Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 61939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I’m going to un-ban you from our Times Square location the second I get off today.”
“I’ve already handled that.” He looked amused. “That said, given all that you’ve told me and all the times Mr. Lewis raved about you, I think I’ll consider you as an executive after all.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He smiled. “An executive assistant—to me.”
I bit my tongue.
“I have to warn you, though,” he said. “I have a far bigger imprint than Mr. Lewis, so if you can’t handle my depth, I suggest you leave before I go any deeper.”
“I think I can handle you.”
“I hope so…” His gaze dipped—slow, deliberate—like he was assessing whether that was a challenge.
He opened a drawer, pulling out a laptop and three huge binders. “The password for this is on the back, and my contacts are in the first one, so save all the numbers to your company cell, not your personal one.”
“I don’t have a company cell,” I said. “I typically just use mine for everything.”
“That won’t work under me, Miss Stone.” He picked up his desk’s receiver. “Ciara, call Rob and tell him to get me a new cell phone for my new EA.”
He hung up and continued talking without missing a beat.
“You’ll need to keep me up to speed on the major things in the second binder while handling my schedule on a daily basis, commit to my policy on time, and deliver consistent research on our number one competition.”
I nodded, leaning forward to grab the binders.
“Do you know who our number one competition is, Miss Stone?”
“Well, no other cafe brand makes coffee the way we do, so…” I stalled as his jaw clenched. “Seattle’s Best? Dunkin’ Donuts?”
“Starbucks.” His voice was terse. “It’s them versus us, until they no longer exist or until they only have ten stores in the entire country left.”
You might’ve bought the wrong coffee company for that…
“I’ll give you a couple days to acquaint yourself with my schedule, but you’ll shadow me for the first month,” he said. “You have until the end of this week to memorize binder two. Binder three is due next week.”
A woman rushed in and set a brand-new phone in my lap before disappearing.
“Do you have any questions before our meeting is over, Miss Stone?”
“Yes.”
“Now would be a good time to ask it.”
“Why don’t you already have an executive assistant?”
“I did have one.” He leaned forward. “He’s currently suing me.”
“Oh…”
“Four of the ones I had before that are suing me as well, so before you get any ideas, I have the best lawyers in the world, and your case will go nowhere if you try it,” he said. “Clear?”
“Crystal clear.”
“Good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, a different woman—one I slightly recognized—moved in front of me with a black designer briefcase. She lifted the laptop and binders from my lap, buckling the things inside.
“Heather, this is Miss Andrea Stone,” he said. “Miss Stone, this is Heather. I’ve just promoted her from the sixth floor since Mr. Lewis’s receptionist decided not to come in on a vacation day. Whatever that is.”
Heather and I exchanged confused glances before she rushed away.
“Now…” He stood and moved in front of me—close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
“Not at this time, Mr. Cross.”
“You’re supposed to ask me about my time policy.” He picked up a stone hourglass from the edge of his desk. “It’s not in the binders.”
“Okay.” I swallowed. “What’s your time policy?”
“It’s very simple.” He tilted it upside down, letting the sand fall slow and steady. “When you’re on the clock, your time belongs to me. There’s always something to do, so I won’t appreciate you wasting it on things like gossiping or lunch breaks.”
“I don’t get lunch breaks anymore?”
“No one does,” he said. “They’re unnecessary. You can eat while you work.”
I blinked.
“All your time is mine,” he said. “End of story.”
His phone sounded, and he pulled it out of his pocket.
“You can leave now,” he said. “Come back at eleven o’clock to shadow a sales pitch meeting. Exactly eleven o’clock, or else.”
“Will do, sir.” I stood up and rushed out of the room before he could say anything else.
I carried the briefcase two floors down to my cubicle and vowed to get through at least ten pages of each binder.
Upon opening it, my stomach sank, and my brain begged me to walk out of this building and never come back.
Before you start this job, please note that you are 100% replaceable.
Say this three times daily so you’ll never be tempted to give your opinion.
You are an employee.
You must work.
You must do work to my satisfaction.
Ugh.
I shut it and immediately texted my old manager.
PLEASE just let me work three weeks at the counter. That’s all I’m asking for.
EIGHT
HARRISON
Later That Morning
“Mr. Cross, I’m starting to lose count of how many times I have to explain this basic concept to you.” My favorite lawyer stood in front of my desk. “Do you even know?”