Page 11 of Stuck with My Billionaire Protector

“We should address the elephant in the room,” she begins tentatively. “I would like to apologize again for hitting your car. I was distracted by a personal situation, and I should have been paying more attention. I’m truly sorry, and I hope we can move past this. I would really like to work here.”

I scoff at her. What kind of an idiot does she think I am? I know she’s only apologizing because she wants the job and more importantly, theverygenerous salary. I’m not the type of person to let things go easily.

“You didn’t just hit my car. You were also very rude and insulting.” I remind her.

“You wouldn’t accept my apology and were condescending,” she retorts. I see in her eyes that she immediately regrets these words.

I look at Parker who is trying to hide a small smile as he watches the two of us.

She is talking back to meagain! How could I possibly work with someone like this? No one talks back to me.Ever. This isn’t going to work.

“No one talks back to me, Jocelyn, especially not my employees,” I state coldly.

“I’m not trying to talk back to you. I’m merely stating the facts.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to work here.”

“What would you like me to do? Get down on my knees and beg you for this job? Sorry, but I don’t want it that badly. I’m trying to be the adult in the room. I admitted what I did, and I apologized for it multiple times. If you can’t accept that, then you’re right, I shouldn’t be working here.” She stands and heads for the door.

Parker follows her out of the office.

“Jocelyn,” Parker says. “Would you please wait a moment? Have a seat out here and I’ll be back shortly.”

He then returns to my office and closes the door.

“Dylan, what are you doing to me, man? We’ve been friends for a long time, and you know I always give it to you straight. She’s smart, she’s qualified for the job, she’s eager to do it, and she can give us insight into the competition. Not to mention she’s available. What more do you want?”

“I want an assistant who shows me the proper respect.”

“I get that, and I’m sure she will. You have to admit, you are being hard on her. Yes, she hit your car and the circumstances surrounding your first meeting are less than ideal; however, she has apologized. It’s time to let it go. I think with someone else, you would have by now. You’re just annoyed because she challenges you. You’re not used to subordinates, or anyone else, standing up to you.”

I hate to admit it, but he’s right. It has been a long time since anyone has stood up to me and the fact that it’s this petite, young woman shocks me to my core. I find myself impressed by her courage and her will. I’m developing a grudging respect for her though we barely know each other.

“You’re right, Parker. There’s a chance I may be overreacting. We’ll keep her on a trial basis. Go ahead and show her to her office so she can get settled in.”

Parker steps outside my office and I hear him say, “Jocelyn, come with me. I’ll take you to your office. HR will be calling you down shortly to do your paperwork and just see Clare if you need anything in the meantime.”

He’s back in a few minutes. “I think you made the right decision, Dylan. I like her, and I think she’ll be good for the company and for you.”

“Because she’s rude to me?” I ask sarcastically.

Parker chuckles lightly and replies, “She’s not easily intimidated or charmed by you.”

“And you find this funny, why exactly?”

“You do need a reality check once in a while and honestly, I think she’ll be a breath of fresh air around here.”

“You saw the way she talked to me, even after realizing I can make her life a living hell.”

“Sure, she’s a little rough around the edges, but so were we at her age, Dylan. Cut her a little slack. She clearly didn’t mean any harm, and she did apologize.”

I scoff. “You can go now, Parker. I believe you have work to do.”

He laughs as he rises from his seat. “I’ll just go make sure Jocelyn is getting settled in and will be ready when you need her. Don’t forget we have the meeting with Prism Advertising today at 4. They’ve been trying to get on your calendar for a couple of weeks now. We can’t put them off any longer if we’re going to have a successful on-time launch of our new streaming service.”

I have been procrastinating on this meeting because our account executive at Prism is an annoyingly cheerful person to work with. However, they are the best in the advertising game and have done great work for us in the past.

“Noted. I assume you will inform Jocelyn to attend?” I ask.

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