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T H R E E

IN NO WAY DID I THINK MY BIGGEST MISTAKE WOULD SOMEHOW LAND ME A JOB.

But in the strangest sense, that's exactly what had happened. I found myself working as a personal assistant at Baldwin Industries, a tech giant whose main headquarters were stationed in downtown Philadelphia. It was an international company, grand, luxurious, and I could feel my heart fall into my stomach every time I realized how I'd somehow went from a caterer to this.

And what a startling transition it was. My job was to take calls and emails for my boss as well his schedule, as per the description, but I realized how much harder this would be when he leaned in closer to my face to whisper, "and some extra things." Especially when considering that said boss was the man from the party and the elevator, in other words: Ashton Baldwin.

He was smart, ruthless, and rather eccentric - a lethal combination that scared me into assuming what I believed to be the worst things when he told me that. But once again, I was surprised when he stopped by my desk and dropped a pencil, an envelope, and a stationary card in front of me.

I looked up from the computer in clear confusion, wondering what exactly was happening here when he grinned. "Could you write this letter out to Emilie Standifer," he said, "I want to thank her for last night, but she's never seen my handwriting and it's bad to say the least."

I was deeply puzzled by his request, but before I could ask for a follow-up, he was already leaving and I was left alone to figure it out for myself. I didn't even know what to write, especially since it was a love letter to a woman I did not know in the slightest. All I knew was that she must've put him in a good mood last night.

After running my fingers through my hair as I mulled this over, I came to realize that I at least had one resource I could depend on. My hands flew from my head before grabbing the phone on my desk and dialing the reception desk.

It took only two rings before Elijah answered, his voice a crisp "Hello, Baldwin Industries" that was somehow perfectly transferred from his microphone on the first floor to my speaker on the forty-fifth.

"Hi," I said, "this is Fiona, the new personal assistant, calling."

"Oh," he said with a bit of a gasp, all of his complacency seeming to have thrown itself out of the window. "You got the job, then. Congratulations."

"Don't congratulate me yet," I said with a wry chuckle. "Your boss wants me to write a love letter, thanking one of his love conquests for a good time last night. I, however, am clueless as to who this woman is and I'm guessing he wants me to make a lasting impression on her for him. Or well, one that scores him another night."

"Our boss," he corrected, but I could tell he was laughing too. "Who is this woman? He gave you the name, right?"

The way that was even a question made me think back to Kelsey and I wondered how good of an idea this actually was. Here I was playing his wingman and yet I had a crush on him, something I haven't had on many people in a long time. I was used to keeping my head down and staying out of big crowds, and that helped me avoid catching feelings for anyone, but now I was working at one of the biggest companies in the city. There were plenty of good looking and affluent men working here, not to mention my boss who allegedly was the devil.

I used my shoulder to hold he phone up against my ear as I withdrew a hair tie from my purse and did my hair up in a ponytail. "Of course. I hope that was obvious."

"I worked here for five years," he returned cheekily, "it's not obvious. I have some callers on the line, so I have to put you on hold, but I'll be back."