“No, not right now.”
She buzzed someone on her phone as she stood, and I followed suit. She slowly walked to her door and I knew that was my cue to exit.
“Melissa will show you to your office. Congratulations, Ms. Sumner.” I shook her hand and realized that Mrs. Hargrove was short and to the point. I didn’t exactly get the warm fuzzies from her but she also was not a nasty person. She was relatively cold but I attributed that to her wearing her professional hat while at work. From the way she cracked up at me earlier, I knew there was a fun side in there somewhere.
Melissa was another gorgeous, leggy blonde and I was starting to notice a theme with the women in the office. When I walked into my office I could not believe my eyes. It was absolutely gorgeous and I should not have been surprised because I was, after all, working at a six star hotel. I had a beautiful mahogany desk with a plush full back chair, incredible artwork on the walls and crystal vases filled with fresh flowers. It was all a bit overwhelming for me because the change was happening so fast. I turned to thank Melissa and a stout older woman in what appeared to be her 60’s, was standing in the doorway and she had the most friendly smile.
“Hello Ms. Sumner, my name is Beverly but everyone calls me Bev and I am your new executive assistant. Anything you need, just come to me and I will take care of it.” She winked at me as she came into my office with an iPad in her hands. “We need to go over your schedule, so if you don’t mind please have a seat and hit the enter key on your computer.”
I was a little bit taken aback with how quickly everything had happened that morning so I had to stop Bev in her tracks and kind of gather my thoughts. “Excuse me, Bev? What is going to happen with the front desk today? Since I am up here now, there is no one in charge down there and I really think I need to tell someone the schedule for the week.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that Ms. Sumner, everything downstairs has already been taken care of.”
What? How was that possible? I had been up there for a little bit over an hour so how could everything already be taken care of? I didn't want to cause any issues so I just let it go. If she said things were taken care of then I would just have to believe her. I sat at my desk and pulled up my schedule to see that my day was filled with meetings. I sat with Bev for about 30 minutes and then I was off to my first meeting. Instead of being nervous I was super excited to start my new job.
I received a warm reception from everyone in all of my meetings that day which kind of just solidified my excitement for the job. I didn’t feel one ounce of resentment from anyone and I have to admit that I was a little bit worried about that because I had been promoted to a senior role so quickly. It was almost 6:00 and I was putting away papers in my file drawer when I heard a light knock at my door. I looked up to see Sebastian standing in the doorway, looking like a Greek god, dressed in a gorgeous dark grey suit with his dark eyes fixated on me. Dammit that man is beautiful. I don’t know that I had seen a more attractive man in my life, ever.
I quickly stood up, not knowing what to say because the last time I saw him, I turned him down. Was he here to tell me this was all a joke and I was really fired? My heart began to bang against my chest as fear enveloped me.
“I see that you are all settled in Elena. How was your first day?” His eyes seemed to be sincere as he asked me the question and the banging in my chest was reduced to a softer thump.
“It went really well, thank you.”
“May I come in?”
“Oh, yes of course, please.”
He closed my door, strode into my office, took a seat in the chair across from my desk and motioned for me to sit at my desk. I sat across from him with nerves that were tied in a knot. Is this where he reprimands me? He was silent as his eyes searched mine and I could see that he was trying to figure me out. I bet I was the only woman who had ever rejected him. Yes, he was gorgeous and rich but I had a plan for myself and I was going to stick to it. It would have been really easy to go back to his place after the gala, but where would that have gotten me? I’m sure that I would be unemployed right about then instead of promoted to a Vice President. My thoughts ran away from me and Sebastian was saying something to me.
“I have never met anyone like you in my life Elena Sumner, I am captivated.” His eyes smoldered as he waited for my reaction.
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“You were promoted to manager in less than one year and nothing but glowing reviews for you from everyone who has worked with you in any capacity. You’re from Pensacola, Florida, your mom is an admin for the local Home Improvement store and your father is a high school math teacher. You had a 4.0 gpa in college and graduated at the top of your class. You have a current driver’s license and passport and you have never received so much as a parking ticket. You did an incredible job at the gala and conducted yourself with the utmost professionalism. I know talent when I see it, that is why I arranged for your promotion.”
“Wait, putting aside for a minute that you know all of this personal information about me, you are behind my promotion?”
As this sank in I started to think that I didn’t actually earn my new position. Of course you didn’t earn it, what were you thinking? That you could be promoted a bazillion levels that quickly? Wake up and smell the lust, Elena! Sebastian Blu had a reputation for getting what he wanted and didn’t take no for an answer. It was obvious to me now that he wanted me and would do anything to have me. Well, I was not for sale and I needed to make that perfectly clear to him before I worked one more day at the hotel.
“Yes, I arranged for you to be promoted, but I want you to know that this is based strictly on the promise you have shown. And yes, a background check was performed when you were hired, it’s standard for all employees.”
“Mr. Blu, while I appreciate the promotion, I hope that we are clear that there will be no extra benefits after hours.”
He looked amused as he watched me squirm a bit in my seat. I tried my best to make sure that what I said came out sounding professional.
He held my gaze and would not let it go. “What do you mean by ‘extra benefits’?”