In Love With My Personal Assistant(7)

"I hear you, James. Sure thing. I'll contact HR to see about the job  listing and responsibilities for the position they were going to use and  then run back through my own contacts to get this party started."

James could have shouted and leapt for joy. "This is good news. Thanks, Jerry. I'm so glad you're on board with this."

"Well, you're the boss," Jerry replied. "I better contact HR as soon as possible. I think they move a little slow."

"I'll connect with you in a couple of days to see how the search is  going," James responded. They exchanged a few more words before they  made pleasantries to end the phone call. James really didn't pay  attention to the rest. All he knew is that the stage was finally set for  him to show Jennifer all the things he had kept from her previously.

You got to know someone after working so close with them for five years.  Things like that just couldn't be helped. He had been a master of  professionalism though, and was always careful to never speak about  himself personally.

That was partly to keep Jennifer at a safe distance, but most importantly, it was to keep him from getting too attached.

As a millionaire in Chicago, he had seen lots of women move through his  life. When he was younger, he personally held the playboy title that  most young tycoons carried.

It wasn't that he disrespected women. Far from it. He loved them just as  much as the next wealthy man. At the time, he just wasn't ready to  settle. Also, he'd be lying if he said having a few insecurities in  certain areas kept him from bonding too closely with any of them too.  But that was neither here nor there.

In his youth, finding a woman to partner with him on his spectacular  journey of life wasn't that important to him. He really only looked for  ways to distress and relax. That's what the temporaries were there for.  They kept him light company back during the time when he used to play  just as hard as he worked. That meant hitting vacation getaways like  Aruba, Bora Bora, Kauai and more on the regular.         

     



 

He had gotten away from that type of living right around the time that  he had first met Jennifer, and he was glad. She was a woman that reeked  of commitment, but at the time, he didn't take special notice of it.  After all, he knew that she was involved with someone.

He never met the guy and thinking back, Jennifer never told him about  him. He wasn't sure when their relationship ended, but after a while,  Jennifer's frequent last minute availability spoke the words he probably  never would have heard her say: She was on the market.

By that time, James had nearly recovered what he had lost from a few bad  investments, but he never made the move. He just kept working, and  Jennifer stayed by his side.

He knew he'd miss his chance if he didn't make a move. Women like  Jennifer didn't stay single for very long, but she was such an  invaluable asset to him as a worker, James never dared to push the  boundaries of their relationship; and, after a year, he even decided  that it was best if he sought for personal companionship elsewhere.  That's when Katie came into the picture.

At the thought of his ex, his mind and thoughts stilled while a wave of  anger brewed in the consciousness of his mind. He didn't think he could  explain his actions with Katie away; but luckily, he didn't feel like he  had to. He wasn't about opening closed doors and Katie Heuser was  definitely a closed door.

James checked the time. It wasn't even 9 am yet. He needed to give  Jennifer a little more time before he approached her again. Even more,  he really needed her to find him a scheduler. He couldn't function  without his calendar, and speaking of which …

Turning in his lean company chair, James faced the screen of his  computer. In an instant, he saw that Jennifer had emailed him the  updated schedule. He had a phone call briefing with a client at 10 am  and then several personal phone calls he needed to return. Other than  that, his Monday was surprisingly clear. A full smile was back on his  lips.

He had always found Jennifer incredibly sexy and attractive. She wasn't  like the alpha females he knew. Those women were just as sneaky and  conniving as he was. He didn't find them all too terribly forthcoming,  if he had to be honest.

In fact, if he could speak his mind freely, he would have said without  hesitation that the wealthy female businesswoman in the corporate CEO  world were too feisty to seriously consider for anything long term. He  wasn't intimidated by their knowledge and ability to match him toe for  toe in his own field. In fact, he actually found that to be a bit of  fun.

They fell into the temporary category because he knew nothing long term  could ever come from knowing them. They craved more and the next thing  just as eagerly as he did a little too much to ever feel like their  interests could be aligned on the same goal.

That wasn't to say that he needed a woman who wanted to live just for  his purposes-his head wasn't that big! But in a much lesser type of way,  he knew he needed a woman who wanted what he wanted. The females that  competed against him and traded stock and invested in new startups to  add millions to their retained earnings at each IPO didn't want that.

They had their own agenda and it didn't involve getting hitched and  becoming the side woman with no name. James could respect that because  at the start of his journey, he didn't plan on getting married any time  too soon. Even the thought was foreign. It was something he wasn't even  going to think about.

One thing was certain, however, and that was the fact that he did have  feelings for Jennifer Rhodes. He always had. A beautiful, intelligent  women was hard to find. And to just think that she had been with him for  five years only to suddenly now be unavailable was enough to drive him  mad.

He could stand by every word that he said to her. He wasn't the type to  lie to get his way. No, he wanted to tell Jennifer the truth. He knew  that telling her how he felt was wrong. Not because she worked for him  as his assistant, but because he had missed his chance. It was a shitty  thing to do, really.

It was a necessary evil though. He had never been given the chance to  show Jennifer his true self. She knew the hard-working, dedicated side  James, but, she had never experienced the softer, caring side. If it  came down to a choice between him and Andrew, she at least wanted her to  have known him in his entirety.

~*~

Time continued throughout the day in an extremely slow fashion. James  made his calls and responded to several different emails. Andrew had  landed according to his new ETA. The fact that he was late didn't bother  James at all. The later the better.

Seogen wasn't in a huge hurry to implement their new office. Sticking to  the timeline was definitely advisable, but if they fell behind by one  or two weeks, James knew his smooth tongue could talk them out. He had  the entire situation under control, except for the bit pertaining to  Jennifer, of course. But that was about to change.         

     



 

James came out of his thoughts as the phone sounded in the room. He  looked towards the line number. It was Jennifer. With a quick grin, he  answered the phone and forced a calm over his voice.

"Yes," he bit his lip to keep himself from tacking on the familiar angel call to his treasured worker.

"You have a personal call from Timothy," she said smoothly. "He wouldn't  give me any more information. He just said it was urgent he speak to  you right away."

"Timothy?" James frowned. He didn't recall any current or recently  completed contracts by that name. "Did he give you a last name?"

"No."

"Hmmm," James looked at the time. He couldn't believe it was just past  eleven. He felt like he had already had a full day of nothing and felt  like calling it day and heading home. "Send him through," James said at  last. He set the receiver down and waited for the call. He answered it  first ring.

"James Melone speaking," he said quickly. James checked the time again out of habit. Still 11:11.

"James, it's good to hear your voice. I know it's been awhile."

With bunching brows, James frowned. "Timothy, I'm afraid you're going to  have to refresh my memory. If it's been awhile, I've met with quite a  few people in my time."

"Tim Walters," the man spoke smoothly, "from ABC Training in Summit."

James frowned at the information. He knew the city, had been there several times. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"ABC Training? Well, how's Matt Luke? He's usually the one I speak with, isn't he?"

On the line, Timothy chuckled. "That's right. It might have just been once that I corresponded with you in the past."

James nodded eagerly. "So how's Matt Luke?"

"He's why I called."

James straightened in his chair, his body stiffening with unease. "Is  everything okay?" Matt Luke was an older gentlemen, in his late sixties  with spunk like you wouldn't believe. He had run the business training  company for years. In fact, the old man happened to be one of Melone's  first contracts that gave him the ability to move from the East Coast to  the heart of America, Chicago, Illinois.