Re: The Assistant

Chapter 3

The afternoon meeting had commenced and I managed to give Roman the best 5 minute briefing I could after studying the 25 pages on the car ride there. As per usual my efforts deemed pointless as he responded with a nod rather than a question or clarification.

Days later I found a muffin basket with a nice little card from Katz thanking me for my sacrifices and hard work. I'd been the only person able to get signed paperwork back from Roman Madden and I'd done it in under 24 hours. It's the achievement of a lifetime.

Roman lingered around the office as Katz constantly called him in for revisions. I noticed them talking at the end of the hall. Well, Katz was talking, Roman was severely disinterested and had spent the last 5 minutes eyeing me from across the room. If he'd known those papers meant coming into the office for frequent meetings he probably would have never signed.

I shifted in my chair as he approached, tall and intimidating. He stopped in front of my office space with a satisfied smile. "What's all this for?"

Was it so hard to believe that I was being appreciated in my work place?

"Just for being perfect, I also got the weekend off." I pushed the basket closer to him, offering him a muffin of his choice. His stern green eyes perused the muffins and instead he plucked the card out to read.

The expression on his face grew rather amused as he read the card. I could only imagine what he was thinking since it quite literally said,

Daisy,
Thank you for putting up with Madden long enough to get his paperwork filed. You are an Angel to this company.

He let out a snicker before sliding the card back to me, "what's this myth everyone has around here about me being so difficult?"

For the sake of the future of this project I refrained from diving too deep into the subject.

"You look nice today."
"I- thank you" I stutter, "you look very nice today too."

Roman responded to my compliment with a small smile. One interaction with Madden was enough for me to fully read his behavior by now, he wasn't flirting, he was setting me up. I don't know how or when but it will surely come.

"So a weekend off, sounds pretty thrilling." He offered me a charmingly sarcastic smile, which I'm sure worked on many girls in the past.

Roman Madden sent off every red flag on my damaged girl radar. Sure he was very attractive, muscles in the right places. But he might as well hold a giant sign that that says stay away if you look for commitment or a conversation longer than 5 minutes.

Id explained I didn't have many plans besides catching up on the work I hadn't had the time to even think about yet.

"Alright well don't have too much fun, I've gotta get back to these revisions. Someone's gotta keep the muffin baskets coming."

The following night, Friday, my first day off of the weekend. I'd been curled up on my sofa for hours working on my English paper going through several cups on coffee.

With every word I typed I felt my soul being drained out of my body and placed on the page. I'd often find myself tossing my head back against the cushions to feel the sensation of resting for just a few seconds before picking back up.

I'd decided on turning in the paper without proofreading at all. Proofreading meant spending the exact amount of time I spent writing this, rewriting it over again. And what does proofreading say about me anyway? Am I not confident enough in my work to just submit it as is.

And with a couple clicks of the keyboard the paper was emailed over and I finally could set my laptop aside and stretch.

I paced around the room, stretched my arms out, cracked my neck. The energy of a successful woman, nothing can stop me.