I venomously stared at his retreating figure. When his door finally closed, I hissed at him and stuck my tongue out like a two-year-old. This made Maggie chuckle as she told me Mr. Mogul's coffee preference, which was dark with one cube of sugar. She also pointed out that I should get the coffee from the cafe across the street, which is what she usually does. I smiled and thanked her as I got up from my chair and headed towards the elevator.
After ten minutes, I was back with three cups of coffee in hand: one for Maggie, one for Mr. Rudeness, and one for me. I gave Maggie's drink first (I got her a latte since I didn't know what she liked, which she was grateful for) before placing mine on my desk. I was just about to deliver William's drink, but before I could walk into his office, he suddenly stomped out of it. Because I didn't notice right away, naturally I bumped into him. It didn't help that I held a cup of coffee, so I bet you can guess what happened next.
"What the-"
The front of his three-piece suit was drenched with the coffee, making it look even darker. I looked at him in shock and took a strained breath as I stared at his enraged face. I actually saw him flush with anger all the way up to his neck.
"I'm sorry," I said softly, not really sure what to say next. However, I unconsciously noticed the stain didn't look that bad since he was wearing black.
"It doesn't look that bad. Thank heavens you were wearing funeral clothes," I joked to lighten up the mood, but after I said it, I realized I shouldn't have. I didn't know what made me say that. His eyes blazed in fury as it landed on mine. Then, he stood up straight as he took off his blazer. The movement was sexy somehow, but I brushed it off considering this wasn't a sexy situation.
"I have a meeting to go to," he grumbled silently as he slowly took off his stained garments. He clenched his jaw as he dropped the wet fabric on the floor. "I want that and the floor cleaned when I get back. Do you understand?" he commanded and pointed at his dirty clothes.
I nodded in reply as I slowly crouched down and picked up his clothes. Once the stained ones were removed-mentally sighing in relief that his white polo wasn't drenched-he turned to Maggie.
"Call Mark and tell him to bring a black blazer before picking me up."
"Yes, sir," Maggie replied directly as she brought the phone up to her ear.
I tore my gaze away from them to the pile of clothes on the floor. I never washed this kind of high quality fabric. How am I supposed to get this clean before he gets back? I cursed myself for being clumsy and kept my eyes down in shame.
I relaxed a little once I saw William walk away from me. He was starting to distress me again. I hoped he wouldn't chew my head off over this incident later on. As I stood up, with clothes in hand, I heard a leather shoe squeak as he turned back towards me.
"And Ms. Peterson, please be ready for the meeting this afternoon. You'll be sitting in on Alex's behalf," he said sternly, then walked towards the open, empty elevator. I didn't get to reply as the door closed. I stood there like an idiot, not knowing what to do next. I heard someone clear their throat, which brought me back to reality.
"You can go down the lobby in ten minutes and tell Danny, the receptionist, to get those to the washer. It'll be back before lunch," Maggie said with a smile.
"Thank you," I replied with a strained smile and nodded.
After ten minutes, I went down the lobby and just repeated what Maggie told me to Danny. She enthusiastically smiled and followed my orders while bringing a phone up to her ear. In less than a minute, a guy in a black shirt and ragged jeans showed up and took the clothes from me.
"Get this washed and back before lunch. Mr. Maxwell's orders," Danny commanded, looking at him sternly.
The guy nodded without a reply and headed out of the lobby. For a few seconds, I couldn't really wrap my head around how fast they carried out the task. The receptionist saw my confused expression and gave me a small smile. At this point, I turned to her and regarded her features.
Her light brown hair was tied back, showing her heart shaped face. Her arched eyebrows and red lipstick made her look fierce, even though she looked too young. My guess was she might be about my age.
"Are you new here?"
"Yes. I'm Ms. Maxwell's new assistant," I replied with a small voice. I remembered other people's reaction on that job description.
"Yeah, we met yesterday... Well, you should know that the Maxwell's aren't good with patience. But Ms. Alex is tolerable," she whispered conspiratorially.
I smirked at her response and nodded in agreement. "Thanks for that information."
"No problem. You can come to me if you need anything else," she offered with a friendly smile.
I mentally sighed that she wasn't fazed about my job. Maybe she was like me, a girl who wasn't affected by the Maxwell spell. I thanked her again and made my way back up the office. I let out a huge breath, thanking the heavens that I didn't have to see that man's face until tomorrow.
Oh, no. I flinched as I remembered about the meeting this afternoon. I guess it's better that this meeting was set later rather than earlier (particularly right after that awful incident).
As lunch passed, I was ready to face Mr. Mogul again. His suit was cleaned and ready to be handed back to him. I was also ready for the meeting. I emailed Alexandra before lunch, and in reply, she asked me to email everything that would be discussed. I was relieved to know that I didn't have to give any opinion at all. Because, to be honest, I had no clue on anything business-related.
Around one in the afternoon, my computer chimed, alerting me of an email. It was a notification for me to go to the boardroom for the meeting. I asked Maggie the exact location so that I wouldn't be late again because I couldn't find my way.
I was the first to arrive, which was only fitting since I was not part of the board. I was glad that I didn't have to walk in a room filled with important people in suits. I didn't need any more of them to intimidate me.
When the first person came in, wearing a dark brown suit with navy blue tie, the man stopped for a second once he noticed me. Afterwards, he gave me a small smile as he took a seat. The table was rectangular with twelve seats in total. The room had a floor to ceiling glass window across the door, giving a clear view of the city. After a few seconds of assessing the room, two more men in suits came in and both had the same reaction as the first man.
Almost fifteen minutes had passed and the room was packed with old men in suits, which made it obvious that I was the only girl in the room. They were whispering silently to themselves. Some were very blatant as they stared at me. I kept my cool and emailed Alexandra that the meeting would start soon. While I was doing that, I didn't notice the silence as someone entered the room.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are we ready to start?" a deep, familiar British accent grabbed my attention away from my phone.
He paused by the door for two seconds, and then he paced towards the head of the table. He was wearing a different blazer, though it looked almost identical to the one I poured coffee on-well, accidentally poured. His eyes looked slightly tired, but that didn't lessen the confidence he gave off. He exuded power and control, making it known that he was the boss.
An older man with dark brown hair wearing a navy blue suit spoke up first. I tried hard to catch up with what he was saying as I took notes. For the first few minutes, I quietly stared at my laptop, typing while the men talked. Finally, William noticed my presence, which made his demeanor change.
"Ms. Peterson. I didn't notice you come in. Do you have an opinion about what these men are saying?" he asked, bringing everyone's attention to me.
I glanced down at the laptop for a second, then looked up to meet his stare. I felt self-conscious for a second, but brushed it off. I wasn't here to tell them my opinion, I was here as a secretary.
"I was here early before you came in, Mr. Maxwell," I started a little softly. My voice was constricted from nervousness. I cleared my throat first before I continued, "I don't have a say to what these men are talking about since I'm only here in Ms. Maxwell's behalf." I won't allow him to degrade me in front of his board members.
He opened his mouth to counter, but closed it when he couldn't find the words. I mentally smiled at my first success on keeping Mr. Mogul in his place. The fire in me lit up and I felt like I was on a roll.
"But if you want a word from Ms. Maxwell, I can ask her now. I'm sending her a direct report about the current situation," I added after a moment of silence.
"No. I think we are fine," William replied after a moment, his jaw slightly clenched in annoyance. "Please proceed," he commanded firmly, making the men in the room stiffen in discomfort.