Perfect Protector

by Lauren Wood

The day was a blur and I was thankfully on time. Hartford was full of prestige and right outside of the big city, but the town itself was quite small and quaint. That helped me get to where I needed to go rather quickly. I was going to the main headquarters of Branch Enterprises. From what I could gather, the company had their hands in all sorts of industries. I was there as a backup assistant/secretary. It was a bit ambiguous, but another big help from my parents.

  I knew that I would never hear the end of it, if I messed up this job, so being on time was important. It paid well enough, so that I could keep Anna in the school that she was now convinced she loved. I had to make this work.

  So, I made sure to pull myself together and walked into the place at least ten minutes early. That was the most important part from what I had been told. I needed to be on time. The rest of it was a little foreign to me.

  I had not worked since I got married, but I was convinced that it couldn't be that hard. I had managed a lot of Michael’s part-time employment. I did all of the taxes and made all of the phone calls. It couldn't be that much harder than that.

  When I got to the front desk, I gave them my name and told him that I had an appointment with Harvey. He was not just the CEO, but he was also the owner of Branch Enterprise. I had not found the time to do my due-diligence on my new boss. It was something that I should have done, but I had heard a few things about him. Harvey was driven and from what I had heard, very intelligent. He sounded like he could be a handful, but the job would be interesting, if nothing else.

  Lisa at the front desk, told me to go up to the top floor and wait there. I would be called back. She had to talk to someone else to get those orders, and now I was even more nervous than before.

  I thanked her and she gave me a badge to get into the elevator.

  “Do you really need this to use an elevator?”

  “To get to the top you do.”

  I got into the small steel box and smiled to myself. I was always letting my parents be so involved in my life, but I could definitely see the perks.

  The elevator door opened moments later, and the perks seemed to multiply exponentially. No wonder I needed a special clearance to get upstairs. It was not an office at all. This floor was a personal living space and it took me a minute to realize what it was I was seeing.

  My boss, the one that I was supposed to be meeting, was actually just getting out of bed and he was not wearing much, by the looks of it. He was tall, with dark curly brown hair and long, lean lines. I was seeing the back of him and almost everything was shown to me, beside what was covered by a pair of boxers. Strong legs and tight biceps were what greeted me and made me practically pant where I stood.

  I stood there staring with my mouth open, for a little bit longer than I should have, because I was caught in the midst of it. I didn't know what to say or do. The man’s body was one to be admired and it was hard not to. I looked at the hard muscles and the clean lines of his back. My mouth was dry suddenly and my breath had quickened in response to my boss.

  He turned around and found me there gawking at him. My face was on fire with embarrassment. Why hadn't I announced that I was there? It would have been the proper thing to do after all.

  Instead of saying or doing anything helpful, I just backed up a few steps back into the elevator and let the door close between me and the blue-eyed man in front of me. My cheeks were red, and I touched one of them with my palm, to feel the heat that was generated. What was that?

  4

  Harvey

  Dark eyes with a surprised look are what greeted me when I turned around. I hadn’t expected anyone to come up on the elevator, but there she was. The expression on her face had been surprise, as well as need. I couldn’t get the lustful desire out of my mind. I didn’t even know her name, because she scampered off after a moment and was gone.

  I was left with a feeling of intrigue. She was a beautiful stranger that I wanted to know about. Someone had sent her up and I knew that I was going to have to figure out who she was. The desire that had shown in her eyes had been so raw, that it distracted me with its memory.

  “Hello? Are you going to help me up, or what?”

  Ashley was on the floor. I had pushed her when the elevator started to open. She was one of the accountants from the fourth floor and I was late for a meeting. My day has been twisted into such a bad one, that I figured there was one surefire way to see the bright side again. I needed a release and Ashley always fit the bill. There was nothing more than physical between us. She knew it and I did too. Ashley was actually committed to someone else, but when Jack was out of town, she came looking for some attention.

  Now she was glowering at me though. I could tell that I had not impressed her in any way by my actions.

  “Who the hell was that?”

  The petite redhead was getting up off the floor. Even though she was upset with me, it was doing nothing to curb the desire that I felt when I looked at her. She was made to perfection and Ashley knew it. She knew that her milky skin was flawless. She knew that her skills in the bedroom, would make a man wonder.

  I wasn’t one of those men though. I was not in it for emotional attachment. I appreciated her physical attributes and the skills that she had acquired, but that was it. It wasn’t enough of a connection for me to jeopardize my reputation. The incident only made me wonder if I was making a big mistake.

  “I don’t know, Ashley. You need to get dressed and get back to work. I think I might have missed something on the schedule.”

  “But why would they send her up here?”

  I wasn’t sure about that either, but I was certainly going to figure it out. I started to pull my clothes on and pulled the look of guilt off of my face. I had seen the woman’s eyes open so wide, that I thought she might lose it. She had black hair, green eyes and the most innocent expression that I’d ever seen on someone’s face her age.

  The woman hadn’t been all that young, not enough to justify the demure way in which she had reacted, but it was there. I didn’t know the woman, had never seen her before, but I knew that I had to find out who it was that had just left.

  I got to my phone and called Joseph.

  “Where are you?”

  “Upstairs. Some girl just came up here.”

  “And?”

  “Well, who is she?”

  “My new assistant, your new back-up assistant. I hope that you weren’t nasty to her. I know her parents and she is the sweetest thing. I told Lisa to send her up when she got here.”

  “You sent her up here?”

  “Well, I had them do so, but yeah.”

  I cursed and then hung up on him. Of course, that’s who it would be. This was a woman that I was going to have to work with a lot and she’d already saw me with my pants down. I didn’t want to have that sort of reputation and I worked hard not to. Now, one bad day, was going to start me off on the wrong foot with a new recruit.

  I went down to the front desk. I didn’t want to ask Joseph to find her. He would of course, that’s who he was, but he would also get all of the information and that I couldn’t have. That would give him more reasons to judge me. I was going to leave it alone and find her myself. What was I supposed to say?

  When I found her, she was outside, staring up at the building, deciding if she wanted to be here or not. I had an inkling that she didn’t. I still hadn’t figured out who her father was, but I was going to ignore it. I had already done enough to make her think that I wasn’t a professional. I needed to fix that assumption in her mind too.

  “Ellie, is it?

  She looked up quickly and I could see the mix of emotions that came over the expression on her face. She was not expecting to see me standing in front of her and I can't say that she seemed all that happy about it. The awkwardness was felt very strongly.

  “Sorry about before. I did not realize that you were being sent upstairs.”

  “I was just told that that was where you were going to be. I thought that was your
office.”

  She wouldn't even look me in my eyes, but I sat down next to her and made it impossible for her not to. The emerald green shined back at me as I found myself staring at them for a bit too long. There were gold flecks that seemed to float among the sea of green.

  Quickly, I was transfixed and the swell of nervousness that came over her, was the only thing that really seemed to pull me back together. Being this close to her, remembering the first look, and now smelling her perfume, was enough to set my own body on edge. It wasn’t a feeling that came over me very often and it had me paying attention.

  “Sorry, like I said, I did not know that you were going to be up there.”

  Ellie didn't say anything and I felt like I had to continue to expand on that, because I didn't like the way she was looking at me, or rather not looking at me.

  “I was just taking a power nap, before my afternoon schedule began.”

  “So, you live here?”

  “I wouldn’t say that I really live here, but I have living space that I can retire to if needed. I lived here off and on for several years when I was younger and I really liked the place, so I just bought the rest of the building when I was able to. I don’t stay here very often, but once in a while, I find some use for the old place.”

  “That seems like a pretty good set-up.”

  She still wasn't really looking at me, but at least we were communicating now.

  “I think so. I am a bit surprised that they gave you a pass. They usually don't do that. I think that my assistant was mistaken, so I apologize for the unprofessional meet. I will make sure that it doesn't happen again.”

  I stuck my hand out to shake her hand, and she finally managed a smile for a moment. It made me realize that the last words I had said, were actually going to be promises that would be broken.

  How was I ever going to deal with Ellie in a professional manner, when every time she looked at me, I felt something stir inside? I wasn't supposed to feel anything and the touch of her hand, made me pull back sooner then I should have. The electrical current between our skin when we touched, was something that I wasn't prepared to deal with.

  Who was this woman, and where had she come from?

  5

  Ellie

  The thickness in the air, did not really dissipate as easily as I would have imagined. This was my boss after all, but I certainly wasn't feeling like that. I was feeling like he was going to be something more to me. I knew that it was obviously just because I had been single for many months now. Of course, I was thinking of inappropriate thoughts, especially after I had seen so much of him. He was quite a specimen of a man and dare I say, I couldn’t think of too many women that could look at him in such a way, and not feel something. I was feeling desire and need. Neither thing was allowed.

  After we decided that we were going to start fresh, he introduced himself as Harvey. He told me that he was happy that I have decided to go to work for Branch Enterprise. It felt genuine, but at the same time, I had to wonder if this was normally what would happen. He certainly couldn't spend all of this time, for every new recruit.

  “So, what was your last job like?”

  We were walking towards the elevator, to go back upstairs and I was still nervous. Harvey was acting like he did not know anything about me and considering his position in the company, he most likely didn't. It was not like he went through all of the applications and found his own assistant. I had talked to Joseph and I'm sure that Joseph was the one that hired me. Now I had to convince Harvey of the same thing. I didn’t like the fact that I had to hide behind the recommendation of my father to get the job.

  “Well, I haven't worked in several years.”

  “Oh?”

  “No, I got married young and had a baby pretty quickly after that. It put my career on hold.”

  He looked at me a little strangely for a moment, then turned back away from me. I finally just kept going, because I wanted to fill the space with something. The silence was really starting to work on my nerves.

  “So, I raised Anna and now she’s going to school. It is time for me to get back into the workforce.”

  “Does your husband know that you will be working all hours? I will need you to be there when Joseph cannot.”

  I was very aware of the odd hours and that was part of the reason that I was going to be paid so much, even though I didn't have much experience. I was more than willing to do what was necessary and that was exactly what I had told Joseph. I relayed the same information to him and he’d seemed to be satisfied with the answer.

  “I don't have a husband to run it by.”

  Harvey immediately looked at me like he was sorry that he had even asked. I think that he took it the wrong way, because he apologized.

  “There's no need to apologize, really.”

  “I'm sorry, it seems like you were saying that your husband had died.”

  I chuckled a little bit and that did not go over well with him.

  “No, it's nothing like that. We just got divorced. I am sorry you thought that's what I meant.”

  “Well it happens a lot, so that was the assumption I came to.”

  It was really quiet for a moment and I was trying to figure out why he was so different all of a sudden. There was something there, but I did not have the guts to ask him why it bothered him. Maybe it wasn't for me to know.

  The rest of the tour went by pretty quickly and before long, we were back to my desk. It was right by his office and I was given a list of things to do. Ever since he asked me if I had a dead husband and I laughed about it, something had been different. It was obvious that something was on his mind and even though I knew I couldn't ask him, I really wanted to. Once he was gone, I looked around for Joseph. His office was right next to mine and thankfully he didn't seem too busy.

  “So how are you liking it so far?”

  “I am liking it okay. I think that the boss doesn't like me, but I could be wrong.”

  “You probably are. He usually doesn't bother himself with us. He is actually a good boss though. I wouldn't have mentioned it to your dad, if I didn't think it was a good fit.”

  “You were the one that thought it would be?”

  “Yes, I have known your dad for many years and when he told me that you were looking to move back home, I figured that this would be a good first step. You know, until you find something that you really want to do.”

  I was actually a little surprised that he had went so far out of his way to help me. This was a perfect fit, if only I could get my mind out of the gutter, thinking about the boss in such a way. I still recalled him in my mind how I found him, too-close to naked. That wasn’t a good thing, when I was trying to hold those feelings inside.

  “Why would you help me like that?”

  “Your dad helped me a lot through a bad time and I'm just trying to return the favor. He said that his daughter needed help and I am more than happy to help. Harvey is a good boss and a good man. Trust me, I know you'll find out soon enough.”

  I wasn't sure if I quite believed what Joseph said, but it was clear that he believed it, if nothing else. I wondered what had made him so loyal to the boss, but I'm sure that I would find out eventually. I also wanted to ask about the incident earlier, but I was afraid to. Maybe I was just reading into things wrong. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

  “Well, thank you for the opportunity Joseph. It was hard to ask my parents for help, but I think this is going to be a good fit. Thank you for helping them. And for helping me.”

  He waved me off and told me that there was nothing to talk about. “Like I said, your dad helped me a lot when I needed it and I pay back my debts. All you have to do now, is work hard. This is the type of place where you can really get ahead if you work hard.”

  Joseph had some things to do and I started in on some reports that the boss wanted me to copy down for him. I don't know what it was for, but it really didn't matter. I was thankful for a new fresh start and this
was a good job. All I had to do, was do what Joseph suggested. I just had to work hard and this could be my new career, in my new life.

  By the end of the day I was tired, and it was only a half a day for me, but I could tell that it was going to be a place that I could call my own. I had a sense of belonging that I hadn't felt in a while and I wondered if this was what I had been missing the whole time. I did not regret staying home with my daughter, but I had always felt like there was so much more to do. Now I was actually going to get both. I was going to be able to have my family life, as well as have something else for just me.

  As I was leaving, I ran into Harvey, almost literally. He set me straight and asked if I was okay. His hand was on my shoulder to settle me and I could feel the contact affecting me. I was shaking when he let go. The warmth of his hand lingered on my skin.

  “Yeah, I'm fine, thank you.”

  “Pay attention where you are going, Ellie. I don't want to have to pay for workman’s comp already. You just started.”

  I laughed and started to say something, but he was already turning away to go do something else. I don't know if I was ever going to understand the boss. He certainly was different than any man that I’d met before. For a moment, I thought there was interest in his eyes, but that was long gone. Now there was just a pleasantness. It wasn’t like he was being rude or anything like that. He was just keeping his distance and I figured that I should take that as a hint and do the same.

  At least I had gotten through the first day.

  6

  Harvey

  “So, what is up with the new girl, Joseph? I didn't even know that I was getting another assistant and you send the girl up to my apartment? What is going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Joseph had a weird sound in his voice, and I know that he wasn't being as honest as he could be. He was making it uncomfortable, because he never was good at lying. What was he lying about?