On the run

Five

Is this guy actually tapped in his stupid little head?

Have a hot coffee ready for me when I get here between 8 and 9? An hour. He expects me to what? Just magically know when in that hour he's going to be here? Am I supposed to track his phone like some kind of stalker?

Get my lunch? Fuck off.

Make sure I'm here before meetings? What am I your mother?! No! Get your own ass out of bed. My god.

"That is not the kind of face I want to see on a Monday morning." Alice chuckled at the end of the little corridor with a steaming cup of coffee. "Didn't it go well?" I looked up at her and rolled my eyes.

"I need this job. But if I didn't, I'd be printing these bloody instructions off and making him eat them." Alice laughed. "I'm not joking. I'm honestly surprised he's not telling me to do his washing. Look at this," I turned the screen and she approached, perching herself on the edge of my desk. "Make sure I remember to go to the gym at least 3 times a week. What the hell? Am I supposed to drive him there? Does he not have people for that? Honestly." I groaned. I need this job. I need the money and if he's considering increasing my wage, I really really needed this job.

"How was he?"

"Weird. He started off super nice and then just like turned. Like a 180 degree He got my name right though so we're still running above James." She giggled. "He wants me available 24 hours a day 7 days a week."

"He does not." I nodded. "What a douche."

"Mhm." I turned my attention to the screen as he sent me a new email.

Seagrave, Alexander
RE: Tell Alice to get back to her desk.

Black coffee. 1 sugar.
-Alexander.

I closed my eyes, locking the computer and taking a slow deep breath.

"Lord Douche has told me to tell you to go back to your desk and demanded his coffee." She stood up, looking up at the camera and giving the most sarcastic smile she could manage. Of everyone in the office, Alice had to be the one I'd tolerate the most. Like me, she had extraordinarily little acceptance for bullshit. She didn't need the job as much as I did so she was a heck of a lot more outspoken, didn't mind calling James out on his shit in meetings and I'd had to hold back giggles multiple times.

She walked with me back through the office, me intentionally taking the longer route past her desk with her as we talked about the reports I'd be needing from her this week, what filing needed doing, what meetings to be expecting. Normal things.

"Oh, before I forget. Me and some of the girls from the sales team are going out this weekend and I wanted to ask you to come."

"Where are you going?"

"Probably the north side of town. That's where the best bars are and everything and Callie lives close by for pre-drinks."

"I think I have plans all weekend, but thanks so much for the offer."

"No worries, if you change your mind let me know. I'll email you the details and my number so you have them." I nodded at her with a smile before going into the kitchen and making Lord Douche his coffee. I think his new nickname will stick if I'm honest. Especially after that email.

'Black coffee, 1 sugar.' God am I tempted to do salt inside and say it was an honest mistake but then I'd have to make another and it's just not even worth my time. I carefully took his coffee back down the office, knocking on his door and waiting for an answer. He couldn't rant at me for knocking this time. He could have been busy in the 5 minutes I'd been away. I don't know.

"Come in Penny." I pushed the door down, taking a deep breath as I walked the length of the room, sliding the cup down in front of him.

"Anything else?" Your highness??? Prick.

"What were you talking to Alice about?"

"Reports, meetings coming up, what I needed to file this week. Nothing of any significant importance." He looked up from the laptop and I shrugged.

"I need the last 2 years revenue files."

"All of them?"

"No Penny. Just 2 weeks of them. Yes, all of them."

"Are you sure? I made-"

"Penelope. Don't argue. Just get me the damn files." I nodded once, turning on my heels and walking out. The storeroom was beside my space, the door just behind my desk. I walked in, pulling out the stacks of paper and walking back into his office without knocking. The end of year report takes me most of December to put together and an entire 2 days of printing so when I asked him if he wanted it all, I wasn't joking. I make a summary which has the data just put down into key points. It doesn't pin things down day by day, just month by month, which is what I knew he needed right now, but if Lord douche demanded I didn't argue, demanded I got him what he asked, he could fucking ask it.

I dropped the first arm full in front of him, giving him a smile before turning and walking back. 4 trips. 4 arm fulls of paperwork and he just looked at them when I landed the last one on his desk. I held the 2 summaries in my hand, not drawing attention to them simply because I wanted to prove to him he was a knob.

"This is 2 years?"

"Mhm." I nodded. "January 2020 to December 2020 and January 2021 to December 2021." I pointed at the piles for each. He looked at them in shock then up at me. "Each sale on a day-by-day basis, profit margins, time scales, each touch point they had with CS, what we could have prompted them to buy, detailed feedback from the customer after every contact." He definitely didn't need that. Most of the information in here was just for employee reviews and they were done month by month. James just liked to compile it all at the end of the year.

"What-" He sighed, pulling them closer. "What page does the revenue stuff start?"

"About 1 thousand." He looked overwhelmed and I had to bite back a smile. "Or there's the 4-page revenue summaries I made." I flashed my hand and Lord Douche immediately looked at the paper in my hand as I rolled my lips together. "I don't want to argue, so it's up to your which ones you use." I put the summaries on his desk, turning around and walking out, pretty damn proud at myself for not blowing up on him. God knows he was already at the end of my tether. Don't argue. Who did this guy think he was?