“You’re hired.”
I stared at him.
For a moment, I honestly thought I’d heard him wrong.
“Sorry?”
“You’re hired,” Adrian Blackwood repeated, his expression already starting to show signs of impatience.
I glanced down at my résumé, then back at him.
“That’s it?”
His eyebrows pulled together.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… you’re not going to ask me anything else?”
“I’ve read your résumé.”
“That doesn’t really count as an interview.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me.
“You applied for the position. I reviewed your qualifications. I asked why you left your previous job, and you answered.”
“That was barely three questions.”
“And yet, you’re still sitting here.”
I wasn’t sure whether he was joking.
Something told me he wasn’t.
I glanced around the office.
It was exactly what I imagined a billionaire’s office would look like. Everything was expensive, but nothing seemed unnecessarily flashy. A large desk sat near the floor-to-ceiling windows, with a view of London stretching out behind him.
I looked back at him.
“So, you’re actually hiring me?”
“Yes.”
A smile slipped onto my face before I could stop it.
“Okay. Thank you.”
He gave a small nod and picked up my résumé again.
“You start Monday.”
“Monday?”
“Yes.”
“That soon?”
His eyes lifted from the paper.
“You need the job, don’t you?”
I went quiet.
He had noticed.
I tried not to let the comment bother me.
“Yes,” I admitted. “I do.”
“Then Monday.”
I nodded.
“Fine.”
He placed my résumé back on the desk.
“You’ll be working directly with me. My schedule changes often, so you’ll need to be flexible.”
“I can be flexible.”
“I expect you to be punctual.”
“I will.”
“I don’t like mistakes.”
“Neither do I.”
His eyes lifted to mine.
For a second, I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing.
He studied me quietly.
“You seem very confident.”
“I’ve been told that before.”
“Sometimes confidence can become a problem.”
“Sometimes being too quiet can be one too.”
His eyebrows rose slightly.
Okay.
Maybe I had pushed that a little too far.
But instead of responding, he simply looked back down at the file in front of him.
I cleared my throat.
“Is there anything else?”
“One thing.”
I waited.
“Don’t involve yourself in my family’s personal affairs.”
I frowned.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
There was something about the way he said it that made me curious.
I probably should have left it alone.
Instead, I asked, “Why are you telling me that?”
His expression shifted.
Only for a second, but I noticed it.
“Because I don’t want misunderstandings later.”
“Okay.”
I stood and picked up my bag.
“Then I guess I’ll see you Monday.”
“You will.”
I reached the door.
“Sienna.”
I turned.
He was looking at me again.
“If you find the job too difficult, tell me.”
I smiled.
“I’ll be fine.”
He gave a single nod.
I opened the door and walked out.
The moment I stepped into the hallway, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
I hadn’t even started working for the man yet, and somehow, I already felt exhausted.
I walked toward the elevator, still trying to process what had just happened.
I had actually gotten the job.
Personal assistant to Adrian Blackwood.
The Adrian Blackwood.
I couldn’t decide whether I was excited or worried.
Probably both.
Monday morning, I arrived fifteen minutes early.
I stood outside Blackwood Group for a moment, staring up at the building before finally walking inside.
It was even more intimidating than I remembered.
People hurried through the lobby, most of them dressed in suits, carrying laptops, folders, or cups of coffee.
I walked up to the reception desk.
“Good morning.”
The receptionist looked up.
“Good morning. Can I help you?”
“I’m Sienna Blake. I’m Mr. Blackwood’s new assistant.”
Her expression changed slightly.
“Oh.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“‘Oh’?”
She quickly smiled.
“Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you so early.”
“I was told to be here at eight.”
“Yes, of course.”
She picked up the phone.
“Let me call upstairs.”
While she spoke, I looked around the lobby.
Everything was strangely quiet.
Not peaceful quiet.
More like the kind of quiet where everyone seemed to know exactly when they were supposed to speak and when they weren’t.
A few minutes later, the receptionist pointed toward the elevators.
“Thirty-second floor.”
“Thank you.”
I stepped inside.
When the doors opened, a woman was waiting for me.
“You’re Sienna?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Laura. Come with me.”
She led me down the hallway and stopped beside a desk just outside Adrian’s office.
“This is yours.”
I placed my bag down.
“Thank you.”
“Mr. Blackwood is already inside.”
“Of course he is.”
Laura laughed softly.
“You’ll get used to him.”
“I hope so.”
She gave me a look that made me wonder whether she actually believed that.
Before I could ask, the door to Adrian’s office opened.
He stepped out.
His eyes immediately landed on me.
“You’re late.”
I looked at the clock on the wall.
7:45.
“I thought I was early.”
“You are.”
I blinked.
“Then why did you say I’m late?”
He walked past me.
“Because I expect you to be early.”
I stared after him.
“What does that even mean?”
He stopped and glanced back at me.
“It means tomorrow, be earlier.”
Then he walked back into his office.
I shook my head.
“Good morning to you too.”
Adrian stared at me for a moment.
Then he disappeared behind his office door.
I looked at Laura.
She was trying very hard not to laugh.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re laughing.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are.”
She finally smiled.
“You’ll be fine.”
I wasn’t convinced.
A few minutes later, Adrian called me into his office.
He handed me a folder.
“These are today’s meetings.”
I opened it.
“There are seven.”
“Yes.”
“And lunch?”
“Cancel it.”
I looked up.
“Your lunch?”
“Yes.”
“You need to eat.”
His eyes met mine.
“I’ll decide what I need.”
I closed the folder.
“Fine.”
He handed me another sheet of paper.
“Call my lawyer.”
“Okay.”
“And move Thursday’s meeting to Friday.”
“Okay.”
“And…”
“Can you slow down?”
He stopped.
I looked at him.
“I’ve been here for less than an hour. I’m still trying to learn your schedule.”
He stared at me for a moment.
Then, surprisingly, he nodded.
“Fair enough.”
I blinked.
That was probably the most normal thing he’d said to me all morning.
“Thank you.”
He returned to his desk.
“You can go.”
I walked back to mine.
Maybe working for Adrian Blackwood wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.
Or maybe I was being way too optimistic.
Either way, I had no idea what I’d just gotten myself into.
At the time, I thought the hardest part of the job would be dealing with Adrian’s attitude.
I was wrong.
The real problem had nothing to do with his work.
It had to do with his family.
And a woman named Clara Wilson, a woman whose name would eventually mean far more to me than I could have imagined.