Page 56 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

“Come in,” a warm, full voice said from the other side.

“Hey there, Mrs. Thomas. I’m Stella, Mr. Windsor’s new assistant.”

A large office with huge shelves awaited me.

“Oh, I know who you are, dearie. Gossip spreads like wildfire around here. Please, call me Winifred,” said the pretty African American woman seated behind a glass desk at the center of the room. She wore an elegant green dress with a matching green ribbon in her curly hair. She got up from her office chair slowly, and shook my hand, then sat back down, equally slowly. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Winifred,” I said. “I think we’ll likely be working together a lot in the future.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” She smiled warmly. There was something about her that reminded me of my mother—perhaps it was her kind smile and keen eyes. “May I have a seat?” I gestured to a chair at one side of her desk.

“Oh, of course! Mint?” she asked, holding out a bowl full of wrapped candy.

“No, thank you,” I said, “but I appreciate the offer. I’m actually here to pick your brain a little.”

“About what, dearie?”

“About Windsor Architects in general.”

“I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask about theentireworkings of Windsor Architects. But I get it, our CEO is too busy answering questions, am I right?” She laughed a friendly laugh. “I’ve only been here for a few months. Mr. Windsor’s previous copy clerk didn’t want to move to New York when he decided to move Windsor Architects’ offices here.” She took a mint from the glass bowl and started nibbling on it.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed you’d been here for a while.”

“I suppose that’s an easy enough assumption to make. I wish I’d worked here longer. This is the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had. I’m sorry if I’m disappointing you with my lack of seniority, but I’m sure—sooner or later—Mr. Windsorwillbe happy to answer any questions you may have that I might be too new to answer properly.” She finished off the piece of candy with a toothy grin.

“The reason I’m asking you is that I’d like to impress him with my knowledge of the company.” It was a little white lie, and immediately, I felt terribly guilty about it. A bead of sweat ran down my spine. Was I doing the right thing? I hid my hands under the table so Winifred’s sharp gaze wouldn’t see them trembling.

“I see, I see,” she said. “In that case, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability, but I still can’t guarantee that I’ll know the answers to all of them. I’m rather busy, especially now after the move, there’s all that work to be done, but I know that you’re assisting Mr. Windsor with the merger documents, so I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” I said, trying to hide my guilt and my profuse happiness at how she had played the merger card into my hands. I hadn’t even thought of that. It wasn’t even a lie. Ha, perfect! “So I guess my first question is this: Do you know how Windsor Architects is doing? Financially, I mean?”

“Dearie, I like you! We’re really getting right to the serious stuff.” She laughed. “I can honestly and confidently tell you that Windsor Architects is doingverywell financially. Of course, Martha and Mary in the finance department know more about that, but last year was our most profitable year ever, and at our current trajectory, we’ll do even better this year. You can also read about it in the annual reports that we prepare every year.”

“Phew. That’s good news.” I feigned relief and wiped my brow. “That means Mr. Windsor can afford to pay our salaries.”

“Exactly.” Winifred snorted as she took another mint out of the bowl. “You’re a cheeky one, but I appreciate your attitude. Are you planning to make Windsor Architects a part of your long-term career plans?”

“I am. This really is the best place for me I believe.”

“It sure is,” she agreed. “Mr. Windsor is an inspiring CEO, so that’s an added bonus. He’s very good at what he does.”

I was growing confident. Talking to Winifred felt as if I had known her for years, as if I could ask her anything. “Next question. Does Short Hills ring a bell?”

“Of course. Has Mr. Windsor shown you his marvelous blueprints for the properties he’s working on there? If he hasn’t, ask him about it. Well, when he has a minute. They’ll blow your mind.”

“Aren’t there a ton of construction and architecture companies busy with projects and developments there?” I tapped my chin and pretended to think for a moment. I couldn’t just outright mention Ecclestone Construction—it would be too suspicious. “I read something like that inArchitecture Weeklya few days ago.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that one.” Her chirpy smile slowly faded, and I didn’t know what to make of her reaction.

Despite her facial expression, I decided to go for it.

“Wait…” I started. “I remember the names of the top companies that are busy building real estate around there: Bulsara Renovations, Thorne Architects…and Ecclestone Construction.” My armpits were getting sweatier and sweatier, the guilt continuing to gnaw at my insides. “Is Windsor Architects contracted with any of them? I would like to…familiarize myself with our subcontractors.”

Did that sound plausible? Probably only half, because she stared at me intently. “Hmm… Thorne Architects sounds somewhat familiar, but I don’t think they’re involved in the Short Hills project. I honestly don’t know about the rest. Is there a particular reason that you’re asking about these three specifically?” She raised one of her thin dark eyebrows at me.

My blood turned to ice. I should have thought this through better. The thought of getting caught in a lie was enough to make me want to crawl and hide under her desk.

In a desperate attempt to make my worries dissipate, I shook my head. A ball of guilt the size of an elephant was forming in the pit of my stomach regardless, but I needed to ignore it. When I noticed Winifred concernedly staring at me from across the table, I finally said, “No, no. There’s no specific reason. I just get anxious if I make a mistake. Mr. Windsor can be pretty intimidating.” I repeated Willette’s words, only in a different context. It was too late to back out anyway, so I grabbed the bull by the horns and tried the other way around. “Is there any way I could find out if Windsor Architects has worked with one of those construction companies in the past? Just hypothetically speaking.”

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