Page 52 of One Night in Vegas

I had to remind myself I wasn’t here to sleep with him. I was supposed to be showing him what he was missing out on. This was supposed to be showing him what he walked away from. It was going to be hard to remember what the goal was if he looked that good all the time.

Brian returned a few minutes later. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I see you met Jon.”

“Yes, he didn’t seem to know he had a new assistant.”

“Yeah, that was my fault,” Brian said. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up. He’ll be involved in the onboarding meeting.”

“He will?”

That made me anxious. It was one thing to sit out at a desk and not have to look him in the eyes. I had imagined the situation being a lot like the one I had with Harold. I only saw him for brief moments here and there. It was going to be far more difficult to work for Jon if I had to see him for long stints.

“Yes,” Brian said. “He’ll want to make sure everyone is on the same page.”

“Okay,” I said and put on a brave smile. “I’m ready.”

“Great, follow me.”

I followed him down another hall while trying to memorize the layout. The place was huge. I didn’t want to get lost. I wanted to look the part of the woman who was the gatekeeper to the king of the company. I had to present a strong image. The image of a woman who was in charge and didn’t take any shit. That image would be seriously damaged if I found myself in a closet instead of a conference room.

We walked into a conference room. The people that had been a part of the panel interview were already seated. Jon was there as well, looking dour. He was seated at the head of the table. Thankfully, the available seats were at the opposite end.

I took my seat and waited. I had no idea what to expect. Maybe he was going to fire me before I ever got started. I glanced around the table before my eyes settled on him once again. He was staring at me. I flashed a defiant smile. I liked that he was unnerved.

“Thank you all for taking the time to meet with our newest hire, Macy Stiles,” Brian said. “We’re going to do all we can to make this as easy as possible for everyone. It’s impossible to replace Mrs. Mabel, but I think Macy will rise to the occasion. It is our job to support her. She will be a valuable part of the team. Her job is important, and we want her to succeed.”

No pressure or anything.

I listened to Brian outline some of my job duties. He was talking kind of fast as he outlined who was who and where I could go for help. It was overwhelming. I hoped I could keep it all straight. My whole plan to show him he wasn’t going to get me down was going to implode if I completely bombed at the new job.

Brian listed out the many benefits and perks to working for the company. I would have a free Costco membership and a membership to a local gym. The vacation and personal days policy was impressive. There would always be free coffee and breakfast in the breakroom. Jon took care of his people. It explained why everyone was so happy to work for him.

“Jon, would you like to say anything?” Brian asked.

His eyes landed on mine once again. “Yes,” he said. “I do.”

My heart dropped. Was he going to humiliate me in front of everyone? I wouldn’t put it past him. He wanted me to feel like shit. He clearly wanted to make me feel like I was not worthy. I stared at him and waited to see what he had to say.

“I think the best way for Macy to get familiar with me and what I do is for her to shadow me for the day,” he said. “She’ll go where I go. She’ll get a chance to see how I operate and what I will expect from her. I’ve got a full day out of the office. Lots of errands and stuff like that.”

“That sounds like a great way for the two of you to get to know each other,” Brian said enthusiastically.

Brian clearly didn’t know his boss. Jon was up to something. He didn’t give a shit about showing me anything.

“Are you often out of the office?” I asked sweetly.

I seriously doubted he was. In fact, the documents his old assistant left said as much. She was all about making sure he took breaks from his work because he would often spend twelve hours behind closed doors.

“I’m out when I need to be,” he replied.

This was more games. He wanted to screw with me. “I see,” I said.

“Is that a problem?” he asked.

“No. Not at all.”

22

JON

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