4
I was in the cafeteria on the ground floor next to the reception, accompanied by my great friend, Madeleine.
She was a thirty-five-year-old woman, beautiful, with a good figure and a tan complexion. Her eyes were an unusual black color, but they shone brightly.
Maddie was the secretary of the Director of Human Resources and also the girlfriend of the General Manager of this company.
On the other hand, I was the secretary to the CEO of the company, one who was arriving today.
As far as we knew, the company they worked for had more branches in other places, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit. Several branches were also spread across England and Europe.
The central headquarters of the company was located in Munich, Germany.
"Are you feeling better now? Joshua told me you got stuck in the elevator," Madeleine commented as she added sugar to her coffee.
"Yes, I'm better now. Thanks to the man I got stuck with, it wasn't so bad," I replied with a smile. "I thought I was going to be stuck there forever."
"Don't say that! They would have eventually rescued you. Imagine if the same thing happened to you as five years ago when you started working," Madeleine said.
"What happened five years ago?" a voice asked from behind us.
Turning around, we saw the Manager with the blond man who had helped me in the elevator.
I looked at my friend not knowing what to say. I didn't want to remember it and even less did I want anyone in the company to know what happened to me and why I was afraid of being stuck in an elevator with a man.
I turned back, ignoring one of those men's questions. I began to spread butter on my toast.
Joshua approached us, followed by the other man, and they sat down next to us. The brunette next to his girlfriend and the blond man next to me, but before sitting down, he asked.
"Can I sit or will you yell at me?"
"Do whatever you want," I said disdainfully with my eyes closed.
"Girls, I'd like you to meet Stefan Schmidt. The CEO of Verlag... and the son of Mr. Niklaus Schmidt, the owner of all the companies around the world," he introduced.
I dropped my toast onto the plate upon learning that he was my new boss.
"So, what they said was true..." Madeleine commented, "that the company president is handsome and young," she said, noticing how the blond man was looking at her.
"Oh... so you're already talking about me," Stefan said with a mischievous smile.
"Yes, and be careful that no she-wolf tries to 'hunt' you. There are many of those around here," the tan woman spoke. Her boyfriend nudged her gently. "You know it's true, Joshua," she said reluctantly.
"I know, but be more cautious with your words," the Manager advised her.
"And what brings you here?" I asked, reverting to my former self.
"I'm overseeing some branches I have abroad. I started with the one in Detroit, and now it's Seattle's turn," he replied. "Do you happen to know of any available secretaries for me while I'm here?"
"Well, no," I said calmly, picking up the toast and spreading butter on it.
"I think you will be. You'll be his new secretary, Katia," Joshua informed me.
"You promised me..." I began to say to my friend's boyfriend.
"I know, but he's the one who requested it, so I can't refuse. I've already warned him not to try anything with you... because then I won't hesitate to risk my job to protect you. Besides, I promised Oscar before he left."
"Why would I want anything with an employee?" the German man asked, puzzled.
"Oh, for nothing," I quickly interjected before my friends said something. "Still, I can't..."
"If what you're afraid of is that I'll be one of those bosses who harass their secretaries, don't worry. I won't cross the red line that separates professional from personal territory," Stefan told me seriously, but he didn't stop showing that smile that conveyed his self-assuredness.
I closed my eyes and took a bite of the toast, revealing perfectly white teeth.
We continued conversing until we finished breakfast. I couldn't help but reply to Stefan with a brusque attitude every time he spoke to me.
When we were done, we returned to our workstations.
Throughout the day, I had to come to terms with the fact that I had to change my job. I wasn't thrilled about it, as I thought this man was just an arrogant fool, especially when I saw him leaving his office and interacting with more than half of the women in the company.
He would flash a charming smile at all of them, and that kind of behavior annoyed me. I always tried not to look when his office door opened, but I couldn't help glancing over after a second.
I really didn't like this man at all.