Things Money Can't Buy

Chapter 6

~*~

The following week, Jason finally hired a new assistant. After being his temporary assistant for the past week, it was a weird feeling being back at my normal desk in HR.

I didn't want to be his assistant. However, there was a little part of me that was going to miss seeing him. Now that he had a new assistant, there wasn't any reason for him to keep seeing me. I worked on a different floor than him, and he was the CEO that oversaw all the departments, not just mine. At the time, our banter had been entertaining, so knowing that I'd likely only see him in passing from now on was a bit disheartening.

The new assistant he hired was Natalie, one of the secretaries that usually worked in the lobby. It didn't surprise me that he hired her because she was more than qualified, but it did make me feel a pang of... something? Something in my mind told me it was jealousy, but I suppressed that thought before it got anywhere.

Natalie was gorgeous. She was tall, thin, blonde, always well-dressed, and her makeup always looked perfect. Today, she was dressed to show off her body. It was technically business attire, but it was definitely pushing the limit. She was wearing a tight, long-sleeve, low-cut red dress that reached the top of her thighs. It was paired with some high heels, and she was wearing bright red lipstick to match.

Then there was me: short, a bit curvy, long, dark hair, and usually dressed fairly modestly--usually in dress pants and a blouse. I liked wearing makeup, but I liked sleeping in more, so it was rare for me to wear makeup to work. Today, I was wearing an emerald-green blouse, black dress pants, and black flats. The emerald-green blouse matched my eyes, so I had put a bit of eyeliner and mascara on today to make my eyes stand out. It was work, and I preferred to just be comfortable. Most of my co-workers dressed more like me in simple, comfortable outfits.

I could never pull off what Natalie was wearing for multiple reasons. First of all, the tight dress would emphasize my bloating from eating a big dinner last night because I was nowhere near as thin as her. Second of all, she was tall, so the dress would probably go beneath my knees. Third of all, she was gorgeous, and I was average.

She looked so good. Maybe I was a little jealous. 

I didn't really know Natalie, so it would be interesting to see how her being Jason's assistant would go. She was more than qualified for the job, but the cynical part of me wondered if he hired her because she was one of the most beautiful women in the office.

Jason had a reputation as a flirt, but he wasn't known for having as much casual sex as you'd expect from someone as wealthy and powerful as him. According to Maddie, he'd only had two serious girlfriends, and his last relationship ended two years ago. Since then, the business had boomed even more, if that was possible. He always told the press that he didn't have the time to date anyone right now.

It was weird not seeing Jason today and not knowing when I'd even see him again.

I tried not to let that thought bother me.

"How was it being Jason's assistant?" Megan, my only real work-friend so far, asked me. I hadn't seen her much at all last week because of all the time spent cooped up in Jason's office.

I groaned. "It was a lot of work. I'm just glad to be back."

Megan's crush on Jason was obvious. "I'm so jealous," she said. "I wish I could spend more time with him." 

"You're not missing much. He's nice, but also really moody and demanding."

She giggled. "Have you seen his body? I'll take it."

"I wished it wasn't me that he was annoying for the past two weeks."

"That was pretty weird that he kept asking for you. Maybe he likes you," Megan suggested.