From Top, To Bottom (manxman)

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten
Pic: Mike Thishle

Monday couldn't come fast enough. I, being the lovely child that I am, stayed with my mother last night and barely made it to the office on time. I didn't want to be late for my first day as Mr. Manning's assistant.

The incident from the day before was still fresh in my mind. After my mother woke up, I informed her on my discovery of the She-Devil. Mom was pissed of course. No, more than pissed. She wanted to commit murder. But after we calmed her down, she decided that she would be the one to tell dad about Sheila and David. My mom was a strong woman. Having faced the bitter truth of her husband's infidelity, she was still willing to help my father through his wife's infidelity. Strong doesn't even begin to describe my mother.

Moving on from that depressing situation, I arrived in the office at 7 o'clock on the dot. I didn't want to be too early, but the email I received from Mr. Manning said that he generally comes in before the rest of the staff clocks in. Most of the staff didn't arrive until around eight, so seven was a decent time.

I had to take Mr. Manning's personal elevator to get to his office, which occupied majority of the eleventh floor. Of course there were other offices on that floor, mainly two: Mike's and Devlin's. When I arrived at my destination, I realized that I was the only one there.

"Nice," I muttered to myself. I got myself acquainted with everything on the floor. I gave myself a tour in order to be better prepared to work. I learned which office belonged to which man and I found the conference rooms and the kitchen. I memorized where everything in the kitchen was located and made it back to my desk by 7:45 when Mr. Manning walked from the elevator.

"Good morning, Mr. Manning," I said as he walked to my desk.

"Good morning. You're Nathan Little, correct?" he said. His voice was so deep and ran over my body like silk sheets. God. That's what that man was. A God. I pushed down any attraction I may have had. This was my job. Not some hot guy at a club. Speaking of which, I wonder why he was at Lazlo's.

"Yes, sir," I stated, holding out my hand for him to shake. He grasped it with a lot more strength than I was expecting. I thought my hand was going to break. With some miracle, I managed to tighten my hand. I saw the corner of his mouth quirk ever so slightly before disappearing.

"Good. Nice to meet you. Please follow me to my office to discuss your position a little more," he replied before letting go of my hand and walking into his office. I grabbed my notebook and pen before following after him.

His office was in one word: boring. It was decorated in grays and unfortunately, that gave me this depressing feeling. He did, however, have a great view to make up for the bleak coloring. Mr. Manning was standing behind his desk looking out the window.

"You can close the door," he said turning to look back at me. He took a seat before gesturing for me to do the same. I quickly closed the door and made my way to the seat in front of his desk. "Right. So my schedule gets a bit hectic whenever I'm in town. You'll need this." He gave me a company issued iPad. "My calendar is synched onto it. Everything is on their. My lunch preference, coffee preference, scheduled time off, scheduled meetings, contact information. Practically my whole life."

I looked through the apps making sure I could work everything as he continued to speak.

"Unfortunately, I have some pretty useless assistants in the past. I hope that you will do better. I've read your company file and it seems that you are time efficient and a diligent worker. Two things I need in an assistant. This job is more than just an 'at work' job. I'm going to need you on weekends as well and not limited to holidays. I hope you will be able to be accessible to me at all times. If you can't do that, the door is always open," he paused to stare at me then nodded his head. "Great. So, if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask. Not many people enter on this floor. Devlin Maloney and Mike Thishle both have offices on this floor but they prefer to work on the same floor as their departments. They do, however, sometimes spend their time here. Learn to ignore them. They like to slack off so please stay on task whenever they are around. First thing of the day, please have my coffee ready every morning before I arrive. I will generally get here around 7:45 every morning. Please be prepared to run through my schedule and greet me with my coffee. Now, we will skip the coffee but please proceed to run through today's schedule."