The Secretary and Her Boss

Chapter 14

A steaming hot cup of coffee sat on my desk when I arrived at work the next day. Dash sat at his desk, looking utterly proud of himself and his coffee prep timing. I plucked up the cup and took a tentative sniff. "Is this poisoned?" I asked, settling down at my assistant desk.

Dash snorted. "You wound me, Work Wife. It's exactly to your liking. You take ten creams, right?"

I nearly dropped the coffee.

"I'm joking. Calm down. Just thought I'd practice making coffee. So you are welcome for choosing you to practice on. You get to enjoy perfect cups of coffee for a while."

It tasted burnt, full of grounds that somehow made it chewey and was far too sweat. I didn't think he'd been joking about all the creamers. But he looked so proud of himself, that I forced another sip down, smiling past the watering of my eyes as my lips hit a toothpick in the cup.

Pulling it out of the cup as casually as I could after being impaled in the face, I threw the toothpick in the trash. I was starting to believe that he owed me far more than a single date for the tourture he was currently putting me through.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Um... not the worst cup of coffee I've ever had." Which was true. He made me coffee two days ago and THAT was the worst cup of coffee I had ever had. I found a gum wrapper in it.

"That's a positive endorsement coming from you."

It really wasn't.

After a forced third sip, I settled down at my desk, 1930's white and blue flower print dress fluttering out against my thighs, the silk cool against my skin. Crossing my legs at the ankles, I admired my red high heels for a moment before settling into work.

I had grown to enjoy getting up a few minutes earlier every day to put together outfits that made me feel beautiful. I smiled to myself as I booted up the computer, mentally listing the things I liked about myself and habitually glanced towards Laurence Royal's office, even though I knew he wouldn't be in today.

I froze. He was in the office. Laurence Royal was never in the office on today's particular anniversary. And yet, there he sat, across from a beautiful blond in his office.

She had a notebook in her lap, a warm smile on her face as she wrote something down. Dark red lips matched expensive pumps. Her hair fell in curls down her back, glossy and immaculate. I had never seen her before. She looked too professional to be one of his dates, especially at seven thirty in the morning. It was far too early for that.

Laurence sat across from her, body posture relaxed as he leaned forward, talking in low tones. He was back to his clean cut self, all hints of his darkened mood yesterday, gone.

"What do you think? Is he interviewing for a new assistant, or is that a secret girlfriend?" Dash asked, suddenly leaning against my desk, whispering conspiratorially. "I knew my coffee was bad, but is it really necessary to fire me over something so small?"

"He found a paperclip in your last cup of coffee, Dash. Anything is possible." I didn't want Dash to get fired but... I really didn't want Laurence Royal to have any more women visiting our office either.

After a few moments the woman stood up, offered Laurence Royal a warm smile and walked past us, into the elevator without a word. I hadn't realized I was still staring at the closed elevator doors until Laurence cleared his throat. "Miss Autumns? Do you have time for a quick budget meeting?"

Laurence stood in the doorway, looking somewhat distracted as he eyed the closed elevator doors.

Dash tapped the edge of my desk as he stood up. "My vote is new assistant. Care to bet?" he whispered. I shook my head.