Micah laughed. There was no doubt she scheduled herself a raise. It was one of the many reasons he adored having her work for him. He didn’t need to worry about anything. Most employers would have a problem with an associate taking as many liberties as Isabel did, but Micah respected it. She had been with him for a long time and he thanked god every day that she stuck around.
“Thank you for taking care of that,” he said, flashing her the smile that normally had women falling at his feet. Micah wasn’t a bad-looking man. He inherited his father’s looks, which was one of the reasons he was successful in business. Although the firm was supposed to go to his brother Luca, after some time his father agreed he could handle it. It wasn’t a compliment, more of a punishment. As a young kid, fresh out of college, his father showed him how to use his looks to get whatever he wanted. The evil man was known for saying, ‘You never find ugly people being successful in sales.’ That line, along with a million others, were some of the many reasons Micah hated him until the day he died. He was a judgmental old man and when his brother Luca moved to New York City, it was just the two of them for far too long. Nothing Micah did was ever good enough in his fathers eyes.
“Don’t go looking at me like that. You know that shit doesn’t work on me.”
“What shit?”
“That look, I know that look. I’ve seen you throw it out to a ton of women in the time I’ve spent working for you.”
“Not a ton.”
“Okay, maybe two tons.”
“What kind of man whore do you think I am?”
“A pretty big one. In fact, such a big one that I wouldn’t be surprised if your dick shriveled up someday.”
“Now that’s just rude and not the least bit possible. I’m healthy as a horse.”
“I know. I also handle all your medical appointments, remember?”
Isabel Diaz had marched into his office seven years ago when he was interviewing for an assistant and refused to take no for an answer. He remembered that day like it was yesterday. She interviewed fine, but there were gaps in her résumé and she had been out of work for a long time. They were red flags as far as he was concerned, so he told her on the spot she didn’t get the job. Instead of leaving, or even begging for a second interview, she picked up the phone on his desk as it was ringing. He watched in silence as she handled one of his more difficult clients, and that was the end of that. She turned and asked him what time she should report to the office on Monday. He never questioned another thing. Over the years, her responsibilities grew from a personal assistant to an account representative. She never placed her own trades, though, insisted there was no way she’d pass the tests. It didn’t bother him any. If she wasn’t licensed, then no one would hire her out from under him. Instead, he always worked hand in hand with her. She’d do the research, he’d pitch the client and close the sale. Once trades were made, she maintained the relationships. It was a win - win.
“How about we get out of here? I’m starving.”
“There is food everywhere,” she said, pointing at the servers carrying trays of foods unrecognizable to most.
“I need real food. Come on.”
He pushed her wine glass towards the bartender and swallowed what was left of his whiskey. After leaving a tip, he took her by the hand and led her out of the Four Seasons Hotel. It was one of his favorite places in the city normally, but the people there tonight were ruining everything.
Isabel followed Micah out to the valet and watched as the attendant nearly tripped over himself running to bring him his keys. Micah’s McLaren Speedtail was parked right in front. Miami was a who’s who of money, and cars were one way to show it. Isabel was nearly sick when she found out how much he paid for it. She could buy over twenty homes for people in her hometown for what it cost him. That was one of the hardest things to get used to, the money. There was so much of it everywhere. After her dad died, her mom worked two jobs just to pay the mortgage and put food on the table, so learning how the other half lived was a serious adjustment.
The valet went to open her car door, but Micah shooed him away. It always made her smile how, even though she was just his employee, he treated her as if she were something more. Once she was seated, she watched him walk around the front of the car. The valet opened his door, and he shrugged out of his suit jacket. He laid it on the back seat, got in and before she knew it, they were heading out of the parking lot.
“Where are we going?”
“Sergio’s.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“You act like you don’t know the answers to these questions before you ask them.”
“You’re right, my fault. The night wouldn’t be complete without croquetas and pan con bistec.”
“I love it when you speak Spanish.”
“It wasn’t Spanish... it was Cuban food.”
“Fine, whatever it is. I love it.”
“You’re terrible.”
It didn’t take long for them to get to their favorite restaurant. Sergio’s had locations all over the city but there were only couple locations that had truly amazing food. Once they got inside, the manager found them a seat at the bar and before she knew it, there was food in front of them and drinks in their hands.
“Now this is food.”
“I know for a fact there were croquetas on one of those trays at the hotel.”