Page 54 of The Boss and the Adoption Mess
"I also keep an eye on ongoing projects. Waiting periods. Organizational matters in that regard. Some financial management falls under my responsibilities too."
"Wait, even salaries?" she asks, surprised.
"No, not that. It’s more about overseeing expenses for reimbursements, restaurant visits, and similar things. But I do have to monitor budget compliance for projects. I’m also in close contact with accounting to make sure nothing goes wrong there."
"That’s a lot of work for one person," Sally murmurs, impressed. I take a sip of tea and smile.
"That’s not even everything yet."
"No?" she asks, still amazed.
"I’m also the contact person and go-between for the executives at EDL. I’ve got to make sure all the important information flows smoothly. And I make sure confidential information only gets discussed with the right people. Confidentiality clauses and all that."
"Wow… that’s really…" She looks at me curiously. "That was everything, right?"
"I also handle personal stuff. I buy gifts, make restaurant reservations for private meetings, or take his suits to the dry cleaners. So basically, you could say I organize his life so hecan focus on the essential and important things and keep an overview."
"Wow. How do you manage all that?"
"Well, today’s my first day. I’ve gotten familiar with the apps, had a few conversations with department heads, introduced myself, made some overviews and… picked up his suits from the dry cleaner." I glance at my watch. "And now I’m finishing my tea fast because I still have to create a project folder he needs tonight."
"Okay, then I won’t keep you," she murmurs awkwardly.
"If you could pre-sort the emails for me, I’d be incredibly grateful. That saves me a huge amount of work."
"Really?" Sally looks at me hopefully.
"Of course. Otherwise, I’d have to read every single one and decide if it’s important or not. By pre-sorting, you save me hours."
"Oh. Right." She smiles happily. I think that reassured her. If she keeps working on herself, she’ll soon be able to take on even more tasks from me. That’ll help not only her salary but also her confidence.
"Thanks for the tea. If you need anything, you’ve got my number."
She nods eagerly and takes my cup. It’s actually pretty nice to have a mini-assistant for stuff like this.
I just wonder how I’m supposed to juggle all these tasks with Rosie. These are really two jobs. But knowing Catherine, Rosie will probably only be with Gabriel one or two days a week. Sometimes longer. In a few weeks, I’ll be fully trained, and it’ll get easier. And if worst comes to worst, I’ll just need a second assistant to take some of the load, so I have more time for Gabriel and Rosie.
Shortly after 7 PM, Gabriel and I leave the office. I’m pretty exhausted—more emotionally than physically. The flood of information and memorizing new faces drained me more than I thought it would.
“So? How are you feeling? Did you enjoy your first day at EDL?” Gabriel asks as he settles beside me in the limo. He’s still on the tablet flipping through the presentation that needs to be emailed out tonight. That’s why he’s not looking at me, keeping his stern gaze locked on my pages instead.
“Very good. I’ve already taken care of dinner. It’ll be delivered in an hour, so you’ll have enough time to focus on work.” Gabriel perks up and glances at me briefly. “Today I happened to have a phone call with Merzedes Gonzales.” His favorite chef, who runs theRed Chairrestaurant in London.
“You spoke to her?” he asks.
“Yes. And she’s preparing something exclusively for us, which she’ll have delivered by one of her staff.”
“What did I do to deserve such an honor?” he asks, but he’s smiling.
“She apparently had a very good day after receiving her delivery from you.”
“I see.” Gabriel smiles and turns his attention back to the documents.
A spark of jealousy flares inside me, because this star chef isn’t just one of the most talented in London, but also one of the country’s hottest bachelorettes. She’s 28, with black hair and devastating charm that thousands of men fall for. Every year, men’s magazines line up, now offering over a million pounds for her to pose in erotic photos.
I know the stories. And now I’d had the pleasure of speaking with her personally. She’s so taken with Gabriel that I suspect they once had a fling. Well, what man would push such an incredible woman out of his bed?
Did he seduce her in his bedroom?
