His Lady Love

chapter 2

"Miss Lovett, I need these pages typed out and on my desk within the hour." Abby looked up from her computer screen to find her new boss, Mr Fields towering over her desk. As she took the pages in his outstretched hands, she wondered- not for the first time that day- if the muscles in his face were able to arrange themselves into an expression that didn't make him look like he was constantly sucking on lemons, or like the cat that got the cream.

Before she could acknowledge his instruction, he was already swaggering back to his office, with a swing in his step that spoke of one who was extremely pleased with himself and his lot in life. From what Abby had picked up via the grapevine, he took great pleasure in making his subordinates feel that they were vastly inferior to him. He thought himself God's gift to womankind, and that it was through his kindhearted self sacrifices that many of them were still employed by Montgomery-West.
The sad reality was that very few women (certainly none that worked for Montgomery-West), found his rotund belly, badly dyed hair or demeanour appealing.

Abby added the new pages to the growing stack already on her desk, and was glad she decided to come in early to get a head start on her day. The other typists had looked at her sympathetically as Mr Fields had piled her desk high with work at the beginning of each day, knowing that he had chosen her as his latest target. She looked at the pile of dog-eared pages on her desk and straightened her spine.

As she turned back to her PC, she couldn't help smile that threatened to split her face in half. This was good. The more work she had, the less likely it seemed to her that she would be given the boot and told to leave. She finally felt that her life was turning around. And for the better this time. As her fingers flew across the keyboard, she started humming Bob Marley's Famous song, and could actually believe that the every little thing was going to be alright.

Darius stepped out of the lift on the 15th floor, and wondered if his reason for coming here was even at work already. Abigail. That was the name of the new girl in the typing pool- the same girl that had asked Janis for help on her first day. He had just spent the last week with his Buffoon of an assistant, and was prepared to go no further with entertaining her unintelligent questions like "don't you think it would be a great idea if we called each other everyday to see what the other is wearing? That way, we could wear matching outfits!" It was only one of the ridiculous things she'd said to him yesterday. The fact that her work was sloppy had only cemented his decision to sack her.

There was no way he could put up with anther torturous day with Mindy- or what ever the hell her name was. That brought him back to the present moment.

Approaching the typing pool, he silently hope that this Abby girl wasn't similarly afflicted. As he skirted the last corner that would lead him to the typing pool, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but was oddly disappointed to find the space empty.

As he moved further into the area, he could hear someone humming, but brushed it off. He was on a mission to save his sanity, and wasn't hearing things the first sign of losing said sanity?
"Hello? Is anyone in here?" he called out, half expecting to hear an echo.
The sound of files crashing on the carpeted floor had him spinning on his heels, trying to find where the danger was coming from.

In front of him stood a young woman who could be best described as mousey and unassuming. She stood a little over 5'9, with brown hair that was pulled back into a severely right bun at the base of her skull. She wasn't quite what he'd call fat, but she was definitely more fleshy than his average blond bombshell. Her face was slightly pale, which hinted at the fact that she wasn't expecting to find anyone standing in the middle of her work space, at least not so early in the day.

Having looked at her résumé and following her movements all week- for strictly professional reasons of course- he knew instantly that the woman standing before him was Abigail Lovett.

"Miss Abigail Lovett? Good morning, I'm Darius Montgomery, managing partner at Montgomery-West. I would like to have a word with you please." He wanted to get this done now and get back to the comfort of his office 10 floors up.

"Yes, that's me. Am i in some sort of trouble? Have- have i done something wrong?" she managed to croak out. She really did try to sound normal and in control, but she felt like the beautiful new world existence she was carving out for herself and Max was hanging in the balance. What could the big boss possibly want to talk to her about?

His next words left her just as baffled as his sudden appearance.
"I want you to work for me."
"But I already work for you Sir." that was the first thing that her smoke-addled mind could think of.
"I know that. What I mean is, I want to to work exclusively for me- as my personal assistant." He couldn't help but smile at her silly words.
Funny, if Mandy (or what ever her name was) had said the same thing, he would have found it extremely annoying.
I truly am losing my mind, he thought to himself. He watched as the truth of his words sank in and he could only hope she would agree.
"I'm sorry Sir, but wouldn't Sarah be a better candidate? She has been working here-"
"For 3 years, I believe, but she doesn't have what it takes to be my assistant. I want you." He said before she could finish.
"What happens if I don't feel up to the task?" She tried to phrase the question as neutrally as possible to avoid offending him.
"Look, Mr Fields has told me what a great job you're doing down here for him. And while I would usually not make such a request from a junior member of staff, but I think we could work well together. Now, if you feel up yo the task, you can clear your desk and meet me in my office in 15 minutes. If not, you can take your things and walk out of the front door."

He hoped he wasn't being too forceful. Right now though, he needed to get her to agree. He walked to the lift without looking back to see which option we chose.

As the lift moved up to his floor, he knew he'd drawn a line in the sand, and was fairly confident that Miss Lovett would make the right choice. For reasons he didn't care to examine or explain, he knew she would take away the uneasy feeling he'd had for some time now.

He only hoped she'd make the right decision- for both of them...