Do Me Right (De Toi à Moi #1)

Three

“I- oh my gosh I’m, I’m so sorry,” I said quickly as I bent down to pick up the cup of coffee I’d dropped out of my hand. While I carried it over to the trash can that stood under my desk, I spotted the box of tissues next to the computer screen.

Just when I was about grab some to clean up the mess, I felt him grab me by the arm. My breath caught in my throat at the contact, his soft, long fingers curling around me. “Miss Ryan,” he started, “leave it.”

“I, no it was- it was my fault I–”

“Miss Ryan,” he said again, stepping around me so he was right in front of me. Slowly, I turned my head to look up at him. He stared right back at me, his eyes looking like soft puddles of melted chocolate. Oh God. “We have janitors.” If he kept looking at me like that, the janitor could just come wipe me up with a mop like that coffee stain by the window. “Why don’t you follow me into my office so I can give you more details about your position.”

“My- my position?” Shit Ryan, snap out of it!

Mr. Jackson laughed and steered me towards his office, his grip on my arm tightening only the slightest bit. Oh God, his laugh was the most magical sound I’d ever heard. Well, apart from how his voice sounded when he spoke breathily in my ear. No stop it, Belle. “Please, have a seat.” He pointed to the leather chairs that stood in front of his big desk as he rounded it and paused in front of the window, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

His office was, just like mine, poorly decorated. The walls left and right were aligned with shelves containing various folders. Family photos were placed in empty spaces between them. The wall behind the desk was a full floor-to-ceiling window that was slightly tinted to block the sun. A potted plant stood beside the lamp on his desk.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked as he turned around, a sweet smile stretched across his face. “Another coffee, perhaps? I can’t promise it will be as good though.”

“No I- I’m good, thank you.” I shifted slightly in my chair as he moved to stand in front of me. He leaned back against the desk. With his feet crossed at the ankles, he looked at me again. “So uh, about uh, about my job.”

“Right.” He cleared his throat and stood up straight again. “As you know you will be my assistant. I suppose I don’t have to explain to you in detail what the position entails, but long story short, you’ll be in charge of my phone calls and e-mails. You will be a sort of barricade for me. You’ll also book trips, both business related and private, you’ll schedule and prepare meetings. On top of that,” he continued as he walked around his desk, back up to the window, “I want you to handle some more personal daily business that I unfortunately have no time to handle myself. I have a housekeeper, but I would really love it if you could take care of my dry-cleaning for me twice a week and–”

“Book personal trips,” I finished for him with a smile.

“Attentive. That’s good, Miss Ryan.” He returned the smile and pressed his palms flat onto the desk, leaning over it slightly. “After a while, I’d also like you to handle some of my personal finances.” I nodded my head, remembering when Mrs. Lewis had mentioned that earlier.

“But first things first.” He grabbed a couple of pieces of paper off his desk and moved to stand in front of me again. “This is a list of people that might contact me. You can see there’s some instructions next to the name and number. It’s important you do exactly as this list says when you see one of the numbers on the phone screen. Time is money, Miss Ryan, and I do not wish to spend it on useless phone calls.”

“Absolutely, Mr. Jackson,” I replied, looking over the list. It was quite an extensive list and I knew I’d probably make some mistakes the first couple times, but the instructions were clear. Either I had to transfer them immediately, take a message or simply not answer the call.