Page 33 of Collin: Episodes 4-6
Collin smiled a tight smile. “I’m new.”
He spun on one foot and darted around Smith. He was still too late to open the door for Mr. Reevesworth. Instead, the older man held it open for him.
Mr. Reevesworth did not speak on the way back to the office. He greeted everyone with a nod once they reached the office but didn’t stop until he’d reached his private space. Collin followed him inside with the briefcase. Mr. Reevesworth pointed to the shelf where Collin should put it and closed the door.
Collin set down the bag and waited, hands gripped together behind his back.
Mr. Reevesworth grimaced. “I saw something happen as we were leaving. Was Mr. Bernstein’s assistant asking you questions?”
Collin pressed his lips together. “Should I speak frankly or politely?”
“If you have to ask, then frankly, of course.” Mr. Reevesworth waved a hand at the closed door. “But when we’re in private, which we are.”
“Smith implied twice that I was your fuck toy and offered me his card. He also stated outright that you’re going to lose Reevesworth Industries because there’s another heir. Something about DNA and your uncle not being childless.”
Mr. Reevesworth processed that for a moment. He walked slowly around his desk but didn’t sit down. “They went all out today, I see. What did you say to the fuck toy comments?”
“Nothing, sir. I was trying to be professional.”
“Well, in the future, feel free to toss one back at anything like that. You don’t have to just take it.”
“I was more worried about the lawsuit, sir.”
“And I’m more worried about what Bernstein or his cronies are holding over Olsen to get him to ambush me with this meeting. It was a total waste of time. So, the point of the meeting wasn’t what we talked about but the fact that it happened.”
“Perhaps it was to deliver a threat.” Collin bit his lip.
“The future will tell us.” Mr. Reevesworth reached for his phone. “But first, we find out if there’s a lawsuit or not.”
Collin returned to his desk in the outer room feeling subdued. He tried to focus on getting up to speed on everything the other three assistants thought was important for him to know, but the words seemed to swim on the page. At four thirty, he’d barely managed to get fully engrossed in a summary of current projects when Mr. Reevesworth’s hand landed on his shoulder.
Collin flinched and jumped to his feet. “Sorry, didn’t hear you coming.”
Mr. Reevesworth shook his head. “I didn’t mean for you to. Come on, you can work on that tomorrow. We’re going to see my sister and let you close out of your project over there.”
“Yes, sir.”
In the hallway to the elevators, they ran into Ash. The teenager hopped from one foot to another and then shoved a Darth Vader figurine at Collin. He made a motion toward Mr. Reevesworth and raced away down the hall, shoelaces flapping around his sneakers.
Mr. Reevesworth watched him go. “He’s wearing real clothes.”
“Oh yeah. I got him to change earlier.”
“He went shopping with you?”
“No, I called Ellisandre and asked them to charge me for an outfit. I need to find out what store they used.” Collin pulled out his phone and shot off a text.
“I’ll pay you back. That was a company service.”
“I figured you’d say that, sir. I also figured I could cover it now that I’m not paying rent and have a full-time job.”
“If you can get Ash to behave more like a human and less like a scared ghost, I’ll have to give you a raise sooner than expected.” Mr. Reevesworth started to reach for the elevator call button.
Collin stepped in front of him. “Allow me, sir.”
Mr. Reevesworth smiled. There was something there. Collin blushed and looked away. ‘Sir’ was fast becoming one of his favorite words.
In the elevator, Collin looked down at the figurine in his hands. “Do you know why he gave me this?”
