Don't Love Me

I look in the full-length mirror one last time before leaving for work. The company I transferred to 3 months ago has a very strict dress policy, but with the very generous compensation, I didn't mind. My pencil skirt goes just past my knees and the matching blue suit jacket is perfectly fitted to my shape. My white shirt is perfectly ironed. I can't iron at all but this company has free dry cleaning.

I sigh, one last time before leaving, knowing that the dress code I was originally excited about was now my nightmare.

When I walked to work on my first day, I basked in the attention of men looking at me on the street and I felt so professional as my heels clicked with each step. I was hired to be the second assistant to the CEO of Magna Corp, Mr. Linch. The company paid for my relocation from Toronto to Chicago and processed my work Visa. The pay is amazing and for the first year they provided me with my apartment and covered the rent.

The whole situation seemed like a dream, but I learned pretty quickly that my boss was a complete creep and that was the reason they had to hire from outside of Chicago. The executive assistants of Chicago knew of his reputation and most only lasted a couple of months. Now I'm trapped. Unlike previous assistants, the terms of my contract are contingent on me working a full year in my position. So here I am, in my third month, trying to dodge every creepy advance he aims my way.

Luckily, today I won't be a target. For the past week, I have been working hard with the first assistant to prepare for a big meeting with a confidential prospective business partner. The meeting is happening today, so Mr. Linch would be in his office or the conference room most of the day.

Antonio is the first assistant and I absolutely love working with him. He is hilarious and he does as much as he can to shield me from Mr. Linch which I really appreciate. He is like the older brother I never had. He is also the only friend I have in this city, since this job keeps us pretty busy.

"Hey Lex, he's in a mood today," Tony says as a greeting, furiously typing. "Go make his coffee and I'll bring it in to him."

"Thanks." I respond. It's my job to bring Mr. Linch his coffee but Tony has delivered it since the second week when I came out Mr. Linch's office pale and shaken. Mr. Linch had been kind the first week, but on Monday of the second week he asked me to come around to his side of the desk to deliver the coffee and he staged an accident so he could catch me and squeeze my butt.

Tony has told me repeatedly not to thank me when he takes the coffee in, but I won't stop. He is doing a lot to protect me and I don't want to lose sight of that and become ungrateful. He reminds me that I shouldn't have to be thankful in the first place because men like Mr. Linch shouldn't exist. We repeat this conversation every couple of weeks, but today is not one of those days.

The meeting is set for 11 o'clock and, as the second assistant, I'm only responsible for background work like printing materials, making coffees, that kind of thing. Normally, we get a call from reception that the client is here and Antonio will go to meet him, but because of how important this man is, Tony goes to reception ahead of time to wait for the mystery man. It's unbelievable that I still don't even know his name.

Five minutes before 11am, Mr. Linch pops his head out of his office door and notices that Antonio is absent. His head quickly snaps in my direction and I have to suppress a flinch when I see the predatory look in his eyes.

"I need some help in my office for a moment," he says to me.

"Antonio will be back in just a moment," I respond, trying to delay, "I'll send him straight to you."

"Don't be ridiculous," he says, easily angered, "he has more important things to do."

I get up quickly and walk around my desk to get to his office door, reminding myself that I will only be alone with him for a couple of minutes until his guest arrives. He makes me squeeze by him through the doorway and closes it behind us, which I really don't like.

"How can I help Sir?" I ask politely, keeping my tone professional.

Mr. Finch walks towards me and stops too close, "Why do you always wear your hair in a bun? It's so harsh. You should wear it down more."

"It's out of my way this way," I respond neutrally. But in my head I say, 'because if it's down you twirl it or tuck it behind my ear'.

He steps towards me and at this point, I need to step back. I don't want him any closer. He is very obviously displeased with my reaction and in an instant his demeanor completely changes. "Why are you always so cold with me? You've been my assistant for three months. We aren't strangers anymore!"

"I like to remain professional in the workplace," I respond.

"We work so closely every day, why not be friends?" he asks, frustrated.

"I don't like to cross the line from coworkers to friends in the workplace," I explain. I conveniently leave out that Tony is my friend.

This time when he takes a step towards me, I put up a hand in front of me to stop him as I take a step back. He really doesn't like that, so he grabs my wrist and says, "We both know women become assistants to have access to men like me. Stop this uptight act already!"

"Sir, I became an assistant to get paid money, not to marry rich," I respond. "Would you please take a step back and let go of my hand, otherwise I will report this to HR."

"I'm the CEO, do you really think they care what I do!"

His grip is so hard on my wrist that I am worried it will get injured. His assistants usually quit by this point, so I have no idea how far he'll take this. I am truly worried and ready to yell out when I hear a cold, authoritative voice command, "Let go of her and take a step back."