AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The moment I step off the elevator, my phone buzzes again. I grind my jaw. If this is Katie…
My new secretary is an idiot. How hard is it to do the very simple, straight-forward job she’s paid to do? If anyone should be fucking up this consistently it should be me. I’m the one with forty accounts and a total of ninety billion dollars to handle.
Of course, sixty billion of that belongs to just one client: Marie.
Thankfully I check the caller ID before answering though. Because it’s not Katie. It’s my boss.
I roll my eyes and answer. It’s ten o’clock, but the work day is apparently never fucking finished.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Nothing much. Just wondering how my rising star is today?” Paul replies. He sounds self-satisfied, which, now that we’re on the same team, is most days. As it turns out, Paul is relatively easy-going if you’re making him money.
“Busy,” I say. “Marie wants to diversify her portfolio. Again. More real estate options. She wants a presentation next week, so I’m about to start preparing that now.”
“Very good,” Paul says. “Don’t forget I have those Wimbledon tickets she wanted. Box seats.”
“She’ll love them,” I lie.
“Well I won’t keep you,” Paul says. “Just keep up the good work. We’re on track for our best quarter yet. Don’t think that won’t be reflected in your bonus.”
I try to muster some enthusiasm. The truth is that I barely have the time to spend my massive paycheck as it is. But I suppose what’s most important is that Paul is happy.
Our working relationship has been surprisingly amiable considering where we started. But Paul isn’t one to hold a grudge if there’s money on the line. Once I got back to New York last January, I made an appointment to see him; he hired me without a second thought, the deal sweetened by Marie’s account which came with me.
“Always appreciated, sir,” I say. “But I gotta go. Lots to do.”
“See you tomorrow,” he replies before hanging up.
I unlock my door and walk in without flipping on the lights. The glow of the city outside my windows casts the living room in soft, dancing shadows.
I throw my purse on the couch and immediately go to the bar and pour myself a generous vodka soda. If I start this presentation now then I’ll be done by one, giving me about four hours to sleep. Not bad. But first…
A lamp flicks on by the wall and I shriek, whipping around and sloshing my drink over my blouse.
Visions of ax murderers dance in my head, and a wave of relief washes over me when I realize that it’s just Anna.
She’s sitting in my recliner like an antagonist in a Bond film, one leg crossed over the other, blonde hair up in a severe bun. Her face says she didn’t break into my apartment this late at night to be sociable.
“Dammit, Anna,” I say, dabbing at my clothes with a hand towel. “What the hell are you doing here? I said I’d call you back soon. You don’t have to go all Single White Female on me.”
“You said that two months ago,” Anna says.
“Really?” I guess it has been a while. “I’m sorry,” I say with a shrug. “I’ve been busy.”
“Uh huh,” Anna says. She crosses her arms. “You’ve been more than busy.”
Well we can’t all be married to billionaires, Anna. I’m tempted to say it, if only because it would get her out of here quickly. I have work to do. But some remaining shred of decency stops me.
I’ll have to remember to schedule a time to stomp it out.
As if sensing my belligerence, Anna says, “You haven’t been acting like yourself recently. I’m worried about you.”
I sigh, then flop down on the sofa and drain half my drink. If I’m going to be interrogated in my own home, I might as well get comfortable.
“And what exactly is ‘myself’?” I ask. “Because as far as I can tell, I’ve always been overworked.”
“But you were never unhappy,” Anna says.
