Page 16 of Stuck On Them

He sighed and finally looked at me. “Your last name too.”

“Oh.” I laughed nervously, still flustered from my encounter in the plaza. “Paige Harper.”

His fingers flew across the keys. “You’re to go directly to the sixty-fifth floor and the receptionist will direct you to your interview.” He handed me a visitor pass and returned his attention to the computer screen.

I’d once worked in reception and knew his coldness was nothing against me but probably whoever had been rude to him. “Thank you. Have a great morning.”

That caught his attention, and he looked up again. “Thanks. Good luck.”

I smiled, happy I could reset his grumpiness meter.

Clipping the badge to the lapel of my suit jacket, I went through the security turnstile that counted people coming and going before stopping at the bank of elevators to wait for the next one.

A memory flashed through my mind, and I shut my eyes, taking a calming breath. Elevators were forever ruined for me.

In a matter of minutes, I was whisked to the sixty-fifth floor and nervousness took over again. I hadn’t bothered to prepare for the interview in any way. It was unlike me, but after so many failed ones and rejection after rejection no matter how much I knew about a company, it didn’t seem worth my efforts.

I probably just needed to take a few days off and regroup. It was discouraging to have such a glowing resume and struggle to find work.

After my interview, I’d go grab a slice of pizza, a six-pack of seltzers, and binge-watch something on Netflix.

The receptionist led me down a short hallway to a grouping of chairs outside a closed office door. Now all I had to do was wait.

* * *

By some miracle, I’d impressed the recruitment specialist and my day was looking brighter by the minute. I’d interviewed for a data entry position since I’d pretty much been applying for anything and everything clerical, ready for a slower and less stressful pace, but the recruitment specialist had decided I would be the perfect fit for an assistant position.

While I wasn’t too keen on it at first because it included assisting the owners of the company with emails and scheduling, but also withanythingthey might need. I thought my days of running errands and doing bottom-of-the-fishbowl-type tasks were behind me, but once I saw the salary and benefits, I pushed those thoughts aside. It was nearly twice as much as I had expected.

After I signed paperwork and had gotten my computer login, Sue, the head of recruitment, walked me from human resources and to the elevators.

“Mr. St. James, Wilson, and Caponetti are in a big marketing meeting right now, but I forwarded your new email a list of tasks that need to be done. You can get settled in your office while you wait for them to be finished. They’ll want to meet with you before you get going on anything of importance.” She pressed the up button. “Ethan will be at the reception area on the seventieth floor and show you to your office on the executive floor. Congratulations. I think you are going to be a perfect fit for those three.”

I looked over my shoulder as she started to walk away. “Wait… Caponetti? Isn’t that the name on the building?”

“It is. Luca Caponetti is one of the CEOs of LRG. His family owns several properties here and has luxury hotels across the globe. The one here in the city is The Bella Grand.”

“The Bella Grand?” My face scrunched inadvertently. Was everyone and everything going to remind me of that night?

“Oh, no. What’s that face for?” Sue suddenly looked concerned.

“Nothing. Just didn’t have a good experience there.” I shrugged, even though I felt like doing anything but. “Thank you again for this opportunity. You don’t know how badly I needed a win.”

She smiled warmly. “I knew the second you walked into my office you had something special about you.”

I wanted to know what she meant by that because in my own eyes, I was just… me.

The elevator dinged and, with a final goodbye, I got on and pressed seventy. What if there was a windstorm? Would the building sway?

As soon as I stepped off the elevator a tall man—I’m talking at least six foot six—rushed toward me from around a large, curved desk. “Oh, praise baby Gaga, you’re here.”

I laughed. “Baby Gaga?” I assumed this was Ethan.

“I’m sorry! I’m just so excited.” He put his elbow out for me to take and cleared his throat. “Hello. I’m Ethan, executive receptionist of this fine establishment. Let me show you to your office.”

I took his arm. “Nice to meet you. I’m Paige, newly hired executive slash personal assistant.”

“You’re the answer to all my prayers. It’s beenhellaround here since Audrey was fired last week.”

---