Kate
"Um... hello?" The old man slowed down his quick pace when his eyes fell on me. He seemed confused, taken by surprise by my presence.
"Good morning." I greeted politely.
"Ah, Mr. Dubois. Meet Kate Seyfield. My new PA." Mr. Thornton stood up from his desk and came closer.
"Um...? Your PA? I'm sorry sir, but I thought you were looking for a male assistant this time. I have contacted a few people already." The older man argued, his french accent slightly noticeable.
"You can call the search off. Besides, I think you can agree it was kind of discriminatory on our part. We can't have people think that Raven is biased, don't you think?" He winked at me and I lowered my head, not wanting to show my amusement.
"Well,y-yes. I mean, no, we don't want that. Gabriel Dubois. Nice to meet you, miss Seyfield." I shaked his hand.
"C'est un plaisir de te rencontrer" I spoke and felt two pairs of eyes looking at me stunned.
"Tu parles français?" Mr. Dubois asked, not hiding his surprise in the slightest.
"Pas aussi bien que toi, à l'évidence." I smiled and he shaked his head.
"You're not giving yourself enough credit. Your accent is great."
"You are a mystery, miss Seyfield." My boss joined in, smiling. "Okay, Mr Dubois, you wanted something?"
"Ah, yes. We have closing deals later today that require your presence and you have to sign some reports for the sales department."
"All right. Why don't you have the reports sent right now?" He moved towards his desk and sat down. Damn! He is so nice to the eye.
No,no. What are you doing?
"But, sir, they need to be checked first, before you can sign them. That will take some time." Mr Dubois argued, a hint of panic in his voice.
"Mr Dubois? Why don't you get me the reports for checking and then I'll make sure Mr Thornton signs them. So, you two can go about your day undisturbed."
I took turns looking at the two men in front of me to see what they thought.
My boss was scutching his chin with a crooked smile plastered on his face while Mr Dubois was looking lost.
"You sure you're ok with starting today?"
"Yes, sir. Absolutely no problem." I nodded.
"Mr Dubois, that works for you?"
"Well...um...sure. I have them over right away, to show miss Seyfield what she needs to do "
There was another knock at the door and we all looked that way.
"Hey Logan?" A man peeked through the door, the resemblance with my boss quite obvious. His eyes, though, were a light chocolate color compared to the light green one's Logan had. "Mom is waiting for us. Are you done?"
Mr Thornton checked his clock and sighed, standing up.
"I lost track of time. Yeah, Sammy, let's go. You'll have to excuse me. You don't want to leave my mother waiting," he chuckled amused "I'll be back in an hour or so. Think we'll be okay by then?" He turned his attention to me, smiling widely and cute dimples appeared in his face.
Oh, yeah. Be cuter. That'll help me.
I wanted to roll my eyes but I settled for a nod.
"Great. Come on, Mr. Dubois. Let's get going." He patted the older's shoulder and they both started heading towards the door.
The moment I was alone I exhaled loudly.
I can't believe it.
I did it! I got my break.
I headed towards the desk and picked up the phone.
"Abundance grocery store, hello"
I almost gagged listening to his voice.
"Hey Dwight. It's Kate." I spoke casually.
"Hey. Where are you? You're late."
"Yeah, about that, I quit." I couldn't help the huge smile on my face.
"Yeah, I don't think so. You better get here soon enough if you don't want to spend your night here. So, chop-chop." I could hear the malice in his voice.
"I'm sorry but you misunderstood. I'm not coming not today, not ever. I quit. End of story."
"Oh,ok. Great. Give me a moment" the line fell quite for a moment and I had a weird feeling in my stomach, bugging me. "Okay,so... Your total is 1500$."
I frowned my brows.
"That's not my regular compensation, did I get a raise for quitting?"
He fake laughed for a moment.
"Oh, no. That's what you owe to the store."
"1500$? Are you kidding me?" I spat out loud, enraged.
"Yes. It would have been more but I deducted your paycheck. I figured it was the best way."
"Dwight, I don't have 1500$, you know that! How do you expect me to pay you?"
I was furious. That son of a bitch!
"That's your problem, doll. You have until the end of the day to pay me back for all those things you took for your siblings or , you know, I can contact the authorities. Let them know you were stealing from the store."
"What? Stealing? You mother-" I bit my tongue. I can't provoke him even more. "Look, I don't have the money. Is there any way we can work this out?"
"Oh, yeah, there is. You can come back and then later tonight..." he stayed silent for a bit "you can show me your real appreciation for leaving this whole thing behind us."
I hand up.
I was feeling sick. What a sleazebag. Oh, my god! What am I going to do?
My heart rates increased and I was panting frantically, feeling I'm not getting enough air to fill my lungs.
"Hey, are you okay?"
I turned around shocked to see my new boss standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking at me with a very neutral expression.
How long is he standing there?
"Yes, I'm fine." I forced a small smile. "Did you... um... need something?"
"I forgot my phone." He walked towards me and grabbed the phone from his desk. "I'm sorry, I didn't show you your desk. It's right here." He opened the door from which I came in the first place.
"I figured as much. I came from here. But what about the other door?"
"Oh, that's for selected staff only. An emergency exit, in case I want to leave unnoticed." He smiled and I nodded. "Now,go. Get settled. Mr Dubois is not playing, I'll tell you that much, and I'll see you later." He held the door for me but I hesitated. "Is there a problem?" He crooked his head to the side, looking troubled.
I frowned.
Where do I begin?
"No...um..."
"Don't tell me you regretted it." He added playfully.
"No,but..."
"Great, then. Your hiring documents are drafting and you'll have them right away. Whatever you need, you can contact the HR or you can come to me. Is that all right?"
"Sure." I sighed and moved towards the door.
He grabbed my arm when I was next to him and I raised my sight, confused, to meet his.
His eyes were soft and understanding but at the same time intense, as he held my gaze captive.
"I mean it. Anything, at all. "
I managed to give him a small smile and nodded. He let go of my arm and closed the door behind him.
A/N: What a pleasure it is to see a story unraveling slowly!!! Another update for you guys! Getting a little more info about our girl here. Setting the scene for the things to come.
I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please click the little ⭐ below to support this story!!!
I'll see you in the next one(sooner rather than later 😜)