The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 6

She finally reached the elevator after what seemed like ages, enough time for her to reconsider, change her mind, abandon the plan, take it back up, and promise to see it through. She would see this through. She pressed the up button, startling slightly at the unnecessary volume and pitch of the trademark elevator ding, and listened quietly to the muted beeps that indicated its impending approach. She checked her phone again to discover that less than 6 minutes had passed and she sighed, feeling embarrassingly early. FES had debated the topic hotly that morning, with Andy and Jack agreeing that an earlier appearance simply indicates a more passionate commitment, but Kat had found herself agreeing more with Emma, Conner, and Brent; showing up too early was almost desperate. "Kiss ass," Brent had called it, and Andy had silenced Conner's chortles with a stare. "That's what we need to be, that's what the rich people want, yes men. We need to be kiss ass," she persuaded convincingly. "So we can kick ass!" chimed in Emma, and Kat had laughed despite her ever building nerves.

The doors to the elevator whooshed open silently and Kat stepped inside, noting right away the sharp, lemony smell of the wood and gold interior. The carpets were red and each wall was mirrored so that when Kat turned this way and that she was greeted by another angle of her reflection. She pressed the button for the 31st floor, waited for the doors to slide closed, then turned towards the mirror nearest to her, taking herself in one last time.

There was a small, cracked mirror in the bathroom of the den, but she'd barely used it since she'd been there, the extent of her daily beauty routine being a shower, brushing her teeth, and running a comb through her wavy hair before tossing it into a bun or ponytail. Emma no longer wore makeup and Andy never had, so the only bit they'd been able to produce was an old tube of red lipstick from Emma's high school days. Kat inspected herself, barely recognizing the comparatively polished career woman staring back at her. On top of swapping out her unusual t-shirt and shorts for a skirted suit and button up, she wore thin black flats and her legs were outfitted in pantyhose, a clothing item so wasteful Andy nearly gagged when Emma reminded her they'd need them. Kat's dark brown hair was slicked back into a low bun, not a curl out of place, and the clear, smooth skin of her cheeks was rouged lightly with the same tube of lipstick that graced her lips, giving her a healthy, sunkissed glow. The collar of the suit's blazer rose high on her thin neck, and she fiddled with it absentmindedly, preoccupied with mentally reviewing the answers to the interview questions she and Andy had been prepping since they got the email a week and a half ago. Kat took a deep breath to steady herself, repeating the words Andy had said to her as a makeshift mantra. No nerves, no nerves, no nerves.

Kat always had nerves in some form or another, some trepidation, some fear, some preoccupation, some anxiety. She wasn't sure where it came from and she wished desperately to be more like Andy, to be brave, unyielding in the face of difficulty. Andy's voice never wavered, her countenance never cracked, and she knew that they both secretly wished that Andy could take this interview, act as Kat, and secure the role in a way only she could, through guile and fakery. They were both well aware that wasn't an option, well aware that a company like Tilliburton would be stringent about its background checks and references. Kat was the only member of FES that could pull this off, and as unprepared as she felt, she had no choice. The elevator continued to rise, dinging more softly as it passed each floor, and came to a smooth stop that made Kat's stomach drop nonetheless. The doors opened to reveal a lobby very similar to the cavernous one downstairs, the much smaller space decorated in the same techno modern design. A single woman sat typing at the long, slim silver desk directly across from the elevator doors and Kat swallowed hard and walked towards her, her flat shoes making near inaudible pocks on the black marble floor.

She swallowed again before opening her mouth to speak, then snapped it shut instantly as the woman held up a finger without looking up from her keyboard. Kat bit her lip, willing her ears not to redden as the woman's clacking finally slowed to a still.

"Yes?" She asked, emulating the exact same level of boredom as the women who'd greeted her downstairs.

"I'm here for an interview?" stammered Kat hesitantly. "I'm here for an interview," She repeated a bit more firmly, feeling the heat begin to spread to her face despite her best efforts.

"Ok?" said the woman, as if the request not only had nothing to do with her but was also slightly offensive.

"Where should I go?" asks Kat meekly.

"Sit," the woman replies, gesturing to the clusters of chairs around the lobby. "I'll tell them you're here, They'll call me."

Kat sits and checks her phone, realizing the woman's attitude may have been because she was expecting a later arrival. She fiddles with her cuticles as the woman resumes her typing, settling in for a long wait. The phone rang, cutting through the silence and starling Kat so much she almost yelped, and the woman nearly dove at it in her urgency to answer, an expression on her face that Kat could've sworn was fear.

"Yes Ms. Allister," she said after a moment. "Of course. Thank you," she finished a bit too quickly, almost as an afterthought, and Kat shrank back in her seat.

"She's ready for you," said the woman, standing from her slim backed chair. "Down that hallway, to the right, office 3124."

Kat was frozen in place for a moment, her stomach ache intensifying. She was expecting to have to have a few seconds to collect her thoughts, her scheduled interview wasn't for at least another 20 minutes, but she snapped out of her paralysis and stood, smoothing down her skirt as she did so. Down the hall, to the right. Kat gave the woman at the desk a weak smile, her mouth suddenly feeling too dry to form the words 'thank you', and she set off quickly down the hall, her heart pounding with each step. When she reached the office marked 3124, the name Courtney Allister embossed in gold letters on a plaque beneath it, she knocked lightly, sweat beginning to dampen her hands.

"Come in" a loud voice called, surprisingly Kat with the clarity of its volume despite the solid wooden door between them. Kat opened the door to reveal a decent sized office with a large window directly behind the desk, sunlight streaming in. The Tillibenton headquarters were some of the most enviable commercial real estate in the city, and the views it boasted of the gorgeous Crofton Lake from nearly every window was more than half the location's charm.

Everything fell away for a moment and Kat felt instantly stilled, her heart quieted by the view of one of her favorite places in the entire world. She and her mother had spent countless summer days at the lake for as long as she could remember, her mother rushing into the surf while Kat inspected the rocky shore, searching for fossils and the elusive sand dollars she was sure she could find despite her mothers explanations on the whereabouts of their natural habitat. She'd rescued wayward crawfish, watched baby turtles swim in lazy little circles, and pocketed enough frogs to make her mother begin to pat her down before they began their walk home. The lake was an oasis in the city, a whole different world in an area so industrialized and far removed from nature it may well have never been a part of it in the first place. It was surrounded by a patch of small forest that was protected under a regional ordinance, but despite that protection developers still encroached. For now, the land was as it had always been and was still free for all, still a place Kat couldn't go more than a week without visiting. Her childhood lake trips had sown the seed for her love of nature, and eventually for her desire to protect it. She was reminded of all that as she gazed behind the figure sitting at the desk, and almost felt as if she could feel the calming, cool breeze of fresh wind over the lake, even from here.

She dropped her eyes to the woman sitting in the chair and smiled.

"Hello," She said in a tone far more measured than she could've hoped for. "I'm Kat Prinella, I'm here to interview for the c-suite executive assistant position." C-suite, that had been a buzzword she and Andy had looked up, trying to find and memorize as much meaningless corporate jargon as possible in order to make a good impression.

"Yes," said the woman, flipping through a stack of papers on her desk "Yes, have a seat."