Not Even His Assistant 2

Chapter Two

Chapter 2 - She's Not My Concern (Connor POV) 

I examined the piece of meat impaled onto my fork. It was supposed to be chicken, but I couldn't tell for sure. It had to be Jackson, my father's useless advisor and only brother, to suggest chinese take out. I bit into it anyways because having been stuck in this room until evening was really hunger inducing.

I was meeting with my team to go over a few last minute expenses before the holiday. My father, Jon, was struggling to keep his food onto his chopsticks. I'm not sure why he wouldn't just switch to a fork, but it couldn't be helped.

Although Jon had originally planned on retiring after our merger with Japan, it turned out to be nearly double the workload we were used to and he stayed on as an overseer. So, he did indeed give me the position of Chief Executive Officer, but made up the position of Chairman for himself. It would've been annoying if it weren't for the fact that I truly needed him. Despite there being a lot we still had to learn, no one could deny just how perfect Peter's business proposal really was.

It was so good that we gave him my past position as Chief Operating Officer. There was some drama around it, especially considering his young age and all the men my father worked with wanting to gain that position, but nearly everyone got a pay raise because of Peter, so it wasn't an argument they could win.

Speaking of Peter, he wasn't a part of our meeting. He gained a lot of cockiness with his new position and decided he worked better outside of these meetings and preferred not to attend. He'd simply get an update and call it good enough. It had frustrated me originally, but he continued to succeed in his position, so I had no valid arguments against his methods.

"This food brings me back to our college days. You remember that Connor? We'd get takeout, I'd eat it and you'd take a few bites and settle with a protein shake. Glad to see you eating more." Adam kept the room from being completely quiet. He always worked best when he was away, so we had him in charge of a team in Japan. He was back for the next month or so to celebrate the holiday, and I kind of missed his banter.

"I still can't understand why we settled with this and not something a lot more..." I hesitated, considering my words, "Nutritional."

Adam laughed and Jack joined him.

"Definitely not something I'd choose either." Samantha chimed in. She was sitting incredibly close to me. Her red hair was tied up in a neat bun and she was wearing a dress so tight and so low-cut, I really wondered how her breasts didn't spill out.

Despite my efforts and having fired her, she went to Jon and he rehired her himself. It was when he was still in his uncharacteristically nice stage. And because he was still on top of the food chain, I had no way of getting rid of her myself.

And I know it sounded bad, but I didn't actually try to change it. I kept Joey on board to work as my personal assistant, but I didn't object to having Sam work on my floor, handling some business. Despite her manipulative, gossiping ways, she was just far too efficient.

"You're all too spoiled. Chinese takeout is a beautiful thing. May it keep you humble, full and continue to provide you with a nice fortune." Jack spoke. He thought he was a wise Buddha. He used chopsticks so masterfully and enjoyed being able to show that off. He was also praised heavily for being the one to suggest hiring Greyson, which a lot of people in the company had credited to the reason for the success, some even praised her more than Peter.

It was such a big deal that there were even articles written about this mystery person and what exactly was it that she knew. I managed to keep her personal information as private as possible so that she wouldn't be harrassed.

Surprisingly, her hype had died down and she was able to go through life peacefully. I allowed her to stay on as a social media marketer for our advertising group. It went well with what she was studying in school, and she was doing a good job. Which made sense, considering it was her knowledge base. Her being a COO was not a great move. I wasn't even sure why she had gotten so much credit for Japan. She could've been working in any position to let someone know that there was a potential for a better deal. It was all of us stuck so far in it that we were blinded.

I ate a few more bites of my low mein before setting it down. We had about ten more minutes left to our dinner break and I was hoping to look over the next few pages we had to get through. Jack got up then, and started passing around fortune cookies. Samantha set her cookie to the side, with a face full of disgust. Once Jackson handed me mine, I took some time to feel the clear plastic surrounding the cookie. My mind elsewhere.

I did give Greyson some credit though. It felt as though there was something tying me to her and I couldn't shake it. Once we got back from Japan, I did try to know her as a friend, but it was hard. She was always free to hang out and I couldn't give her much time because I had a business to run. I could tell she was starting to resent me for it and I realized something crucial.

I didn't love Greyson.

I could admire her personality, but what had tied us was the position. Once that was gone, I could finally focus on what really mattered. My career. The thing I had worked my entire life for. The thing that was now more important than ever and the thing I truly needed to give my all to. Greyson was just too young to understand that.

I remembered the face she made when I had cut our get together short to go to an emergency meeting Jon had scheduled. She looked so disappointed. I tried to explain to her that this was extremely important and we could plan another hang out, but she didn't want to understand that.

Truthfully, I felt slightly guilty, but it solidified my knowledge that she wasn't someone to pursue in any light. We were in two, far too different, worlds. Life wasn't always so linear.

I peeled the plastic open and grabbed the hard cookie inside. I snapped it into two pieces and grabbed the white piece of paper inside.

All that glitters is not gold, It read. I wasn't surprised it didn't relate to me in the slightest. Fortune cookies were stupid, which were why they appealed to Jackson so much. I crumbled up the paper, sticking it into my pocket, and then attempted to break my teeth on the hard cookie.

Our numbers for this past quarter were so good, even with all the pay raises and positions added, our profits were at a surplus. Everything we were doing was glittery and that glitter was indeed gold. 

_________

Author's Note:

This is the first time my outline for a story is so clear and detailed! It has made writing this story, so far, a lot less frustrating than prior novels. I'm currently ahead a few chapters, I just need to do some heavy editing. 

The next chapter might not come as soon as this one has, but it feels better to start this story off with both Greyson and Connor's first thoughts, rather than just giving you one of their sides. 

These first couple of chapters may be a little short, but I think later chapters are going to be a lot heftier. 

Thanks for reading! :)