The Assistant (3 page)

I sat down at my desk.  The light was off
in Mr. Wright’s office, and I breathed a sigh of relief before going over
Amanda’s detailed notes.  Nearly forty minutes later, I placed the documents on
Mr. Wright’s desk before heading to the kitchen for coffee.

When I returned, he was in his office and,
steeling myself, I stuck my head into the room.  “Good morning, Mr. Wright. 
Would you like a coffee?”

He stared icily at me.  “Come in and shut
the door, Ms. Jones.”

I sighed and did as he asked.

Without looking up from the papers on his
desk, he said, “You didn’t answer your phone yesterday.”

“I wasn’t feeling well.”

“You knew the file was due for today.”

“I did,” I acknowledged.

“I expect a certain standard from my
employees.  I can’t have them staying home with a case of the sniffles when
files are due,” he said angrily.

“I knew Amanda could help you.”

“Barely!”  He finally looked up at me.  “I
thought you had a better work ethic than this.  I’m disappointed in you, Ms.
Jones.”

Something inside of me snapped.  Three
years of listening to his shit, of putting up with his complaints and demands
and never being good enough came rushing out of me like a runaway freight
train.

“My dog died, you fucking asshole!”  I
shouted at him.  “I didn’t come to work yesterday because the night before I
sat on the vet clinic floor and held my dog as he died!  I’m so sorry that my
grief over my dead dog was a hardship for you!  I called in sick because I
didn’t feel like trying to explain the concept of grief to a cold-hearted,
selfish, inconsiderate bastard like you!”

I clenched my hands into fists and glared
at him.  “I have spent the last three years of my fucking life trying to make
you happy.  I’ve missed family reunions and vacation trips, and my social life
has gone down the fucking toilet all because of the insane hours you make me
work.  And you’re going to sit there and question my goddamn work ethic? 
You’re such an asshole!  You never say thank you, you never acknowledge the
work I do, hell you can’t even spring for a lousy bunch of fucking flowers on
Secretary’s Day!  You’ve got more money than God but you pay me so little that
I can barely afford to pay my mortgage, and you wouldn’t understand the idea of
a bonus if it slapped you in the face.”

He opened his mouth and I shook my head
angrily.  “No.  I’m done.  Do you hear me?  I quit.  Good luck finding someone
else to put up with your shit!”

I flipped him the bird, turned on my heel
and stormed out of his office.

I was sitting on the couch Saturday
morning, drinking a cup of tea and trying to come to terms with the fact that
my dog was dead and I had quit my job in a truly spectacular fashion yesterday,
when the doorbell rang.  I peered through the peephole and took a step backward
in surprise.

“What do you want?”  I said through the
door.

“Let me in, Ms. Jones.” 

“Why should I?”

“Please let me in, Lina.”

My jaw dropped.  Not once in three years
had I ever heard my boss say my given name.  It had been ‘Ms. Jones’ from day
one.  I ignored the little shiver that went down my spine and pasted a scowl on
my face before opening the door.

“What do you want?”

“May I come in?”  He asked.

“What for?”  I replied rudely.

“I’d like to speak with you in private.”

I hesitated and then shrugged.  “Fine,
whatever.”

He followed me down the hall to the living
room.  I was acutely aware of my ripped t-shirt and yoga pants and I smoothed
my hair self-consciously as I sat down on the couch.

He took off his jacket and gloves, laying
them neatly in the armchair, and frowned at the look on my face.  “What?”

“Nothing,” I croaked.  “You look weird in
jeans.”

He glanced down at his long-sleeved shirt
and jeans as I tried to control my breathing.  I had never seen him in anything
but a suit before and it wasn’t right that a man could look that good in a pair
of jeans.

“Good weird or bad weird?”  He asked
politely.

“Just weird.”  I couldn’t believe I was
still lusting after my damn boss.  Ex-boss, I amended.

He sat down in the armchair and said
something so unexpected I could only stare at him.

“I’m sorry about your dog, Lina.”

When I didn’t reply he gave me a rueful
look.  “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not completely soulless and I happen to
have a dog myself.  I’d be devastated if he died.”

I swallowed hard.  “You have a dog?”

“I do.  His name is King.”

He glanced around my apartment before
clearing his throat.  “I also wanted to ask you to reconsider your decision about
quitting.”

“No,” I replied immediately.  “I’m done
working for you.”

He held up his hand.  “Just listen to what
I have to say, okay?  If I promise to be more,” he hesitated, “patient, would
you consider coming back to work?”

I rolled my eyes.  “It’s impossible. 
You’re permanently irritated and I don’t want to deal with it anymore.”

“I understand why you think that but I
promise you I’ll be better,” he replied.  “I had no idea that my behavior was
affecting you so negatively.”

“No idea?”  I raised my eyebrows at him. 
“You’re horrible to me.  I mean, you’re horrible to everyone, but you’re the
worst to me.  I’ve cried in the bathroom at work, for God’s sake.  And do you
have any clue how often I have to apologize for you?  How often I’ve had to
convince one of your employees not to quit?  You have zero people skills, Mr.
Wright.  Zero.”

“That’s true.  I don’t give a shit what
most people think of me and I can’t really pretend to,” he admitted.

I rolled my eyes again.  “And that’s why
I’m not coming back to work for you.”

“It’s different with you, Ms. Jones.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“It is,” he said patiently.  “Although I
may not have admitted it in the past, you’re the best damn sec – admin
assistant – I’ve ever had.  I need you.”

Another shiver went down my spine.  I liked
the way it sounded when he said he needed me.  Sure, he meant work, but there
was no harm in pretending he meant it another way.

Plenty of harm, you moron.  Stop letting
your libido make your decisions for you.

“If I come back to work for you,” I said
slowly, “do I have your permission to tell you when you’re being a complete
asshat?”

“Yes,” he said quickly.  “Absolutely.”

“And I want a raise.  Five dollars more an
hour.”

“Done.”

I took a deep breath.  “I’ll come back.”

“Excellent.”  He stood and grabbed his
jacket.  “What are your plans for today, Ms. Jones?”

“I, um, nothing,” I said in confusion.

“I have a cabin up in the mountains.  I’m
driving up there for the day, there are a few repairs I need to do, and I
wondered if you’d like to join me?”

My mouth dropped open.  “Are you asking me
on a date, Mr. Wright?”

“Good God, no,” he said so quickly that I
blushed with embarrassment.  “But you did happen to mention that you had no
social life, thanks to me, and I thought you might enjoy getting out of the
house for a bit.  It’s a nice drive and although the cabin is a bit rustic I
think you’ll like it.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said
softly.  “It would look strange for the two of us to be um, hanging out
together.”

“Who’s going to see us?  The deer?”  He asked
impatiently.  “Come, Ms. Jones.  It’s better than sitting in your house with
bad memories.”

When I continued to hesitate, he gave me
his familiar look of exasperation.  “This is me trying to be nice, Ms. Jones.”

That made me laugh and I stood up.  “Fine. 
I’ll go.  Give me ten minutes.”

“Dress warmly,” he advised as I headed out
of the living room.

* * *

I climbed into the black SUV and settled
into my seat.  “So how long will it take to get there?”

I shrieked in surprise when a very large
and very wet tongue licked the side of my face.

“King, down.”  Mr. Wright made a hand
gesture at the giant dog leaning over my seat and King chuffed loudly before
returning to his seat.  I twisted and stared at the dog.

“What kind of dog is he?”  I asked as King
thumped his tail enthusiastically and a long string of drool dripped from his
mouth to the leather seat.

“English Mastiff.”  Mr. Wright backed out
of the driveway and headed down the street.  “He’s just over a year old and
still a little excitable.”

I wiped the drool from my cheek before
reaching back and letting King sniff my hand.  His tail sped up and he licked
my fingers and chuffed again.  I scratched the side of his face before turning
in my seat and buckling my seat belt.

“How long will it take to get to the
cabin?”

“A couple of hours,” he replied.

“You don’t seem like the cabin type to me,
Mr. Wright.”

He snorted.  “Call me Aiden.  And I’ll have
you know I’m very outdoorsy.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.  I go on a hunting trip with
my father every year, and I fish and camp during the summer.” 

He glanced at me as he turned on to the
highway.  “How about you?  Are you outdoorsy?”

“I’m outdoorsy in that I like to get drunk
on patios,” I replied.

He snorted laughter and I grinned at him. 
“It’s an enjoyable hobby, Aiden.”

His name sounded foreign on my lips and I
suppressed the lick of lust that went through me.  It would be wiser to stick
to Mr. Wright.  Aiden felt much too intimate for me, considering the way I
lusted after him.

“What was your dog’s name?”  He asked
suddenly.

“Rex.”

“What kind of dog was he?”

“Just a mutt.  Mostly lab with some
shepherd I think.  I got him from the animal shelter when he was five.  He’d
been there for a few months.  No one wants the plain, black dogs but I knew he
was special the moment I saw him.”

“Will you get another dog?”  He asked.

“I don’t know,” I said softly.

I could feel the tears threatening and I
cleared my throat roughly before looking out the window.  I didn't want to cry
in front of my boss, no matter how much he loved dogs.

“Did you dress warmly enough?”  Aiden asked
suddenly.

I nodded as he merged onto the highway
leading out of the city.  I could see the mountains rising in the distance and
I smiled at Aiden when he gave me a dubious once-over.

“Are you sure?  It really is a different
kind of cold up there and – “

“I’m wearing my woollies,” I interrupted.

He gave me a quizzical look and I leaned
down and rolled up the leg of my jeans.  I was wearing a pair of long underwear
and he grinned as I pushed my jeans back down.

“I’m wearing thick socks and I’ve got two
layers of shirts plus my hoodie and my jacket.  And I have my toque, mittens
and scarf in my bag.”

“Good.”  He settled back in his seat and
glanced curiously at me.  “Am I really that terrible to work for, Lina?”

I didn’t reply and he frowned.  “Tell me
the truth, Ms. Jones.”

I sighed.  “Yes, you are.  You’re rude and
demanding and you never say thank you.  And you hurt people’s feelings all the
time.”

He scowled.  “People are too sensitive.”

“Maybe,” I agreed.  “But in an office
environment you have to work with all sorts of different personality types.”

“So being the boss doesn’t give me an
out?”  He asked hopefully and I shook my head.

“No.  In fact, being the boss means you
need to set a good example to everyone of how to treat their coworkers,” I
lectured.

He sighed.  “Why aren’t you in HR?  You’d
fit right in with the rest of the happy hippies.”

I laughed until tears ran down my face and
King made an alarmed woof from the back seat.  When I finally got myself under
control, I glanced at my boss.  He was grinning at me and I wondered how weird
it would be if I snapped a picture of him with my cell phone.  Super weird, I
decided.

“Well, why aren’t you in HR?”  He repeated.

“Maybe I’m not a happy enough hippie,” I
teased.

He rolled his eyes.  “You know what I
mean.  HR people are way too nice and happy for their own good.”

“Actually,” I mused, “people in HR usually
burn out the fastest.  It’s a stressful job.”

“Is that why you’re not in HR?”

“Oh no, I would love to work in HR,” I said
enthusiastically.  “In fact, about three years ago I had enrolled in one of the
business colleges and was taking some HR courses in the evening.  I loved it.”

“Why did you stop?”  He asked curiously.

I hesitated.  One of the major reasons I
had stopped was because I had lost my job with the law firm when they were
forced to make cut-backs, and the position at Aiden’s company was a much lower
paying position.  I had been a bit desperate though and even then Kent had been
making noise about me not pulling my weight with rent and other bills.  I had
taken the job at Aiden’s company and quit the night courses.  A year later,
Kent had dumped me and with mortgage and car payments, and daily expenses on my
meager salary, I would never be able to afford to go back.  Of course, I had
just negotiated a pay raise.

“Lina?”  Aiden prompted.

“It was too expensive,” I said briefly. 

He frowned but didn’t say anything and I smiled
cheerfully at him.  “So, do you go up to your cabin every weekend?”

“I try to.  It’s nice to get away,” he
replied.  “I bought it about four years ago and have been steadily fixing it up
since then.”

“You don’t strike me as the ‘Mr. Fix-It’
type,” I said honestly.

He laughed.  “I like to work with my
hands.  When I was in university, I worked construction to pay for tuition.”

“Really?”

He nodded.  “Yeah, my parents couldn’t
afford to send me to university.”

He smiled a little at my look of surprise. 
“Do I come across as a spoiled little rich boy?”

I shrugged.  “You do have a strong ‘I come
from money’ vibe.”

“Good,” he said arrogantly.  “It’s better
for business.”

I laughed.  “You’re just full of surprises
today, Mr. Wright.”

He grinned boyishly at me.  “I do like to
keep people on their toes, Ms. Jones.”