More, Please(17)

“The assistant will grab everything.”

“Who is this assistant?” I asked, doing one more sweep. I almost wanted to take the robe just to have something in my hands.

“She only just started. You’ll meet her soon. Ready?”

I walked out of the room, glancing back furtively. “Why the new assistant?” I asked as we made our way to the elevator.

When the doors opened, a smiling attendant greeted us. He waited for us to enter and then pushed the button for the ground floor. He clasped his hands in front of him and pointed his face demurely at the ground.

“I need certain things looked after. How are things going with Bruce?” Hunter asked as the elevator chimed. “We didn’t get a chance to discuss it.”

Yes, because you were in the middle of a personality change.

When the doors opened on the right floor, the attendant put his hand out to ensure we weren’t caught if they randomly closed, and said, “Have a good day, sir, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at him. Then, when out of earshot, I said, “It feels weird that the hotel doesn’t trust its patrons to operate an elevator.”

“It saves us from having to keep an elevator assistant on staff.” His voice was colored with humor.

“Sure, joke, but know that this hotel is basically calling you an idiot. They don’t trust you to push the right buttons. They probably assume you poor rich sods will be riding the elevator all day, not sure how to get out. That, or you’ll be wandering the halls, lost, calling out for your assistants…”

Hunter laughed. “Or maybe they’re using the flattery of a helper to create another job or two.”

My eyebrows lowered, because while I didn’t think that was strictly true, it was certainly a perk for the work force.

“How’s it going with Bruce?” Hunter repeated as we stepped out of the hotel.

I allowed myself to be steered to the right, where he handed a ticket to a man at a small podium. “Great, actually. I have a bunch of stuff I need to do later today. Or tomorrow. But it’s fun work, so I don’t mind it.”

“More fun than being an office assistant, huh?”

I grimaced, because it was. It was in my field, whereas what I was doing for Hunter was not even remotely close to what I studied in school. I loved learning new things, but I also loved programming.

“He’s half thinking of getting another business going,” Hunter said as a sleek sports car pulled into the carport in front of the hotel.

A man in uniform stepped out and hustled over with keys. Hunter slipped him a tip as he stepped to the passenger door and opened it for me.

“Arrive in a limo, leave in a supercar. You need a team of assistants.” I smiled at him as I sat in the plush leather seat.

“I have a team of assistants,” he replied before he closed the door and walked to the driver’s side.

“I doubt his wife will be thrilled with him starting another business,” I said as Hunter steered the car out of the hotel’s carport.

“He plans to keep it small this time.”

“There’s no way.” I shook my head, checking social media on my phone as Hunter drove. “He thinks big, like you. He’ll start small, but as soon as that gets rolling, he’ll reach for more. You wait.”

“Yes, he will. I’ve been…advising him. If he reaches in the right way, and organizes things properly, there’s no reason why he has to do the heavy lifting when things escalate. He can maintain creative control, company control, and stay married.”

“So you’re taking over already?” I snorted.

“Just advising. He has to come up with a project first.”

“Which he will. The one we’re working on will seriously rock. Seriously.”

“He’ll need investors…”

“He’s rich. He’ll probably just fund it himself,” I argued.

“At first, sure. But it’s a big risk, and advertising is expensive. It’d be better to gamble with a larger company’s money. At least until the ball is rolling.”

I glanced up as we hit the crest of a hill and started down. The ocean sparkled in the distance with the sun beating down on it, the winters in San Francisco often better than the summers, and the day lending proof.

“We’re not going to your house, are we? I don’t really want Blaire yelling at me today.”

“We won’t be seeing Blaire.”

It was a non-answer, and I didn’t much like the elusiveness of it. He didn’t take her seriously, and it would probably earn him a knife in his back. For me, it’d probably be an axe to the head. The less I had to deal with that woman, the better.