Page 39 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

As I approached the building’s double doors, I took a deep breath, counted to five, and exhaled. The doors were heavy as usual when I pushed them open, ready to greet Glenda at the reception desk.

“Good morning, Gle—wait, you’re not Glenda.” I blinked. “Whoops! Now I feel silly.”

A cheery-looking redhead with cute freckles mapping out her face like constellations, stood where the former receptionist usually sat. She smiled at me as I walked toward her. “Hey there! No need to feel silly. Glenda fell off her chair when she was trying to escape a bee and had to go for an emergency medical procedure. It’s nothing serious, but she won’t be in today. Anyway, I’m Terry. I’m an intern in our customer support department. You must be Ms. Copeland, the CEO’s new assistant.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Terry,” I replied. “Please, call me Stella. Will you be standing in for Glenda today?”

“Normally, I would. We called a staff replacement agency early this morning, but they said they’d only be able to send someone at about noon.”

“Oh, I see. Well, better late than never.”

Her Cheshire cat grin took on a more urgent appearance. “Yeah, it really is. I was supposed to man the reception desk until then, but I just got a call from my kid’s daycare. My daughter’s got a fever, so I need to go.”

“Oh, no! I hope she’s okay.”

“Anyway, I asked my manager if I could leave, and he informed Mr. Windsor…” Terry paused, bobbing her head up and down. “To make a long story short, Mr. Windsor should be in any second now, and—”

“Good morning, ladies.” Ace came strolling into the empty foyer. In his dark suit and well-polished dress shoes, he radiated an almost golden aura of confidence and power. His silver-gray coat hung across his arm.

“Oh! Hi there, Mr. Windsor,” Terry quickly greeted. She got up from her seat behind the reception desk and stepped out from behind it. She seemed relieved to see him. “I was just about to ask Stella if she’d mind managing the reception desk while we wait for Glenda’s replacement to arrive.”

“Ah, I see.” He shifted to face me. “Yes, unfortunately the agency’s replacement won’t be in until noon. Mrs. Mills is out too. It seems that receptionists are in short supply around here.” At six-foot-four, he towered over us, casting a long shadow that encapsulated me. “I hope you won’t mind helping out, Stella? If I remember correctly, you mentioned having some experience at the front desk.”

“I’d behappyto help. Working reception will help me to familiarize myself with Windsor Architects’ clients. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.” I was kinda excited by the challenge, and frankly, the thought of spending the morning in the bright foyer instead of the lonely archive room energized me. Plus, I didn’t want to make anybody feel bad about assigning the role to me.

“Really?” Terry asked, utter disbelief in her voice. Her eyes lit up like the sky on the Fourth of July. “Gosh. I’ve heard people saying you’re nice, but that’s an understatement.”

Who said I was nice? I highly doubted that Glenda would ever say something like that about me. Other than that, I’d only had short interactions.

Terry must have noticed the surprise on my face because she clarified, “Glenda mentioned how friendly you are.”

My face fell. Glenda did? Was her inside softer than her outside suggested?

“We’re very thankful,” Ace agreed and ended our small talk. “I don’t think there’s a single Princeton graduate in the country that has ever been asked to work reception, but it is an emergency.”

“Except during my internship, and I love being the exception. It’s nothing, really,” I said with a dismissive wave. I supposed he hadn’t expected my response because his reaction almost felt like Terry’s, only on a much,muchsmaller scale. Even if I didn’t have the experience—did he really think I would say no? “I’d never say no to doing something that could potentially benefit the company. You need me to run reception until a replacement gets here, and I’ll be happy to. Besides, I love working with people, and this gives me the opportunity to do just that.”

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” he said, and it was the first time he’d given me an appreciative nod. With that, he turned to the elevator and left Terry and me standing alone in the foyer once more.

“He never forgets a favor. He’s a strict but fair boss.” Terry and I simultaneously tore our eyes away from the closed elevator doors. “Now, let me show you how the telephone system works before I go.” She waved her arm, gesturing for me to join her.

“That’s a good idea.” I wedged myself between a filing cabinet and her office chair. “I’m a fast learner.”

After a few minutes of explaining the phone system, she concluded, “Once customers start bursting in, get their details and direct them to the foyer’s waiting area. Oh, and usually, all calls for Mr. Windsor go through Mrs. Mills, as well as direct calls, but since she isn’t here, try to filter them as best you can. I just know you’ll rock this telephone system and everything else the day throws at you.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

Terry’s nose wrinkled up until it almost resembled a snout. “You’re really like a little ray of sunshine, you know that?”

Before I could answer, Terry got up from the office chair, grabbed her purse, and practically bowed in front of me. “The kingdom is all yours.” She gestured to the scarlet chair. “Good luck! You’re going to do great.”

“Good luck to you too.” I pushed wayward strands of hair out of my face and smiled at her. “Tell your daughter I say hi.”

“Thanks. Byeee!”

As soon as she was out of earshot and I’d made myself comfortable in the red office chair behind the reception desk, I sighed.

Something clattered to the floor. Leaning forward, I thought I saw one of my earrings between my shoes.Darn, I thought, reaching up to my ears to find the left one missing.

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