“Hi, you must be Jenny,” I said, my hand outstretched towards her. “I’m Ashley.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Ashley.” Jenny accepted my hand and pulled me into a comfortable hug. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“All good things, right? ,” I said to Justin as I pulled out from the hug with Jenny.
“Nope, all horrible stuff.” Justin joked, chuckling a bit as his hand settled around Jenny, leading her in.
I chuckled to myself, following them in, already looking forward to how the day was going to turn out. And maybe that’s where my mistake was. Looking forward to this lunch with my friends. Only a few minutes after setting in the restaurant, I received an annoying call.,
I sighed, staring at the caller ID, wondering why June Lawson, one of the creative assistants working for me is calling. I picked up the call, nonetheless. “Hello, June.”
“Ashley,” her voice sounding panicky and fretful.
“Hello, what’s the matter?” I asked, my brows already scrunching up in displeasure.
I heard her sigh. “I think there’s a big problem…I-I…”
Her stuttering nearly threw me in a fit of anger. “Will you calm down and speak clearly.”
“I deleted all the files on the project mistakenly,” June blurted out in a hurry.
“What!” I snapped, unable to believe nor comprehend what I was hearing.
“I’m sorry, but I think you need to come to the office now, Ian wants to see you,” June added, her shaky voice growing firmer.
I cursed as I hung up and stared at Justin and Jenny with bleak eyes. “I’m sorry but…”
“You need to go, right?” Justin interrupted me, a look of understanding settling on his face. “Is it a work emergency?”
I took in a calming breathe, wishing things would just turn out differently. “Yes. I’m sorry about this, Jenny.”
“It’s fine, Ashley, it can’t be helped. You should go,” she said, giving me an encouraging smile.
Feeling a little at ease, I stood up and hurried out of the restaurant, muttering curses to myself. . I hoped June was mistaken and the files were still there. , because there was no way I was going to accept losing two months of work. Even if it was a June’s mistake, I would take the blame since I’m supposed to be in charge.
Fortunately for me, it turned out that June had been lying and there was no sort of emergency for me to run to. She stared at me with pleading eyes the moment she saw me run into the office. She was breathing heavily and bit her bottom lip before she told me she had lied.
“What! Why would you do that?” I yelled before I could even bring myself to stop.
“Leslie from the CEO’s office made a call to our department and since I was the only one in, I picked it up,” she started explaining herself and I made sure to listen carefully without asking her what she had been doing in the office on a weekend. “She told me to make sure you were in the office within thirty minutes and come up with any emergency situation that would get you here faster.”
I squinted my eyes at her. “So there is no emergency? The files are still there?”
“Yeah, but I believe Ian wants to see you.” June smiled sheepishly, her eyes sending a hundred apologies. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, June,” I said even though it was obviously not fine. Well, I couldn’t be mad at her, she couldn’t have said no to her boss. I flipped my hair back and headed towards the main office. A certain CEO has some explaining to do.
Leslie was the only secretary there when I arrived at the main office. Her face instantly shone with relief the moment she saw me hurrying into the place.
“Thank goodness!” She exclaimed, , leading me towards the door. She knocked on the door before she pulled it open and motioned for me to go in.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I stormed into the office, my anger mounting higher by the minute. I paused and took in a calming breath. Then I saw him turning to face me from the glass wall he had been staring through. My eyes roamed across his firm body clad in black pants and black shirt. I wondered if black was the only color he could wear.
“Come in, Ashley.” He said in a low tone.
I reached for my hair, pulling it over my shoulders, “Good day, Ian. Is there anything you needed me for?”
He smirked. “As a matter of fact, yes. I want you to attend a lunch meeting with me.”