Page 14 of Quarantined with the Billionaire

Chapter Five

I sat at my laptop, wireless headset wrapped around my head, making one phone call after another. Really, all I was doing at the moment was just glorified customer service. Maybe I was the perfect person for this job.

But I had to prove to my temporary boss that I wasn’t wrong about being held back. I had so much more potential than was being utilized. I’d struggled to earn a bachelor’s degree before coming to his company, and a fat lot of good that had done me. Elise and most other coworkers in customer service didn’t have more than a diploma and some experience dealing with customers. I didn’t knock them trying to move up the ladder, either, but I was no longer okay with stagnating.

I was almost thirty, for heaven’s sake.

While I waited for the person on the other end of the line to pick up the phone, my mind wandered back to breakfast. Maddox really was a beautiful man, pleasing to the eye, but he was extremely intelligent, too—an irresistible combination.

But too fucking rich. Maybe even spoiled.

When we’d finished breakfast, I’d picked up my plate and glass, and he’d told me to just leave them on the table. “That’s what I pay Simon for.” I’d protested, but he told me it was time to get to work. So, after he’d gone to his office, leaving me at my desk, I’d scooted back to the breakfast nook and picked up our dishes, taking them to the kitchen and rinsing them off in the sink. Then I hurried back to the study, just in case Maddox had peeked in or needed me for something.

I had to be ready.

I had to impress the man.

And I had a shitload of work to do.

On the third ring, someone picked up, and I didn’t waste any time getting down to business. I had almost three weeks of appointments to reschedule, and if I couldn’t get that much done today or at least make a good dent in it, I doubted Maddox would believe me capable of anything in his company.

“May I speak with Mr. Tripp, please?”

“Speaking.”

“Excellent. I’m calling on behalf of Essential Solutions Finance.”

“This isn’t Peggy, is it?”

“I’m sorry. Peggy who?”

“Peggy, Maddox’s assistant. You don’t sound like her.”

“Oh, right. I’m not. I’m temporarily filling in for her.”

“Hmm. I suppose she’s sick?”

“I really don’t know, sir. Anyway, I’m calling because you have an appointment with Mr. Steel tomorrow morning at nine AM, but we’re suspending all in-person meetings at this time due to COVID-19.”

“Doesn’t that seem a little extreme?”

“Perhaps, sir, but Mr. Steel wishes to take precautions to keep everyone, particularly our valued clients, safe.” I heard what could be best described as a harrumph from the gentleman on the other side but nothing else, so I proceeded. “That said, Mr. Steel feels that your meeting is important, and that’s why I’m calling. He’d like to either change your meeting tomorrow morning to a virtual appointment or reschedule an in-person appointment for some time in April.”

The man was quiet for a few seconds. “What do you mean virtual appointment?”

“We could set something up using Skype or Zoom. You can chat online but with—”

“Oh, no. No. I’d prefer meeting with him in person.”

“I could set up a simple phone appointment if you’d prefer.”

“No, thank you.”

“All right. Let me see what he’s got open.”

And so the rest of my morning went that way. Maddox already had quite a few meetings booked for April, but I had to squeeze more in there. I used the same amount of time allotted for those appointments now, making sure I gave him a little time in between each slot for breathing room—but April was filling up fast, and there wasn’t much I could do about it. But I was getting it done fast, and I knew the people I’d rescheduled with would be able to tell Maddox how polite I’d been if he asked.

Had I known then how the pandemic would play out, I would have rescheduled them for May.

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