9. Callie
Chapter nine
“I always give Mason a twenty- and ten-minute warning before meetings—as I mentioned last week, he tends to get distracted,” says Steven as he walks me through Mason’s calendar.
“On Mondays, I’ll give him his weekly schedule, and then every morning I’ll give him the schedule for that particular day. ”
Steven gave me a tour when I arrived at Two Hearts Homes this morning, before we dived into the specifics of my new job.
He showed me around the workshop on the ground floor, plus the design showroom where Beth and the other designers meet with clients.
On the second floor, he introduced me to thirty or so people who milled about.
The desks were arranged in small clusters around fresh greenery, plush lounges, and communal tables, giving the place a collaborative and inviting feel.
“He also doesn’t like when you call him Mr Heart, so I only do it when he’s annoying me,” Steven continues, making me laugh, and I’m reminded of when Mason insisted I call him by his first name.
“Okay, noted.”
“Good morning.” Beth practically floats through the room. All grace, and poise, and not a single strand of sleek, chocolate-brown hair out of place. She’s flawless. “How’s everything going in here?”
“I’m confident Callie will pick everything up in no time.
” I’m thankful for Steven’s confidence in my ability to take on everything he does, and I’m hoping I prove him right.
There are a lot more moving parts in keeping Mason’s work life organised compared to what I’m used to from my years working at the tattoo shop, but I’m also looking forward to the challenge.
It’s been a while since I’ve found something to really sink my teeth into, and I love to learn new things.
I think that’s why I could never settle on a single career aspiration.
Life’s too short, and I want to experience it all while I can.
“Excellent.” Beth smiles just as Mason strolls into the room, scrolling on his phone.
When Steven was explaining a typical week of Mason’s schedule to me earlier, I learned that some days, he’s the billionaire businessman, in the office or meetings all day, and on other days, he’s inspecting sites and working on the tools. Today, he’s Mr Manager.
A deep blue button-up shirt stretches across his chest, the sleeves rolled halfway up his rippling forearms. The kind of forearms you’d expect from a guy who spends a lot of his time working outdoors—golden and veiny.
Perhaps I’ll need longer than a week for the idea to settle that I don’t find him attractive.
“Morning, Steven.” Mason smiles as he looks up before his mismatched eyes fly to mine. “Callie.”
“Mr Heart.” I nod at him, professional on the outside, swooning on the inside at the way he says my name. Get it together, girl.
His eyebrows pinch together. “Mason.”
“No, it’s Callie. You had it right the first time.” I place a palm to my chest, faking a nervous chuckle.
The corner of his mouth ticks up in amusement, while Steven barks out a laugh. “That’s right, Callie. Show him who’s boss.”
“I’m the boss,” Mason says with a frown.
“Of course, sir,” Steven says playfully.
Beth chuckles. “If you ever find yourself with some free time, I’ve got some things you can help with, too.”
Mason’s eyebrows dip with a hint of scepticism. “I thought you didn’t like help?”
“I’m open to it,” Beth says, dropping into the seat across from me.
“Huh, wonder what changed your mind on that?” Mason says more to himself, but loud enough for the rest of us to hear as he takes the chair beside his sister. “Callie’s not working full time, so you’ll have to work around my schedule since she’s my assistant.”
“Don’t worry, brother.” Beth pats his shoulder. “I’m well aware she’s yours.”
There’s a kerfuffle under the table, followed by a yelp from Mason.
“Come on, children, play nicely,” Steven teases, his eyes trained on the computer screen. “Don’t embarrass me in front of my new protégé.”
Mason’s cheeks turn pink as he shifts his attention back to his phone.
“Are you ready to go through your schedule for the week?” Steven asks him.
Mason nods, blowing out a breath as he stands.
“Who’s reading the latest Home Beautiful?” Beth picks up a magazine I grabbed over the weekend and starts flipping through the pages.
“That’s me,” I say, picking up my notebook and pen, following behind Mason and Steven as they move into his office. I’ve already filled five pages this morning from Steven’s instructions on how everything works. “They had a cool article on Art Deco design.”
“Are you coming to the opening for Smoke and Barrel? I did an industrial-meets-Art-Deco design for our brother Gage’s new whiskey lounge.”
“I would love to. I was working at Connors Construction in the early stages of the project, and my brother was the worst at taking photos whenever he was on site. It would be great to see how it all came together.”
Beth glances up with a genuine smile, and I decide I really like her. There’s no guessing with Beth—what you see is what you get. “Then it’s settled. You have to come.”
“Obviously she’ll be there,” Steven says, crossing one leg over the other as he settles in the chair across from Mason. “She’s the new me.”
“With a few key differences,” Beth mutters as she continues to flick through the magazine.
Mason’s eyes narrow at his sister. “Is there a reason you’re here?” He leans back in his chair, thighs spread as he makes himself comfortable. The move has me breaking out in a hot flush. He sits like a king on a throne, so commanding and imposing. Totally not attractive, my subconscious lies.
“I’ve never had an assistant,” Beth says. “I thought I’d observe and take notes. It’s very enlightening.”
“Go. Away.”
Beth sighs and turns on her heel, exiting Mason’s office as she throws a peace sign over her shoulder.
“Come get me for lunch later!” Mason shouts before she disappears entirely.
Steven goes through Mason’s schedule after that.
I take note of how his calendar is split between his various tasks and the regular appointments that don’t shift, such as his Wednesday mid-morning financial and marketing reviews and Thursday morning team meetings.
Tuesdays, he’s out of the office on work sites, and Friday afternoons are always left free for emergency meetings only, but mostly because he often has social engagements connected to his family’s obligations.
“Does that sound okay?” Steven asks once he’s finished.
“Yep. Can you make sure nothing else is booked for the rest of this week? Carmen’s lining up a few more houses for me to see.”
Steven adds a note directly to the calendar on his tablet screen, and I make the same in my notebook.
He asks a few more follow-up questions as my phone lights up on the desk.
I can see the preview of an email from my lawyer—my intent for sole custody has officially been presented to Derek’s lawyer.
“Great. Well, if that’s everything, I’ll let you two go back to telling me how to live my life.” He grins as he swivels in his chair, flicking his computer screen from his calendar to his emails.
“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t love it,” Steven fires back as he stands.
“Steven.” Mason holds a hand to his mouth as if he’s protecting a secret. “Don’t tell Callie how much I love to be bossed around. She might use it against me.”
“I hope she does. Someone needs to keep you in check.”
I gather my notebook and pen, not confident enough to join in their banter just yet.
Mason simply smirks at Steven before his eyes drift back to his computer screen. I truly don’t mean to look. Steven and I have shared access to Mason’s emails anyway, so it’s not like I’m snooping on anything confidential, but I’m certain the email on his screen isn’t for our eyes.
Clearly, a woman wanting to arrange a meeting with Mason to discuss a new line of building products wouldn’t look remiss if it weren’t for the fact that she was proposing an oral presentation that she can only accommodate on a Friday night.
And that they meet at the restaurant they went to last time.
I guess when he told me he didn’t fuck in the workplace, he was being literal.
Good to know. In fact, this makes it even easier to remind me of my purpose here.
He’s your boss, Callie. Your gorgeous, off-limits boss.