The Secretary and Her Boss

Chapter 5

The early morning hour seemed to bring out Allie's cranky side. Something I normally avoided. It was one of the reasons I always had coffee ready for both her and Laurence when they arrived at work. Allie could be quite prickly, but her before caffeine... downright terrifying. 

But today wasn't just another day of stifling early morning crankiness. Allie had asked me to come into the office early to create a game plan for how to broach the sudden work change to Laurence. She wanted to be prepared when he came in. 

Allie was settled into her office chair, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around her, clutching a cup of coffee like a lifeline, muttering tiredly to herself, surprising me with how approachable it all made her look.

"When Laurence gets here, let me do the talking," Allie finally said. "You are too nice and will crack, agreeing to sign a contract to work with him for the rest of your life if he looks even slightly sad about it."

"You don't have to strong-arm him into this," I said, sipping my morning coffee, shifting uncomfortably. I didn't want to be a part of whatever mind game she had in mind for Laurence. She took far too much joy out of torturing him.

My black and white polka dot dress was a comfort as I sat in Allie's office, surrounded by half-finished projects, waiting for the other shoe— well, high heel in Allie's case— to drop. I felt comfortable and cute in my thrift store find.

"It's more fun for me if we do it this way," she replied, finally dropping her blanket and setting up her sewing machine, lining up the needle. "Unless you'd rather say you are doing this to get away from him? I'm sure he'd take that very well."

I gave her a flat stare. "Those aren't the only two options. We can just tell him you—"

"What is this?" Laurence asked, walking into Allie's office, holding up a piece of paper, half crumpled in his hand like evidence. 

Allie glanced up at him from where she stood half-crouched next to her sewing machine, adjusting the thread. "Paper." 

She shook her head. "Honestly, Laurence, you really should know what paper is."

"Don't!" He cut himself off, lowering his voice, trying to calm his voice. "Don't bait me, Miss Winters. You and I both know that you have a power play problem."

"Everyone is always so eager to take out the queen bee. I need all the practice I can get at defending my throne from potential saboteurs." 

"You bought my company. What else could I possibly do to you?" he said, voice deathly quiet. He crumpled the paper into his fist, his voice taking on a hard edge.

"You are not firing Miss Autumns. She is a model employee, is constantly on top of things, and, by some miracle, doesn't seem to be terrified of you. A rarity in this office."

"Anything else?" Allie asked, placing a length of cloth underneath the sewing machine needle, unbothered by his anger.

"Yes. I expect you to call her, apologize, and invite her back. Hopefully, it won't be too late to—"

Laurence spun, getting ready to leave, but then spotted me for the first time, his eyes going wide. He looked utterly embarrassed, like he had revealed a piece of information that should have been kept secret. 

He stared at me for a long beat. Then seemed to recover. "She won't fire you. If she tries, she'll have to find a new CFO—"

Allie laughed. "Don't be absurd. No need to quit, Laurence. I'm not firing her."

Laurence looked back at her, brow raised, waiting for an explanation. 

"You really need to learn to read paperwork more carefully," she said with a tsk. "Just because she won't be assisting YOU anymore doesn't mean she won't be working here."