Considerably Wicked [Excerpt Only]

Chapter 2: Rain

"Superbad," Will told him thoughtfully.

"Superbad?" Glen made a face. "Really? How dare you even say that to my face?"

"Well, you asked, buddy."

As the two of them bickered, the ringing of Liezel's phone on her desk interrupted them. Her heartbeat picked up because she knew who was calling her. She pulled the phone from the receiver and cleared her throat.

"Mr. Godfrey."

The receiver rested against her shoulder as she dabbed a tissue on her face and ran her fingers through her damp dark brown hair that was curled in a bun.

"Ms. Blanco, I'm glad you're finally here."

She could tell by her boss's tight voice that trouble was waiting for her inside his office as soon as he asked for her. She covered the phone and told Will, "This man hates me."

Will just smiled. "We'll see you around, Liz."

She quickly gave him a nod and went back to fixing whatever she could.

"You're late. And bring that file I need for my meeting with Dole Corp today," Sinclair ordered.

"Right away, Mr. Godfrey." A light smirk graced Liezel's lips when she turned and walked away with the files to the CEO's office.

Liezel had just started working as Sinclair's assistant three months ago. Originally an assistant to the company's former COO, Belinda Maxwell, for six months in New York, she was offered to work for Sinclair when Belinda took the same position in another MaxFrey Corp subsidiary in Paris. Belinda's family and children had moved there, so it was a reasonable decision for her to do the same.

Sinclair may not be fond of her, which may explain the distance he kept between them, but she had gotten used to it. And for the past months, she had seen Sinclair in action and was beyond impressed. Her new boss was a natural negotiator, planner, thinker, and born leader. It was clear that no one can do the job better than he can.

Sinclair's father, Arthur Godfrey, definitely knew what he was doing when he persuaded the board to offer his son the position and make him CEO of MaxxTech, a struggling tech-focused subsidiary of MaxFrey Corp, at the age of twenty-eight.

"Fuck me," Liezel whispered anxiously to herself. Before reaching for the doorknob, she regained her composure and knocked instead.

"Come in," Sinclair responded almost instantly from inside.

She opened the door and stepped in. It was warmer inside. She was glad that Sinclair had set the temperature right. She turned to close the door and walked toward the desk carrying a stack of papers.

Sinclair sat quietly behind a sleek mahogany desk, going through paper after paper, looking already swamped with work.

"You're..." He paused and looked away, trying to make sense of Liezel's state. He stared back at his approaching assistant. "You're late." He dropped his gaze and shook his head as if he couldn't believe a thought that just crossed his mind. He set down a stack of papers and folded his hands in front of him.

"The files." Liezel laid the documents he had asked down on the desk. She eyed the cup of coffee to Sinclair's left. "You've already made coffee."

"Well, Ms. Blanco, you were late," Sinclair said without looking at her and directed his attention to the computer monitor in front of him instead.

"It was raining hard. My car is still at the repair shop, and it took me almost half an hour to book an Uber."

Three months and she was still nervous around her boss. Who wouldn't? Other than coming from a family of successful business tycoons, Sinclair was also quite known for leaving women mad crazy for him. Liezel had witnessed, on different occasions, three of her boss's ex-girlfriends begging him to come back.