A great question. I didn’t know what time human resources usually started their orientation, but since I intended on getting her set up myself, it was going to have to be early. “Could you be here by seven?”
“Sure.”
I pulled up my calendar on my computer with one hand, cradling the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I made a note to remind myself to figure out exactly what happened during employee orientation.
After blocking out two hours in the morning, which was already eating into other things I had scheduled, I started playing around with my calendar to see how I could reschedule my other tasks. Thank god I would have a secretary again in less than twenty-four hours.
“Okay. When you get here at seven, come to my office. I’ll give you a tour of the building and get you set up with all your passwords before everyone else arrives. We should be able to get through the basics before I have to get going again.”
She was quiet for a beat, then asked hesitantly, “Are you sure it’s wise if we’re in your office all alone?”
Was I sure? No. I wanted to spend time with her, and I wanted to be the one to welcome her to the company. Show her I appreciated her coming to work for me after all, despite her reservations. That was why I wanted to get her set up myself.
Being alone with her, however, probably wasn’t wise. “It’ll be fine. Neil will be here too, in his own office, but in the building. He’s always here early.”
Pausing, she seemed to be considering my request. “I know it’s going to happen that we’ll be alone, I just wonder if that’s the way we should start this… relationship. Are you sure there’s no HR department I should report to or something?”
“There is one.” Of course. At my last count, Williams Inc had over two thousand employees. Probably more. Without human resources managing them all, we’d implode in a week. “You don’t have to report to them though. I’ll get you set up for now. My secretary’s desk has been unmanned for over a week. I can’t afford to lose another day.”
Which was also true.
Stephanie was walking into a shit storm. She was going to have to hit the ground running. Something told me she was more than capable of doing it, hence the reason I hired her, but I would have to walk her through some of the things she would have to get on top of immediately.
Things for her to get on top of that weren’t me, of course. Unfortunately. Damn it.
“I guess I understand that.” She was sounding less apprehensive than she had since I’d picked up the phone. Playing it cool and keeping things professional was soothing her doubts, I realized.
Was she really that worried about my motives for hiring her? “Happy to hear it.”
A curt knock sounded at my door, signaling I was just about out of time. Neil popped his head in, tapped his watch with his pointer finger and mouthed “Time.”
I nodded, holding up one finger to tell him I needed another minute. “I have to get to my next meeting. If you have any questions, please make a note of them, and we can go through it all in the morning.”
“I’ll do that, thanks.” A beat of silence passed between us. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“See you in the morning.” I hung up the phone, staying perched on my desk. I had to get to that meeting with Neil in another few minutes, but before I went, there were a few things I needed to arrange.
Like the fact I had no idea how to set up Stephanie’s passwords or to give her access to the files she would need. I promised her I would do it, but first I had to put in a call to IT.
I found the extension for the IT department programmed into my phone, though I didn’t remember ever calling them before. On the second ring, an enthusiastic ten-year-old answered the phone. “Mr. Williams, what can we help you with?”
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t really ten, but he sure as shit sounded it. Why was it that all the tech guys were getting younger and younger?
Ten or not, I needed him to work his techie magic. “I need you to set up a user account for my new secretary. She starts tomorrow, so I’ll need all the passwords and whatever else she might need by this afternoon.”
“Sure thing, sir,” the guy said, clearly confused. He cleared his throat. “We’ll walk her through it all when she comes down with Bettie from HR when she clocks in. I can send you the details, but—”
“She won’t be coming down with Bettie,” I interrupted. “I’ll be getting her set up myself.”
“Oh.” His shock wore off quickly when he realized I was still waiting for his answer. “Of course, sir. No problem. I’ll get her details from human resources and send you everything she’ll need by this afternoon.”
Good man. “Thank you.”
His surprise wasn’t lost on me. What I was doing was highly unusual, to say the least. And all because I wanted to spend time with my new secretary. What the fuck was I really doing here?
The techie’s reaction to my plan should’ve brought me to my senses, but it didn’t. If anyone asked, as she had, I could justify my actions seamlessly. I needed her to start right away, and I wanted to set her mind at ease for coming to work here despite the club and my behavior over lunch.
Justifying it to myself, however, wasn’t that easy. I was getting too invested in her, and I was already kicking myself for it.
But I couldn’t help it. That laugh of hers, that body, they were kryptonite to me. A weakness, but also an addiction. Kicking it now would’ve been best before it crawled out of infancy and into a full-fledged problem, but I wasn’t ready to do it.
I wanted that kryptonite with everything in me. For the first time in my life, I was going to embrace a potential weakness, welcome it with open arms.
Having her walking into those open arms would’ve been first prize, but at least she was going to be around. That counted for something, even if it did mean shelving what I wanted from her and having to make peace with looking and not touching.
I wasn’t looking forward to that. It was going to be an exercise in restraint. A challenge. But for some reason, I welcomed it. It was a welcome change from the usual for me. Maybe not welcome, but a change I found myself intrigued by.
Fuck the usual, I thought as I buttoned my jacket and walked out of my office to meet Neil. Bring on the kryptonite.