Read The Executive Consultant for Free Online

my parents'. By that
weekend I was back at the apartment. There was evidence that all his things
were now gone and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard to believe that it
was just a little over a week ago that I had been on top of the world. Now that
world had crumbled and I had to start anew. The next day I had a new job and
with it came a new lease on life.
    There was a spring in my step the next morning as I swiped in.
Most of the day would be spent with Steven as my space was right outside his
office and on the twentieth floor. Higher managers are at the top of the building
and the day-to-day staff are at the lower end. I was looking forward to today
as I knew that I was about to be plunged into my real job.
    Steven greeted me warmly and I settled in quickly. I quickly
found him to be a pretty interesting guy. He had been completely different in
my interview. Then he had not spoken much and nothing about him had been
appealing. But as I watched him in action today it made my whole conception of
him change completely.
    He had worked with Asian corporations and African ones too. He
was well traveled and conversant in four languages: French, English, Spanish
and Mandarin. As we sat down for lunch in the canteen, I watched how people
greeted him as a friend, but back in the office, they tended to greet him as a
manager. Absolutely amazing!
    I was struck by his latent power and maybe his blue eyes and
blond hair had a little to do with it as well. I was not usually a fan of
light-haired guys, apart from Brad Pitt of course. I found that there was a
striking resemblance between them both. When I told him he laughed.
    “Do you know how many ladies have told me that?”
    I thought cheekily as I bit my tongue before responding.
    No, but I’m
sure you slept with every one of them .
    “Please! Don’t tell me that you never found it to be a compliment?”
I smiled as I realized I needed to take my eyes of him for one moment. I
flipped my spoon 'accidentally' and it fell to the floor. As I bent to retrieve
it so did he and our heads bumped. We paused and looked at each other. This was
my first confirmation that it was rhetorical. He was attracted to me and I
never knew it. Wow, working here may not be as easy as I thought.
    I cleared my throat and continued to eat. When we arrived back
at the office, something stuck in my head as he tried to remain as professional
as he had been before we bumped heads in the canteen. Never mix business with pleasure.

Chapter
Ten

 
    The first day was exhausting. I went home and kicked of my shoes
and went straight to bed. In the morning, I checked the closets and the bathroom
to ensure that all of Mark’s things were gone. Erin had stopped calling as
well. I breathed a sigh of relief. This job was going to be stressful enough as
it was. I did not need a complicated life on top of it to make matters worse.
    The next day I had a few meetings to attend with Steven. As I
walked in at eight, I was surprised to see him already in his office.
    “Good morning,” I said as I stood by my desk.
    “Good morning.”
    He nodded as if he was lost for words. Strangely, after our
encounter we had not really spoken again. I waited for him to say something
else but he did not.
    I sat at my desk to settle my nerves as I thought about all the
meetings we had today. They felt like they were back-to-back and I was way out
of my league. Two coffees later I had bolstered enough nerve to walk into
Steven's office. I had my head down as I read through the agenda for the first
meeting. He was just on the verge of walking out. Neither of us were paying
attention to where we were going and bumped into each other.
    “Sorry,” I apologized profusely.
    “No. I’m sorry. We can’t be late. It’s down on the tenth floor.
Come on.” He touched the arch of my back and shivers rippled down my spine as
we made our way to the elevator.
    We walked into the elevator in silence. To break the ice, I
asked a question, that I