“He’s from Beverly Hills?” I asked softly. I’d grown up in Manhattan Beach so I was curious to hear what her answer was.
“I’m sure, aren’t they all?” She shrugged flinging her brown hair across her shoulders in a dismissive fashion.
“So you don’t really know much about him then?” I stared at her as the elevator stopped at the tenth floor.
“No.” She made a face. “I’ve not actually worked for him as yet, but I already know he’s going to be a jerk.”
“Yeah, from what you’ve told me, he seems like he’s going to be a monster.” I nodded in agreement. “And you’re going to be his assistant?”
“Yeah, I’m his right-hand man.” She grinned. “Though I think I’ll let him stew for the first few days. See how well he gets on without me telling him what to do.”
“Yeah, hopefully he doesn’t fire you then.”
“Oh, he won’t.” She grinned. “To his face, I’ll be nice. I’ll just be shady behind his back.”
“Well that sounds like a plan, maybe I can do that with my boss if he turns out to be a jerk.”
“Most of the senior people are cool.” She sighed. “Maxwell Corp, is actually a pretty cool place to work. What exactly will you be doing again?”
“To be honest, I have no idea.” I laughed. “I was offered the job and took it.”
“They must have really wanted you.”
“I guess so.”
“Well maybe I’ll see you at lunch, I get off at the next floor. All the assistants eat lunch together.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” I grinned. “I’m Leo by the way.”
“Hannah.” She shook my hand and walked out of the elevator. “Oh,” she looked at me in surprise as I followed her out. “You’re working on this floor as well.”
“I am.” I nodded and raised an eyebrow at her.
“What did you say your name was again?” She paused and looked at me for a few seconds with a thoughtful look.
“Leo.” I smiled at her widely as we stopped outside a door.
“Leo?” She froze and I saw a red hue rising in her face. “As in Leonardo?”
“Yes.” I nodded and put my hand on the doorknob.
“As in Leonardo Maxwell?” Her voice was soft as I opened the door.
“The one and only.”
“Oh.” She groaned as she followed me into the door.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hannah.” I grinned. “I assume you’re my new assistant?”
There was silence in the office as we both stared at each other. I was able to study Hannah’s body a lot better with her standing in front of me. She was wearing a rather short skirt and a top that seemed one size too small, as the buttons next to her chest seemed like they were about to pop open. She was a pretty girl, with long dark brown hair and wide expressive brown eyes that seemed to be sparking shots of fire at me. Her lips were naturally pouty and she was wearing some sort of pink lip gloss that was begging to be kissed off. I could see from her stance that she was confident, but worried. The look on her face was that of a suicidal deer in the headlights that was still debating on how much pain it would be in if it continued running and risked hitting a car. I knew she was going to continue running. It was the pain vs. pride debate. She was upset that I’d become privy to her thoughts, but she wasn’t going to back down.
“So you’re planning on making my life difficult then?” I asked her softly. “Is it your plan for me to be so upset that I’ll up and quit.”
“No.” She muttered and looked at the ground. “Would you quit?” She asked hopefully.
“Do you think you would get this job if I quit because you were making my life a misery?” I laughed. “Do you think I wouldn’t just have you fired?”
“I guess so.” She looked up at me with pursed lips. “So are you going to fire me?”
“What sort of person would I be if I did that?” I pursed my lips. No, I wasn’t going to have her fired. I knew I should, but there was something that told me she was the sort of girl I could have a lot of fun with. I needed something to make this a fun couple of first weeks. I’d keep her for now, but if I thought she was getting too crazy, she’d be out on her ear.
“I didn’t mean for you to hear all that.” She said sullenly.
“How old are you, Hannah?” I changed the subject abruptly.
“Twenty four.”
“Twenty four?”
“That’s what I said.” She spoke up. “Why?”
“Just curious.” I shrugged. “I didn’t know that backstabbing in the corporate world started in those as young as twenty four. I thought it started when folks hit their thirties at least.”
“Nepotism doesn’t start in the thirties, so why should backstabbing?”
“So you admit that you’ve got a plan to backstab me?”
“I don’t have a plan to do anything.”
“I used to be a bodyguard you know, well, more like a bouncer, but I don’t take crap very well.”
“Are you threatening me?” Her lips trembled as she stared at me with narrowed eyes. It took everything I had in me to not laugh. This girl was a spitfire. A real spitfire. She was going to make my first few weeks very interesting.
Knock. Knock. We both turned to look at the front door.
“Leo.” My dad’s voice boomed as he walked into the office. “You made it in.”
“Bright and early.” I said sarcastically as he patted me on the back.
“Good.” He nodded and looked at me with pleased eyes. “That’s what I like to see.”
“Dad, this is my assistant Hannah.” I nodded towards a wide-eyed Hannah. “Hannah, this is my father and the CEO of Maxwell Corp, James Maxwell.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Maxwell.” Hannah’s voice was soft and sweet as she held out her hand, a wide smile on her face. “I can’t tell you how much of an honor it is to work for you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Hannah. Take care of my boy. He’ll be CEO one day.” He shook her hand and then looked back at me. “Shall we get lunch today and chat?”
“I told Zane I’d meet up with him for lunch.” I shook my head. “Maybe tomorrow?”
“I guess so.” He frowned. “How is that boy? I can’t believe he got married and has kids already.”