraternization rule.” He narrowed his eyes. “Jack is a shameless flirt, but he’s also one of the best sports agents in the country. If you try?—”
“I’m going to stop you there.” I held up my hand. “First of all, this is the first and last time we will discuss my dating life. It’s none of your business.”
“It is if it affects this office.”
“And second,” I continued, matching his irritated glare, “that policy only applies to supervisors and their subordinates. And last: I have zero interest in dating Jack. That was a conversation, in case you haven’t heard of those before. It’s something two people do when they work together. Maybe you should go back to your makers and see if they can install a better social chip. Yours seems to be defective.”
He paused, leaning away from me. “Because I’m a robot?”
“Now he’s getting it,” I teased, placing my hands down on my desk. “To make it clear, yes, I read the contract and know that interoffice dating is not allowed. Trust me, it won’t be an issue.”
Theo nodded slowly, apparently appeased by my words. He looked down at the calendar on my desk, studying the notes I’d left for the day. I’d already been planning on working late, trying to get a jump start for next week. Knowing Theo, he’d be working all weekend and have an endless list of tasks waiting for me on Monday morning.
He tapped his finger against the surface. “I need you to set up a dinner.”
I nodded, grabbing my ever-present notepad. “For when?”
“Tonight. ”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Unless you want fast-food, it’s going to be hard to get a reservation with only a few hours’ notice. How many people?”
“Six,” Theo said with a disinterested tone, as if he hadn’t just thrown me an impossible task with an even more ridiculous deadline. “Most of the department heads flew in last night, and I want to start this team off on the right foot.”
“Sounds like a blast,” I drawled, scribbling down ideas.
“Hardly. More like most of them will get hammered and stick me with the tab. But that’s how things are done.”
“Then maybe you should bring me along,” I jokingly suggested. “That sounds like my idea of a good time.” I stood, tapping him on the shoulder with my notepad.
His brow furrowed. “Assistants don’t usually attend these events.”
“I know.” I smirked. “I was teasing, Mr. Ayad.”
But he kept staring at me, those dark brown eyes breaking through all my defenses. Theo's stare worked right through to your soul, making you feel exposed and vulnerable. It took everything in me to keep up my calm fa?ade.
I waited, assuming he would have a come-back, something to break the unnerving tension between us. But before he could, Jack poked his head out of the office. “Boss? We need you.”
That snapped Theo out of his trance. He muttered a quick “get it done” before returning to his own office.
I turned over my shoulder, meeting his stern expression through the glass wall. While the rest of the room was watching him, his eyes never left mine, almost as if he wished he was sitting out here instead of stuck in there.
I shook my head. I was clearly going insane. Theo barely tolerated me most days. I’d lost track of the number of times he’d already threatened to fire me, but somehow, when I showed up the following day, he almost seemed relieved to see me.
Maybe I was seeing what I wanted, making up emotions that Theo lacked. He wasn’t the type of boss who would ever give out pity praise or commend someone for doing basic tasks. The most I’d gotten so far was a brief head nod, confirming that I’d done the job accurately.
I was determined to impress him, to prove that I was more than my résumé. After years of failing to rise to others’ expectations, working for Theo gave me a new purpose and a sense of ambition. This job would never solve world hunger, but I still wanted to do it well.
With that mindset, I turned back to my phone, scrolling through my contacts until I reached my sister’s number. I doubted she’d answer, but it was worth a try. Devyn had been in New York much longer than me and had more connections than I could even imagine.
ME:
Any chance you can hook me up with a dinner reservation for tonight? Six people? Some place that will impress my new boss.
I chewed on my lower lip as the three dots appeared, keeping my fingers crossed until her response appeared.
DEVYN:
Done.