Page 27 of Boss's Baby Surprise

“I thought that was just an initial talk. How fast is he willing to sell?” she asked.

I shrugged. I wasn’t certain, but they had a good space, and I didn’t see any reason to move the setup they had when I didn’t even have a proper office ready.

“I guess we could hold off signing the lease until we know whether your agreement with Stone Group will go through. But there’s no guarantee the property will still be available at that point. Are their offices really that much better?”

“The interior decoration is fabulous. Good energy flows in the floor plan. Really good location. It’s only a couple of blocks from West Madison,” I said. I had been thinking about the space for hours. I could easily work there.

“Is it large enough? We’re bringing in how many employees?” she asked. I could always trust Alayna to be pragmatical.

“It’s a small firm with only ten employees,” I said.

“And we’ll bring in another six or so. You need space for at least twenty people. Is their space big enough? Can we easily expand it?”

“Hmm.” I thought about what she was saying. The office building he was in potentially could be expanded into, but I didn’t know the occupancy in the rest of the property. I hadn’t exactly looked at it from that perspective. “That’s something you can look into, right?”

Alayna nodded. She was the best assistant a guy could have.

“Why didn’t you tell me his assistant was Clarissa?” I asked before she had a chance to leave.

Alayna paused and stared at me. “Pardon?”

“Clarissa, do you remember her? She was one of the interns with Steve,” I said.

“Yes, I remember Clarissa. I didn’t know she was James Stone’s assistant.”

“I thought you set up the meeting with her,” I said.

“I believe the woman I spoke with was named Jenna. Was Clarissa there?”

“She was. Maybe she’s just the receptionist. I must have assumed she was his assistant because she had always struck me as being more ambitious than wanting to be somebody’s receptionist.” What had happened to her? How had she gone from a talented architectural student with potential to a receptionist who answered phones?

“Can you set up another meeting for us?” I asked Alayna before she stepped out of my office.

“Of course. Do you have a preference for date and time?”

“Let’s give it a week. I don’t want him to think I’m too enthusiastic,” I said with a chuckle. I was pretty sure James Stone already knew I was eager for this deal.

The following week, when I walked into the Stone Group’s offices, Clarissa was perched behind the receptionist desk.

“Hello, Clarissa, nice to see you again,” I said, genuinely pleased to see her.

“Kyle.” She smiled, but it didn’t seem genuine. More like she was pretending because she had to greet me as I walked in the door. “James is expecting you. I’ll let him know that you’re here.”

I leaned against her desk and hovered as she pushed buttons on her phone and told her boss that I was waiting. She hung up and looked back up at me.

“He said he’ll be right out. Why don’t you have a seat?” She gestured toward the overstuffed chairs situated in the lobby area. They looked like they had never been sat in.

“I’m okay right here,” I said. I continued to lean on the receptionist desk.

“I really can’t believe how good it is to see you again.”

“Thank you. It's been a few years. How did you like Hong Kong? Were you there the entire time?”

“Hong Kong was great. I had a consulting contract onsite for a client, and then I decided to stay and expand my client base,” I told her.

“What brought you back to Chicago?” she asked.

“Chicago has always felt like I belong here, and I had unfinished business. So I wanted to come back. Do you still like those little secret temples on top of buildings?” I asked, remembering that she liked those little hidden gems in the architecture of Chicago.

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