The Hardest Deal to Close

Chapter 1

When I first applied to the Marvin Company; I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I had applied for the position of Executive Assistant to their CEO who had recently had his previous assistant quit on him. The other candidates in the group interviews had expressed a desire to not be placed on the Executive level in the company. Of course, that meant when the question was posed to me I didn't request another level, I thought the others were crazy for not wanting to get in on the highest level. So I got the job.

It all went well at first, even though I rarely saw my new boss outside his office. He was always in before I arrived and gone before I left so I never saw him. You would think that being his assistant would mean I'd see him daily but not in this case. I had only been working there for about a month before one of the other Executive's assistants told me why. Her name was Marion Landers and the word around the break room was that she was the Executive gossip queen; there was nothing going on at this level that she didn't know about. She came over and pulled up one of the waiting area chairs next to my desk.

"So...how do you like being the big boss man's new go to gal?" Marion asked.

"His what?" I replied.

"You don't know what happened to his previous assistant do you? How could you not know?"

"I make it a point not to pry into the affairs of others; it's none of my business why she left." I said curtly.

"Well, she left because the Big Boss is the worst guy in the world to be stuck working for; he's always biting your head off at the slightest of things. Celia couldn't take it anymore so she got out." Marion said.

I looked at his office doors; I had never been in his office in the month and a bit I've been here. I wondered briefly if what Marion said about him was true or just office rumour. I probably should have done a little more research on the man I was going to work for, but I figured having knowledge of the company was more than enough to get me through the screenings; and it worked. Before I could reply an IM popped up on my screen, my new boss preferred to use that rather than come out and talk to me.

"Sorry, he wants to see me." I said, as I excused myself.

"Watch out; he may only want to scream at you." Marion said.

I shouldn't be shaken by her words, but in the pit of my stomach I had to wonder if it was true what they said about him; what if I'd done something wrong with my filing, or a report and he was ready to ream me out for it. I still had the usual three month probation going on and one mistake like that could cost me the job. I wasn't even two months into it; that disturbed me. I took a breath and pushed open the double mahogany doors into his office.

It was large and spacious, the entire back wall was one large window covered with vertical blinds that let the mid afternoon sun seep through them casting long shadows over my face and the rest of the office. The big, expensive desk dominated the space in front of the window, the large leather chair was turned away from me and I couldn't see even a hint of my boss behind it. I saw a white paper appear at the right side of the chair, but still he did not turn to face me.

"Sir?" I said.

"Send this memo out to all department heads; and make sure to carbon copy it back to me once it's done." He said.

His voice was rich and melodious; and carried an undertone of authority to it; truly the voice of man used to getting his way with people. I walked to around the massive desk and took the paper from him. I caught the scent of his cologne as I did; a wonderful musky scent.

"Is there anything else you need sir?" I asked.

He turned to face me and I saw him for the first time; he had chestnut brown hair that showed some signs of premature grey at his temples, his eyes were a vibrant blue and shone with confidence. But that was not what struck me the most; it was his ample round belly and hints of a double chin poking out over the buttoned, crisp white shirt he wore. The suit was a subtle pinstripe grey that seemed to accentuate the swell of his belly with its vertical lines. I could see the thick, juiciness of his thighs tightly contained with the matching suit pants. Although, his pallor expression made me think that he looked deeply stressed and troubled over something he chose not to share.

"Sir, do you want me to get you something eat or drink?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me; "Why would you ask me that?" He said.

I swallowed; "Well sir, you look a little worn down. I thought it might help. Forgive me if I overstepped my bounds. I'll get to the memo right away." I said.

I hurried quickly out of the office after that; but I heard him say something before the doors closed.

"Sir?" I said.

"I said that would be nice; thank you." He repeated.

"Right away sir, I'll be back quickly." I said.

The building's lobby had a nice little café which made things easier than trying to go outside to find something. I ordered him a roast beef sandwich on rye with lettuce, tomato and mayo as well as a large double-double and a cantaloupe smoothie with ginseng and green tea for energy. I wasn't sure what he wanted since I forgot to ask while I was up there. I hoped he'd like what I picked; if not well I wouldn't mind keeping them for myself. The elevator ride seemed to take forever to get back up to the twelfth floor and it seemed to stop at every one in between. I really didn't want to keep the boss waiting Marion's words were still ringing in my head. True, he didn't yell or scream at me like I was expecting, but for all I know that was still to come later. On the fifth floor, the building's mail boy got on. He was pushing a cart filled with letters and packages for the various levels of the company; he looked to be about 18 or 19 years old, I figured that this was probably a temp job for the young man. He too was well rounded and chubby; and had blond hair and green eyes. He looked at me sideways.

"So you're the Big Boss Man's new assistant huh?" He said.

"Yes. I just started about a month ago." I replied.

"That dude scares me; I always dread having to go up to the twelfth floor with mail and stuff."

"So I've heard."

"We down in the mail room got a poll running; we think you'll last about two months before you take off."

"How wonderful; but I hate to rain on your parade, I don't plan on quitting just because of some office rumours." I replied.

The elevator dinged for the twelfth floor and the mail boy got off with me.

"Perhaps we should increase that to three months then." He said.

I shook it off; from what I've seen so far he doesn't seem like the heinous overlord his whole office thinks he is. Marion wasn't at her desk when I got back, which was good because I don't think I could deal with her too on top of what the mail boy just said. I opened the double doors and walked over to the desk. I took out two marble coasters and set them down; then put the drinks down on top of them.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I got you a large double-double and a cantaloupe smoothie with ginseng and green tea as well as a roast beef sandwich." I said.

He picked up the smoothie and looked at it I clenched my hands around the drink tray, praying that I hadn't messed up already. To my surprise he took a long sip of it and nodded; he liked it.

"This is pretty good; I've never had one before." He said.

"I'm glad sir. I'll get to that memo now if you don't need anything else." I said.

"It's not true what they say about me by the way. I'm not that bad." He said.

"Sir?" I asked.

"I may be hard as steel and tough as nails when I'm negotiating a merger or trying to close a particularly difficult deal but I do not take it out on my employees." He replied.

"I don't buy into office rumour or gossip sir; I believe seeing for myself is a much better way to get to know someone." I said.

"I do have one question though; what is a double-double?"

I blushed; "Oh, sorry. I'm here on a temporary work visa from Canada and I forget that most Americans have no idea what one is, a double-double is two creams and two sugars; it's a Canadian thing." I replied.

"I didn't know that; why are you working in the States on a visa?" He asked.

"It's part of an international exchange program; it's meant for us to get a feel for doing business in another country so we can be better informed about world events when we head back to our own countries. I was given a choice of the United States or England to go to." I replied.

"I honestly had no idea my company participated in such a thing...I must have missed the memo on it."

"Well with me working for you sir, you'll never miss another memo." I said with a smile.

He nodded; but said nothing. I excused myself and got to work on what he gave me earlier. When I sat back down at my desk, Marion wheeled over to me grinning like a cat that had just caught a mouse.

"You survived; I was getting concerned while you were in there so long." She said.

"I hate to be rude but I do have some work to do, he wants it done by the end of day." I said.

Marion looked slighted; but she backed off. I let out a relieved breath once she was out of ear shot. I suppose not all sharks are in the big offices...