“I’m sorry, Hannah.” She grabbed my arm. “I was just getting a little carried away with myself. Look, just be yourself. Let him know that you’re more than an assistant. Let him know he can’t treat you like the help.” She shrugged. “Let him know you’re equals and that should have been your job.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Make him feel bad about what he’s done.” She looked at me thoughtfully. “He knows that was supposed to be your job right?”
“Yeah.” I groaned, remembering the previous day. “He knows.”
“So let him know that just because he has the connections doesn’t mean he’s better than you.” She nodded. “Bring him down a couple of pegs!”
“Yeah, I suppose I can try and do that.” I bit down on my lower lip, trying to think about what I could do to make the great Leonardo Maxwell realize that he wasn’t better than me.
“Then you can hook him up with me.” She grinned. “What’s his name again?”
“Lisa,” I groaned. “I already told you his name is Leo.”
“Ooh, Leo like Leonardo DiCaprio?”
“I guess.” I sighed. “He’s better looking than DiCaprio though.”
“What?” She screeched. “Okay, I need to meet this man.”
“He’s most probably a bigger man whore than DiCaprio as well. You know all the tabloids have Leo dating a different model every couple of months.”
“I’m no model.” Lisa groaned. “Not even if I lose ten pounds.”
“You’re better than those stupid models.” I gave her a quick hug. “Any guy would be lucky to get you.”
“So why aren’t they fighting over me then?” She tilted her head and smiled. “Why am I still working at a stupid call center, telling people why their phones are being cut off every month?”
“Because you love it?” I laughed and she made a face. “We’ll get our breaks soon.”
“Let’s hope so.” She carried the dirty dishes from the table to the sink. “I want to go shopping for some new clothes, with someone else’s credit card for once.”
“Lisa,” I burst out laughing. “I hope you don’t say that around anyone too loudly. People might think you’re a gold-digger.”
“I don’t need gold, just a black Amex.” She said and we both burst out laughing.
“Okay, thanks for breakfast. I have to leave now, the big boss is most probably waiting on me to get his morning coffee and breakfast.”
“Aw, lucky guy has a private waitress.” Lisa said as I walked out of the kitchen. An idea suddenly popped into my mind. Maybe I could show up in a waitresses’ outfit and make him feel put out. I smiled to myself as I pictured the confusion on his face as I asked him for his order. That would make him feel bad!
***
I jumped into my 1997 gold Toyota Corolla and started the engine, waiting for it to click over. I bit down on my lower lip as I realized that I’d no longer be able to upgrade to a 2004 Honda Accord as I’d been planning when I thought I was going to get the executive manager job. I’d been so close. I’d gone through three interviews. I’d been almost positive that the job was going to be mine. Finally my MBA was going to be of use to me. And then, I’d been notified that they were going with a different candidate. The boss's son, to be exact. I was furious when I heard and then when they told me I was switching departments and was going to be his assistant I nearly quit on the spot. If I didn’t have bills to pay, I would have left. However, Lisa’s job was crappy and I was sure that she’d get fired any day for the way she spoke to the customers. I knew that I’d have to cover her rent if she got fired because she had no savings. I couldn’t afford to lose my job.
I drove along thinking about Leo Maxwell. I hadn’t wanted to admit it to Lisa, but I thought he was cute. Really cute. When I’d first seen him, I’d thought to myself, who is this hottie? If I hadn’t been in a bad mood, I might have flirted with him. He had the most gorgeous blue eyes, I’d ever seen in my life. I’d been excited at the possibility of having lunch with him, but then of course he’d turned out to be my boss.
My body had grown hot with embarrassment as I’d realized he was my boss. His eyes had been laughing at me. I knew he thought it was funny, but I’d been mortified and a little scared that he would fire me for insubordination. I was curious as to why he’d taken the job though. He didn’t seem like the corporate type and he hadn’t seem enthused about the job. I bet he wished he could spend his days at the beach surfing. He looked like a beach bum with his golden brown tan and bleach blond hair. He was way too good looking for his own good. I bet he was a player as well. All he had to do was flash his baby blues and girls would be falling all over him. Well, I was going to make sure that that wasn’t me. I wasn’t going to be falling over him. I didn’t care how many times he flashed his cute little dimple at me or smiled at me with his bold sexy stare. I didn’t care how much my fingers wanted to push his silky hair back.
Leo Maxwell was trouble with a capital T. I had to get under his skin before he got under my mine. I could still remember his comment about bending over his desk. I felt ashamed admitting to myself that a part of me had been thrilled at his comment. He was a dangerous, dangerous boy. I couldn’t afford to play the games that these rich kids played. I wasn’t made of money. I didn’t have any family to support me if I crashed and burned. In fact, I had a family back in Iowa waiting for me to send them money every month. I couldn’t let my grandparents or siblings down. I had to focus. I needed to figure out a way to get a promotion and to make more money. Even if that meant leaving Maxwell Corporation. The thought saddened me. I didn’t want to leave the company; especially not now.
“Get it together, Hannah.” I shouted at myself as I pulled into the parking lot at work. “This is a job, nothing more and nothing less.” I lectured myself as I got out of the car. I picked up the bag next to me and grinned. I was going to enjoy watching Leo squirm as I played my little prank on him.
Chapter Three
Leo
“Any coffee, Sir?” Hannah stood at the entry to my door with an apron tied around her waist and a challenge in her eyes.
“Why, yes. I’d love that.” I looked up from my desk and nodded at her. I looked down for a second to hide my grin. I saw the disappointment in her eyes as she walked towards me. She pulled a notepad out of her pocket and a pen from behind her ear.