I Solemnly Swear

The next morning, Cassio is gone before I'm even awake. I guess he's one of those crazy people who never sleeps. Seems fitting for a powerful CEO.

After trying to have breakfast and dressing for the day, I head to the office, my stomach in knots. We kissed and while I was able to ignore it last night while I was in shock, today I was freaking out about what it meant.

I need to check in with Mr. Conti first thing. With Jessica gone we’ll need to go over things so I’ll know what she was working on. The problem is, I no longer know how to be professional when I have the kiss playing on repeat in my head.

When I arrive at his office, he's sitting there deep in thought, so I decide to first make him a coffee before interrupting him. He's a bit of a taciturn man, and I'm never quite sure how he is going to react to the intrusion, so I like to have a coffee to soften him up.

I walk in a few minutes later with a latte, made the same way Jessica had been having me make it. I set it on the desk in front of him and say, in the most professional tone I can, "Good morning, Mr. Conti."

He looks up from his papers slightly surprised. He looks at the coffee and asks, "Why do you always make me a latte?"

"What do you mean? Jessica normally made you your drink," I ask.

"We both know she didn't have the first clue as to how to use the coffee machine. Answer me," he drills. His no-nonsense behaviour has me falling into my normal professional tone easily.

"Jessica told me that it's how you take your coffee," I respond.

He rolls his eyes, "Of course she did. Double espresso from now on."

I nod and take the latte away, returning with a double espresso. After placing it down, he asks, "What do you need?”

"Since Jessica’s no longer here, I was hoping we could have a quick debrief. I have access to your schedule but she wasn’t very organized and didn’t keep good notes, so I just want to make sure nothing falls between the cracks," I explain.

"Ahh, yess. Good thinking. Before you got here, I secretly had Mrs. Mazoni, the receptionist, helping with a lot of my scheduling. You can discuss with her to get a better picture of what needs to be done. For today, just get yourself acquainted with everything at your disposal. If there are any questions after you have all the information, then come to me with a list.”

"Oh, thanks," I say, a bit surprised he's being so helpful.

I turn to leave when Mr. Conti says, "By the way, Mrs. Losange gave you rave reviews.”

When I turn back to face him, I can see he’s watching for my reaction. Without giving anything away, I calmly say, “I enjoyed my time with her as well.”

“What did you talk about?” he asks curiously.

I shrug and say, “Nothing important.”

He raises a brow and says, “You would tell me if she said anything of use to me.”

I’m surprised for a moment, not having seen which way this was going, then stammer, “Of course… I’m loyal to this company. I would do anything to help it succeed. You did me a great favour when you took me away from Magna Corp. I intend to repay that with loyalty."

He gives a nod of approval and I swear I can see satisfaction in his expression, although it’s nearly impossible to read him.

I’m about to leave again when he stops me for a second time. “I’ll need you to attend a charity gala with me on Friday.”

“Sir?” I ask, unable to voice more of a question than that.

“Mrs. Mazoni took a look at the rest of my schedule for the week to see if there was any more damage control that needed to be done. She was able to cancel everything but the gala on Friday. A cancellation this late would be an insult to the board and it would offset the seating plan. I would either be forced to find a date or they would sit a female of their choice with me. Neither option is suitable,” he explains.

I don’t know the rules for these things, but my curiosity has me asking, “Is it normal for assistants to accompany their bosses? I get that it’s a networking opportunity, but it’s not technically a working event.”

His normally stern expression turns to one of patience that I’ve never seen before, as he explains, “To the outside, you would be my date, but between the two of us we would know that wasn’t the case. You proved last night that you could remain professional in a more social setting. I trust you can do the same this Friday. I’m sorry to put you in this position. I realize I’m asking a lot but don’t want to be forced to take another woman who will undoubtedly get the wrong idea.”

“Okayyyy,” I say in a long, drawn-out way.

“But we kissed, and I would argue that that was unprofessional,” I say, finally pointing out the elephant in the room.

“Ah yes, the kiss,” he says with a smirk, “and a good one at that. I was just trying to distract you and keep you calm. You didn’t seem to take it the wrong way. You showed up for work and acted professionally like usual.”

“Of course,” I say. My professionalism was never in question.

“Exactly. If you were Jessica, you’d be telling all your friends we’re engaged.

I can’t help the laugh that bursts from me. “Fair point.”

“Here’s a credit card. Take an afternoon sometime this week to find a dress and make sure to get me a matching tie,” he says. “You can consider it a bonus.”

“Um…no offense, but I’d never spend my bonus on a dress,” I say, unable to hide a look of displeasure.

I can tell by the look in his eyes that this piques his curiosity. "What would you spend it on?" he asks.

"I would split it between my retirement plan, investments and savings," I respond, without thought.

He steps closer, like the intrigue is pulling him forward and murmurs, "I find myself excited about wanting to look through your finances. How odd."

I feel like I am suddenly under a spell and my voice is a whisper as I say, "I could make a PowerPoint presentation."

Am I flirting? I've never tried and in the back of my head I'm slightly mortified that this is my style. I hope, by the time I'm looking for a man, that I will improve.

There's a knock on the door and it's enough to shake me from the spell I'm under.

I take a quick step back and can see an amused look in Mr. Conti's eyes. I'm under no illusion here. He's a predator and I'm the prey in this relationship. I'm completely out of my depth and this week couldn't pass fast enough. It will be a relief when we can go back to our normal assistant/boss dynamic.

Mr. Conti is intense, this isn't new information to me, but I've never had that intensity aimed in my direction. I'm an assistant that helps in the background. I'm his shadow and I prefer staying there.

"Mr. Conti, Mr. Losange has left his hotel. He should be here in 10 minutes. Breakfast is being set up in the conference room," Mrs. Mazoni says.

He nods and she's off without a word. I look at her longingly, remembering the days when my interactions with Mr. Conti were so simple. When he wouldn't even waste words. That was me one day ago.