William
Charles Stanhope had no trouble finding his nephew upon entering the restaurant. One only had to see where the women were looking, and that was where William was likely to be. It had always been so, and tonight was no different.
William came to his feet as soon as he saw his uncle approaching, and the two men shook hands before taking their seats. "It's nice to see you again, Uncle Charles."
"You, too, my boy." Charles' voice was one of gruff warmth. While he had over a dozen nephews and nieces, William had always been his favorite, and this was not just because the boy also happened to be the only one to join him in the medical field.
Charles liked and loved all of his siblings' children equally, but William, plain and simple, was the only one who had earned his respect. He believed William to be more than capable of continuing his legacy, maybe even surpass it.
However...
"You seem worried," William said bluntly. "If you're having second thoughts about your retirement..."
"It's not that," Charles said hastily. "But...I am worried."
"About?"
"You remember my executive assistant, Cassidy..."
William regarded his uncle with interest. Cassidy was the twenty-something executive assistant who had started working for his uncle straight out of college, and he could only think of one reason why Charles was bringing her up.
When Charles had first started telling him stories about Cassidy, William had worried that the new girl was a gold-digger out to get her hooks into his wealthy bachelor uncle. But as time passed, and Charles continued to regale him with stories about his assistant, the image in William's mind had also gradually changed.
Through his uncle, William learned that Cassidy had her first heartbreak back in college, and being the once-burned, twice-shy type, Cassidy had sworn off men after this
Even Charles himself initially had trouble breaking through the girl's walls, and it took over a year before the older man had finally won Cassidy's trust...and gained for himself the most devoted and fiercely loyal executive assistant any employer could ask for.
But now that Charles had decided to retire, and William was to step into his shoes as the new Chairman of the NYC branch of the Stanhope Medical Center...
"You're worried Cassidy will quit once I take over," William guessed.
Charles nodded reluctantly. "It's very likely. You bear too many superficial similarities to her ex-boyfriend..."
William's lip curled. "I would never lie about falling in love with a girl, much less pressure her into giving her virginity up in the name of love."
"I did say the similarities were superficial," Charles reminded his nephew. "Once Cassidy sees you, all she'd see is that you're rich and handsome..."
"And therefore not to be trusted."
"Exactly."
William's fingers drummed on the table as he considered this unexpected dilemma. He probably should've seen this coming, but with the construction of the Dubai branch of their hospital to oversee, he had forgotten about Cassidy completely.
Looking at his uncle, he said simply, "If you have any suggestions, I'm open to just about anything."
Charles almost sighed in relief. He had been hoping William would say this, and now that he had...
"I do have one, but it is rather unorthodox."
"Like I said, Uncle, I'm willing to try anything—-"
"Even if it means pretending to be a socially bumbling, mild-mannered nerd so that Cassidy won't see you as a threat?"
One Little Lie
Cassidy took another bite on her steak sandwich while flipping through the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine on her phone. Since she had what was called a resting bitch face, Cassidy's rare expression of contentment had most of the hospital staff giving her second looks as they walked past her table.
'She's probably in love with her boss' was the most common verdict so far, and Cassidy, who always had one ear to the ground, was not unaware of this particular gossip. And she supposed it might seem that way, with the newly appointed chairman being extremely good-looking and with a lovely British accent to boot.
But the thing was...they were only half right.
It almost seemed an eternity ago when Charles had called her to his office, telling her that since he considered her his most valuable employee, it was only right for Cassidy to be the first to know about his retirement.
She remembered how stunned she was at his announcement, and she hadn't yet gotten over her shock when Charles had gone on to tell her that his 36-year-old nephew from England would be taking over his position.
She had almost quit then and there, and thinking about it now made Cassidy want to roll her eyes at her own silliness. Although William did happen to be rich(er) and (more) handsome like her ex, when she finally got to meet him, it had only taken a single day to dispel all of her fears and doubts about her new boss.