The meeting was in its second hour, and Shay's hands were cramping as she tried to keep up with the notes she was taking. She was on her third week working as Nathan Wright's assistant. The first week had been easy with Ellen helping her, but the second week left her floundering because she felt Nate was watching for her to make even minor mistakes.
The travel arrangements had been made long ago for Nate's six-city tour of the U.S. branches for Wright Financial, and all that was needed was to add her name to all the necessary documents. They left on Monday of Shay's third week and landed in Chicago. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were set aside for meetings with a reception for the executives on Friday night, leaving Friday for any extra meetings or rounds of golf that popped up as they worked their way through the week. Saturday and Sunday were to be spent sorting the information gathered, and Monday was another travel day to the next city. In all, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta were to be visited with each week to follow the same pattern.
Ellen had consoled her with the fact that when they returned, they would take a week off, but the idea of six weeks without a day off was daunting. Sure, they were flying on a private jet and had a private car to take them wherever they needed to go, but Shay knew that it would be a constant marathon with very little time off.
The hotel in Chicago was the best, and Shay had only to lift a finger, and anything she wanted would be done. Even the food was delicious, but she shared a suite with Nate. It was two bedrooms with a large living area so that they could entertain and have a neutral meeting area if necessary. It had only been one night, but it had been awkward, and they had dinner separately, which, if continued, would prove a lonely trip for Shay.
Now, she sat at a small table behind Nate, pounding away on her laptop while he listened to the presentations that were being delivered as the top-level executives from each department updated him on what had happened in the past year.
Nate tried to visit each branch every year so that he knew everyone, and they, in turn, knew him. In the brief interactions of that morning, Nate seemed to be well-liked and respected, and he so seldom talked that when he did, silence ensued so that no one would miss his words of wisdom, direction, or appreciation.
Shay had bought a few new suits for the trip because she hadn't wanted to let Nate down with a less than perfect appearance, and the one she had chosen that morning was navy blue with a pencil skirt and a waist-length jacket. The thin silk blouse under it was more for decorum than show, and now that she was in a stuffy room full of people, she wished she had worn a blouse that would allow her to remove her jacket.
She had also bought new shoes, which were killing her feet, but since she was at the head of the room, and everyone was paying attention to her because she wasn't Ellen, she couldn't even ease her feet out of them for a brief reprieve.
Nate thanked the woman who had just ended her presentation, and the redhead preened as if she had just won a major award.
"I think that we will take a half-hour break," Nate said as he looked at those sitting around the table, and they all nodded and murmured their agreement. "Is there a place where my assistant and I can discuss a few things?"
"Of course! If you'll follow me." A small round woman with heavy glasses who had been sitting across from Shay taking her own notes jumped up and motioned for them to follow her.
Shay gathered her things and passed by Nate, who had held the door open for both women.
"It's just down the hall. Normally, it would be for our Communications Director, but that position is currently vacant. I'm Amanda, by the way. I'm Mr. Seaton's assistant."
Mark Seaton was the President of the Chicago branch, and other than seeing him across the room, Shay had yet to meet him. He was older, with receding hair and a developing paunch.
"Thank you, Amanda. Would you mind telling me why there is no current Communications Director?" Nate asked as he walked over to the windows and looked down at the city below.
"I think it was because she had a better offer," Amanda hedged. You could tell that the question made her uncomfortable, which was suspicious to Shay.
Shay felt sorry that she was placed on the spot, so she asked her if she was free to use everything in the room to change the subject.
"Yes, there is a printer on the credenza, and it should pop up in your device list if you need to print anything. Everything else that you will need should be in the desk drawers." Amanda looked unsure if she should stay or go, but it wasn't Shay's place to dismiss her.
"Thank you," Nate said, also picking up on the fact that she wanted to be gone before any other uncomfortable questions were asked.
"Could you run the notes on Atwell's presentation for me? There were a few things I wanted to look over." Nate kept his eyes glued on the view out the window as he asked Shay to run the report. There was obviously something amiss at the Chicago branch, but Shay didn't know enough about operations to understand what it might be.
It only took her a minute to run the report, and Nate thanked her, taking it off the printer and leaving her alone in the office.
Finally able to take her shoes and jacket off, she did so with a sigh as she eased into the desk chair and sighed in relief. It was only a moment before the tablet that she was carrying in her bag dinged that she had an incoming message, and since she was on her break, she pulled it out and opened it, immediately wishing she hadn't.
Ignoring the fact that her brother was calling her, she turned to look out the window, only to hear it ding again and again. How could even his alert message be so annoying?
"What!" she asked as she answered the video message. "I'm at work!"
"Then why are you answering the call?" Sawyer asked, nonplused by her rude greeting. They often started conversations in the middle.
"Because you won't stop calling me!" Shay growled. "I only have a few minutes, so get to the point and hide your image in case someone walks in." Shay had kept her famous family under wraps, and she wanted to keep it that way.
Sawyer did as she asked and hid his image as an image of a fan and a vacuum cleaner having a conversation popped onto the screen. The fan said 'suck me' to the vacuum cleaner, and the vacuum cleaner said 'blow me' to the fan. It was such a Sawyer joke that Shay could only roll her eyes knowing that he could still see her.
"Is that better?" he asked sweetly, knowing it wasn't.
"No." Shay shook her head. "You're running out of time."
"You're in L.A. in three weeks, right?" Sawyer asked.
Yes, why?" Shay frowned. She had told Phee her schedule, and Phee must have shared it with the others.
"I need a date to some party," Sawyer requested. It wasn't odd. Shay had often attended events with her brothers when they didn't want to take a date. Taking a date usually meant that the press would hound them about a new romance, but that wasn't a problem when you took your sister.
The door opened behind Shay, and she turned to see the redheaded presenter from fifteen minutes earlier.
"Oh, sorry," she said. "I was looking for Mr. Wright."
"He left a few minutes ago. I'm not sure where he went," Shay informed her while doing her best to keep her voice friendly and polite.
The redhead turned and left, and Shay made a critical error in forgetting to hide her expression from Sawyer.
"Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Joooleeenee, I'm begging of you please don't take my man!" Sawyer sang the Dolly Parton song that was all about a redhead beauty.
Shay felt it was best to ignore him. "What about Paloma? Can't she go with you?" Sullivan and Paloma had been an item in the past, but since Sullivan's marriage announcement, Sawyer had taken up with Paloma, and it appeared to be working out well despite the negative press. After all, there was no such thing as bad press in Hollywood.
"She's in London, something about a BAFTA." There was the crinkling sound of a wrapper as if Sawyer was eating something and had just finished it.
"Ooooooh, are you jealous? You don't have one of those," Shay teased.
"Not really. I'm holding out for a knighthood." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Sully is much more likely to be knighted than you are," Shay couldn't resist poking him for the Jolene comment.
"I like your shirt. Are you enjoying all the attention it's getting you?" Sawyer countered, pushing back.
"It's a blouse, and I am wearing a jacket over it!" she hissed.
"Sure you are. Can you go to the party with me or not?" he asked again as there was a knock on his door and someone called ten minutes.
"I don't know, maybe. I'll have a better answer for you in a week, or so once I know a little bit more of what is expected of me." Shay answered. She wasn't sure if there would be enough time to go to one of his parties.
"Wear the blouse when you ask. I'm sure you'll get whatever you want. How is it going with your new boss, by the way? Have you two played kissy-face yet? He looks decent enough." Sawyer said with a smirk in his voice.
Shay froze. What did Sawyer mean when he said, 'he looks decent enough'? Shay looked at the reflection on the screen and saw Nate standing behind her.
"You're such a pill!" she hissed again.
"Hopefully, the kind that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy," Sawyer cooed.
"No, definitely one of those giant horse pills that people choke on and die!" Shay said as she ended the call with a forceful punch to the red button with her finger.
"Sorry about that," Shay said as she stood up and reached for her jacket. She couldn't help but note that Sawyer was right. The white blouse was transparent with the natural light coming in the window.
Nate watched her with the muscle in his jaw twitching which meant he was clenching and unclenching his jaw.
"The red-headed woman was looking for you. Did she find you?" Shay asked as she found her shoes and slipped them on her feet.
"Yes, it's time to go back," Nate informed her, watching as she gathered all her things together.
"Here," he said as he handed her water and a muffin.
Shay took the items and swallowed hard at his thoughtfulness.
"Thank you," she whispered, meeting his eyes, making it more of a moment than it needed to be. No one was ever that thoughtful with her.
He nodded and then led the way back out of the office and toward the conference room.
It would be a long day while she took notes and stewed over exactly how much Nate had heard of her conversation with Sawyer.