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The relief on Aiden’s face was almost comical. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “I am, and I’m happy to help.”
“Fuck me,” Aiden said.
“You’re not my type,” I said.
Aiden laughed before reaching out to shake my hand. “I can’t thank you enough, Deacon. Can you start Monday, or will you need a day to recover from the Vegas debauchery?”
“I’m way too fucking old for debauchery,” I said, “but I don’t fly home until Monday morning. I could be at the office by eleven.”
“Tuesday is fine,” Aiden said.
I shook my head. “I’d prefer to get right to work. You can introduce me to the finance department, and if Richard’s available, I’ll meet with him that afternoon so he can get me caught up on where we’re at.”
“I’ll make sure he’s available,” Aiden said.
He hesitated, and I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Riley is a good PA. Parker wouldn’t have said she was if she wasn’t, and she’s covered off for Farah enough times for me to know she’s highly competent. But you might have to handle her with kid gloves for the first few days. I’m pretty fucking sure she’s been traumatized, even if she won’t admit it. But I also understand we’re on a time crunch, and you don’t necessarily have time for that. Tell me now if that’s the case, and I’ll switch out Riley and Farah while you’re here.”
I grinned. “Yeah, because you’re well known for treating your PAs with gentleness. Tell me again the story of how Lina stormed into your office, called you a heartless son of a bitch, and quit?”
“She called me a fucking asshole, not a heartless son of a bitch, and I’ll have you know that I’ve changed my ways. Farah thinks I’m awesome.”
“Does she, though?” I said.
Aiden laughed. “My point is, I can be on my nicest behaviour with Riley if you don’t want the added stress of a PA who may cry if you look at her the wrong way.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said.
Aiden let out his breath. “Fuck, man, I owe you.”
I grinned. “Yeah, you do. I’ll see you on Monday.”
CHAPTER 19
Riley
“You hired a new CFO already?” I stared in surprise at Aiden. I tried not to fidget but being alone with him in his office made me a bit nervous. He was just so… stern.
You like stern.
I did, but Aiden’s stern differed from Mr. Steele’s. Mr. Steele expected obedience, but he was also kind, and while Aiden had never been anything but polite to me, no one would describe him as kind.
Even just thinking about Mr. Steele soothed my nerves a little. I hadn’t seen him this weekend, but he’d booked me for tonight instead of our usual Wednesday, and I couldn’t wait to see him. Coming to work this morning had been a little easier, knowing Mr. Rainer wouldn’t be here, but I still felt sick about what happened on Friday. Being Mr. Steele’s good girl was exactly what I needed to feel better - to feel normal.
“A temporary CFO,” Aiden said. “His name is Deacon Cross. We went to university together, and when I first started the company, he stepped in as CFO, got the finance department up and running, and helped me hire a permanent CFO.”
“And he can just work here at the last minute?” I said.
Aiden nodded. “He’s in between clients.”
My confusion was obvious because Aiden said, “Deacon’s job is unique. He works as a contractor of sorts for companies who need a CFO to clean up the financial side of their business, start-up companies who need someone with experience to set up their financial department, or, in my case - in need of a temporary CFO while we search for a new one. Over the next month, Deacon will help us finish our year end and assist me in hiring a new CFO. Once that’s finished, he’ll move on to his next contract.”
“Oh,” I said. “That sounds like an interesting job.”
Aiden nodded. “It suits Deacon well, and he’s very good at what he does. I lucked out that he had some availability. He’s usually booked months in advance.”
