Chapter 5

• When I woke up on Monday with Allie still in my apartment, I got up and made breakfast, which basically consisted of coffee and jam toast. I had breakfast alone, leaving the food on the counter for when she woke up, and then I went to take a shower.
• Coming out of the bathroom with my hair dripping wet and my body wrapped in a towel, I found her sitting on my bed with an outfit next to her, raising an eyebrow with a question on my face.
• "It's for your first day of work," she explained, getting up. "You have to look good for your new boss."
• I approached, noticing it was a black skirt, a white shirt, a dark blue almost black blazer, and black booties. She had also left a bronze"colored bell necklace and a brown portfolio that had been a gift from my brother. I nodded, confirming the choice, and took the clothes to change in the bathroom. When I came out dressed, I found Allie changed and holding the keys to her car."
• "Grab your things, I'll take you."
• I picked up the portfolio and packed my computer, phone, notebook, and house keys. Allie drove me through the traffic until dropping me off in front of the building, wishing me luck and saying she would come by later to celebrate.
• I entered the building with a confidence I hadn't felt before until I reached the reception. The girl who had attended me during the interview, upon learning my name, called for someone named Laurie Perkins and gave me a name tag which I pinned to the lapel of my blazer.
• "It's a pleasure to have you here, Eryn," Laurie spoke as soon as she arrived next to me and indicated that I follow her. "I must say I'm impressed by your resume."
• I nodded slightly as we entered an elevator and Laurie talked about how great I would do in the job. When the doors opened, we stood in front of a wide hallway that led to a large room with white floors and high ceilings. A light wood door stood out, not matching the grand tones around it. To the left, there was a white table with a computer, a small lamp, a pencil holder, and a white phone.
• "Even though you're his secretary, you have to understand that you'll have to do a little bit of everything," Laurie commented calmly as she took my blazer and portfolio to arrange them on my desk. "Today you might be in accounting, and tomorrow you might be in charge of the presentation order. You have to be versatile, understand?"
• I nodded again as she let me sit in the black chair and walked to the other side of the room where there was a slightly smaller desk than mine. In front of it, there were a couple of gray armchairs. She took a cold water bottle from a mini fridge and returned to leave it on my desk.
• "This is the month's agenda," she explained, handing me a black folder with many post"its on it that she took from the other desk. "You have to organize it to know if there's a trip, a meeting, or something similar to arrange and then tell Mr. Bornout.""
• "Do I have to base it on something?" I asked, opening the folder and flipping through the pages curiously.
• "It depends on what Mr. Bornout tells you. Sometimes he prefers to do it himself, but for now, I suggest you ask Cassidy, she's the girl at the desk in front."
• Laurie smiles as she gives me more instructions on how to handle calls and transfer them to Bornout's office phone, wishing me luck as she leaves. I look at my desk and adjust the pen to my left side, along with the phone. I take out my cell phone to place it on the table and open the folder, noticing a bunch of notes about trips to some countries, interviews, meetings, and presentations at universities or charity events. I glance at the Mac and open a file to start organizing them by dates and times to streamline the process. At no point did I know if Mr. Bornout was behind the door, but around two o'clock, Cassidy, who preferred to be called Cassie and was more British than anything else, took me to the 20th floor where the huge cafeteria was located, offering a wide variety of food from Mexican to Taiwanese for all employees. I serve myself a cola, a tuna sandwich, and a small plate of strawberries with cream on a tray.
• “Why did they decide to choose a new assistant instead of promoting one of you?” she asked as I picked up the sandwich. “You already know the system and how it works.”
• “It's not that, some of us are studying or have families and children waiting at home,” Cassie replied, stirring the contents of her cup with a spoon, which I assumed was tea. “Or we simply didn't want to travel with him.”
• “Wait, are you telling me I have to travel with him?” I asked in surprise. “Really?”
• Cassie nodded and sipped from her cup as if that information was no big deal, but it meant that I had to go on the trip scheduled to New York in two weeks. Returning to the place where my panic originated, I took a deep breath trying to calm down while chewing the sandwich slowly. Once I finished eating, I returned alone since Cassie had only brought me up because we couldn't leave the office phones unattended.
• When I returned, I sat at my desk, giving her permission to go downstairs to eat, but not before telling me that Julia Bornout had called to confirm her attendance at Geoffrey's restaurant at 6:30. Searching through the schedule, I realized she was Christian Bornout's mother. I noted the place and time on a post"it note and stuck it to the computer frame so I wouldn't forget. I opened my water bottle to take a sip when a message notification sounded. It was from Laurie informing me that Bornout was on his way to the office and wanted to see me as soon as he arrived. I swallowed hard when I heard the elevator doors opening, his firm steps echoing on the marble floor as I stood up from my chair, hands on the table trying to calm the nervous gesture that made them tremble. His gray eyes paralyzed me as he opened his office door and left it open for me to enter. He followed me in and circled his desk, walking towards the large window but leaving the city view behind him. I shifted my weight to my right leg."
• “I hope to return the phone to you soon, sir,” I said noticeably nervous.
• “Don't worry about that. Consider it a welcome gift now.”
• I let out a sigh of slight annoyance and resignation, it was obvious he wasn't one to give gifts, as the seconds passed by, stretching longer than they should.
• “Your mother called to remind you of the dinner at Geoffrey's, at 6:30.”
• Now it was his turn to sigh.
• “Alright, inform Larch and clear today's schedule.”
• I nodded quickly and left the office, my heart pounding against my ribs, wanting to escape. If this was how it was always going to be, it was best to stay as far away from his path as possible, which seemed impossible due to the trip to New York, but it didn't matter, at least for now. I just hoped to achieve everything in order to return to a normal life.