“You’re just on time. Have a seat and you can go inside in a minute,” the woman said, pointing to a long sofa against the wall. Miranda looked around at the room she had just entered. It seemed to be a reception area to the main office. There was a large reception desk on one side with a sophisticated desktop setup. Potted plants were stationed at the corners of the square room. Paintings decorated the room here as well. A large sofa and a few designer chairs were set up around the room for visitors. At the end of the room wooden double doors led to the main office.
The woman smiled at her and said, “So you’re the new assistant who’s going to replace me, huh? Good thing too. You’re just in time. I’m moving to Paris with my husband and Mr. Freeman won’t let me go unless he finds a proper replacement. You will like him, he’s a decent man and the pay is good.”
Just then there was a beep on one of the landlines and a gravelly voice said, “Send her in, Martha.” Martha smile at Miranda and said, “Go on in. I hope for my sake he likes you. Good luck.” Miranda was too nervous to say anything so she just smiled and walked through the double doors. Mr. Freeman sat behind a huge dark oak desk. He was a bald man in his late fifties with laugh wrinkles along his eyes. He seemed rather short but all round a jolly fellow.
“Come in, Miss Stone. I’ve been expecting you. I went through your past record and you have been quite the employee since day one. I was very impressed and with Martha leaving it’s like a blessing in disguise to find you. I see you’ve done a degree in Human Resources as well, how fascinating. I think I’d like you to start immediately. Martha can show you around and teach you what needs to be done before she leaves. Are you up for the job, Miss Stone?”
Miranda smiled and nodded. “Thank you, sir. I enjoyed working on the Golden Star a lot and hopefully I will be able to give you the same dedication here as well. I’m confident I can manage.”
“Very good. This is the kind of spirit a man wants to see in his employee. I’m very happy indeed with my selection, I must say,” he replied.
Just then the door opened and a familiar voice spoke up. “Stewart, your old brat of a lady won’t let me in again. What the hell is more important? I should be able to walk in any darn time I want.” The voice died as the newcomer discovered that she was sitting in the room. Miranda slowly looked up, cursing the stars that had brought her here. Alec Bane stood next to her, gaping at her with his mouth hanging open as if he had seen a ghost.
“Alec, this is my new executive assistant, Miss Miranda Stone. She’s from that new cruise ship I bought. Her record is astounding and I believe she will be a pro at handling the workload once Martha leaves.”
Alec shook his head slightly and turned to Mr. Freeman. “Oh, so the old hag is leaving? Good for you.” He turned back to Miranda and asked, “How are you, Miss Stone? Fancy meeting you here of all places.”
Miranda smiled and said, “Yes, apparently the world is really small.”
“That it is,” Alec grinned.
“You two know each other?” Mr. Freeman asked, confused.
“Oh yes, we met on the same cruise ship you apparently bought,” Alec replied. “I’ve seen her in action, she is one dedicated worker.”
Mr. Freeman smiled at Miranda and said, “That’s good news. I’ll get you straight to work then. I knew you would be an asset to this company.”
“Now hold on, Stewart, old buddy. She will be an asset to the company that’s for sure but I think she’d be a better fit in mine.”
Mr. Freeman shook his head. “No way. Martha is leaving; I need her. You can’t have her.” Miranda just looked from one to the other trying to keep up.
“I’ll give you Christy. She’s an expert at this stuff and she can handle your accounts and everything else better than any newcomer, you know that.”
Mr. Freeman started to rub his chin in deliberation. Alec turned to Miranda who was watching the exchange with her mouth agape. “Maybe you should wait outside while we settle this matter.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Miranda asked.
Alec looked into her eyes intently and said softly, “Let me handle this, okay? Trust me.”
Miranda found herself nodding and before she knew it, she was back on the sofa. Martha glanced at her and said, “So, did you get the job?”
Miranda shrugged and replied, “They’re settling the matter.”
Martha looked at her puzzled and asked, “What does that mean?”
“I have no idea.”
Miranda didn’t have to wait long. Alec came out, grinning from ear to ear with Mr. Freeman following after him. Mr. Freeman turned to Martha and said, “Good news, Martha. We have found a replacement for you so you’re free to go to Paris now. Mr. Bane’s assistant will be taking over for you so you won’t have to teach her much.” He turned to Miranda, who wanted to bang her head against the wall, and continued, “Congratulations. You are now the new executive assistant of Mr. Bane. I wish you the very best.”
Alec offered a stumped Miranda his hand and said, “Come on, let me show you my office. It’s way bigger than this one and nicer too.” Miranda glanced at Mr. Freeman to see him chuckling and shaking his head. He seemed to treat Alec as one would a favorite nephew. Miranda was really confused at this point. What was Alec even doing here? Had he known that she was being transferred here? He had seemed pretty surprised when he saw her in the office so probably not. But why had he insisted on trading his secretary for her? She couldn’t make heads or tails of the whole situation.
Martha smiled at Miranda and said, “Nice meeting you, dear. Have a nice day.”
“Thank you as well,” Miranda replied with a smile of her own.
Alec reached the door and motioning towards it, asked, “Shall we?”
Silently, Miranda followed him back to the elevator. He pressed the button to the penthouse. In the elevator, Miranda couldn’t hold it in much longer. “What is going on?” she burst out.
Alec peered down at her as if she were having a breakdown, which she probably was. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, first YA Motors insists on having me as their new employee, then you happen to walk in and within a matter of minutes I am your new assistant. What is going on?”
“I hired all these actors so I could pretend to buy the ship just so I could make a show of stealing you away and hiring you in my office. That work for you? Jeez, what do you think of me?”
Miranda shuffled her feet, feeling uncomfortable. “That’s not what I meant,” she mumbled. “I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.”
The elevator beeped and the doors opened. This lobby was even better than the last one. The reception area was in the center of the hall and it was decorated with more fancy art. Alec led her down a path of wide windows that looked over the waterfront a few miles away. He reached his office and it was designed the same way as Mr. Freeman’s with a smaller room for the reception area and a larger, more decorative room for Alec Bane.
The room had huge black leather seats and lots of glass-and-metal furniture. A whole wall was covered in wooden shelves full of all sorts of books and trophies. A huge window behind his chair looked out towards the waterfront. It really was a grander office than Mr. Freeman’s. Alec motioned for Miranda to sit and then started. “YA Motors and Bane Enterprises are partners. Stewart is a family friend and I’ve known him since I was a boy. I went down to discuss something with him when I saw you. Once I saw you, I decided that it would be best if you came to work for me instead. Stewart agreed obviously and so you’re here.”
Miranda looked at him, bewildered. “You’re serious? You just decided? That’s it? And Stewart just had to agree? God, you’re more self-absorbed than I thought.”
“Jeez, will you relax. There’s a reason I ‘just decided.’ I love the man like an uncle but Stewart doesn’t have the best reputation with his assistants and secretaries. Knowing you like I do, I was sure you wouldn’t be okay with that and I was saving you, my company and a
dear friend from a whole load of embarrassment.”
Miranda felt really small at that point. Why did she always jump to conclusions and assume the worst when it came to him? She decided that she would give him the benefit of the doubt next time. “Okay, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions,” she said, trying to make peace.
“I know how you feel about me, so it’s no big deal. The pay is better than if you were Stewart’s assistant anyway and I will try not to hit on you or make any advances that you do not want me to make.” He grinned at her scowl and said, “I told you I don’t make false promises but I’m going to try real hard. Now, I’ll get Christy in here and she will explain the whole process to you. If you need any help or you feel like something is a bit much for you, tell me. We’ll figure out a way together, no problem. Any questions?”
Miranda shook her head and Alec smiled at her. “Good. I’ll have Christy show you what to do. Have a nice day, Miss Stone.” And with that he dismissed her, leaving her in wonder at the twist of events fate had dealt her.
Chapter 6
A few weeks passed and Miranda was up to speed with all that needed to be done in the office. Christy was down in Stewart’s office by now and Miranda was solely responsible for everything. And my, was it a whole lot of work! There were meetings to be set, dinners to be planned, charity events to send and receive invitations to, things to reschedule and that wasn’t accounting for all the other stuff that Alec added to the long list. He wanted calls made to certain people and messages passed on. He wanted her to book reservations and to schedule flights on his private jet. He needed her to make sure the staff were doing their jobs and that his morning coffee was always on the table. And this was all with the added zing of having him flirt with her every opportunity he got.
“Hey beautiful,” he greeted her every morning and the first time Miranda had just gaped at him, astounded. He had chuckled to himself but didn’t continue. Instead turning to Christy, he had asked, “How is the transition going? Is Miss Stone picking up on everything as hoped?”
Christy had nodded and with a seductive smile, she said, “Yes, she is quite promising, sir. A fine choice as always.”
His smile grew larger and he seemed more full of himself than usual. “Oh, Christy. What will I do without your compliments, now? You have been an asset to this company these many years.” Christy had just laughed making this falsetto little chirping sound and Alec grinned at her, her flirting giving his ego a little boost. He then moved on towards his office and Christy turned back to Miranda, who had been watching the exchange with a look of disgust mixed with wonder.
She had shaken her head back towards the door and said, “Alec and I have been on this hot war since the day I started working here. We’ve almost hooked up a couple of times but he won’t cross that line no matter what I try. Apparently there is this no dating your co-worker policy and he abides by it. I’m hoping that him sending me to Mr. Freeman means that he is finally ready to ask me out. That man is an Adonis, I swear.” And she had sighed pathetically like a lovesick teenager, much the way Jenny would. Thinking about Jenny had sent a pang in Miranda’s heart. This was the first time they had been separated since middle school and Jenny could feel the emptiness in her life at that moment.
Even after these past couple of weeks, remembering Jenny or any of the crew from the Golden Star still caused her pain. They had been a family to her and although she was being paid three times as much as on the cruise, she had loved her job. Seeing different people, watching them enjoy their vacations, being one of the reasons for the smiles on their faces; it was what Miranda had lived for.
Alec wasn’t making things easier for her either. As she settled in at her new job, his comments and flirtatious nature got on her nerves on a daily basis. Every time she was alone with him, discussing some schedule or meeting, she could feel his eyes roving up and down her body and it made her feel alive and dirty at the same time. She wasn’t some cheap help he had hired, nor was she a willing party in this matter, she told herself. Her body would light up though, without her consent every time she felt his eyes on her. It was the most infuriating feeling in the world.
One time, Alec called her on the office number as she hurriedly finished up the documents he needed an hour ago. In a panic, she answered the call, expecting a sound yelling for her tardiness. Instead Alec sang out in the phone, “Hey gorgeous, want to go get something to eat?”
Miranda literally removed the phone from her ear and stared at it for a moment as if it were some alien leech. When she put it back on her ear, she could hear him laughing. That turned her wonder into anger real fast. Here she was busting herself trying to get all his work done on time and he just sat there mocking her. In a barely controlled voice, she answered, “I have too much work to do, sir. I cannot accept your offer.” And with that she slammed the phone down, not waiting for a response.
Another time, she had a date with a guy her friend had introduced her to and she accidentally ended up mentioning it to Alec. She was getting ready to leave the office and was excited since she hadn’t been out in a while.
As she left the office, Alec called out, “What’s got you in such a good mood? Big date tonight?”
Before she could think about it, she replied, “Yes. Good night, sir,” and left. That should be the end of it, right? So, there she was in a fancy restaurant, enjoying herself for once when her phone blared out Katy Perry’s “Fireworks.” Embarrassed, she quickly pulled out her phone. She had been meaning to change the ringtone but had never gotten around to it. Now she wished that she had.
She looked down at the caller ID and was a little surprised to see Alec’s name pop up. Why was he calling her, she wondered? It wasn’t unheard of for him to call her but she had told him she would be out tonight. It must be important, she thought to herself. She answered, “Hello, sir. Is everything alright?”
In a jubilant voice, Alec replied, “Oh, Miranda, how many times must we go through this? Stop calling me sir. The name is Alec, not sir.”
Exasperated, Miranda continued on, “What can I do for you, sir?”
Alec chuckled at that. “You always walk right into my jokes, don’t you?”
Miranda realized her mistake. He was prone to making crude jokes whenever she provided an opening. She groaned and asked, “What is the matter?”
“Oh yes. I called because I’m looking for the files from Rajput Enterprises. I can’t seem to find them and I wanted to go over them before this Thursday’s board meeting.”
Heaving a sigh, Miranda replied, “They are by your computer, right next to Mr. Freeman’s report.”
“OK, thanks.” And with that he disconnected the phone. Miranda went back to her date and apologized for the interruption. After another ten minutes or so, her phone rang again. She pulled it out to see that it was Alec again. Excusing herself, she went to answer it. This time he wanted to know what time his appointment with the dentist was. The same thing continued throughout her date. He kept calling her every five or ten minutes with some mundane question or other. Within the next half hour, her date was at an end and there was no possibility of another one. Miranda was extremely angry and then something occurred to her. Alec was purposefully sabotaging her date. The next time he called, she let him have it. She yelled at him for the next fifteen minutes straight and then cut the call before he could get a word in. Later that night, she realized that she might have made a terrible mistake and that she most probably would get fired in the morning. But Alec was the same chirpy, flirty, infuriating man he always was and it was like the night before had never happened.
She was over a month into her job when Alec came up to her and said, “Would you schedule the plane to fly out to Paris next Thursday?”
Miranda nodded and said, “Right away, sir.”
Alec rolled his eyes at her and shook his head. “What do I have to do to make you stop calling me sir? It makes me feel old and leering.”
Miranda clamped her lips s
hut since she didn’t want to tell him how leering he could be. When she didn’t reply, he huffed and said, “Also, keep your schedule open all of next week and the week after that as well.”
Miranda was puzzled and asked, “Whatever for?”
Alec, who was heading to his office, turned around and in an offhand voice said, “Oh, you’re going with me to Paris. So brush up on your French too, would you? And send my coffee in as well please.” And with that he retreated into his office, closing the door behind him. Miranda just gawked at the door for the next five minutes, not sure she heard him correctly. She was sure he couldn’t have said she was going to Paris? With him? Or had he?
As soon as she could get her limbs to work again, she was in his office. Without knocking, she burst in and walked up to his desk. Alec looked up with an expression that said he was expecting nothing less. Undeterred, she said, “What did you mean that I was going to Paris with you?”
Priceless Love Page 4