by Ivy Nelson
Holly pulled her face from his grasp and stared up at him. “I think about how you kissed me every day.”
“I can repeat that anytime you want, baby.” His voice was husky and filled with need. It did things to Holly and she wanted to tell him yes.
Instead, she surprised herself by saying, “I think we should wait until I get through my first real day on the job at least. We can revisit this later.”
She was amazed at how sure of herself she sounded. Because what she really wanted was for him to slam her against the elevator wall and make out with her.
His fingers grazed the strands of hair that framed her face as his gaze bored into her. “Very well, Holly. Let’s get to work then.” Before he dropped his hand, he leaned down and brushed the softest kiss to her forehead and Holly nearly whimpered as he turned and started the elevator again.
Had it been a mistake to take this job? Holly hoped not, because for the first time in months it had been easy to get out of bed at five-thirty in the morning on a Monday and she didn’t want to lose that feeling just because she thought Elijah Barrett looked hot in a suit.
Not to mention there was definitely something weird going on between Elijah and her father that she needed to figure out.
When they got to the top floor, Elijah stepped out, and Holly watched as he became the CEO Billionaire he showed the world. Very few employees worked on this floor, but those who did stood at attention when the boss came through. When they got to his sanctum—which took up a quarter of the floor—Elijah showed her to her office. There, he gave her a sheet of paper with temporary passwords that would give her access to her e-mail, his e-mail, and his calendar, along with the calendars of a dozen department heads.
“Each of the department heads have their own assistants that handle their schedules but it’s easier for you to have access to all of them. The rest of the staff do not have access to my full calendar, only the dates and times that apply to them. My time is precious, and you and I are the only ones who delegate what it gets used for.”
Holly nodded her understanding and sat in her new desk chair.
“That chair is old and from a previous assistant. If you need something else to be comfortable, don’t hesitate to put in a requisitions request. You have a decorating budget as well but that’s all in your manual.”
He glanced at his watch. “I need to get into my office. In ten minutes put me through to London. You’ll find the number and instructions for how to do that in my calendar.”
Without another word, he left her alone and went to his own office. Holly noted the time and sent a timer for ten minutes. Then she set about changing her passwords and getting familiar with the computer system. It was the most up-to-date Windows system on the market today but at the Sutton Foundation they used Mac systems, so it was going to be an adjustment to relearn the operating system.
When there were four minutes until time to connect Elijah’s conference call, Holly pulled up the calendar to get the phone number needed and found instructions in the phone manual for connecting the calls. When the representative from London answered she said, “Please hold for Mr. Barrett,” and quickly pressed the hold button.
Pressing the intercom button, she said, “I have London on the line for you, Sir.”
Elijah’s rich voice warmed the room seconds later. “Thank you, Holly. Please don’t call me Sir though. Put them through.”
Odd. But Holly shrugged and transferred the call. By the time she did, London had also pulled France and Canada into the call.
While she waited for her boss to finish, she dialed Patrick’s number on her cell phone. Was she allowed to use her phone at work? Come to think of it, nobody had mentioned it
“Hey little sister, how’s the first day at work going?”
“Good. I’m actually calling because Elijah put me on a job that might overlap with you for a little bit. I’m compiling a list of possible places to put a new production lab for your diamonds. I have a binder in front of me with needs but I’m wondering if you wanted to get together and give me your personal input before I make recommendations.”
“Boy, he just threw you in the deep end, didn’t he? Sorry about that.”
Holly looked at her phone and frowned. What was that supposed to mean? “It’s fine. I’m excited. Why would you be sorry?”
Patrick sighed. “The lab produced diamonds are a direct competitor for our father is all.”
Holly hated the formal way he referred to their dad, but he’d done it for as long as she could remember.
“I know. But Daddy didn’t seem to mind when I told him who I was going to work for, so I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”
Patrick was quiet. “Nicholas Sutton knows you’re working for the Barrett Corporation?”
“Yes, of course. Why would I hide that from him? I wish someone would tell me what’s going on. It doesn’t make any sense, but I can tell there is definitely some bad blood between Daddy and Elijah. Is it serious?”
“That’s a conversation for another time. I’ll be in town early next week and we can meet about ideas for the new lab. I have to go into a meeting now. I’ll talk to you soon though Holls.”
Holly ended the call feeling less excited about her first day. For the second time she wondered if taking this job had been a mistake. Was it going to cause an even bigger rift in her family than there already was? There wasn’t much she could do about it now. She was stuck here for the next six months, so she would have to suck it up and deal with it. But she hoped it would turn out to not be a mistake. She wanted to be excited about her new job and her new boss.
Just then, Elijah’s voice came across the intercom. “Holly, can you come in here please?”
On my way, Sir… Elijah,” Holly said.
Grabbing her phone and a notebook she walked the short distance from her office to Elijah’s door. With a single knock, she pushed the door open and step inside.
“What can I do for you?”
He motioned for her to sit at his desk. “Your tech got delivered to me. I admit I could have had them bring it straight to you, but I wanted an excuse to see you.”
Holly blushed but managed to keep her wits about her. “What tech would that be?”
“As my assistant I need to be connected to you as much as possible. With that in mind, you’re now the proud owner of a company phone, tablet, and laptop.” He slid a white box with the three devices nestled inside across to her. “You’ll find it programmed with the same calendar access as your office system has. It has a full range of contacts for you to converse with my various business partners as well as several ways for you to contact me directly.”
She pulled out the phone and tablet and tapped them to activate the screens. The company logo graced the backgrounds of both. She spent a few seconds scrolling through various screens. They seemed like pretty standard pieces of equipment. Slipping them back into the box she said, “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting all of this. How was your conference call?”
“It went well. Some snags in negotiations but nothing we won’t work out. Actually, you helping Patrick get another lab up and running will move things along.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know I made contact with him this morning, and we’re going to meet when he’s in town next week.”
Elijah flashed her a grin. “Excellent. Now, what’s on your evening agenda for Thursday and Friday?” Elijah asked.
Holly remembered a trip to Colorado on his calendar. Was he asking her to go along? She was supposed to meet with Troy Wilson after work on Thursday to finalize her exit strategy from the Sutton Foundation but could probably shift that to Wednesday night.
“Do you need me for something? My plans are pretty flexible.”
“Yes. I have a trip to Colorado. I have a board meeting with Solitaire on Thursday and then I have several other business meetings over the weekend. I would like for you to accompany me.”
Holly pulled her own phone out and pull
ed up her personal calendar. “That shouldn’t be a problem at all, Sir.”
Elijah cleared his throat. “Please don’t call me Sir,” he asked quietly. “I don’t know how to explain it, but work is not the place I want people calling me Sir.”
Holly’s face brightened with embarrassment as she caught on to what he was saying. Solitaire was a BDSM club. That must make him a Dom. She’d read about Doms in romance novels but never thought of it as something people really did.
“I apologize. It’s a habit from fundraising.”
Elijah gave her a kind smile. “I understand. And normally I wouldn’t say anything. But we’ve established that I’m intensely attracted to you, and every time you call me Sir it conjures up thoughts I should not be having in my office.”
God, he was so blunt. Holly wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Honest was good but now she was going to spend the rest of the day wondering what kinds of thoughts she caused him to have.
“I’ll work on it,” she promised.
Getting back to the subject at hand she said, “I do have to make one slight rearrangement in my schedule to make the weekend work, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do that now.”
Thankfully Elijah let her have her escape, and she hurried back to her desk. A few minutes later, her computer, new tablet, and new phone all dinged at the same time causing her to chuckle. She would have to turn the sound off on the mobile devices. The alert was an update that Elijah put into his calendar. A full itinerary for the weekend. A few seconds later, the interoffice messaging window popped up on her screen.
In the safe in your office you’ll find a company credit card. I’ll have one issued to you in your name but for now use that one to book our hotels for the weekend based on the itinerary I just put in the calendar. Either a suite with two bedrooms or two separate hotel rooms. Whichever makes you most comfortable.
Holly sent a thumbs up emoji then typed,
You got it boss.
Pulling up the itinerary, she scanned through the dates and locations and made reservations at local hotels. As she was finishing the last one, Elijah appeared in her doorway and seemed to be laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asked as she hit confirm on the final reservation.
He held up his phone. “That you think I’m staying in any of these hotels. Pick somewhere nice. I thought you would be used to staying in nice hotels, so it didn’t occur to me to say anything.”
Holly shrugged. “I don’t do a ton of traveling and when I book hotels for my Africa crew we go as cheap as possible so more money can go to doing good.”
Elijah smiled. ‘Somewhere on that computer should be a list of places I like to stay. I’ve already arranged flights for us on the company jet, but I’ll show you how to request flight plans for future trips later.”
Holly nodded. “Sorry I didn’t think to ask where you wanted to stay.”
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything that can’t be changed, and I wasn’t clear in my instructions.”
“If Patrick is to be believed, you’ve fired assistants for smaller mistakes.”
Elijah frowned. “Patrick can mind his own damn business. Besides, I can’t fire you remember? We’re stuck together for six months.”
Holly grinned and shook her head. “I’ll get new reservations made right away,” she promised as she dug through the mess of documents on her computer. After several minutes she found the right document and made suitable arrangements in each of the locations they would travel over the weekend. In most places she got two hotels, but one city only had a suite with two bedrooms available.
When lunch time rolled around, Holly was ready to get out of the office. There had been an unending stream of phone calls between nine and noon and she needed a break. Elijah had a working lunch but told her she was free to take her own lunch break instead of joining him.
Grabbing her gym bag, she made her way to the gym and changed so she could go for a thirty-minute jog. While her sneakers slapped the belt of the exercise machine at a steady pace, she thought about what it was going to be like to not work for the Sutton Foundation anymore. On one hand, it would be sad to not be helping to raise that kind of money for such a good cause. On the other hand, it was freeing to not have to deal with Grant’s hovering or Troy Wilson’s rudeness, and Elijah’s company did a lot of good for her favorite causes too.
As she continued to run, she thought about Elijah and what it would be like to travel with him. What would she see at Solitaire on Thursday? Would he take her to the board meeting? Probably not, but she was curious. Especially after he accidentally divulged that he was a Dom. Or had it not been so accidental?
Of course, he was a Dom. There was no way a man like Elijah would be submissive. Her heart rate was well above one-forty now and she was sure that some of it came from thinking about Elijah at a kinky sex club, because she wasn’t running that fast.
He’d made it clear this morning in the elevator that he wasn’t above sleeping with her. Did she want to be that girl? The one who slept with her boss? Not really. But she wanted to finish what they’d started before he was her boss.
The cooldown on her thirty-minute timer began and the treadmill slowed to a walking pace before coming to a stop. So much to think about and the run hadn’t cleared her head as much as she’d hoped. Now she had to grab a quick shower and a smoothie or something from the snack-bar outside the gym.
When she pushed her way out of the gym twenty minutes later, she had her head down as she flipped through Elijah’s schedule for the afternoon. Her head hit something hard and she looked up.
“I hope you had something to eat on your lunch break, Holly.”
It was Elijah. “I was just about to grab a smoothie before I go back to my office.”
Elijah frowned. “A smoothie isn’t lunch. If you want real food, call the caterer and ask them to send something up. You can tell them it’s for me and they’ll hurry,” he said with a wink.
Holly laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind, but a smoothie will do for now. Just needed a run to clear my head.”
“I hope we haven’t overwhelmed you on your first day.” He sounded genuinely concerned.
Holly waved her hand to dismiss his comment. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Elijah stared down at her a moment longer before opening the door to the gym. “I’ll be back in the office in about an hour.”
Holly watched him walk towards the locker room, enjoying the view. His jacket was missing, and he’d rolled up his sleeves. It was hard not to imagine him in the locker room stripping to change into his gym clothes. Blinking her eyes, she forced herself to turn in the direction of the snack bar and order a smoothie.
“Mr. Barrett’s new assistant,” the girl said as she scanned her employee badge. “Hopefully you’ll last longer than the last four.” There was a hint of disdain in her voice, but Holly ignored it.
“I’m sure I will. Mr. Barrett is an excellent employer,” she said as she took the smoothie. She decided not to tell her that her contract guaranteed she would be here longer.
When she got back to her office, she transferred her phone back to her from reception and set about reorganizing the computer files. The lack of organization kind of surprised her and she made a note to talk to Elijah about it.
Halfway through renaming a folder filled with spreadsheets, her phone rang.
“Barrett Corporation, Holly Sutton speaking.”
“Good afternoon, Holly. How is your first day going?”
“Hi Grant. It’s going well. Is everything OK?”
He chuckled. “Does something have to be wrong for me to call you at work?”
“Kinda. I’m not at the Sutton Foundation anymore and I’m a little busy. I can’t just chat, Grant.” Why was he irritating her so much?”
“Sorry. I did have a question. Why did you cancel your appearance on Thursday night? There isn’t another Sutton to take your place.”
Holly sighed
. “There’s nothing I can do about it. I was only coming so I could talk to Troy anyway and I moved that meeting to Wednesday. You know I have to disentangle myself from the Foundation. I’ll be out of town on a business trip with Mr. Barrett.”
Grant was silent for a moment. “You’re going out of town with him? What are you doing?”
“That’s not something I’m allowed to discuss, but I’m his assistant and it’s expected that I accompany him to his business engagements. That’s kind of what assistants do. Why are you giving me the third degree?”
Grant coughed. “Excuse me? I’m just showing concern for someone I care about. This is your first real job, and you signed a ridiculous contract to get it. I’m going to check up on you now and then.”
How did he know about her contract? He was trying to be sweet, but she found herself even more irritated. Just then, a shadow crossed her desk and she looked up to see a damp haired Elijah standing there. A lump formed in her throat and she found it hard to breathe just looking at him. “I have to go, Grant. We’ll talk later.”
“Boyfriend?” Elijah teased when she hung up the phone.
“God no. Just a friend who worked closely with me on the Sutton Foundation events. He was concerned about why I canceled my appearance on Thursday.”
Elijah nodded. “Are you getting settled in OK?”
Holly turned her monitor around. “I am, but your computer filing system is shit. It’s like nobody ever organized anything. I figured there would have been a system in place from your last assistant.”
Elijah coughed. “More like five assistants. Your brother wasn’t entirely wrong about my penchant for firing them. I haven’t been able to keep anyone for more than a couple of months lately.”
Holly raised an eyebrow. “So, you don’t mind if I reorganize everything on the cloud drive? It’s a hot mess and I can’t stand it.”
