Simon Says

by T L Osborn

  I should’ve given him my number when I left that stupid note. I have absolutely no intentions of taking Steph’s advice, of looking him up in the computer system. Not only could that get me fired, but I don’t even know his last name. I smile as the lyrics to my favourite singer Carrie Underwood’s song Last Name come to mind. I get into an elevator, making my way to the 30th floor, hoping they won’t mind I’m early.

  I reach the 30th floor, stepping out into a very lush entryway, turning my head right to face a white wall. Splashed across it in silver lettering is Billington Industries Ltd. I turn around to find both Lara and Mr Billington laughing. My face flushes at my own embarrassment and stupidity.

  “Everyone does that their first time here.” Mr Billington laughs.

  He’s only saying that to make me feel better.

  “Are you ready to begin your first day?” he asks.

  “I sure am,” I reply, taking a sip of my coffee and hoping he doesn’t notice the nervous rise and fall of my chest.

  “Lara will run through the basics of the reception area and how to keep it running smoothly. She’ll teach you everything you need to know. I’ll see you later; I’ve got a meeting,” he says.

  He steps around the glass wall, leaving me alone with Lara, and I take in the reception area. The floors are white, and a glass floor-to-ceiling window weaves through the reception area in front of the elevators to separate a relaxing waiting room. More floor-to-ceiling windows line the outer walls of the building. As I follow Lara, who points out the different rooms as we walk, I look around. White surfaces and glass everywhere. Clinical and clean.

  “I’ve set your desk up for you. It’s only simple for now, but it’s yours to change as you see fit.” She points to my new desk. Simple, yet clean and tidy—just the way I like it. My computer sits in the corner of the desk, keyboard and mouse in front, a phone off to one side, and a binder full of paper.

  “It’s perfect. I love it. Thank you,” I say to Lara.

  She beams with excitement. “I’m so glad. Now, you won’t see Mr Billington until later, but he’s requested you read the binder. Most of it, you really don’t need to know, but just read his requests, likes, dislikes, and what the majority of your tasks will be, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Apparently, he has quite a lot of likes and dislikes,” I remark, and Lara laughs as we take our seats. I turn on my computer, and while I wait for it to load up, I open the binder. I begin reading, only stopping to set up my email and calendar. Following the instructions in the binder, I link them with the CEO’s. I learn the company has recently gained a new CEO, who is taking over today.

  Explains why they were interviewing for a PA now. He wanted a new one.

  Before I know it, the boardroom door opens, and several people exit, talking amongst themselves.

  “Aria, I’d go make a coffee now before you need to meet the CEO. You’ll be busy for the remainder of the day, I imagine, running errands and doing all sorts of things for him.”

  “Would you like me to make you one?”

  “Yes, please,” Lara says. “I think I’m going to need the caffeine hit today.”

  “How do you have it?” I ask.

  “Milk with one sugar.” She holds out her travel cup to me.

  I walk into the tearoom and make us each a cup of coffee.

  When I return, I hand Lara’s to her. “I’m sorry if I made it too hot. I’m not used to using a travel mug.”

  “No worries, I’ll let it cool for a bit,” she replies, and I place my drink down on my desk.

  Mr Billington steps around the glass wall. “Are you ready to meet your new boss, Aria?” he asks.

  I look at him, confused. “Aren’t you my new boss?”

  He shakes his head as he opens the door in front of me. “Sadly, no.” He turns to say to someone behind him, “Miss Thompson is here.”

  Time to see if I’m made to be a PA or not.

  Simon

  I’m standing by the glass windows, staring out over the harbour of the city and watching a ferry leave Wellington bound for Picton. I feel a set of eyes boring into my back. My new PA has arrived. I spin around to greet her, only to find myself staring at none other than Aria.

  “Simon!” she exclaims, her face breaking into a smile. “What are you doing here?” Then I watch as her gaze shifts between me and James. “Wait a moment. You just told me you’re not the CEO. So that means….” She holds her breath as the ball drops. “No, no, no. This is not happening.” She shakes her head.

  “Did I miss something?” James asks.

  I ignore him. “Good morning, Miss Thompson. Welcome to Billington Industries. I trust you’ve had a good morning so far and managed to read through my binder.”

  Aria begins to hyperventilate as I try to play it cool.

  “Oh, wait. I get it. You two have met before,” James says, his eyes darting between us.

  “You could say that,” I reply, my eyes never leaving Aria.

  “Face-to-face or face-to-back?” He throws me a grin.

  “Don’t you have some work to do?” I prompt. I need to get Aria alone so we can talk, or at least straighten things out.

  “All right, I’m going. But I want the credit for hooking you two up later when it happens.” He chuckles, leaving my office.

  Aria looks at me, her lips trembling a little. “Did you know on Saturday night that we were to work together?”

  I shake my head. “No, I didn’t, and it’s rather inconvenient.”

  “I beg your pardon.” She blinks at me, horrified.

  “You heard. Look, whatever happened that night, it didn’t happen. Got it?” I stride over to her.

  She looks up, her green eyes holding mine as a wicked smile crosses her face. “I get it. You’re scared I’m going to tell everyone the CEO is bad in bed.”

  I chuckle. “I’m not worried about that at all. I want it kept between us, because I don’t sleep with the staff.”

  “Then I’ll quit, and all your problems will be solved,” she says, starting to get irritated at me.

  “Problem not solved. I need a PA, and you need this job, since your old one is no longer available. Will this become a problem between us?” I ask. She shakes her head. “Good. Take a seat, and we’ll begin to discuss how I like things to run here.”

  “Can I please have a piece of paper to write the things down that aren’t already in the binder?”

  I reach into my top drawer, grabbing a pad and pen for her. “Here, keep it. I’ve got lots in here. Now, the binder contains everything you need to know about how I like my days to run and my usual schedule. Your mobile phone and tablet are on their way up to your desk. This is for if you get contacted after work with meeting arrangements you’re connected to the work system. Though, it’s rare you’ll get phone calls; they’re directed to me and James after hours.” I wait for her to write several things down before I continue.

  “What do I do if they want to talk to you directly and not deal with me?”

  “Usually, I’ll get those calls directly. There are two important things to remember. Number one, never interrupt me during a meeting unless it’s about Charlotte. Number two, never book a meeting at 7:30 am. I like to have half an hour before my first meeting of the day to gather my thoughts and read anything important, plus have my morning coffee.”

  “What sort of coffee do you usually have?”

  “Usually, a cappuccino, no sugar, and a blueberry muffin. I’ll text you every day just in case I change my mind.” She writes this down. “For the remainder of this week, I’d like you to learn from Lara—well, as much as you can. Since she’s not my PA, she’ll do things differently, depending on James’s requirements.”

  Aria nods. “Can you give me a rundown of what a typical day might look like for you? Just so I have some structure to go off of before Lara starts teaching me.”

  Seems we will work well together.

  I smile. “Yes. Usually, I get in at 7:30 am. I
have my coffee, muffin, and business report waiting on my desk. This will be your first task. I may have a meeting, then another, then maybe lunch, then another meeting, and then may spend an afternoon reading through reports. And I don’t like being disturbed when I’m doing this.”

  She smiles. “Is there anything else I should know that you’re particular about?” she asks.

  The kind of lingerie I’d like you to wear.

  I’ve got to distract myself, or this won’t work. And I will end up fucking her over my desk.

  “That’s all I need to tell you at this point. When I need to teach you something specific or show you something, I’ll call for you,” I reply, and she stands and walks towards my office door. “Miss Thompson, one more thing.”

  She turns to look at me. “Yes?”

  “Since I know how much you enjoy reading, don’t get any ideas about loading the Kindle app onto your work tablet.”

  “Mr Billington, I wouldn’t dare. It’s a work tablet, for work only. And besides, you saw how many books I got from the library.”

  “Good answer.”

  She closes my office door, and I lean back in my chair. James may have finally found me the perfect PA.

  Chapter Seven

  Aria

  “Dinner is served,” Toby says as he enters the house. I glance over my book to see him carrying in a white plastic bag full of white containers. He’s brought home Chinese. Yum. He’s followed inside by Steph, who’s carrying two bottles of wine and my favourite chocolate Bavarian cheesecake.

  I toss my book onto the table. “What do I owe you two for the food?”

  Steph places the cheesecake in the fridge. “Nothing. Just give us all the juicy gossip from your new job.”

  “Not much juicy gossip to tell. My new job would be rather boring to you guys.” I grab two wine glasses out of the cupboard and stop at the fridge to grab a cold beer for Toby. I walk over to the table as Steph sits down.

  “Come on, Ari. Give me something,” she begs.

  “Aren’t you two forgetting something?” Toby chuckles.

  I look around. Food, wine, glasses… “Plates. We forgot plates.” I laugh.

  Steph points a finger at me. “I’ll get them. You start talking.”

  I pop open a bottle of wine and pour two glasses. “Where do I start?” I take a seat at the table as Steph drops a plate in front of Toby.

  He opens his beer, and then questions, “How about what the job’s like? Is it busy?”

  I take a sip of the wine. “It’s great. Super busy, and I’m always doing something, which I love.” I place my glass down and spoon some food onto my plate.

  Steph takes the utensils when I’m done. “And your boss? What is he like?”

  “He’s umm… well….” I pause. I don’t know what to tell her.

  Steph arches an eyebrow. “Girl, you’re hiding something.”

  “I work for Simon, okay? Yes, my one-night stand and the same guy from the library, is my new boss and the CEO of Billington Industries. Turns out I wasn’t the only one starting a new role.”

  “Wow, that must’ve been a shock.”

  I absently play with the stem of my wine glass, not wanting to look Steph or Toby in the eye. A clatter of metal meeting ceramic causes me to jump, and I turn to stare at my brother. He swallows his mouthful. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Nope,” I reply.

  “You slept with your boss?” Toby growls.

  “I wouldn’t have called it sleeping.”

  “Not my fucking point.”

  “I didn’t know he was my boss when we slept together. I only found out when I arrived to start my new job.”

  “You still slept with him. Of all the men you chose… it had to be him,” Toby says.

  “What’s wrong with that? She’s single, and so is he. I don’t see the problem,” Steph defends.

  Toby throws her a ‘shut up’ glare. “You wouldn’t.”

  “What I meant, Tobias, was maybe it’s about time your sister got back to dating again and got her nose out of those romance books,” Steph says.

  I sip my wine. “You love those romance books too.”

  “I agree with the dating idea, Steph. What I don’t agree with is her picking the most well-known playboy around town.”

  “I haven’t picked anyone to date. It was one night; that’s all. I’ve worked for him for a week and nothing has happened.”

  “You mean he hasn’t banged you all over his office?”

  “Nope.”

  Steph rolls her eyes. “Your job really is boring.”

  “Come on, Steph. That stuff only happens to the women in my books. Besides that, isn’t there some rule about fraternizing with the staff?” I ask, picking up my fork and digging into my rice.

  “Do you really think you’d still be working for him if he isn’t interested in you at all?” Steph lifts a brow.

  “He’s only interested in one thing, Steph. Sex. And since she’s opened her legs once, he’s probably sure she’ll do it again.”

  “You don’t know that, Toby.”

  “If I had a hot piece of ass in my office, I’d sure as hell fuck her until I got bored of her.” Toby swigs his beer. “Anyway, nothing will ever happen between you and him, so this conversation is pointless.”

  “I’m not sixteen anymore. I don’t need your protection from horny teenage boys who only want sex.” I’m pissed. My brother can be overprotective sometimes.

  “No but you now need protection from a horny billionaire boss who only wants sex.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “Whatever.”

  Toby slams his beer down onto the table like Dad used to do when us kids were making too much noise during the news. “When I said I was happy about you dating again, I meant it. Now that I know who you’ve got your eye on, there’s no way in fucking hell you’re dating him.”

  “You’re not Dad.”

  “I know I’m not, but I’m not fucking joking either. He lays even a finger on you, and I’ll break it.” He stands, piling his plate with more food, and picks up his beer. “Don’t say either of you weren’t warned.” He leaves, heading down the hall. The back-door slams closed a few moments later.

  “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” I murmur, turning to Steph.

  “Don’t be. I know what he’s like.” She shrugs.

  “He’s too protective sometimes.”

  “Sometimes?”

  “Okay, all the time.”

  “What are you going to do about your crush on Simon?” she asks.

  “Nothing. He made me swear our night would stay a secret.”

  She takes a sip of her wine. “Do you think he still has the hots for you?”

  “I’m not sure. He gives me a lot of confusing signals.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, I have noticed him checking me out. He looks me up and down at least once a day.”

  “He definitely has the hots for you. We could have some fun.” She gives me a wicked grin. “Do you want to know if he really wants you?”

  Do I?

  “What do you have in mind?” I sip my wine.

  “I say wear something sexy—tight, short skirts, sexy revealing blouses, buttons undone. Show him what he’s missing out on and that it was his choice. If he wants it kept a secret, make yourself irresistible.”

  “How?”

  She rolls her eyes. “I just told you.”

  “I can’t pull sexy off.”

  “Let’s go up to your room and I’ll show you that you can.”

  We head up to my room, and Steph goes through my drawers, pulling out all my lacy black lingerie, heels, short skirts with slits in the back, and blouse after blouse.

  “Girl, you’re going to look absolutely irresistible in all this. You hold the power, and I say revel in it.”

  I hold my head high. She’s right. “Lance used to hold all the power. I’ll never let it happen again.”

  “That’s my girl. No
w, let’s demolish the cheesecake before Toby does.”

  By the time Toby returns inside, I’m tucked in bed. I hear his familiar footsteps heading towards my room before a quiet knock on my door.

  “Come in.”

  My door opens. “I wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier.” Toby leans on my doorframe. “I’m not Dad. I know that, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about you.”

  “I know, Tob. I never said I was dating Simon. It was just a one-night stand. That’s all.”

  He frowns. “All right. I’ll let it go. Night, little sister. See ya tomorrow at 5:00 am for a run.” He chuckles.

  “Keep dreaming!” I yell as he closes my door, thinking, The only times I run are from spiders and into a bookstore.

  Simon

  Fuck, I’m in trouble.

  I’m trying my best to avoid her, not look at her, and failing—miserably. I run my hands through my hair. Gotta pull myself together. I’m acting like a schoolboy who’s just experienced his first hard-on. I spin around to the windows behind my desk, trying to cool my libido. My office door opens.

  “Good morning, Mr Billington,” Aria’s sweet, sexy voice greets me.

  I spin around in my chair. Now I’m really in trouble. Aria’s standing before me, wearing a low-cut red blouse, low enough to catch a glimpse of that cleavage, and a tight black skirt that hugs her sexy curves. Just like those damn jeans did. I wish I hadn’t told her to keep our night a secret. Best damn night of my life. We could do it again, right here, over my desk. Yeah, I’d love to bend that ass over, spank it until it’s red, and make her moan my name. Remind her who’s in charge.

  “Simon.” Aria yanks me back to reality by slamming a heavy book on my desk. “I didn’t think you were listening.”

  “Not my damn fault you’re fucking hot,” I reply.

  “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “You do that, sweetheart.”

  “Did you hear anything of what I just said?” she asks, placing her hands on her hips.

  I shake my head. “Nope. Repeat it.”

  “I was asking if you’d like a coffee this morning,” she says.