The good news was that maybe I could keep this job for longer than a month if the only reason he fired the previous women was because they wanted to be his next piece of arm candy. The idea of me coming on to him was laughable. Right now I was struggling to be in his presence for more than five minutes without wanting to clobber him.

“That’s good to know.” His face was inscrutable, but for some reason he seemed annoyed by my vehemence

I couldn’t resist a verbal poke. “You could have hired a male EA. Of course you’d have to make sure he was straight or he may also find you irresistible.”

I wasn’t entirely successful in hiding my acerbic tone and Jake flashed me a hard look. I was sure his next words would be: “You’re fired,” but he only said mildly, “I’ll take that under advisement the next time I find myself in need of an assistant.”

The implication was clear. As far as set downs were concerned, it was subtle but effective.

He spent the next ten minutes outlining my duties.

The work seemed straightforward enough. I needed to manage his calendar, run reports for him, draft memorandums and announcements, and perform a variety of tasks to help make his life easier.

Despite my misgivings, I was starting to get excited about the job. It seemed like a nice change from the monotony of typing up contracts and updating databases.

“Cora, I expect you to be honest with me when I ask for your opinion. Sometimes I get mired in negotiations during a business meeting and I rely on you to be alert about what you see and hear. You need to become an extension of me, in essence.”

“I understand, sir.”

“Jake.” His tone was insistent.

I made a face. Using his name still felt strange, but I’d better get used to it. “I understand, Jake.”

 “You’ll learn the rest as we go along. For now, you need to go to the Personnel department and sign your contract. Dave Chung will go over your new compensation package. As my EA, you’ll need a new wardrobe.” Under his scrutiny, my smartest outfit suddenly felt entirely inadequate. My shoulders folded inwardly, as if I could hide my faded shirt.

“I’ll have Dave add in a clothing allowance.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but thought better of it. I wasn’t going to cut off my nose to spite my face. As his EA, I did need nicer clothes and if he was willing to pay for it, all the better for my checkbook. After all, I hadn’t sought out the promotion. Still, the way he presented it to me rubbed me the wrong way.

“Take the morning to get used to the office systems. If you have any questions, ask Alana in the front.”

Alana must be the blonde who gave me the cold shoulder. I vowed to learn the system on my own. I wouldn’t put it past her to sabotage my first day.

“As you heard me say to Troy, I do expect to work through lunch. We have a conference call with a supplier in Rio at one. Have Alana order us a couple of sandwiches. She knows what I normally eat.” He stood up, signaling the end to our meeting.

I stood as well and noted how tall he was. I only reached up to his chin. “Okay. I’ll get going.” I turned around and started walking out.

“And Cora?”

I swung on my sensible heels and looked at him questioningly.

“Stay away from Troy. He’s not for you.” Without another word of explanation, he sat down and looked at his laptop.

Fuming, I forced myself to close the door softly. “The sheer arrogance of that man,” I muttered under my breath. It was a good thing I had to go downstairs to Personnel because I was ready to tell him off.

Deciding I needed to work off my anger, I opened the door to the stairs. Most of the staff must use the elevators because the stairwell was clear. I unleashed my irritation, stomping loudly down the steps, pretending his instep was at the bottom of my heel.

“First he warns me against throwing myself at His Exaltedness and now I’m after his brother. Ha! I wouldn’t take him if he came on a platinum plated platter. As if I were some sort of bimbo gold digger. The Weston brothers are completely safe from my wiles.”

I snorted at the idea of me having wiles. A femme fatale I was not. I had no sexual experience to speak of. Just as I was getting interested in boys, my dad had died. Grief had been an effective killer for teenage hormones. When I was in college, I did have a very awkward encounter during my first semester at MIT with my chemistry lab partner. It was an embarrassing episode for both of us and we never spoke of it again. And ever since my mom got sick, I had been so busy, dating had not been on my radar. I was practically a virgin at twenty-two.

I started giggling at the absurdity of the situation. I supposed I should be flattered that Jake Weston thought a Plain Jane like me could attract the attention of men like the Weston brothers!

By the time I reached Personnel, my equilibrium was restored.

Dave saw me immediately. He placed my new contract in front of me and I gawked at the salary. It was more than twice what I was making. And Jake must have made the call downstairs immediately because there was a five thousand dollar bonus, supposedly for my wardrobe.

Don’t get too excited, Cora. You’ll most likely only see one twelfth of the salary.

Still, if I could put up with His Exaltedness, I could sock away a lot more savings. It could mean a better school for Marcus and some seed money for my college plans. Pressing my lips together in determination, I made a resolution not to let Jake Weston rile me.

Chapter 3

 I walked out of the elevator and saw Alana sitting at her desk. As always, she looked sleek and put together. Her make up was perfect and she was clad in a black sheath that showcased her toned body. As soon as she spotted me, her face turned sour and she pretended I wasn’t there.

One of my mom’s mottos rang in my ears: you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Pasting a smile on my lips, I said, “Good morning Alana.”

She mumbled something unintelligible, but wouldn’t look at me. I swallowed my irritation. This was the third day in a row I had received the silent treatment. Every overture I’d made so far had been spurned. I honestly didn’t know why she disliked me, but her bad attitude was getting old. Still, I had to try to get along with her since she ran the executive floor.

I placed a small pastry bag on her desk and kept my voice chipper. “Hey, I got you a chocolate croissant. It’s from that new bakery around the corner. It’s really good. I hope you like it!”

She picked the bag up with her forefinger and thumb and held it away from her, as if the contents carried a communicable disease. Looking straight at me, she dropped the bag into the wastebasket.

I sucked in a sharp breath at her rude gesture and she sneered. “I don’t do carbs.” Then her eyes ran over my body disdainfully, as if to say I should do the same.

If she was trying to shock me, she succeeded. If she was trying to make me feel bad about my body, she was doomed to failure. I had long accepted my curves and did not have body image issues. And in my new blue fitted shirt and charcoal pencil skirt, I knew I looked good. The outfit accentuated my voluptuous curves, but still made me look sophisticated.

By dumping my peace offering, she had destroyed any remaining desire I had to make nice with her. I refused to waste my time with a lost cause. Without reacting to her rejection, I turned on my heel and walked away.

Jake was already in his office. His door was open and I could hear him on the phone. I looked at the clock. It was a quarter to eight– I didn’t need a lecture from His Exaltedness about promptness again. When I left yesterday, he was still at his desk. I had to concede he worked hard for his billions. His schedule was packed from morning to night.

At first, I was afraid he would expect me to work the same long hours as he did, but he sent me home at my normal time. I didn’t protest since I needed to be there for my brother, but I did try to be more efficient during the day and get all of my work done. I wasn’t sure if he was being easy on me for the time being, but I was cautiously optimistic.