Page 13 of Romance with Mr. Bossy Pants

“I’m sure you did.”

“About that, I’m sorry, again. It was an accident,” she says. “I can assure you that it won’t happen again.”

“Good.” I close the binder. “I see you changed a lot of things without my guidance or approval.”

Her lips twitch, but she doesn’t look away. “Was that wrong? I suppose I should’ve—”

“Working with minimal supervision. You’re lucky it worked in your favor this time, especially since you’re new and unaware of my style or preferences.”

“Thank you, I think.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

Her smile disappears. I can’t let her get too comfortable. It’s the only thing that went right today.

“Well, some of the slides were too dull. I know your previous assistant helped you with this, but one proposal had a few slides that had basic stock images and no enhancements. I took the liberty to make them unique and engaging, that’s all. I wanted all the proposals to look professional and well thought out.”

Curious, I slide the binder over to her. “Show me which one.”

She flips through to the last proposal and explains what was lacking.

“So, you’re saying it was subpar.”

“Yes. Nexus is a big deal. We don’t want to tank the deal when we’ve already come so far.” She clears her throat. “I mean you. When you’ve already come so far.”

She maintains her composure as she speaks, not batting an eye. I suppress the smirk threatening to appear, keeping my lips pressed tightly together. She stays quiet, observing my facial expression for any sign of acceptance.

“I created those slides. It seems you’re implying that I’m not good at what I do.”

Crickets.

Her eyes burst open with shock. “Oh, not at all.” She pauses as she gathers her thoughts. “I’m here to help you. I’m your sounding board, your eyes and your ears. I only want to make sure I do everything on my part to help you succeed. That means I have to be proactive where and when I can.”

Finally, someone who doesn’t need me to do all the thinking for them.

“Go on,” I say.

“We’re on the same team.”

Team? What does a newbie in the industry know about team?

Michelle is my team. It has been us and only us for the past four years.

“So, you’re teaching me my company values now? Team work, delight our clients, excellence and so on?”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do here,” she rebuts. “It’s stamped at the footer of every email you send—'Operational Excellence.’”

“I guess you actually do pay attention.”

“Yes, I do, and that’s what I deliver—excellence.”

Her expression remains unwavering. There’s no smirk, nothing deceiving in her eyes, no frown. Just pure determination.

“I see.” I clap my hands together and lean forward. “Since you’re committed to excellence, I have a project for you. Do you think you can create a brand new proposal before tomorrow morning’s meeting? I’m looking for something fresh, something that hasn’t already been recycled in this binder.”

“That’s really short notice. It’s already 8:30 P.M., but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Is that a yes or a no, Ms. Summers. I can’t accept an ‘I’ll see’ at this juncture.”

---