"What are you looking at?" I snap at him.
He scratches the back of his head as he looks away. "I'm sorry, sir. I..."
"Didn't anyone teach you to knock?"
"Yes, sir. I just - I didn't mean to come in, sir. I was just passing by and I heard a noise so I thought - "
"Get out!"
He scrambles out the door, leaving it open. I sink into my chair and let out a sigh. As my temper simmers away, I can feel exhaustion setting in.
I really should tell Stella to cut down the number of my meetings and appointments. I know I've only just started out as CEO and I have a heap of expectations to live up to, but at this rate I'm going to get burned out before I accomplish anything.
A few seconds later, she enters the room. Her eyes meet mine briefly but she doesn't utter a word. She just kneels on the carpet and starts picking up the sheets of paper.
I watch her, wondering what thoughts are bouncing inside that head of hers. I got a chance to read her file, so I know a bit more about her now. She's ten years younger than I am, she has no siblings, and her first job was at a library. Even so, I still feel like I don't know her.
I tap my fingers on the table. "Shouldn't you have left by now?"
"I had some things I needed to finish," Stella answers without looking up.
Right. She's just as busy as I am, maybe more. These past few days, she always seems to be on the phone or typing away on her laptop, sometimes both at the same time. And yet I've never seen her frantic or frazzled. Her desk is always neat. Every strand of her hair remains in place. Her shoulders are always straight. I've even caught her smiling several times. And here I thought she'd be gone by now, or at least have broken down in tears a few times.
I hate to say it, but she's doing better at her new job than I am at mine.
"How do you do it?" I ask her. "Do so much without complaining?"
"Complaining isn't going to make things easier, is it?" she says. "Same as yelling at people who didn't do anything wrong."
She heard that?
"He entered the room without knocking. You know that's not allowed."
"The red light was off," she points out. That indicates there's no meeting in session. "Also, Jim was just concerned. That noise really was loud."
"Jim?"
Stella looks up. "I've memorized the names of most of the employees on this floor. I think it's important to know who you're working with, even those who clean the toilets and empty out the trash."
I can't say I've bothered. In fact, Stella is the only employee on this floor I can name.
I lean forward and rest my arms on the table. "You think I'm a horrible boss, don't you?"
"No," she answers. "But I think you're losing sight of what's important. You're the leader of this company now. You're busy trying to earn the praises of a few people who don't care about this company while you should be earning the respect of the people who do care about this company. Your people."
"What do you want me to do? Give everyone a raise? A monthly vacation? Go to every floor to greet everyone every morning?"
"Just try not to look like you're in a bad mood all the time. And don't yell."
I constantly seem to be in a bad mood? I wasn't aware of that.
"And don't be afraid to make small talk, even if it's just in the elevator or in the hallway. Even just a few sentences."
"So you think I should be nicer?" I ask.
"I think you shouldn't be too serious," Stella replies. "Maybe if you didn't put so much pressure on yourself, you wouldn't feel the need to, um, decompress so often."
Wow. I didn't realize she had such interesting ideas.
"And don't let pricks like Cripshaw get to you," she adds. "You know more about business than he does, so if he doesn't want to push through with the deal he signed with your father, that's his loss. Tell him that."
I grin. That's an idea I can definitely get on board with.
Stella's incredible. Just by pointing out a few things, she's made me feel better. I'm not exasperated anymore. Or exhausted. I get out of my chair and help her pick up the rest of the papers.
"So, have you settled into your new apartment?" I ask her.
She looks puzzled by the change in topic.
"Small talk," I explain. "You said I should do it. I thought I'd start with you."
"Oh."
She tries to stand so I help her to her feet before handing her the other papers. She hugs them to her chest.
"I haven't unpacked everything, actually," she says. "And I still need a few more things, but yeah, it's starting to feel like home."
"How are you finding Chicago?"
"Drier," she answers with a chuckle.
I grin.
Stella falls silent, pursing her lips. I realize she's back to being shy again. Hopefully, as time passes, she'll be less so.
"Go home and get some rest," I tell her. "We still have one more day to go before we call it a week."
"Yes, sir." She turns around.
"Oh, and maybe make it a maximum of three meetings a day starting next week," I suggest. "Like you said. Less pressure."
Stella nods. "Okay."
"Good night."
"Good night."
She gives me a final smile over her shoulder before walking off. I find myself smiling, too, as I cross my arms over my chest.
And aching. I've never had a woman tell me what I should do like Stella just did. And it's hot. I just want to drag her back here, push her down on top of this table, let her tell me everything she wants me to do with her, do it, and then bury myself inside her until I've got nothing left.
But no.
As amazing as Stella is, she is my assistant, my employee. Maybe my most valuable employee at the moment. I can't mess with that. I can't break the rules and jeopardize both our careers.
It's tempting, but I can't. So I'll just wrap this desire in a pretty parcel and throw it inside a pit in the back of my mind where I hope it will eventually get buried and disintegrate into nothing.
I'm the boss and Stella is my trusted employee. That's all there is between us.
That's all there ever will be.
Check Out the Rest of Billionaire's Baby Contract Here!
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