Page 2 of Boss from Hell

“Well, I suppose, itisa very well-paid job with awesome bonuses, and if you’re really, really desperate…”

“I’m really, really desperate,” I said quickly.

She sighed. “Alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Yeah, yeah, get on with it.”

“You’ll be the PA of a ghastly man called Maximus Frost who owns Frost Investments.”

“Okay. Tell me more about this ghastly man,” I invited.

“He comes from a ridiculously wealthy family, but decided to build his own multi-billion-dollar company from scratch. His investment company is one of the leading investment firms in the country. Which is why his attitude puzzles me. He behaves like a spoiled brat which he can’t be, not if you consider how hard he must have worked to get to where he is.”

“How much does the job pay?”

She quoted a figure and I gasped.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding sagely. “That’s how much no one wants to work for him. It’s more of a bribe than a salary. The man is a terrible tyrant. An absolute monster. I swear he’s been through more secretaries than any CEO in the past 100 years. Ikeep sending my girls to him and he keeps sending them back in tears.”

I sat back and stared at her. “Wow.”

“Yeah, he has a reputation of being a complete asshole. The phrase, ‘boss from hell’ was invented to describe him. No PA has lasted a full month.”

Now, I was intrigued. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she stated emphatically.

“Maybe I would.”

She stared back at me. “Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet on it. We’ve sent him our best talent and every single one has left in the first or second week.”

“I think I’d like to give it a try,” I said slowly.

Her eyes widened. “You would?”

“I certainly could do with the money.”

Suddenly her eyes twinkled like blue stars in her face. “If you want to give it a shot, be my guest. In fact, I’ll even make it a bit more interesting and throw in a hundred dollars if you can last more than a month.”

I laughed in disbelief. “You want to bet on me not lasting a month?”

“That’s right.”

I looked at her with narrowed eyes. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious. The job is yours. I’ll be happy to lose a hundred bucks if I can send someone to him who can last longer than a month.”

“You’re on,” I said. “One hundred bucks says I stay the whole month.”

She laughed. “You never could resist a bet, could you?”

“It’s more the salary,” I quipped.

She grinned and drowned the rest of her cocktail. “Looks like I just won myself a hundred dollars. I’ll email you the details in the morning.

I sipped my wine, enjoyed the feeling of the cold liquid going down my throat, and cautioned, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re laid, Maggie.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure these chicks are getting laid,” she claimed confidently.

---