“Okay. Thanks for stopping by,” I say, still not entirely sure what the reasoning behind his visit is. I follow him to the door. He turns around.
“What did you say your girlfriend’s name was? For the seating arrangements,” he quickly adds.
“Her name?” I repeat. He nods.
“Alana,” I say calmly.Chapter Nine
AlanaI sit at my kitchen table and gulp down the last of my coffee, then I stand up and put the cup in the dishwasher. I’m feeling buzzed, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because I’ve had my daily caffeine limit in the last two hours alone. I’ve been up since five, because I was too nervous and excited to sleep. Things are finally starting to happen and it’s only taken me two years to get there. This time in two short weeks, I’ll be working in the analytics department.
I just have to get through working for Chase first.
The job itself doesn’t make me nervous, but Chase sure as hell does. Sometimes I wish I could just flip everything up on itself and be the one that’s in control. He intimidates me so much that I just don’t know how to make that happen. I hate how he can completely mess up my entire train thought just by flashing one of his smiles. The thought of working closely with him is mildly terrifying.
I probably won’t even be around him that much. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. My office is far enough away from his that I’ll be able to escape when I need to. The reality is, things aren’t going to be much different than they were before. I’ll even still get to see Peyton every day. The only difference is that I’ll technically be her boss.By the time I arrive at the office, my nerves have all but disappeared—until I walk into my office and see my desk isn’t there. I frown and turn around. Peyton, who is already at her desk smiles weakly at me.
“They moved it out about ten minutes ago,” she explains. “I guess he decided to shake things up a bit?”
I nod grimly. “I guess he did.”
I give her a quick smile and then march across the hall to Chase’s office.
Sure enough, when I walk in, there my desk, with my things packed neatly in a box next to it. The thing about Chase's office is that it was originally designed to be just like it is now, with his assistant right outside. I’ve never seen it set up that way, though. It’s always been Jade, in with us and this room set up as a waiting area, complete with an oversized couch and a coffee table. The couch and coffee table are gone, replaced with two modest chairs and a small plant. Chase walks out of his office, smirking when he sees me.
“Alana. I assumed that you wouldn't mind if I changed things up a little,” he says, almost daring me to question his authority. “I figured that my assistant should have her own space, away from those she’s supposed to be in charge of,” he adds.
Like Jade did?
“Of course, it’s fine. It makes sense,” I say, forcing myself to smile.
He nods. “Good. I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”
He disappears back into his office, leaving me alone to gather my thoughts. Sitting down, I take a deep breath. This isn’t such a big deal. If anything, it’s a good way to ease myself into things changing. Two weeks. I just need to push through and do this for two weeks.
I’m all psyched up to start my work, but when I glance at my empty desk, I realize that I have no idea what I need to get done. Even though Jade worked in the same room as me, I never really paid much attention to what she did. Probably because I spent all my time trying to forget she was there. Hell, I don’t even know how this intercom works.
I give it a few minutes before I walk over to his door and knock.
“Yes?” he calls out. He looks up at smiles at me as I walk in. “Struggling with something already?”
I frown at him. “I just want to know what you’d like me to do,” I say in what I hope is a friendly voice.
“I didn’t think you’d need that much direction,” he muses. He leans back in his chair and studies me. “I mean, it’s not like you didn’t work in the same room as my last assistant for two years. Too busy polishing your nails to notice anything that she was doing?”
“Too busy fetching your coffee you mean,” I respond, my voice frosty. I take a deep breath to calm myself down and then I try a different approach. “Look, I need you to understand that this is my first day in a new role and tell me what you expect of me,” I say firmly. “This will be painful for the both of us if you don’t meet me halfway.” I’m holding my ground and it feels good.