The key word was if.
First thing tomorrow he’d have to read Nolan the riot act about leaving without telling him. Or before Zack was done with him.
His back muscles protested again as he walked over to the small kitchenette around the side of the fake wall behind Nolan’s area. He’d been sitting far too much today and hadn’t made it to Ringside last night to get some much needed work done on the place. Being there always helped him chill out and refill his emotional reserves. Given how much shit he still had to do before he called it a day, he’d have to miss another visit. At least he could do some stretching before he went back to work.
Coffee in hand, he returned to his office, kicked off his shoes, and flicked the light. He set his mug on his desk, pulled his tie free, and undid the top two buttons. That was better. His office was big enough that he didn’t have to worry about moving any furniture out of the way.
Standing in the middle of the dark room, Zack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Yoga had been one of the things Russel had forced him to learn as a teenager at Ringside. He’d wanted to move, run, hit things, not hold a tree pose with his eyes closed. He’d been surprised not only by how challenging it had been to learn the poses, but by how his mind and body had always felt clearer once he finished. Max and Eli hadn’t kept up with the practice, but Zack had quickly made it a part of his routine, especially on days when the buzzing in his body didn’t want to subside.
Taking another long breath through his nose, he bent his knees and stretched his arms out and above his head as he straightened into a mountain pose. Just as slowly he folded in on himself until his hands were flat on the floor. He groaned, enjoying the pleasant ache before going through the motions again. Over the years, yoga had helped him keep his temper in check. It was easy for him to slip into that mental place of peace with a few moves.
Zack was halfway through his routine when a noise from the outer office caught his attention. He froze on the spot when Nolan burst through the main doors, a stack of files in his arms and a headset flattening his hair.
“Yes, I understand that you need to speak with Mr. Anderson, but as I mentioned, Mr. Chopra, I can’t get you an appointment any earlier than the one I’ve already booked.”
Jesus, Raj needed to chill the hell out. Zack knew what the director wanted, and Raj knew his position on it—they’d been having the same argument for a month now—but he should also know Zack’s mind wasn’t going to be changed with a bombardment of annoying phone calls. Zack stepped toward his door, intending to say something to Nolan, when his assistant smiled.
“Yes, I understand your frustration. All I can do is promise you that I’ll present the new information you’ve provided. Thank you for that email, by the way. Yes. Of course. No, I understand. But remember Mr. Anderson’s approval is key to this. He’s a reasonable man and will take all your information into consideration. Yes. I will. Have a good night, sir.” Nolan ended the call and tossed the headset on his desk with a groan.
That had been . . . surprising.
Raj had driven his last assistant nearly insane with his constant calls. She’d begged Zack to deal with him, to talk to him, anything to get him to stop. As much as he pitied her, it was her job to manage those calls and difficult people. She hadn’t seemed overly upset when he told her she was fired. At least Nolan had one thing going for him.
Two. He’d also stayed late.
Zack realized that Nolan didn’t know he was still there, when he walked past the office with his mug over to the kitchenette. Zack heard splashing sounds—Nolan was washing the mug and, from the sound of it, the few other dishes in the sink. He shouldn’t let Nolan do those, the cleaning staff would be around soon enough and that was part of their job, not his. Picking up his mug, Zack headed for the kitchenette and made a point of coughing before stepping past the threshold.
If Nolan was startled by his arrival, he didn’t show it. “Hello, Mr. Anderson. How did your call go?”
There was something about the way Nolan said his name that irked him. “Call me Zack when we’re alone.”
Nolan paused briefly, then nodded. “No problem.”
“I thought you’d left.”
Nolan turned and looked at him wide-eyed. “Leave? I might have to live here for the next week to get caught up. Your appointment calendar is a mess, as are your files. I assume you’ve been the one handling these reports and approvals.”
“I haven’t had an assistant in eight months. Your predecessor lasted two days.”
“Not surprising. The backlog alone would drive anyone to quit on sight.” Nolan set the mugs in the drying rack and dried his hands off. “I’ve emailed you your agenda for tomorrow, along with the reports from the California office. You’ll need those for your budget review next week. Also, I’m sure you just heard Mr. Chopra on the phone again. I understand your concerns with his proposal, but I reviewed the additional supporting documents he sent over today, and I believe he’s addressed some of them. I wouldn’t pass it along if I didn’t think it was worth your time. That said, if you don’t agree, I’ll contact him once you’ve taken a look and break the news.”
The man on the verge of a panic attack was nowhere to be seen. Nolan’s shoulders were pulled back and his eyes sparkled with something Zack could only assume was excitement. That was, well . . . strange. No one ever enjoyed working for him, let alone this closely. Maybe there was something not quite right in Nolan’s head.
Hands dry, Nolan lobbed his paper towel into the trash can. “I know it’s only seven, but I was going to head home. Unless you need me for something else.”
Zack moved closer, taking perverse pleasure in watching Nolan’s hazel eyes widen with every step. He was shorter than Zack, but not by much. His wavy black hair was longer in front than Zack preferred on a professional, with a long forelock sort of like a pony’s, but on Nolan it worked. It made him look handsome and vulnerable at the same time.
Where the hell did that come from?
Zack didn’t look away and was impressed when, despite his obvious discomfort, Nolan didn’t back down either. “What time do my meetings start tomorrow?”
Nolan swallowed, the tip of his tongue darting across his lips. “You originally had an eight o’clock with Finance, but I moved it to two, after your lunch meeting with Dell. I didn’t see the sense in you needing to go out twice when one trip gets things sorted.”
Okay, maybe he was going to have to keep Nolan around. Finance had refused his request for a meeting change twice. “I still expect you to be in by eight.”
“If its fine with you, I’m going to keep the 7 a.m. start. It gives me time to get ready for the day and put out any fires before most people arrive. Plus it’s quiet here at that time. It helps with my concentration.”
Hard to argue with that logic, even if Zack suspected there was more to it than that. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Nolan nodded and turned to go, but stopped after only taking a few steps out of the kitchenette. “Are you okay, Mr. Anderson?”
“Zack.” Why the hell did it matter what name Nolan called him by? Everyone referred to him by his surname.
“Sorry. Zack. You seem . . . off.”
None of his assistants had ever stuck around long enough to care about how he felt, let alone noticed his emotional state on the first day. Given how little time they’d spent together interacting today, he couldn’t imagine Nolan was that aware of his ebbs and flows yet. “It’s been a long day.”
“It has.” Nolan hesitated a moment longer, before finally moving toward his chair. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Zack. Have a good evening.”
Zack didn’t move as Nolan gathered his things and left the office. He watched him stride all the way down the hall to the elevator and press the button. What was it about Nolan that had him paying such close attention? Yes, he was the first male assistant he’d had, but that shouldn’t make much of a difference. He’d had closer working relationships with more men than he could count over the years. Things shouldn’t be any different with Nolan. Even if he was attractive, intuitive, and made a perfect cup of coffee.
Nolan stepped into the elevator and stood sideways as he pressed the button. The doors slid shut without him meeting Zack’s gaze. Maybe he wasn’t as calm and collected about his new position as Zack assumed.
If Zack didn’t want to be searching for his own files and yelling at Finance to change meetings again, then he’d have to take it a bit easy on Nolan. If nothing else, Nancy from HR would thank him for not scaring off someone else from the support team.
A wave of exhaustion hit him, and for the first time that day he wanted to leave the office and head home. Tomorrow he’d be fresh, and no doubt his abnormal kind streak would vanish and he’d return to his old habits. He gathered his things and did his best to ignore the lingering scent of Nolan’s aftershave as he walked down the hall.
That week, Nolan managed to average four hours of sleep per night. The early mornings didn’t mean early evenings, and as Zack grew comfortable with him, he started asking him to do more and more. Now it was Friday, and for the first time since this whirlwind employment had begun, Nolan hoped that his boss would call it quits early. He wanted to go home and do nothing, shut his brain off while his body recovered.