Mystery was an attractive quality in a man, but if you never saw him, he was just flaky. Or maybe, he was so busy that he couldn’t come down and mingle with his subordinates? I finished the other administrative tasks that Ryland had given me and waited for a few minutes to see if any other job needed to be done. I checked my email and my phone, but no one contacted me. With the C.E.O. and C.O.O. being absent, I decided to get to know my fellow co-workers.
I was already acquainted with Noah, so I decided to talk to Oliver and Dante, who were both speaking to each other about an edit that needed to be done tomorrow. When I approached, Dante winked at me and Oliver told me to ignore him while rolling his eyes. Dante said I should take it as a compliment, he only acted that way towards pretty girls. Harvey was up next, but from rumors going around the office (specifically what Noah told me), Harvey and Priya were close and usually seen with each other. Harvey and Priya spoke at length about the job, and how excited they were to see a new face.
Asking any of the employees about the C.E.O. was a wash. Most of them, like Noah, had never had a full conversation with him. Ryland, they knew more about, and they all said the same thing. He was a hard-ass, but a hard worker. He expected quality, and he was going to get it no matter what it took. It seemed to me that Ryland was the face of the company, while Carson did everything from the back end. I expected that Carson would be shyer, or at least more reserved than Ryland. This came as a surprise to me since Ryland was a full two years older than Carson.
I decided to ask Ian about Carson. If anyone knew about him, he would. I thought so anyway, but on the way up the elevator to HR, I started questioning myself. Maybe he barely saw Carson, too, or maybe Ryland gave Ian memos from the C.E.O. and never interacted with him personally. I wasn’t sure. Once on the third floor, I saw Opal out of the corner of my eye, and decided to pretend she wasn’t there. She was a bit of a bitch. She probably didn’t know much about the C.E.O. anyway.
Before I knocked at the door, I heard Ian speak in a foreign language. My guess was Russian, considering he spoke a few words to me when I first met him. I looked up what he was saying on my lunch break, and figured out that he called me “darling,” and “beautiful” multiple times. After realizing that, I felt more nervous to talk to him than I did yesterday. Ian was gorgeous, and to be admired by him was something out of a dream. I knew I was pretty, but I was always too shy to make the first move. I lost in my thoughts when I knocked on the door.
“Ah, yes? Come in,” Ian yelled, and I opened the door. He greeted me with a warm smile before his eyes wandered up and down my body. I blushed and cleared my throat.
“Hi Ian. Sorry to bother you. I wanted to ask you about the C.E.O.”
“What about?” Ian asked, twirling with a pen in his fingers. He was sitting down at his desk, his leg crossed over his knee. Blond locks of hair wandered near his forehead, messy but remained in a style. Ian looked relaxed and in his element.
“Does he ever come into the office?” I said.
“Carson is a law unto himself, he does what he wants, when he wants, but he sure knows how to run a company,” Ian remarked. I frowned. It was good to know that Carson was responsible, but it gave me little to work with. How was I supposed to impress a man I knew nothing about?
“Anything I should know about him?” When I asked more questions about Carson, Ian looked dejected.
“Really, Sascha, it’s rude to talk about another man when there’s a good looking one standing right in front of you,” he joked.
“But, you’re sitting.” I played along.
“Oh, but you admit I’m good looking?” I giggled and smiled at him. He sure was. “Don’t worry about Carson. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll see him soon enough. Do you have anything else to do today?”
“Nothing at all.” I smiled.
“You don’t have to stay. With the C.O.O. and C.E.O. not in the office, there isn’t anyone for you to assist. I’m also good here.” Ian stood up and motioned to the door gently. “Have a good day, Ms. Day.”
“You know you can call me Sascha.”
“Oh, I know.” Ian stuck out his tongue playfully. “But I like your last name.” I stuck my tongue back out at him. At least Ian was playful and fun. Maybe Carson would be similar.