The Boss's Favorite (English)

The Meeting

Somewhat annoyed that Mr. Smith just stormed past her without introducing himself, she starts looking through the pile of paperwork. They appear to be requests from CEOs of other companies wanting to schedule a meeting with Mr. Smith. She should schedule the meetings in his agenda. But first she has to give him the espresso, which the gentleman so kindly asked for.

Fortunately, she quickly finds a coffee machine on her floor. She just has to wait until the woman in front of her is ready. The woman turns and smiles kindly at Elena. 'Good morning, you must be the new secretary?! I'm Evi!' Fortunately, there are friendly people here, Elena thinks. She introduces herself with a smile. After chatting for a while, Evi says: 'Oh, it's already ten past eight. Better get the coffee to Mr. Smith quickly, or he'll get really impatient! Oh and if you have any questions, or need anything ,my door is always open for you'.

Elena rushes to Mr. Smith's office. She knocks on the door a bit nervously. 'Come in!' she hears a dark voice. 'You are late!' He snaps at her. "Sorry Mr. Smith, it was busy at the coffee machine." Mr. Smith looks up from his laptop into Elena's eyes. Elena walks over to him and puts the espresso on his desk. "Gosh, so you're the new one?!" Elena sees him looking at her from top to bottom. His gaze lingers on her eyes for a moment. Elena notices that she is getting a bit uncomfortable and lowers her eyes to the ground. 'What's your name?' He mumbles. "Elena sir." "Elena..." he repeats softly. A silence follows shortly. Which is quickly interrupted by Mr. Smith. 'Next time I would like to get my morning coffee at the coffee bar opposite this building. I'll turn a blind eye to it this time. And also that you were late bringing my coffee. But let this be a one-off!'. "Sorry Mr. Smith." Elena turns and notices his eyes following her on the way to the door. As she walks through the door, their eyes meet for a moment. She closes the door with a sigh. Phew, that's quite a personality. But I survived the first meeting, Elena thinks.

Elena is back at her desk, scheduling one appointment after another with Mr. Smith. Every now and then he comes out of his office and occasionally throws a new pile of papers and letters on her desk that need to be scanned.

It's 5:01 PM. Mr. Smith comes out of his office with his briefcase back in his hand. "I'd like my coffee tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp, Elena." He snaps at her. He steps into the elevator and as the door closes he looks intense at Elena.

It's 7:45 am. Elena walks into the coffee shop where Mr. Smith wanted his espresso so badly. At 2 minutes to 8 am, Elena puts the espresso down on Mr. Smith's desk just like she has done the rest of the week. Just as she opens the door to walk out of his office, she bumps into someone hard. 'Damn it.' she hears him curse. She looks up and straight into the eyes of Mr Smith, who towers over her by one and half a head. 'Sorry sir, I'm sorry. I brought you your espresso.' Elena wants to quickly continue walking but feels a hand grab her shoulder firmly and pulls her back, causing her to look straight into Mr. Smith's eyes. 'Today two gentlemen are coming to visit. After half an hour I want you to come in and tell me that we have an emergency meeting that means I have to interrupt the meeting.' Elena and Mr. Smith look intently at each other for a moment, after which Elena turns her eyes to the ground again. “I will Mr. Smith.” And she sits back behind her desk.

It is 12 o'clock. The gentlemen who should be visiting have just arrived half an hour ago, so it is up to Elena to interrupt the meeting with the news that an emergency meeting must take place.
She knocks on the door. When the knocking is answered by Mr Smith she opens the door. "Mr. Smith, I just received a phone call saying a emergency meeting needed to take place as soon as possible." Mr. Smith stands up. 'Sorry gentlemen, unfortunately I have to leave. Hopefully we can continue our meeting at another time.' It even looks like Mr. Smith is giving her a quick wink. But she must have imaginee that. "Elena will reschedule the meeting with you." The men follow Elena and schedule an appointment with her for another time. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith is still in his office. When the men are gone, Mr. Smith walks over to Elena. "And now it is time for our emergency meeting." 'Our?' Elena asks in surprise. 'Yes our. So come in Elena'. Mr. Smith says and nervously Elena walks into his office.

Why would he want to have a consultation with me? Could he already be done with me and want to fire me?
Mr. Smith points to the chair opposite him. Elena sits down somewhat uncertainly. 'You have heard that I have had a lot of other executive secretaries who all wanted to quit.' Mr. Smith begins his story. 'It gives me a bad name in the business world and I can't use someone else resigning quickly. I want to sign a contract with you that you will be employed here permanently for at least two years. As long as you do what I ask of you, I won't be the worst boss. When the two years are over, you get an extra reward for surviving the two years. That is a very nice amount. Then you can leave if you want, and of course, stay longer if you like it on my part.' Mr. Smith pushes the contract to Elena. She opens it and starts reading through it. Not knowing what to say. It takes her by surprise. "Uhm, that's um..." Elena begins. 'Read it through and think about it. If you don't agree, this will be your last day and I will look for someone else. Think about it carefully. I'll give you until 5pm today to make a decision.'

The hours pass by. Elena reads the contract carefully. The points in the contract actually don't seem crazy. Elena must do what Mr. Smith asks of her. She must arrive on time. Basically the standard points you'll find in any contract. The only point is that she must be employed for two years, otherwise she will be fined. Then she must pay back all her earned salary. But if she lasts those two years, she will receive an extra one-off reward of 50,000 dollars. And she can certainly use it. The only point is that any violation or non-compliance that Elena commits will result in a sanction. What the sanction will be will be determined based on the violation and will be matching it. This will be determined by Mr Smith.
Somehow this gives Elena the creeps.

It's 4:50 PM. Elena knocks on the door with the contract in her hand. She walks over to Mr. Smith and places it on his desk. 'And?' asks Mr. Smith. He opens the contact and sees Elena's signature. 'Very good, he says.' One corner of his mouth pulls up slightly. Now is that a little smile? He looks at Elena and signs the contact.
"Then from tomorrow on your two years with me will start..."