I shook my head. “Of course not.” I rose and clutched my tablet to my chest.
“One more thing. My cousin is coming in this weekend and staying for a month until the deal is wrapped up. He heads up the ports in Greece, and will be working with me on this slip purchase. Be prepared to set up lots of dates and events.”
“Of course,” I said making a mental note to check where some of Leo’s favorite restaurants were. Surely the database I was currently clutching had that kind of info.
“There is also an event coming up. Dinner, kissing-ass kind of thing. Basically investors as well as my competition will be there. You should be able to find all of Cathy’s work e-mails about it forwarded to your new address.”
“I’ll set up everything for you,” I said, almost calling him sir but really glad I didn’t. The last thing I needed was to play dom and sub with my boss. Espe
cially since he’d already had me begging against a wall a few weeks ago.
“I’ve gone through all of Cathy’s scheduling and contacts and will have everything prepared for the night of the event,” I said.
It had taken the past week and a few sleepless nights, but I now had a lot of details down, from Leo’s dry cleaner to personal driver. While there were a few things I was certain I was missing, I would likely spend the rest of the night learning those and following up on preparation for this event.
“Excellent.”
“Well, I will get right on this project and coordination for the event.” With a final smile, I headed for the door.
I felt truly useful for the first time since I’d lost my job. Maybe even before that. At the governor’s office, I took on scheduling and planning and small projects, mostly involving media, but something to this extent was exciting and Leo looked at me like I was competent.
“Oh, and Paige?” I turned to find him wincing at his cup of coffee. “I take sugar in my coffee.”
I swallowed down the bubble in my throat that rose whenever I felt lacking, but this was part of the job.
“How many sugars would you like?”
“Two. And hurry back. The second thing I need from you is time sensitive.”
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”
Walking out of the office, I concentrated on the fact that I was heading up a major project, and not the tiny details that I had messed up with the coffee, and that this new project had to be kept under wraps. It was yet another secret I was hoping I could keep covered.
Chapter Seven
Oh . . . My . . . Gross . . .” I said, standing in Leo’s office doorway with sugar packets in hand and horror rushing through my veins. The sheer chaos of what I was witnessing made me feel faint.
“Paige!” Leo laughed when he saw me standing and staring. He was on the floor, rolling around with two screeching children clinging to his arms and legs. Between the giggling and loud demands that he “go faster,” I gathered this was some kind of game. When the little girl climbed on top of Leo’s back and called out, “Go, horsey, go!” Yep, I was certain this was a game, though to me it looked like torture. Leo, however, looked like he was having a ball.
“Hang on there, kiddos,” he said, rising and running his hands through his hair. “I want you to meet Paige.”
The little girl, who I would guess was around five, zeroed in on me while the boy, who looked to be at least a year or two older, smiled and waved in my direction. Both of them had dark hair and eyes, and similar features to Leo’s.
“Paige, this is Eli and Lyssa, my nephew and niece.”
“Hi there,” I said, not sure what the hell else to say. They both stared at me so long that it made me shift on my feet. Jesus Christ, I was getting shaken down by frickin toddlers. But kids made me nervous. Adults I could handle, even the assholes. But kids? That was territory I had zero experience in.
“You said you had a time-sensitive issue to discuss with me?” I asked, hoping to get out of there ASAP.
Leo went to say something, but the little girl—Lyssa—cut him off. “I like your hair. It’s like the color of a fire truck.”
I smiled tightly. “Thanks.”
She cocked her head to the side to examine me. “Can you make fire truck noises?”
“No.”
Lyssa didn’t seem to like my answer but Leo just looked amused. “Well, looks like you two have lots to talk about,” he said, grabbing his keys and baseball hat off his desk.