I made a show of slowly lifting and twisting my arm so I could look down at my watch then back to him, raising an obstinate brow. “Start time is eight o’clock. It’s seven fifty-seven.”
He grumbled something under his breath I couldn’t quite make out, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize he wasn’t complimenting me. “Fine, let’s get started then.”
“Sounds good,” I said with enthusiasm. “I take it this is mine?” I pointed at the long white desk stationed between his office and the restroom. He grunted in the affirmative, so I quickly rounded it and dropped my purse on top, rummaging around inside for my tablet. I pressed the button to bring the screen to life, pulling up the notes app, and shifted my focus back to Nate. “Ready.”
“First thing each morning, I’ll expect a cup of coffee. Black, two sugars.” I paused in my tapping, lifting my head and blinking slowly. Was he kidding? I was an executive assistant in charge of managing the entirety of his office so he could focus on his case work, and he was talking to me about coffee? “I usually work through lunch, so around eleven thirty, I’ll expect you to run out and grab me something to eat.”
I narrowed my eyes. I knew what this guy was doing. He was being a dick in the hopes he could push me to quit, but he didn’t know the first thing about me. I was going to stick to this job like fucking glue.
I quickly tapped out a short note on my tablet before shifting my attention back to him. “Coffee and lunch. Got it. What’s next?”
The skin between his brows crinkled as he frowned, clearly having expected a very different reaction from me. “I’ll need you to call and have the phone lines set up. The internet needs connected. Research different payroll software and give me a list of the top three and the reasons why you chose them so I can look it over and decide. Find a printer in the area and order business cards. I’ll write out what I want on them. Then draft an ad to put in the local paper and on Whitecap’s social media, announcing we’re open for business. Then there are the office supplies... get them.”
My fingers that had been flying over my tablet at lightning speed as he rattled off one task after another stopped abruptly at that vague instruction. “Which ones?”
“All of them.” A small, wicked grin tugged his lips up. “If you’re as good as you claim to be, there’s no reason you can’t get that all done before lunch. After that, you can start on the filing.”
Stick like fucking glue, I chanted in my head. I could do this. I would do this. I could somehow cram an entire day’s work into a few measly hours. I was going to make this asshole regret ever trying to run me off.
“Got it. What kind of filing system is in place now?”
For some reason, that question made him smirk in a way that sent a shiver down my spine, and not in a good way. “You’ll see for yourself. You’ll find everything you need in the conference room upstairs.” He spun on the heel of his shoe and started back for his office, calling over his shoulder. “Now get to work. And get me that coffee.”
Oh, I’d get him his coffee, all right. But there was definitely going to be a little something extra in it.