Page 19 of Romance with Mr. Bossy Pants

With a sigh, she pulls a chair and slides in. Her ankles are pinker than the rest of her skin. An image of Maddie comes to mind. The first thing she did when she got to my office was kick off the heels and have me massage her ankles.

Chloe could probably use a rub. There’s oil somewhere in my office drawer.

Get out of your head, Daniel. This isn’t Maddie.

I walk around the desk to her chair and stop close to her heels.

“I don’t care about the footwear,” I say. “Just wear something comfortable so you can do your job efficiently. You never know what I’m going to ask of you at any given moment. Heels will slow you down.”

She nods. “Thank you. What press releases were you referring to a few minutes ago?”

“Right.” Our eyes meet, and I realize that if I stare at them too long, I might get lost in thought again.

I blink and clear my throat, returning to my seat. There, the distance between us is better.

“We need to make sure the press releases for the event are finalized and scheduled for publication.” I tap my fingers on the desk as she types notes into her tablet. “We’re also introducing a new blog in our magazine, focusing on top female CEOs. It will cover their journey, failures and successes, and also provide a peek into their lifestyle now. The writer in charge of the column isn’t one I trust very much to execute this well, but she has an advantage over the rest with more connections.”

“Got it.”

“Judging by your obsession for colorful outfits, I assume you have an eye for topics like this. I need you to pay extra attention to detail here so we have the best blog on the block.”

“Noted.”

“But before you do that, make sure the conference room is ready for the Nexus meeting. They’ll be here any minute.”

“Will do.”

With a wave of the hand, I dismiss her. She might have started impressively, but it’s only a matter of time before she falls off. Right? It’s the trend with them. I give her two weeks at most, and all this enthusiasm will fade.

My desk phone rings. It’s Sarah telling me that the team from Nexus has arrived for the meeting. I grab my things and head into the conference room. I’m feeling confident, thanks to Chloe’s work. She is, by far, the most talented of all the Assistants that have come across my desk since Maddie.

Could this be a sign that she might actually stick it out the longest? Doubtful.

The meeting goes without a hitch, and as I suspected, they choose Chloe’s proposal.

A reminder notification chimes on my phone. It's 2:30 PM, almost time to get Michelle from school. The meeting went well over, and I completely lost track of time.

Grabbing my things, I head out of the office. Chloe’s door is open. I quickly give her some instructions on changes to my schedule for the week, then leave.

Spark Montessori is a fifteen-minute drive from the office.

I really hate the long pick-up lines at school. They take up too much time, and I can't stand wasting time when I have so much to do.

Mrs. Percy’s green vest welcomes me as I pull into the parking lot. She’s the parking attendant, and her dark hair is beginning to show speckles of gray. She pokes her head through the window after I park.

“Good to see you, Mr. Andrews.”

“Good to see you, too.” I glance again at the clock, wanting to move this along.

“Are you here for Michelle?”

No kidding.

“You know it.”

She takes a long look behind me as I open the door to get out.

“There she is,” she announces. Mrs. Percy has been very fond of Michelle, especially after Maddie’s passing. They’ve built an incredibly strong and special connection over the last few years.

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