Picture on side is of Ashton and what he is wearing to the meeting. ————>
Dedicated to Princessshadow for always reading, and voting for this book! Plus she helped me realize I mixed up a few chapter :)
Please read Authors note at end! :)
Happy Reading and Happy late Valentine's Day <3
I walked through Ashton's office and nudged the door shut with my hip. Glancing around I tried not to gasp at how nice his office looked. The walls were a dark blue with a black leather couch on one side. He had 2 huge windows that over looked downtown New York. Everything about it screamed Ashton to me.
"Good morning." I said breaking the silence. His carpet muffled the clicks of my heels as I walked to his desk. Setting his cup down in front of him I looked at the two nice chairs that sat in front of his desk. Not knowing it if was okay to sit I slowly sat on the edge of one of them.
"Good morning." His deep voice answered back. He looked up and saw the cup I had sat down and a small smile graced his lips. "Coffee?"
"Uh yes. I didn't know what you liked so I just got just a regular coffee." I answered feeling my cheeks tinting with pink.
"Well thank you." He said taking a sip of it. I mimicked him and sat there silently waiting for him to tell me what I'll be doing.
"Okay since you are now my new assistant I have a lot for you to do. Here." He handed over what looked like a phone to me. I looked down at it and saw it was the new IPhone. I gingerly held it not knowing what to do with such a nice phone. I mean I didn't have a stupid phone but mine was an old IPhone 4 that I got years ago. 'On there is all my appointments, clients numbers, and my entire schedule. I advise you don't lose that like you did your real phone or we both will be in a lot of trouble." I bowed my head in embarrassment, but still nodded.
"The job isn't to hard but it will take a little bit to get use to. I expect everything to be done when its suppose to. When I have meetings I also expect you to be there to take notes than later you will review them with me. Some nights we still stay later than others." The way Ashton was talking to me I knew he was in business mode. "I want to let you know right now that I don't tolerate laziness, ignorance, or incompetence. My employees know what they are doing and make sure it get it done fast and right. Now" He stood up and made his way around his big desk. He stood in front of me making me look up. "Layla I do not mean to be rude to you but this is my company and I will do anything for it to succeed; I need you to see that."
I nodded at him understanding. I knew this was his business or I guess family business. I shouldn't expect any special treatment and I won't take any if he gives it to me. I do not want to be known around the office as the girl who has probably slept with the boss and got the job that way.
"I definitely understand Ash- I mean Mr. Miller, sir." I said.
"Good. I have a meeting at 8:00, so meet me in conference room 201 and be early. I don't want my assistant to show up late." Ashton said. With that he nodded at me and went back to his seat. Taking that as my que to leave I got up and left his office shutting the door behind me.
"Ms. Kingston you can follow me to your new office." Judy said leading me just a few feet away. She came to a stop in front of a pretty big office with glass walls. "This is yours." I walked through the door and almost whistled. It looked amazing. I have never had an office before and it looked like it was straight out of a magazine or tv show. I big mahogany desk sat straight ahead with a high tech Mac computer. On one side of the office was a dark blue couch that looked really comfortable and a couple of chairs almost like Ashton's.
"Wow this is mine?" I asked sliding my bag off my shoulder and laying it gently on the desk, my desk.
"Yes it is. Now what did Ashton tell you?" Judy asked beside me.
"This phone has all his appointments, meetings and clients numbers in it. Than how he doesn't like laziness, ignorance, and incompetence. That's about it." I said trying to remember if he said anything about what my job actually intels.
"That's what I thought." Judy said shaking her head. "Okay well as his assistant you will take care of all his meetings; meaning you will set them up, know who is coming and what they want, make sure that Ashton knows exactly what they are about. You also will look over any files, paperwork, anything that Ashton already did or wants you to do. I am not going to lie to you this job isn't easy even though Ashton said it is. There is alot of work that needs to get done everyday. But I have faith that you will be able to get it done." She said with a smile.
"Now I know he has a meeting at 8 so here is a list of things you need to do before than and before lunch. You have to copy the files needed for the meeting so every person has a copy. Thankfully it isn't a big meeting, it is just a company one with every supervisor from every floor discussing what has been going on and what needs improving. The copies are just of the numbers from the last 6 months and everything that has been going on in each department. Nothing to big. Thankfully today there isn't alot to be done. Everything on the list isn't to hard and should be able to get done in just a few hours." I looked down at the list Judy had given me. My eyes almost bulged out of my head when I saw how many things were on there. A little?! Yeah right.
"If you need anything I will be more than happy to help. I would start right with these right now. The copier is down the hall first door on the left." She laid her hand down on a stack of papers. "You will need about 20-25 copies. Wouldn't hurt to make extras." I nodded a little dazed. "You'll be fine honey." She said patting my shoulder and leaving the room.
Okay I can do this. How hard can it be?
*************
2 hours later I took back what I thought earlier. I was walking as fast as I could in my 4 1/2 heels, towards conference room 201. My arms were filled with about 30 copies for the meeting. It was 15 minutes to 8 and I was behind. I didn't think it would take me so long to make copies. At first I couldn't find the copy room, than the printer was so confusing it took my a good 10 minutes trying to figure it out, and finally I printed the copies; I than had to staple them and put them in their own binders. After doing that I had to call all the supervisors of each department and make sure they remembered the meeting was at 8.
Now I am hurrying to make sure I had everything set up before they all started to trickle in. Plus I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Ashton. I made my way blindly to conference room 201 not knowing where it was. I was hoping I was heading the right way if not I would be late. I could have asked Judy but I didn't want to bother her and I wanted to do this on my own. Thankfully I saw the 201 ahead of me. Letting out a breath of relief I quickly hurried over to it and shouldered the door open. I was now very thankful that I gotten coffee before I came here. I knew before the end of the day I would be exhausted.
Setting down folders on the empty table in front of chairs, I than put them on empty chairs that sat all along the wall of the conference room. Carrying the extra copies I made I set them in a seat that was off to the side where I think Ashton would sit. I glanced around trying to see if I missed anything. Seeing a pitcher sitting in the middle of the table and glasses in front of the chairs I realized I guess I better fill it up, even though I had no idea how to do so. But before I could make a move to grab it the office doors opened and people starting coming in. None of the super advisors paid me any attention chatting away with one another and finding a chair to sit at. One girl passed by me and her shoulder hit mine making me stumble in my heels. Luckily I caught myself before I fell making an embarrassment of myself.
Since Ashton hadn't come yet I decided I should just go sit in my chair and wait for the meeting to start. Once I sat down I held the pile of folders on my lap along with my new work phone, and a notebook and pen for notes. I didn't exactly know what Ashton meant by notes so I just thought if anyone said any ideas or spoke up I'd write it down. In all honesty I was worried about being here since I knew nothing about this company. All I know is that very rich people invest in us, and that there are a lot of company buildings all over the US and Europe. Better research what the company is about later. I made a mental note. I glanced at the clock straight ahead of me and saw it was past 8 o'clock. Where's Ashton? Just than the door opened and in he walked.
The moment he stepped through the door everyone quieted and turned to look at him, me included. I hadn't noticed what he was wearing early but now I did. His wide shoulder were fitted in a black suit jacket, beneath that a white button up shirt with a deep maroon color tie. He had on black dress slacks and black dress shoes as well. His hair was in brushed back state, with a slight curl to it. A 5 o'clock shadow graced his well defined cheek bones and jaw line. I tried not to gawk openly at him but it was hard. I could see all the other woman in the room staring at him as well.
His presence seemed to take up the entire room, making the room extra quiet. He walked confidently to the head of the table, which was right in front of me where I thought he would sit. Nodding at a few people he walked towards me and sent me a simple nod. I tried not to feel slightly hurt that he didn't smile at me and that he just nodded at me like everyone else. I knew he wouldn't acknowledge me while at work but I still felt somewhat hurt. With a jolt I frowned at myself for feeling hurt. Why would I when nothing was even happening between us. Your hurt because you want something to happen between you. The annoying voice in my head said to me. I wanted to deny that but I knew it was frugal. I did want something to happen between us and I knew that was wrong because nothing ever could. I am now his assistant. I can't be involved with my boss. While I was talking to myself in my head Ashton had started the meeting already. Shaking my head at myself I forced myself to focus on what people were saying and not the handsome man in front of me.
The meeting went by in a blur with my taking notes on practically everything. Before I knew it Ashton stood up and said goodbye to everyone. Glancing at the clock I saw it was about 9:45, the meeting having been an hour and forty five minutes. I dropped my pen and shook out my hand as I looked at what I had written down. I had filled up about 3 pages of notes and my handwriting was sloppy almost unreadable by the last page. As everyone started filling out I stood up, one arm carrying the extra folders and the other smoothing down my skirt. A few people lingered in the room talking to one another but I saw Ashton was leaving so I quickly followed him wanting to ask him something.
With his long strides I didn't catch up with him until he reached his office.
"Mr.Miller?" I asked trying to not sound out of breath as I came to a stop in front of him. Man I needed to workout more often.
"Yes?" He turned and looked down at me. Even in my heels I only reached his chest, maybe shoulders.
"Um I was wondering what you wanted me to do with these extra folders, and about the notes I took at the meeting."
"Keep one so you can file it with the others but the rest you can throw away. Later we can discuss the notes. What do I have going on before lunch?" He asked in a whole breath. His voice was hard and business like that I wanted to almost slap him and get him to stop talking to me like that but I knew I couldn't.
"You have nothing until noon where you have to go and meet a Mr.-" I scrambled to think of his last name. "Terry! At some restaurant called Cucina Italian." I said remembering the last name. Ashton just nodded at me than opened his office door shutting it behind him. I stood there shocked. Okayyy. Recalling what he said about filing the meetings data work.
"Judy?" I called her name as I walked over to her desk.
"Yes Ms. Kingston." She said looking up from her computer.
"Oh just call me Layla, I don't like being called Ms. Kingston." I didn't like being called that because it reminded me of my mother and I didn't want to go down that road.
"Okay, Layla."
"Mr. Miller said I need to file one of these folders. What does he mean by that?" I asked.
"You have a filing cabinet in your office and that's where all files for meetings/conferences go. Ashton likes to keep those data pages and meeting stuff close by incase something happens than he can go find what was going on at that time. The other girls before you didn't do a good job at filing and I've tried reorganizing it but I haven't had time, so it is probably a mess." Judy said sending me a apologetic smile. I just nodded back and head to my office and to drop off these extra folders.
Great, just great. I thought.
I tried remembering if I had seen a staff lounging area where I could maybe recycle these. I think I saw one down the hall on the way to the conference room. After a few missed turns I found it. To my surprise it was actually pretty nice for a staff room. A fridge was on one side, a sink right by it. A few coffee tables and chairs were scattered around and a pretty comfy looking couch sat against a wall. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two bins that said 'garbage' and 'recycle'. My heels clicked on the tile floor as I walked to the recycle bin and threw in the 9 or so extra folders. There goes all my hard work. I thought almost bitterly.
"Hello?" A pretty deep accented voice said behind me. I turned and saw an attractive guy leaning against the door frame to the room. He had kind of short dirty blonde hair, he had a few day old scuff along his face. From here I couldn't see what color his eyes were but I knew they would be pretty. His jaw line was so defined I bet it could cut cheese or glass. He had on a white button up dress shirt with a thin blue tie. His sleeves were rolled up half way showing his forearms. And he had on a pair of black slacks as well. So all in all he looked hot.
"H-Hi." I stuttered out. Damn it Layla talk normal! I yelled at myself.
"Are you new? I don't think I have seen you around before?" The guy said walking away from the wall towards me. He had an Australian accent that could make any girl fall for him.
"No I am new. I just started today." I said liking his accent. "I am Layla, Layla Kingston."
"Nice to meet you I am Liam, Liam Bennett." He said sticking his hand out for me to shake once he came to a stop in front of me. I looked up at him, another very tall guy. He had a pair of really blue eyes.
"You too. Do you work on this floor?" I asked once I was done staring at his pretty face.
"Yeah I do. I do statistical analysis and data reconfiguration." Liam said. I stared at him blankly having no idea what he said. "I find and make the companies statistical numbers. I basically find what we are spending and make sure we don't go over, and that everything works smoothly with our numbers and money." He said once he saw the look on my face.
"Ohh cool." I said nodding even though I was still confused by what he did.
"What do you do?" He asked.
"I am Mr. Miller's new assistant." After the words left my lips I saw Liam look at me in surprise. "What?"
"Nothing I just never would have guessed you as Mr. Millers assistant." He said shrugging at me.
"Why not?" Did I not look smart enough, or was my outfit not right? I wondered.
"You just look smarter than the others. I would have figured you to be in a more...sophisticated position instead." I felt a blush coming on but I forced it down.
"Well thank you. I don't mind being his assistant though. I'm just happy for the job." I said smiling at him.
He opened his mouth but a ringing interrupted him. He shot me a small smile
"Sorry I better go. It was nice meeting you. Hopefully I'll see you around." With these he sent me a smirk and left. All I could do was chuckle and head back to my office.
I shut the door behind me and headed to my desk. I plopped down in my chair and let out a sigh. It was only 10 o'clock and I was ready to go home. My feet hurt, I was starting to get a headache, and I was hungry. I softly pushed my chair back and forth with my heel as I finally looked around my office. I saw in the corner the filing cabinet Judy was talking about. Groaning softly I saw pieces of paper sticking out and the door opened slightly. I was not looking forward to having to refile all that is in there. Deciding that I had time to do that later I turned to my computer and started playing around on it seeing if there was stuff I needed on there. Atleast I had a Mac laptop at home or I wouldn't know who this one worked.
After about 30 minutes of playing around on it I knew I had to start on the filing. It would probably take me a couple of days to go through it, put it in order, and put it back in. With a quick glance out through my windows I slipped off my shoes and padded to the cabinet the file in my bare feet. I instantly felt one of my problems go away as the pain in my feet slowly went away. With a quiet groan I pulled open the cabinet and went to work.
*********
2 and 1/2 hours later I threw down whatever was in my hand and rubbed my head. I had only made a small dent in the documents. My office floor was littered with papers and I had no idea what most of the stuff was of even about. My headache was even worse and my stomach growled loudly. Grabbing my phone I saw it about 12:30. Do I get a lunch? Knowing it couldn't hurt I slipped back on my shoes, fixed my skirt, grabbed my bag and headed to go ask Judy. I could really use something to eat and drink.
"Hi Judy." I said once I got to her desk.
"Hello. I didn't know you were still here I thought you left with Ashton." She said. I stared at her wide eyed as I remembered Ashton had a lunch meeting at noon and I forgot to remind him. Shit!!
"Oh um yeah I decided to stay back and finish what I was doing anyways." I said quickly lying. "I was just wondering if I get a lunch break, I am starving."
"Yes you do. Most leave around noon or so and get back at one. Go and get something to eat. Ashton probably wont be back until 1:30 anyways."
"Thanks." I said smiling at her. Giving her a small wave I walked towards the elevator and clicked the button. The doors opened a second later and I got in hitting the ground floor. A loud 'hold the door' was yelled at me so I quickly put my hand on the closing elevator does. A second later Liam came to a stop in front of me.
"Layla!" He said smiling at me and coming to stand next to me. I could smell his cologne and I tried to conceal myself from sniffing the air every few seconds. He smelled really good, though not as good as Ashton. I thought.
"Hi Liam." I said back.
"Are you heading to go eat?" I nodded looking into his blue eyes. "Mind if I join you? I know a great place to eat." He said.
I thought about it for a minute as we slowly descended to the lobby. I don't know a good place to eat, plus I don't like eating alone somewhere I've never been.
"Sure." I said with a smile as I accepted. What could it hurt? I thought.
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HI! I am very sorry for the late update! This week has been crazy with classes, getting new glasses (which are taking me forever to get use to) and of course doing stuff to help my mom.
Anyways I hope you like this chapter not much really happens in it and I am sorry about that, but you kind of get to see how Ashton interacts with Layla at work, and its bound to get worse as well. I also decided to add another character played by Liam Hemsworth (Very hot!) He may or may not be a love interest for Layla beside Ashton *wink* *wink* And I will soon have an Ashton POV I just wasn't feeling it in this chapter, so sorry! (sorry I didn't put a picture of Liam on the side, I wanted to but it wouldn't work so I will post one of him next chapter :) )
Thank you guys so much for reading my story and voting! In just a week this story got about 500 new views and I think thats awesome, so THANK YOU! Please keep letting me know what you think :)
Also if anyone wants to suggest to me some new songs/artists to listen to go ahead and leave a comment! Or even books to read, either on here or in book form. I have spring break coming up soon and have nothing to read so i'd appreciate some suggestions!!! THANKS :)
Every chapter I think I will be dedicating it to people so for those who keep voting and reading keep and eye out :) I will probably start with the ones are started reading first :) Thank you guys for always reading and voting for my book, means alot to me.
Keep VOTING, COMMENTING, and READING!!
-Kendoll