Million Dollar Assistant

Chapter 3

"Morning, Mr Pinchot." the security guard at the entrance of Alcott Co. greeted Damon, Damon nodded in acknowledgement and smiled, "Good Morning."

"Hello, Mr Pinchot." The help desk woman greeted him cheerily. He nodded in acknowledgement to her as he made his way to the elevator of the ground floor. He selected the very top floor on the elevator keys, where Morgan Alcott's office stood alone.

He admired her taste, he hadn't really acknowledged his surroundings when he had waited for his interviews, but thinking aback the design suited her quite well. The design was minimalist but modern, when you walked in from the elevator her receptionist's desk was in the center of the room cutting off Alcott's personal office. The desk was a white complicated shape between oval and rectangle with smooth edges, on the desk sat a modern white flat screen Mac monitor and he could only guess the computer self hid behind the desk somewhere out of view. The monitor was accompanied by a white keyboard and mouse. THe assistant had her various stationary holders and some plants, but these were all designed to fit in with the rest of the room. THe couches where to one side and black. There was a 3 seater against the wall and 2 single matching black arm chairs to the side, with a oval glass coffee table in the center, with a beautiful flower arrangement in the center. Now that he thought back Alcott had a lot of plants in her front reception. on the other side there was a beautiful aquarium filled with what he could only guess was an array of colorful tropical fish. On each wall there were large minimalist paintings that he could only guess was a fortune. Her personal office was similar, with a smaller aquarium and many plants in modern pots and vases. Her desk was glass with white frames and a matching Mac monitor and accessories on it, only here on the two occasions he was in her office seemed to always have piles of documents strewn atop it.

"Good Morning, Mr Pinchot!" one of the many other employees of Alcott Co scurried into the elevator that had stopped between floors.

"Morning." Damon nodded at the employee. They stood in silence as Damon could tell the young girl was not sure if she should talk to him or not. As the elevator dinged for another floor between the ground and his destination, the young girl sped past him, seemingly in a hurry to get to her destination. The elevator dinged closed again.

Damon wasn't surprised that many of Morgan Alcott's staff already knew who he was before he even started his first day there. He was rather infamous being a Pinchot and more adventurous than the rest of his astute family. He smirked to himself, one would not think he was a measly assistant with how Alcott Co. staff was acknowledging him.

Word spreads fast here.

Damon thought to himself as he adjusted his tie and cuffs nearing as the elevator stopped on the top floor. He entered with confidence, ready to take whatever Morgan Alcott through at him.

"Good Morning Rachel." He gave Alcott's assistant one of his best smiles, he had made a point of noting the girl's name the last time he was there. Remembering people's names was a good way to earn trust and credibility as he showed you had an interest in others personally and not only formally.

"Mo-morning Mr Pinchott." Rachel blushed.

"How are you? I am here to see Miss Alcott, she needs to train me for my new position."

"I am good thank you Mr Pinchot. I will let Miss Alcott know you're here. If you will please take a seat." Rachel gave him a beaming smile that lit up her whole face.

He thought he understood why Alcott had hired her, she seemed bright and bubbly, a good buffer against Morgan Alcott's cold business demeanor. Alcott probably knew it was smart to have someone who balanced that at the forefront of her empire.

"Miss Alcott, Mr Pinchott is here to see you." Rachel spoke into her phone.

"Send him in." Damon heard Alcott speak through the phone.

"Thank you Rachel and please do call me Damon." Damon made his way to Morgan Alcott's door.

Morgan was going over some reports on her computer, reading glasses on the tip of her nose, when Damon walked in. She could sense he was about to speak, so she put up her hand, her index finger pointed upwards to stop him. She was in deep concentration and almost done skimming the multiple reports, she did not want any distractions.

Damon snapped his mouth shut as Morgan stopped him, having been about to say good morning along with something flirtatious, just to start his day on a positive getting on her nerves, instead she beat him to it and he was irritated at being dismissed in a way she seemed so talented at. He waited like a naughty child for her to acknowledge him.

Morgan clicked her mouse here and there and then turned her seat that was angled to the computer screen to face Damon, "Good Morning Mr Pinchott." Morgan's greeting was cold, she used her index finger to adjust her reading glasses that had slipped low on her nose.

Damon gave her one of his broad charming smiles, "What a marvelous morning it is Ms Alcott, especially when I am to train under such a charming woman." He took a seat on the opposite side of Morgan's desk.

Morgan removed her reading glasses, folding them up and returning them to their case that she put in her desk draw.

"Mr Pinchott, I did so hope that when you cracked that facade the first time, we would have stopped with these interjections of meaningless compliments." Morgan sat in her usual stiff manner.

Damon frowned at this, indeed he did lay the compliments on thick with most woman and yes sometimes he didn't mean them as strongly as they came off, but if he had to be wholly honest in this moment, he had though Morgan Alcott rather beautiful in her own unique definition of the word when he had first laid eyes on her. There was in fact some truth behind the compliment, even if he was just saying it vocally to originally butter her up and now more so to irritate her.

He leaned over onto her desk and gave her a cheeky grin, "My my, Miss Alcott, do my compliments make you uneasy?"

Morgan who had been straightening up some papers on her desk, looked up at him, chin tilted down ward as her attention had been on getting the papers perfectly aligned, a look of annoyance on her face.

"Mr Pinchott, as of today you will be my Personal Assistant. I do hope you take those responsibilities more seriously than you take yourself," She paused and checked the time, "as a matter of fact, it's the right time for my morning coffee." She took a stack of papers that had been stapled together and handed it to Damon.

Damon looked down at the papers in her hands questioningly.

"This is a list of your responsibilities, in detail. Please do read through it carefully. You'll find on the first page when I expect my coffees and how I take each and where I get them, as well as my lunches etc. If you continue through, you'll find I have organised your responsibilities by time of day and importance." Damon reluctantly took the papers and skimmed the first page.

"but this coffee shop is at the other end of town." His eyes widen, "Why not just use the huge cafeteria you have on the first floor."

"First of all, that 'coffee shop', is a very well done restaurant; bistro and bar. They serve the best coffee in town and the owner knows how to make my coffee personally."

Damon scoffed at this. It seemed Morgan Alcott was more nosey-upped than he originally assumed. Who was she to judge him?

He got up abruptly grumbling to himself, "Being treated like some lowly intern." he walked over to the door.

"What was that Mr Pinchott." Morgan gave him a suspicious look.

"One last question," Damon gritted his teeth, "I understand coffee is at the top of the list as it's the first on your daily routine, but pray do say, why is it also marked of 'high importance'."

Morgan looked up from a file she had shifted her attention to, gazing up at him from the brim of her reading glasses she had put back on.

"Mr Pinchott, if you think I am a cold heartless bitch now, you do not want to see me when I haven't had my 9am coffee," she shifted her gaze back to her file. Damon turned to leave stopping short of the open door as Morgan called after, "Don't be late."

He gritted his teeth, he was taken by surprise at the out of character response to his question. It seemed even Ms Alcott had her quirks.