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glance.   “I was not unaware of the way that the
air shifted between the two of you when you were first introduced
yesterday.   I actually felt it, so
here’s what you need to understand going forward.   Both of you have jobs that are on the
line, and because of that, I can promise you this.   Right now, each of you is being tested,
so it’s in your own best interests to simply focus on your jobs and forget
about whatever hormones passed between the two of you yesterday.   Because if you are to keep this
job—and to climb the Wenn ladder, which you have already claimed to me is
your aim—I’m expecting nothing but focus and results from you,
Madison.   And that man?   That man will only distract you from
your goals, which will lead to no good.   Are we clear on that?”
    Ab-so-lute-ly
not.
    “We’re clear,”
I said.
    “I hope so,”
Blackwell said.   “Because I’m here
to tell you that I will tolerate nothing that leaves that pretty head of yours
in a fog.   You are being paid
handsomely to be my personal assistant.   While most of the time you’ll simply be at my beck and call, part of
your job is to serve as a buffer between me and all of those directors I’ve
already mentioned to you.   And
here’s what you need to know about them, Madison.   Those people?   Those people all want a piece of me,
which is the very reason for Margaret’s promotion—and for your hire.   Every director now knows that they are
to answer directly to Margaret first, but does that mean that they won’t pull
something on you or on her in a bleak effort to try to get to me?   Of course not—they will.   I already know that they will.   So does Margaret.   And by the end of the week, I expect you
to know exactly how to shelter me from them.   Steer them toward Margaret.   Keep them at bay.   And don’t disappoint.”
    “It seems to me
that Margaret is your real assistant,” I said.
    “Not true,”
Blackwell said.   “You both play a
critical yet separate roll.   At this
point in my career at Wenn, I’m being pulled in so many directions, the less
I’m involved in the day-to-day grind of small HR matters, which Margaret can
handle with ease, the better it will be for everyone.   If Margaret believes that I should be
involved, I trust her judgment implicitly and will step in.   This whole restructuring that we’ve done
is to allow me to be more accessible to Alex and Jennifer when they need me,
which is increasing steadily.   Understood?” she said.
    “Understood.”
    “On your desk
you’ll find the necessary paperwork to fill out so you can become an official
Wenn employee.   If you have any
questions about benefits, retirement, or whatever, don’t come to me.   Go to Margaret.   And when everything has gone to
Margaret, let me know so that I’ll know that you’re ready to get to work.”
    “May I ask what
time you usually arrive?”
    “Why?”
    “So I can
arrive earlier if you need me to be here earlier.”
    That caught her
offguard—but only for a moment.   “I arrive at five sharp,” she said.   “And while I appreciate the offer, I arrive early to have two hours to
myself before the onslaught begins.   You are to come at seven.   As
for today?   Let’s just hope that you
have a good deal of endurance, Madison, because today you’re going to wish that
you’d been running marathons for the past year.”
    And when she
said that, I knew why Rhoda had suggested that I bring a pair of running shoes
with me before I left the apartment.

 
 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER
FIVE

 
    I was in the
middle of filling out my paperwork when people started to arrive for work.  
    As with any new
job, I was nervous being the new kid on the block, but also relieved when so
many people came up and introduced themselves to me.   I met all of the various directors, much
of their staffs, certainly all of the secretaries I’d be calling on at any
given point, and then I met Margaret, who