Matt didn’t really want to believe that, but then Jenny from HR knocked on his office door at ten minutes after ten.
He let out a groan and motioned her in. Fuck, did Callie go to HR? Is she filing harassment charges against me? Is consensual sex harassment? The fact that he didn’t know, only proved to him how inadequate his knowledge about that kind of thing really was. He knew better, keep it out of the workplace. Callie had said so as well. And then we didn’t. We freaking didn’t.
“Hey, Matt, do you have a minute?” Jenny smiled at him and Matt’s cramped stomach eased a little. She probably wouldn’t be smiling if Callie had accused him of doing something vile to her.
Which I did not fucking do. And would never, ever do. She was into it. She was. You can’t fake four orgasms, thank you very much. Still. They wouldn’t be nearly as good if he got fired over them.
“Sure.” He shut his laptop and closed down the screen desktop beside it. He pasted on a face that was what he hoped could pass for bland and stared back at Jenny, who took a seat in front of the desk.
Jenny was one of those proper women, even though she was young, probably not more than thirty. She had nice blonde hair but always wore it in a severe bun. She could have been pretty, but her features were always so intense it was hard to find her that. Not that I want to. It was just a casual observation, like looking at a paint job and noticing it could have fit better with the décor if it was a different color or something.
Jenny always wore matronly clothes as well. A white blouse and a black shirt, which on her, were somehow not the whole typical secretary garb. She never wore anything else. She was always all business, and she was damn good at her job. Guys who might have thought she was attractive, he’d never been among them, learned fast to steer clear. She wasn’t interested.
Because she is a professional. Unlike me. The perv who fucks his secretary. Total cliché. Fucking totally fucking cliché.
“I just wanted to inform you that your secretary, Callie Canahan,” she said the name like he didn’t know who his own damn admin assistant was, “phoned in her notice this morning. She said that she had some personal issues come up. She’s very sorry, but she’s resigning as of this morning. As in, she’s not coming back.”
“Oh.” His stomach hollowed out. It absolutely winded him to find out that his worst fears had come true. “I- I see.”
“I’m sorry. We are working hard on finding you another assistant, but it might take a few weeks. And then there is a matter of training her. So, you may find yourself with a heavier workload. I’m just wondering if there is anything I can do to help out.”
Matt thought fast. He was usually intelligent. Witty. On top of things. He hadn’t felt that way since he met Callie. No, since that kiss at the damn Christmas party. He’d barely noticed her before then and she’d been working for him for three months. She’d been so damn mousy and polite, just like Jenny, that he’d paid her almost no attention. He knew she did good work, but that was about it. He’d taken no other interest in her. Then she’d shown up at the party wearing that little tight black dress and she kissed him, and he was just… gone. He was lost from that point on. His equilibrium was definitely off and he wanted, desperately, to get it back and get a hold of himself and the situation.
“I- yes, there is something you can do. Can you ask Jeff if he’d be willing to lend me his admin assistant just to catch up on emails and the more pressing things? Two afternoons a week would be great if he wouldn’t mind.”
“Right. Chantara?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll go ask him. That’s a good solution. She’s been with the company for a long time. She can probably help with some training as well, so that frees you up.”
“Right. Thank you. That would be great.”
“Thanks, Matt, for taking this so well. I’m sorry again. We’ll get you a replacement and have everything flowing smoothly again in no time.”
He nodded and watched Jenny as she stalked swiftly out the door, ready to solve all their corporate problems. He liked that about her, her efficiency, but at the moment, he didn’t want everything flowing smoothly. Not if it meant not having Callie there.
She ran. She got too close and she ran. She’s like the damn moth that got singed in the flames. Bad analogy. That would be assuming that I’m good enough to be a flame and she’s helpless like the moth. She could have left for other reasons. Maybe something personal really did come up. Matt doubted it. She’d told him about her past and he got the feeling she didn’t tell anyone about her past.