"So, how do you like Adrian as a boss? Is he remotely tolerable?" Oliver asks, as I settle in my seat.
"Well, most of the time, yeah. But there are days when his communication skills—or lack thereof—make me want to throw my phone into the sun. Seriously, why can't he just say more than two words? And don't even get me started on his habit of hanging up mid-sentence. I swear, I've been this close to hiring a hitman just for that. How hard is it to let me finish a sentence or at least grunt out a 'thanks' or an 'okay'?"
Oliver nods, smirking. "Ugh, yes! It's like he's allergic to basic human interaction."
"And another thing," I declare, leaning in , "the man is obsessed with his video game collection. I'm talking hours spent dusting, cataloging, and God knows what else. And the money he drops on it? Insane! I half-expect him to declare bankruptcy because of a limited-edition pixelated pony or something."
"Aah yes. His priced video game collection. He likes to say that he is collecting it for his future son. His son will have access to the most vintage and rare collection."
"Just one more thing that his rich son will have, to boast about in his friends group." I reply
"I mean that is another way to look at it.'
"This is the only way that I look at it."
Rachel knocks and enters with Oliver's coffee.
"Thank you so much Rachel." I acknowledge her, taking the coffee from her hands.
"Here is what I believe is the best coffee that New York has to offer!" I chirp, handing Oliver his cup.
Oliver takes a sip.
"How is it?" I bubbled.
"Hmm....it's actually good, I am quite impressed. I could bet that New York could never compete with European style coffee. But this one is pretty damn close." Oliver says, taking another sip.
"Who are you impressed with?" Adrian intrudes
"Look who's here." Oliver chuckles "How was your little session with your future wife?"
Adrian takes a seat on the couch in my small but chic chamber.
"Haha" he says "you say as if I had a passionate makeout session with her."
"You could have"
"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Adrian whinged
"Yes I did," Oliver declares
"Mr Windsor.. Here your coffee. I think you need it." I say, handing him his coffee which I had Rachel bring along with Oliver's coffee.
"Look at her. She is so thoughtful to have arranged coffee for you, without you even asking for it, and then look at you, she shared quite a few of her miseries with me."
"Miseries?" Adrian looks at me, genuinely
"Oh no no Mr Windsor, we were just joking around."
"She's just being polite." Oliver says, sarcastically
"There is nothing like that." I add immediately "Besides we have a lot of work to do, to prepare for the evening, let's shift our attention there."
"Right." Adrian agrees " Are you done with the presentation?"
"Almost. I was just about to wrap things up when Ms. Charlotte stormed in and declared me a thief."
Adrian shakes his head. "You complete it now, email it to me and then go and check on the preparation for tonight. The seminar room, the buffet, everything should be perfect. Ensure that we have the best people on duty today."
"Yes, boss!"
"Oliver and I will head to my office now."
Oliver winks me a good bye and they both leave.
----------------------------------------------
Adrian's POV
"She’s such a sweetheart," Oliver says with a knowing smile.
"Who?"
"Your personal assistant, who else?"
"Oh."
"That’s it? Just an 'oh'?"
"I mean, I know she's a sweetheart," I reply, unfazed. "That’s why I hired her."
"You could’ve at least offered a compliment."
"Oliver, we have bigger issues to deal with right now." I sigh, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
"Right, about that," Oliver says, his tone shifting, "I did some digging. Turns out Theo met with Mr. Jansen's son last month, and then Levi had a meeting with him just last week. I looked into the son a little bit. He's been doing business with some big U.S. and Italian firms, but none of them have anything to do with hospitality."
"Italian?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he’s been exporting chemicals with medicinal properties, rebranding them, and then reselling them across Canada and the U.S."
"That’s... odd," I mutter, trying to piece it together. "What could they possibly want with Mr. Jansen? Unless he’s thinking about branching out into other industries."
"Mr. Jansen’s portfolio has always been focused on hospitality firms with growth potential," Oliver points out "And those two clowns, Theo and Levi, have nothing but a string of failed ventures to their names."
"Another thing concerning me is that, Mr. Jansen has been in America for a week and hasn’t made any attempt to reach out, not even a courtesy call. Then out of nowhere he calls and lets me know that he wants to have the meeting the same day."
"What if.." Oliver smirks
"What? Complete your sentence"
"Okay, this is just speculation, but... what if Theo or Levi knocked up Mr. Jansen’s daughter? I heard she’s quite the beauty," Oliver says, a sly grin spreading across his face.
"That's it. We are going nowhere in this conversation." I say, giving up "Let's just keep an eye on these two and try to give our best today."
"Okay then, I am off, I have a lunch date today." Oliver smirks
"I seriously didn't need to know that."
"I am just informing you, in case I meet my future wife today. My brother should know about, when and how, me and wife first met."
"Ya sure," I say, rolling my eyes "I just hope she isn't anything like Charlotte."
He chuckles and leaves.
In about 15 mins, I received an email from Sara, with the presentation for the evening and other staff and logistics details.
The presentation was flawless. Exactly how I had envisioned it to be.
In these 4 years, Sara has so conveniently understood every aspect of me. She has so effortlessly mastered every nuance of how I operate, and knows what I want, without me spelling it out. Like this coffee from earlier.
It's like she has absorbed my style, my preferences, my approach and is then able to execute it so well as well.
"Hello?" I answer, picking up my phone
"Mr. Windsor, they are here." Sara heaved.
"What? It's fucking 3 pm."
"I believe he is pulling some type of prank on us." Sara says, the sound of her heels, loud in the background "Arriving freaking 4 hours early!!! I am running to check the conference room. Please get me some time, to get everything in order."
"Okay," I say, hurriedly running towards the entrance to receive them "Let me see what I can do."
"Okay."
Mr Jansen's playing a game. He is testing my patience. He is trying to get on my nerves to get a reaction out of me. But rest assured Mr Jansen, I'll not let you leave disappointed.
YOU ARE READING
The Forgotten Petal - An Office Romance
Science Fiction"Oh yes I won't, I will not address a man who is going to be someone else's husband, by his first name." "But you will let the same man make you scream his name when he goes down on you," he states, a wicked grin on his face "Shut up! you were not e...
