The sheer terror inside me rips through me like a hot knife. I have no idea what to expect or how this is even going to work. I’m so out of my comfort zone, but I’ll do this for Aiden because I love him. So, I decide honesty is the best policy. “No,” I reply quietly.
“Don’t worry. It’s easy. Daniel left a list of notes to help you out.”
I’m glad for that. At least my nerves are slightly eased by that knowledge. It’s hard starting a new job with no training at all. “Should I call you, Mr. O’Connell?”
“I haven’t thought about that. I think if there are important clients around, then probably yes. Any other time, I think we can get away with gorgeous, handsome, babe—”
I raise my eyebrow. “Douchebag?” I interject, making him laugh.
“Mmm… that, too, I guess.”
As the elevator doors open, Aiden lets go of my hand, and we walk into the main foyer. The carpet is burgundy and embossed with the O’Connell Finance logo.
There are two main offices on the floor’s opposing sides. In the middle are two office desks. The office to the right has Aiden O’Connell written on the door label, and the one to the left has Matthew Jones.
“This is your desk. You can personalize it however you like. The phone needs to be answered with ‘O’Connell Finance, Mr. O’Connell’s office.’ To switch a call through to me, you press this button and let me know who it is before patching it through with this button. You basically organize me. I need to know what meetings I have for the day, and you have to make sure I get to those meetings on time.”
“I think I can do that,” I say matter-of-factly.
“Would you like to see my office?” He raises his eyebrows, and I laugh at him. I place my bag on the desk, then follow him in.
He opens the door to a large office furnished with dark mahogany furniture. The back wall is covered by a bookshelf filled with what looks like finance reference books. The full-length window looks out over the busy, bustling city of Mornington Vale. On the other side of the office are two, three-seat sofas facing each other, and in between, there’s a coffee table that matches the bookshelf and his desk. A burgundy rug sits under the coffee table embossed with the O’Connell Finance logo. It’s very sophisticated, but still has his flair—rugged and manly—just like him.
Shutting the door, Aiden takes my hand and leads me over to his huge desk. He sits as I pick up the picture frame he has located on his desk—it’s the one of us I gave him for Christmas.
“What do you think?”
I rub my hand along the soft, glossy wooden texture of his desk. “I think this desk could be quite useful.” I smirk, sitting on the edge of it.
His eyebrow rises. “Why, Miss Taylor, what are you insinuating?”
Now I have his full attention. “You’ll just have to wait and see, Mr. O’Connell.” I lean in, grabbing his tie, and pull him to my lips for a kiss.
Suddenly, a knock sounds on his door, breaking us apart. Aiden straightens his tie swiftly. “Come in.”
Niall pushes the door back quickly and spots me, but there’s no acknowledgment apart from a sharp exhale as he walks into the office. “Don’t forget about the account control agreement for the McAllister’s,” he affirms sternly.
“I haven’t forgotten,” Aiden advises.
Niall spins to leave. “Don’t make mistakes, girlie. I don’t tolerate incompetence,” he snaps as he walks past me. “Oh… and Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“You have lipstick on your damn mouth.” He walks out, closing the door behind him with a sharp snap.
Aiden wipes my lipstick from his lips while I begin to grin. “We’ll have to be more careful.” He winks at me, and I sigh.
“Guess I better go and do some actual work before he fires me on my first day.” I stride out of Aiden’s office, closing the door behind me.
With a small sigh, I sit at my brand-new desk and turn on my computer. I glance down, and in front of me is a list of printed instructions from Daniel. It outlines the day-to-day running of the office very succinctly and also gives me guidelines regarding other more important issues that could arise during the day. Honestly, I couldn’t be more grateful right now.
The elevator chimes, and Rachelle and Matthew step out into the foyer.
“Good morning,” I say to them cheerily.
“Morning, Jeni,” Rachelle coos as Matthew continues into his office. “Nervous?” Rachelle asks.
“Is it that obvious?” I give a little uneasy laugh.