A Workplace Affair (3 page)

“Robert,” He pauses having a seemingly hard time remember what he wanted. “I’m sorry, I’m interrupting.” He turns to leave the room but Mr. Marks stops him.

“We were just finishing up. Leland, this is my secretary, Victoria Bryant.” At the introduction I extend my hand to shake his, he lightly grazes my palm as he pulls his hand back. The electricity that runs up my arm surprises me and I pull my hand back a little too quickly. He’s a lot more handsome than the women give him credit for.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Bryant.” His smile is warm, his eyes bright as he holds my gaze. Embarrassed by the flush that rushes to my cheeks, I quickly turn back to Mr. Marks. Trying to sound normal, but sure they can hear the nerves that have entered my voice I excuse myself.

“I’ll leave you to it, gentlemen.” I rise to leave and feel the same electricity run through me as I brush passed Mr. Ambrose. Damn, I need to get out of here. Never in my life did I expect to be so attracted to someone who, by all accounts, is a playboy. I usually have no reaction to those types of men, even when they are drop dead gorgeous, not that they ever pay me any attention.

Chapter 5

The office seems to be abuzz as I get off the elevator, must be the anticipation of the big boss’s arrival. Chuckling to myself, I make my way back to the boardroom, I really should have left earlier, but I had no way of knowing that it would take me fifteen minutes to make it four blocks. Damn Atlanta traffic was hell. Coming around the corner I can see the boardroom full of waiting executives and employees. It’s like a high knowing how nervous some of them were to meet the boss. As I enter the room I scan the faces, faces that keep this office going, and ensure its success. There are a few people I recognize, some have made the transfer from New York to Atlanta when we decided to open up this branch.

As I finish scanning the faces, I see her, the sexy brunette from Friday night. At least I think it is her. This woman definitely looks different in her gray suit, and glasses, and hair pulled tightly up, but I am almost certain it is her. She smiles at me, and I think for a moment she may recognize me, but I don’t remember her ever looking at me at the bar. I shake my head to clear it and continue to my seat. Robert Marks is the first to stand, and he’s so close to this woman that I can’t help but look at her. She avoids eye contact and I think I can see a blush come to her cheeks. My gaze continues to drift back to her during the two-hour meeting, each time I have to pull my focus back to the person speaking. I will find out who she is, and if she’s the same woman I saw at the bar.

Ten minutes is all it takes me to discover that the brunette in the meeting is Robert’s secretary, and another fifteen to break away and go in search of her. She’s not at her desk when I arrive, so I knock on Robert’s office door, prepared to catch up with him until her return. At his response, I push open the door and stop dead. Despite the tight bun, and boring suit, she’s just as beautiful as I remember.

“Robert,” this is definitely the woman from Friday night. “I’m sorry, I’m interrupting.” I make to leave the room knowing my old friend will stop me.

“We were just finishing up. Leland, this is my secretary, Victoria Bryant.” I take the hand she extends to me and enjoy the flash of electricity I feel as I pull away. This should prove to be an interesting visit to Atlanta.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Bryant.” I smile, remembering how cute she looked when she was embarrassed, much like she looked now. I hold her gaze for a moment knowing, maybe hoping, it’s because of me that she’s embarrassed, and watch as the flush builds in her cheeks. She quickly looks away from me back to Robert.

“I’ll leave you to it, gentlemen.” Her voice is a little shaky as she speaks. When she rises to leave and I shift slightly, making sure she has to touch me as she passes. My hand still tingles where her skin had touched mine.

“Hired you some eye candy, huh old man?” I smile at him wickedly as I sit across from him; the chair is still warm from where she sat. Robert chuckles and sits back in his chair.

“Eh, she does a good job, so I keep her around.” At 58, Robert is old enough to be my dad. In fact that’s how I met him, through my dad. When I started working for my dad at 20, Robert was the one who taught me what I needed to know, the things textbooks couldn’t teach me. If it wasn’t for him I never would have taken the risk of opening my own business four years later. Now, ten years later, he runs the southern division of United Real Estate Investments.

“How have you been? I’m so sorry about your divorce.” Pain flashes on his face for an instance and then quickly disappears.

“It was only 30 years,” he says like it’s nothing, “I’ve been doing ok, and things are finally starting to get easier.”

“I’m glad to hear it, old friend.” We catch up for a little longer with him giving me hell about my most recent failed relationship. I glance at my watch and realize we’ve been talking for an hour.

“I’m sure you have work to do, Leland. Why don’t we get together before you leave Atlanta and have a few drinks.” I wasn’t trying to be rude by looking at my watch, but my old friend understands my position.

“The first round is on me.” Robert treats me to a rare father-like hug before I go. Leaving his office, I’m disappointed to find Victoria is not at her desk. I sit down and write a message for her on her notepad,
It was very nice meeting you today, please stop by my office before you leave for the day. -Leland Ambrose
. Satisfied, I make my way to my office on the other side of the building to wait.

Chapter 6

Returning from lunch I have a full stomach and a huge smile on my face, Sage always seems to have that effect on me. Of course, my smile may also have something to do with the tiramisu I had at her bakery. Sage is the best baker in Atlanta, in my opinion, and she owns a small shop just off of Peachtree Street. I always seem to be her guinea pig for new recipes, it’s no small feat staying my size when I have Sage’s awesome desserts all the time. I slide my cupcakes, which Sage insisted I take before they go bad, into my desk drawer and almost miss seeing the note written on my notepad. Mr. Ambrose wants to see me before I leave for the day. Crap, this can’t be good. I’m still buzzing from the electricity I felt before. I’m not sure how I’ll handle being alone in his office. I still have some filing to do and I need to type up my notes from the meeting, so I occupy myself with those things until 4:30 rolls around. Hoping whatever he needs won’t take more than half an hour, but wanting to give him the respect of arriving early. I shut down my computer, and point myself in the direction of his office.

The girl outside his office doesn’t even notice when I walk up, she’s clearly a temp bored with the job. “Excuse me,” even at direct contact she barely acknowledges me, “I’m here to see Mr. Ambrose, he’s expecting me.” She plasters on a fake smile and adjusts herself in her chair.

“What’s your name?” She asks in a voice only a mother could love. It’s a wonder they didn’t have her vocal chords clipped like they do for dogs that won’t stop barking. Choking back laughter, more out of nervousness than malice, I answer her, “Victoria Bryant.” I wait a moment while she picks up her phone to let him know I’m here. With a jerk of her head she signals me to go in.

“Will you tell him I’m leaving for the day?” Without waiting for me to respond she picks up her purse and walks away, leaving her computer on for anyone to access. I take a moment to shut it down before going through the door. Stalling at its finest.

Inside, his office is different from the other executive offices. While the other offices are drab with their white walls and metal filing cabinets, this office is done in a slate blue with a large mahogany desk and filing cabinets that match. The expanse between the door and his desk is occupied by a brown leather sofa across from two brown leather armchairs with a low mahogany coffee table between them. The wall behind his desk is made entirely of windows treating all who enter with a breathtaking view of the city and all its busy energy.

“Victoria, I’m glad to see you got my note. Please have a seat.” As I enter, he comes around his desk to greet me, motioning for me to sit on the sofa. I smile, unsure how to feel, and take a seat as requested. He sits in the chair directly across from me, propping the ankle of one lean leg on the knee of the other. “I’m sure you’re curious why I asked you to come see me,” it’s more a statement than a question so I allow him to continue. “I have a slight problem and I need your help.”

“What can I possibly help you with, Mr. Ambrose?” I look at him questioning, searching for a sense of what kind of man he is. Remembering the way he kept looking at me in the meeting, part of me, the inappropriate part, is hoping it’s something slightly unprofessional.

“I need a secretary. Amber is, well to be honest, she is underwhelming when it comes to her enthusiasm and job performance.” I smile; anyone could see that she didn’t want to be here.

“Of course. I’ll look through some applications and have a couple of them come in tomorrow to interview with you.”

“I am quite capable of doing that myself,” he lets out a whoop of laughter, confusing me.

“But you said you needed a new secretary.”

“Yes, I did, but I don’t need you to hire me a new one, I need you to be my secretary.” Sitting back he throws one arm over the back of the chair, waiting. Immediately, a string of very unprofessional thoughts runs through my head. Pushing them aside, I search for a response.

“I, um, I work for Mr. Marks.”

“Yes, I know, but I’ve spoken to him and he’s agreed to allow me to steal you away while I’m here.” He gets a strange look in his eyes when he says he is stealing me away, but it passes quickly. “Don’t worry; your job with him is safe.” I consider for a moment before answering him. Every woman in the office would die for this opportunity, and who better to show my worth to than the boss, right? Plus, he is nice to look at.

“When do I start?” The strange look comes back into his eyes at my answer.

“Right now. There is a lot that I need to go over to catch up, get your things and meet me downstairs in five minutes.” I hesitate for a second before seeing myself out; I head to my desk and grab my purse and my cupcakes. Mr. Marks has already left for the day so with nothing else to do I head for the elevator. I remind myself that he is my boss, and that, although he is wildly attractive, nothing can happen between us. If I’m going to prove myself, I have to be completely blind to his looks and charm. He’s not even attracted to me though, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Chapter 7

I am still trying to come up with a way to have Victoria near me when Amber lets me know she’s arrived. The bored tone in her voice gives me an idea, and I send a quick e-mail to Robert as the door to my office opens.

“Victoria, I’m glad to see you got my note. Please have a seat.” I motion for her to sit on the sofa and take a seat in the chair directly across from her. “I’m sure you’re curious why I asked you to come see me. I have a slight problem and I need your help.”

“What can I possibly help you with, Mr. Ambrose?” The innocent inquiring look on her face has me wanting to give her a very different answer, but I force myself to be professional.

“I need a secretary, Amber is, well to be honest, she is underwhelming when it comes to her enthusiasm and job performance.” She smiles in a way that says she agrees.

“Of course, I’ll look through some applications and have a couple of them come in tomorrow to interview with you.”

“I am quite capable of doing that myself.” I can’t help but laugh that she would think I would delegate such a task to her when I could ask human resources to do it.

“But you said you needed a new secretary.”

“Yes, I did, but I don’t need you to hire me a new one, I need you to be my secretary.” It takes her a moment to respond, which has me nervous, I have no back-up plan if she turns me down.

“I, um, I work for Mr. Marks.”

“Yes, I know, but I’ve spoken to him,” technically I sent him an e-mail, but it’s almost the same thing, “and he’s agreed to allow me to steal you away while I’m here. Don’t worry; your job with him is safe.” I’ll make sure of it.

“When do I start?”

“Right now. There is a lot that I need to go over to catch up, get your things and meet me downstairs in five minutes.”

When Victoria leaves my office I am certain of one thing, I will not be able to hide my attraction to her for very long. Just being so close to her was intoxicating and I am starting to lose grip of my professionalism. I take a moment to check my e-mail and find a response from Robert.

There is no need to demand, Leland, if you want her as your secretary, she’s yours. I have already arranged for a replacement to be here tomorrow. Here’s a piece of advice from someone who knows you, be careful, and remember that you’re going back to New York in a few months. -Robert Marks.
His corporate signature at the end makes me laugh. Shutting down my computer, I head downstairs to meet Victoria.

Chapter 8

When Leland, he asked me to call him by his first name, told me to meet him downstairs, I had no idea what to expect. I certainly didn’t expect to end up in his hotel room eating gourmet room service and drinking wine. But as I sipped my wine and tasted what Leland described as the “best fish he’d ever eaten” I have to admit that I am enjoying myself. Who knew that working late could be so relaxing!

We’d stopped working a couple hours ago, but with the wine and the food I barely noticed. Everything I’d heard about Leland seemed to be false. In stark contrast to the uptight, control freak everyone described, I was seeing a man who was easy going and relaxed. When it came time to order dinner he left the decisions up to me, but when I only ordered one meal for each of us he slyly ordered four more. He insisted that the chef at Prestige Atlanta was one of the best in the country, if not the world. I don’t really know enough about gourmet food to know if he’s right, but everything I sampled seemed to sing on my tongue. The various wines paired with each dish brought out a myriad of flavors enhancing each one.