Three Bosses' Assistant (Love by Numbers 2)

Then, there was Ryland, which I knew next to nothing about. I knew more about Carson, and I wouldn’t even be meeting him tomorrow. Ian said something about getting a lot of sleep because I’d be meeting Ryland. Was he going to be that exhausting? I could feel a hard lump in my throat. Maybe some research was in order. Ryland had to have a Facebook, and maybe Carson did as well. I might as well take a look at Ian’s for good measure.

I pushed the button when I saw my spot appear on the LED lighted display at the front of the bus. I thanked the bus driver, collected my purse, and stepped out. There was still another 5-minute walk until I was home, but a little warm-up before cycling to get my blood flowing would suit me just fine. Opening the door, I immediately went up to my bedroom. I could feel the stress of the day hanging over my head, and when I threw open the door, I slammed my body onto the bed with such force, I bounced. Sighing heavily, I let my shoulders relax.

“I missed you, bed. I’ll never leave you again,” I said, smiling, nuzzling into my bedsheets. Sitting up on my elbows, I took out my phone from my purse that was still slung around my shoulder. It was time to do some research on my soon-to-be bosses.

First, I decided to look up Ian Holders’ Facebook, and what I saw didn’t disappoint. There he was, big smile and all. He was ruggedly handsome, and appeared to be single. Each one of his profile photos was of him smiling, usually with a friend, or what I assumed were his parents. There weren’t any photos of him and another woman. Scrolling down the page, I noticed that he often talked about the score of the football game. Today though, his status was about how much he could bench press. Did he know I was going to look him up?

Second, I decided to look up Ryland. I didn’t know his last name, but when I saw someone that could be him, I clicked immediately. Ryland Drummond was a tall, medium built man with lean muscle. He had a square jaw, the most beautiful auburn hair I’d ever seen and deep, grey eyes. Could it really be him? He looked really serious, and the reading glasses that sat on his face in some pictures made him look more executive-like. I couldn’t help but think how sexy he pulled off the chic nerd look. Maybe tomorrow wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

I looked through his Facebook more to try to learn more about him. Having something in common would make it easier to talk to him. I could already tell he liked to read books by the recommendations he wrote about in his status. Then, I looked at where he went to school, and I was shocked to see Harvard. I couldn’t contain my excitement. Not only was there one incredibly gorgeous, incredibly intelligent man that I worked for, but two? It seemed too good to be true.

Looking up Carson provided very little on who he was personality-wise, but I did learn his full name: Carson Neil Werner. Despite him being the C.E.O. of the company, he had no personal Facebook profile; only a business page. There was no picture of him and no indication that he even existed on social media at all. All the external links that led to other social media focused purely on Calliope Publishing. There had to be more; surely, this man was more than just business.

I went to Google and searched his name, and with a little bit of digging, I managed to find a newspaper article from a few years ago. It turned out that a Carson Werner was named as the summa-cum-laude of the business faculty at Harvard University. My jaw dropped, like Ryland, he had also been a student at Harvard. I wondered if they attended at the same time. Maybe that was where they met.

Calculating Carsons’ age from the time the newspaper article was printed to the current year, I figured that he was 32, and since Calliope Publishing started around eight years ago, he must have thrown himself into building his company at the age of 24. I couldn’t believe it. Not only was he a summa-cum-laude, but he was also the young C.E.O. of a company? My lips curled up into a smile. A man like that probably had high expectations. High expectations I knew I could meet. Impressing men like them would spell good things for my future career as a writer and editor.

I studied Carson, and although the picture of him was eight years old, I could see the dark hair and elegance the man exuded, even at such a young age. Carson was no doubt handsome, but I wondered if those looks held up over the years. If they did, I was really going to be in trouble. I wondered briefly what it would feel like to be picked up by the large, bulky arms of Ian. Or what Ryland would whisper to me in my ear after a long love-making session. To truly daydream about Carson, I would have to know him a little more.