Chapter 4

After the meeting was over and while Alexandra Davidson was still in Kirklin’s office, he looked at her as she typed busily on her laptop that she brought into his office. He asked her "What are you doing?"

She looked up and replied "Scheduling your requested meetings Sir"

She was the Executive Assistant and second in command to the CEO. She played a very important role in the company which was why the Executive Board unanimously agreed for her to be assigned to the new CEO so as to expedite the acquisition process because of her level of intelligence and access to executive information.

"Oh! I’m sorry, I think I shouldn’t have asked you but the Secretary to fix the meetings" he said.

She looked up again and said "Sir, that’s not too much for you to ask me to do. I’m expected to make this transition process a smooth one and will handle all your schedules as regards the process. She then continued typing because she knew he would leave the office soon.

Kirklin squinted and looked at her and smiled for the first time. "And you are..." He asked calmly.

"Apologies sir, I should have introduced myself in the morning...I'll take you around the tower tomorrow if you don't mind so you can meet all the staff. I'm Alexandra Davidson, the Brand and Business Strategy Director doubling as the Executive Assistant. I have been assigned by the board to work directly with you and will also serve as an intermediary between you and the other Executives”.

“Mhmm” Kirklin nodded his head in response to all she said as he realized it was her name that signed off on all the documents handed over to him.

He liked her name so much and enjoyed how she talked on and on and he smiled briefly in between her words. Although he intended to have a good laugh at her talkativeness, he had to control himself in front of her.

Kirklin wasn't much of a talker though but he was used to his sister Kendall Jefferson disturbing him with gossips so he always had to listen to her. He also spoke with his grandparents regularly and his grandmums; Katherine Jefferson and Kimberly Jacobson always had different news and discoveries to chat with him about which he always enjoyed.

His family was such that everyone enjoyed and appreciated each other's uniqueness which made them blend well with one another. So, it wasn’t a new thing for him to listen to someone who is talkative.

"I've sent the meeting request to you. Kindly accept it Sir". Alexandra interrupted his thoughts.

Kirklin didn’t bother checking his laptop. He just turned it towards her and asked her to accept. She was surprised at his request and gladly helped him to accept all the meetings.

"Sooo… you have two meetings every day till the end of next week," She said as she teasingly stuck out her tongue at him.

Kirklin smiled and asked in a cool way "Xandra, is that my punishment for what I did?"

Alexandra didn't expect him to say that so she flushed as she remembered that awkward moment. "No Sir, I was just pulling your legs...you have only two internal meetings in a week till the end of the month because I know other external meetings will start popping up”.

When he called her ‘Xandra’, she wondered why he chose to address her by that nickname. His voice made her name sound so appealing and she liked the feeling it gave her when he called.

Kirklin liked how she couldn't just reply to him in a simple sentence but had to continue on and on. He liked her disposition and he smiled as he gazed at her without saying a word.

"Sir, you have to go home now and rest. I'll forward any other necessary information to your email" she said.

"Okay, thanks...but order my lunch so I can take it home with me. I can't cook again today because of the star-struck slap that I got" He said teasingly.

Alexandra chuckled and thought in her heart "that serves you right though"

She immediately used the phone on his desk to call a restaurant to place an order. She asked him for his favorite meal from the options they gave her and she then made payment immediately. The meal was going to be delivered in one and a half hours so she asked for his address so they could deliver it to his house.

"Shut down my laptop" he requested as he packed his things in readiness to close.

She closed all the opened windows on his laptop and saw his screen saver which was the picture of a pretty lady holding a cute baby boy.

"Wow, your wife and baby are so pretty," she exclaimed as she shut down the laptop.

Kirklin furrowed his face and wondered what she meant. He then realized she must be talking about his screen saver.

"You mean my mum and me” he replied

"Like seriously! your mum?...wow, she's beautiful…and she looks pretty young"

"Thanks, we have a good gene," he said as he smiled.

Hope your family gets to come for our next couple’s time-out...Maybe I could hook up with one of your siblings. She said as she covered her mouth lightly as she was shocked about her openness with her boss.

Kirklin was quick to answer “Well, my brothers will not touch anything within my terrain…they will ask me first if it’s available for them,” He said. “And by the way, what is the couple’s time-out all about?”

She became excited “Yes! The Company organizes it once a year for staff to unwind with their spouses whether dating, married, live-in or whatever…We all meet at a resort on a Friday and depart early Sunday morning and work resumes on Tuesday.

“Mhmm... interesting”. Kirklin seemed to like the idea as it is close to the type they have at the Gems Group Headquarters which is his family’s huge business empire.

“So, your spouse must really like the time-out, right?” He asked pretending like the question wasn’t a big deal to him.

“Naaaa, I only invite my girlfriend” She replied

It was like all of Kirklin’s hopes were dashed all of a sudden and the look on his face changed a little although he didn’t want to ask her further questions because he respects her privacy.

Alexandra noticed the slight drop in the excitement on his face and she quickly chipped in “I mean I usually invite my best friend since we are both still single”

Kirklin was happy to finally confirm that she’s still seriously single and ready to mingle. “Oh! I see…I look forward to the time-out then”.

Alexandra was excited and said “We’d all look forward to meeting your partner and please come with your friends and brothers”

“I said my brothers cannot ask you out,” Kirklin cut in sternly and quickly had to soften up immediately because he realized the discussion wasn’t that deep for him to have acted irrationally. He regretted being harsh as he got jealous because he assumed she wanted a relationship with any of his handsome brothers.

Alexandra felt sad at the way he responded to her and the smile on her face faded but she still pretended his attitude was no big deal since he’s the boss. “I’m sorry, but I was only joking,” She said in a flat voice.

Kirklin felt sorry for his action and apologized “I didn’t mean it that way; I’m sorry too…He then changed the topic “Please follow up with the meal. I’m really hungry and need to have a good sleep after eating”.

He packed his documents and laptop and closed for the day because he felt the conversation was becoming too close for comfort so he had to cut it off at least for now.