Chapter One
Abby
The stack of bills sat on the edge of my bed like a mountain that I had no energy to climb. By my calculations I owed more than a hundred thousand dollars. Thanks for nothing school loans and David Adams. David Adams was my con artist of an ex boyfriend. We’d only gone on three dates before he’d convinced me to buy him materials for his flooring business. “I’ll pay you back after I finish the job.” He said. I hadn’t heard from him since. That was an awful way to lose $5000, but as my best friends said as least it was only $5000 and at least I hadn’t slept with him. I would have felt even more betrayed then.
“Hey Abby,” Emma knocked on my door before poking her head inside my room. “Isabella is going to come over with a pizza. She wants to know what kind you want?”
“Tell her to surprise us.” I grinned and jumped off of the bed. The stack of letters didn’t even move. It was solid and going nowhere. I glared at it as I walked across the room. “Is Jack coming with her or is it just her?”
“I’m pretty sure she said she wanted a ladies night.” Emma glanced down at her phone. “So it will just be us girls.”
“Sounds good to me.” I grinned. Jack was Isabella’s new boyfriend. He was great, but now that she had moved out of the apartment we shared, I was happy to have some alone time with her; without him. “Will Chloe be joining us?”
“No, I’m actually not sure what she’s up to tonight.” Emma shook her head as she typed rapidly into her phone. “Okay, I’m going to have a quick shower before she gets here.” She wrinkled her nose and sniffed herself. “I went for a run this afternoon and I’m stinky.”
“You’re not stinky.” I laughed. “Next time let me know when you’re going on a run and I will join you.”
“Sure thing.” She grinned and I laughed slightly as we both knew that I had no intentions of running with her. I hated running. I’d tried one through Central Park and had ended up running out of breath after five minutes. I’d collapsed onto the ground after ten minutes and I still hadn’t gotten over the shame. My body was not made for running. Not at all.
***
"Hey, Isabella." I jumped up as soon as I saw my best friend entering the living room wearing a summery yellow dress and white wedges. She looked beautiful and happy and I "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."
"You haven't seen me in two days, Abby," she grinned, walking over to me and giving me a hug. She smelled like peonies and I wondered if her new scent was a gift from her new boyfriend.
"Well, it feels like ages."
"I know. I missed you too." She stepped back and I noticed that she had a glow to her that I’d never seen before. I guess that’s what happened when you found love.
"So how's it going with you and Jack?"
"Would you hate me if I said it was going absolutely fantastic?" She grinned at me and I shook my head.
"No," I laughed, though I was slightly envious. Her boyfriend was absolutely gorgeous. He was a famous NFL player. He was a billionaire. He was handsome. He was hot. And he loved her. I mean, what more could you wish for than that? And, to top it off, I was the one that set them up. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't be together which, if I did have to say, made me very proud of myself. I mean, maybe in another lifetime I could have been a matchmaker or something.
"So, are you excited for the new job?" Isabella asked me and I nodded slightly.
"Yeah, tomorrow's the big day. I can't believe I’m finally starting."
"You must be absolutely excited," Emma said with just a tinge of jealousy in her voice, "You're going to be making so much money."
"I mean, it's good money for sure, but it's going to be a lot of work. I'm almost positive. I mean, I'm working for Dylan McAllister. I've heard he's absolutely crazy to work for."
"Those are most probably just rumors," Isabella said. "I mean, he can't be that horrible, right?"
"I mean, I don't know," I laughed. "I've never been a secretary before and I don’t even know if he does or doesn't know this. I don't know how he’s going to feel about me learning on the job." I shrugged, trying to play off my nervousness. "I mean, I went through the employment agency. It's not like I lied. I told them that I have been a PA before."
"Weren't you a PA for your uncle?" Isabella said with a small smile. “For like a month?”
"Yeah but..."
"But what?" Emma said. "That's a slight stretch, right?"
"It's not a stretch. I was a PA for one summer, it was like three months."
"And you told the employment company this?"
"Well, maybe I didn't tell them it was for one summer." I laughed. "But I didn't say that I have any skills that I don't have. To be honest, I got the feeling that they were desperate for applicants."
"That's not a good sign," Isabella said, laughing.
"No, it's not. I don't want to think about why they settled for me as the secretary to a billionaire at a multi-billion dollar company, and I don't have that much experience, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. I was just doing my finances and those interest rates are killing me. I'm paying so much money each month on these loans and the balance just doesn't seem to be going down."
"Yup, it's going all to interest," Emma nodded. "You gotta make some huge payments to start getting the principal down."
"I know that now. I loved my time at Columbia, but man." I made a face.
"I feel ya," Chloe said.
"Me too," Isabella nodded. We all looked at her and she shrugged. "What? It's true. I've got loans to repay as well."
"But you're also dating a billionaire."
"It's not like I'm going to ask him to pay off my loans."
"Girl, I bet you don't even have to ask him. I bet he'd do it as a six-months anniversary gift or something."
"Maybe," she grinned.
"Oh my gosh, he hasn't done it already has he?"
"We haven't been together for six months yet." She laughed. “So no, I won’t let him pay it off.”
"So he's already brought it up?"
"Yeah, he's generous, but you know I'm not going to just have him paying off my stuff. I'm not in the relationship because he's rich."
"I know," I sighed, "and that's why he loves you. Because you truly aren't with him because of what we can do for you."
"I'm truly not. I love him for who he is and he just so happens to be rich as well."
"I know." I laughed. "So I have a couple of different outfits that I'm thinking about wearing tomorrow. You guys will have to tell me which one you think looks the best."
"Ooh, I can't wait. And where's the pizza, Isabella. I'm hungry."
"I ordered it. It should be here any minute now."
"What did you get?" I said, excitedly.
"I got anchovies and pineapple."
"Anchovies and pineapple?" Emma made a face. "That sounds absolutely disgusting."
"Well, I heard it's meant to be really good. And you know how much Abby loves trying new pizzas."
"Yes we do," Emma said, and grinned.
It was well known among my friends that I was an adventurous eater. I always liked to try new things, especially on pizza. I love to try different topping combinations, even if they sound gross. I guess I was just adventurous like that.
"Okay. So I'm excited. I guess I'll try on the first outfit and you guys can tell me what you think."
"Sounds good," Isabella said. "And I have a bottle of wine. Actually, Jack sent it over. He sends his regards."
"He is too sweet." I grinned at her. "Ugh, maybe I should have set him up with myself."
"Maybe you should have." She laughed. "I bet you regret it huh?"
"No way." I laughed. "He was made for you. We all can see that."
"Yeah. You guys are perfect together," Emma said. "Chloe and I were talking about it and you've actually made us believe in love again."
"No way." Isabella blushed, but I could tell she was happy.
None of us had ever expected to really and truly meet the loves of our lives. Yeah we'd always talked about it, but I think at some point we'd always figured we'd just date around and continue living with each other and complaining about men. But when Isabella had met Jack and it worked out, it had given all of us hope and even I was secretly hoping that I'd meet someone. The one good thing about Isabella moving out was that we all had our own bedrooms now. We'd been four girls in a three bedroom apartment, but now we each had a bedroom. So now we could invite people over to hang out without it being awkward.
"So," I jumped up, "Hold on, guys. Let me go and try on my first outfit." I ran to my bedroom excitedly. I like to look good. I like to wear clothes that flatter me. At five foot five, I wasn't very tall, and at 160 pounds, I was a little bit, shall we say, curvy? I loved my body, but I knew I couldn't get away with this sort of outfits that really skinny girls could get away with. I had boobs and I had a waist and I had hips for days and I had long legs and thicker thighs. So I wasn't really comfortable wearing really tight clothes because they emphasize my large butt too much and I wasn't really comfortable wearing short skirts because, well, I didn't want to show too much leg. And I was going to be working at a Fortune 500 corporation and I was pretty sure that HR would frown upon me looking too sexy. I grabbed the first suit that I'd gotten at Nordstrom's and grinned at myself. I looked sexy, hot, yet very, very intelligent.
I heard my phone beeping as I put on the outfit and I grabbed it as I walked back into the living room. "So what do you guys think about this?"
Isabella whistled as I walked into the living room. "Girl, are you going to the catwalk or what?"
"You're not going to an office, are you?" Emma said with a laugh. "Just wait till Chloe sees you. You look amazing."
"You don't think I look too amazing?"
"I mean, it's sexy, but it's not overly sexy. It's not something you'd wear to the club." Isabella shrugged. "I think it's fine."
"Me too, girl. You look hot."
"Hold on," I said, as I looked at my phone. "I've got a text message from the HR department. They said to check my email."
"Uh oh," Isabella said and frowned. "I hope that's not something bad."
"Me too. I hope they haven't delayed my start date again. It's so annoying."
"Why did they delay it the first time again?" Emma said.
"I don't know, something about him being on a business trip and he didn't like his new secretary to start while he wasn't in the office. I'm not really sure. It didn't really make sense to me, but I'm gathering by the way everything is run, that he's super OCD and type A."
"Oh, I can't stand type A bosses," Emma said.
"Me neither, but for this amount of money, I guess I can put up with it."
"True that," Isabella laughed.
I opened the email and read it quickly. "Okay, so they sent me an attachment of files. There's some tips and pointers from the previous secretaries that worked for him, I guess to help me."
"Oh, that's weird," Emma said. "I've never heard of that."
"I think it's pretty standard," Isabella said. "So that she knows what projects they were working on and that sort of thing."
"True. True," Emma said. "So what do they have to say?"
I opened it and frowned. "Okay guys, this is a little bit weird."
"Why?" Isabella said, and they all came and huddled around me.
"So the first attachment is things to be wary of working for Dylan McAllister."
"Huh?" Isabella's eyebrows rose. "Okay, so maybe that doesn't sound so good. What does it say?"
"First thing first it says, “dress like a mousy librarian. Trust me, you do not want him to be on you about your attire.” What the hell does that mean?"
"I think it means you're not going to be able to wear that outfit," Emma said, shaking her head. "Because you don't look anything like a mousy librarian in that sexy get up."
"What else does it say?" Isabella said.
"Okay. It says," I read quickly, "Never be late. Make sure to do everything that he asks of you the first time. Always take his calls, even if it's the middle of the night. Why would he be calling me in the middle of the night? I thought this was a nine to five."
"Uh oh," Emma said.
"What?"
"He sounds like he might be one of those bosses that expects you to be on the clock all the time."
"Yeah," Isabella said. "I bet you that's why he's paying you so much."
"I mean, it's not like he's paying me a hundred grand a month."
"Yeah, girl, but aren't you making like over 10 grand a month or something?"
"Yeah." I nodded. Dang, I could feel myself starting to feel deflated. This already was starting to sound a little bit nerve wracking. I was starting to lose my excitement.
"What else does it say?"
"It says the names of some coffee shops where he likes to get his coffee. A bakery where to pick up his croissants. To pick up his croissants? What?" I stared at my two friends. "Is this a joke?"
"It doesn't sound like it, girl. You have heard he's difficult to work for, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm a secretary, not his girl Friday."
"I don't know about that." Isabella shook her head. "But just think, you'll be able to pay off your student loans faster, right?"
"Yeah. And I mean, I guess I can live with these rules as long as he's nice and he's friendly and we get on well, plus I've seen photos of him online and he looks gorgeous. So he can't be that bad, right?"
"Hopefully," Isabella said with a shrug. "Good luck girl."
"Thanks." I nodded. "I think I'm going to need it." I quickly closed my email and then looked down at my sexy attire. "Okay, back to the drawing board," I said. "I need to figure out an outfit that is going to fit the mousy librarian description because this sure isn't it."
"You can do it, girl. And why don't you wear your glasses as well?" Emma interjected. "I mean, I know you prefer to wear your contacts, but nothing says mousy librarian like glasses."
"Yeah." Isabella nodded. "And maybe put your hair up in a bun."
"Glasses and a bun? And I guess no heels, huh? I'll wear my sandals."
"You can't wear sandals to work."
"True. I guess I'll wear flats."
"Yeah, wear those ugly ones that you got the other day."
"What ugly ones?" I glared at her.
"You know, the ones that your mom gave you."
"Oh yeah. The Doctor Scholl's?"
"Yeah, them."
"I guess so." I made a face. "All of a sudden, I'm not feeling that excited about this job guys."
"It'll be okay, Abby," they said in chorus, but I could tell from the expression on their faces that they didn’t believe what they were saying.
Chapter Two
Abby
“Ugh...who the hell is calling me?” I groaned as I reached for my ringing phone. I glanced at the time. It was 6:02AM. What the hell? “Hello?” I said, yawning, about to go off on my random caller.
“Is this Abby Waldron?” A deep voice asked me with a slight attitude.
“Yeah, who is this?” I leaned back in my pillow wondering if I would be able to fall back asleep. I’d set my alarm for 7am, so it didn’t really leave me much time to get some more beauty sleep in.
“This is your worst nightmare, Ms. Waldron.”
“What?” I said up then, my eyes flying open. “Is this some sort of prank? Who is this?”
“This is your boss, Mr. Mccalister and your first day is already off to a bad start.”
“Uhm what?” I rubbed my eyes in confusion. “Isabella, are you on the call? Is this a prank? Are you using one of those weird voice changers.”
“I don’t know who Isabella is and no, Ms. Waldron, this is not a prank. This is your boss.”
“Uhm, it’s 6am. I’m not sure why you’re calling me.” I was flustered now. I didn’t think it was a prank.
“It’s actually 6:05 now.” He sounded pissed. “You were supposed to call to wake me up at 6.”
“What?” I blinked. What the hell was he talking about?
“Your first duty of the work day is to wake me up at 6am. And you’ve failed.”
“I didn’t even know.”
“Didn’t you receive your first day packet?” He sounded angry and I wondered what his problem was. He should have been congratulating me on taking the job. Instead of berating me, he should have been sending me roses or sunflowers or a first day muffin basket ot something.
“Uhm, no...wait, maybe.” I sighed. “I did receive an email last night.” I hadn’t read past the first attachment as I’d been so focused on my first day outfit. Shit! “But I mean, what’s the issue? You obviously already woke up without me.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean you’re obviously already up. You woke me up. And I didn’t ask for a wake up call.”
“You’re supposed to call me to wake me up and fill me in on all my appointments for the day.”
“Every day?” I muffled a groan. Okay, it was official. This job was going to suck.
“What part of your job description and schedule did you not understand?”
“Uhm, I don’t believe I received an accurate schedule or I would have been on top of it, Dylan.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said, I don’t believe...”
“It’s Mr. Mccalister,” He cut me off. “Make sure you’re in the office by 7 with my coffee and croissant.”
“But it’s 6:10 now, I don’t even...” I paused as I realized he’d already hung up. Jerk! Dylan Mccalister was a jerk. I hated him and I hated even met him yet. This was not going to be the job of my dreams. I should poison his coffee, but then he’d most probably make me taste test it first and then I’d just kill myself. I let out a small scream into my pillow before rolling out of bed. I grabbed my phone and searched for the email I’d received the night before. If I was going to get his coffee and croissant I had to know exactly what he wanted. I frowned as I looked at the addresses of the two stores. They were at least 45 minutes apart. The croissant place was in the Upper West Side and the coffee shop was close to Wall Street, which was close to the office, but how the hell was I supposed to have a shower, put on my makeup, go uptown and then back downtown and then to the office, all within 45 minutes? It wasn’t going to happen. There was no way that it was possible. Even if I had a helicopter. I headed towards the bathroom and jumped into the shower. Not that I would be able to enjoy it, I literally had time for a lick and a scrub before I had to get out.
By the time I made it out of the apartment in my long navy skirt and loose white blouse, I had 20 minutes left to get to the office and get my new bosses coffee and croissant. I couldn’t believe this was part of my job description. Couldn’t he get his own coffee? As I walked down the street to the subway, I observed my reflection in one of the store windows. I looked frumpy and dowdy. My hair was piled on the top of my head in a tight bun, my glasses were thick, and I had on minimal makeup. My outfit looked almost Victorian and there was no fashion runway anywhere in the world that would allow me to strut my stuff in my outfit. I sighed as I looked at my phone. I had no time to get the coffee or the croissant. I was about to cross the street when I saw a halal food cart open on the corner. I hurried over and pulled out my wallet. I frowned as I took out a $20 note. How was I going to be getting paid back for all these coffees and croissants. He wasn’t paying me enough to buy all of his meals.
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