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There was one key difference though. Before, I gawked at the art and glossy lobby I'd only seen on my television screen. Now, I was the one being gawked at. Icy, female eyes gave me the once over before taking another go round in disapproval. With their noses practically touching the ceiling, they were clearly stumped as to why Jacob chose me. The men's gaze lingered hungrily before they realized I wasn't oblivious. They quickly turned away like they expected Jacob's wrath to rain down like hellfire. Even the nice old security guard looked at me with new eyes. It was clear I had my work cut out for me. A dash of favoritism got me through the door and I needed to prove I could do this job.
I stepped into the elevator, gravitating toward the back and keeping my eyes front and center. People petered out at each floor until it was only me rocketing up to the executive floor. It was quiet in the lobby except for the hum of classical music and the click of my heels on the glittering floor. I frowned when I saw that Natasha, Jacob's secretary, was nowhere to be found. I was hoping for a quick refresher course and I would need her key to access my office space. Maybe it would be open anyway since it was unoccupied.
I let out a small sigh of relief as I twisted the doorknob and pushed into the room. It was as unassuming as I expected. The walls were painted a conservative beige with white crown molding. There was a mahogany corner desk with a Mac Desktop computer perched on top. There was a cube like bookcase on the other wall with small decorative baubles in a handful of nooks.
I trailed my fingertips along the hardened surface of the desk, trying not to think about the other women that sat behind it. I pulled open my briefcase and pulled out some odds and ends to mark my territory. The others didn’t matter. This was my time and my chance to take on the world.
Even as I sat my little figurine I got from a tacky souvenir shop outside of Venice (much to Jacob’s chagrin) and a crystal figurine of a sleeping kitten that I got from my father as a child (even though I was deathly allergic to cats), I couldn’t help but notice how inadequate they looked on the glossy wood desk. The high back chair seemed to engulf me as I leaned back into its leathery embrace.
I slumped forward with a sigh, putting my head on the desk. I’d put on a brave face for him, for everyone, and I knew that I was more than capable to be his personal assistant and more, but I couldn’t help but think about the train wreck with Rachel. While our current client had zero chances of attempting to sabotage my personal and professional livelihood out of unresolved feelings for Jacob, I still had pause. Jacob had never really reprimanded me about my quick temper with Rachel, but I knew that I had to learn to put aside my insecurities and issues for the client. It was Business 101 and in publicity, where appearances were everything, I had to work on my poker face. I had to prove that I was the tenacious worker I’d presented at the interview and not just a quick witted with a bite.
“Ahem.”
I jerked up at the interruption and came face to face with Jacob’s secretary, Natasha. In a white blouse and a pale blue skirt that danced around her knees and equally blue eyes narrowing in distaste, the title ‘Ice Queen’ came to mind.
“Miss Montgomery, I take it?”
I stood up abruptly, clasping my hands awkwardly in front of me. “Yes--I think we met briefly before I went to Italy.”
“What are you doing in here?” she said abruptly, crossing her arms.
I frowned, stepping around the desk. “This is my office.”
“This is the office for the assistant to the CEO.”
“And I am the assistant to the CEO,” I said pointedly.
She propped a hand on her hip. “You want to maintain your position?” The biting rudeness in her voice slowly shifted to curiosity.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I said, looking at her strangely.
“Well, I’ve seen your resume,” she answered simply. “You’re overqualified. You don’t really belong in this office.”
“Well, I think this position is a lot better suited over research aide,” I rebutted, my cheeks flaming angrily. I got that I wasn’t Jacob Whitmore, but her stank attitude was rubbing me all sorts of wrong. “Is there something I could do for you?”
She gave me a smile so frigid that I literally shivered. “Actually, yes. I have some paperwork for you to sign.”
I followed her back to the main executive lobby, holding my tongue and trying to remember my whole being respectful and non-confrontational pact I made with myself, but it was hard to swallow Jacob’s secretaries outright disapproval of me. Even as a secretary, she had more social and political capital at Whitmore and Creighton than I did and I needed someone on my side besides the boss if I wanted a pleasant tenure at the company.
I picked at straws, trying to find any common ground that I could stick a white flag on. Her head was bowed as she picked through documents on her desk, a flash of green glittering in her ears.
“Your earrings are so pretty,” I offered with a shaky smile. “Are you a Gemini?”
She didn’t even acknowledge my attempt at a compliment, instead, holding out a manila folder. “If you could just sign on the dotted line, I can process it and you can go to the job you worked so tirelessly for.”
I accepted it with a scowl, not missing the sarcastic tint to her words. I expected paperwork for insurance and benefits. But there was no escaping what I saw with my own two eyes. The documents detailed the forfeiture of my position as Jacob’s personal assistant and a new position as a staff publicist.
My hands, lips, and voice trembled as I read over the bold font over and over again. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“This transfer was approved by Mr. Whitmore, Miss Montgomery. Surely this isn’t news.”
My eyes flashed as I brought them from the paper to her face. “And I’m telling you there’s been a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
Was there an echo in here? “Yes! I didn’t agree on or ask for any new position.”
“Ah,” she said with a slight, crisp nod. “Just the original promotion from research assistant to personal aide to the CEO then.”
