*Matt*
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I was just about to throw a pen I was holding across the room out of sheer frustration when my phone started ringing. I looked there and sighed in relief. My angel!
“Hello, sir. Have you picked a new PA yet?” her voice calmed me down, but she could have picked another opening question… I frowned and looked at the mess around me. I hate papers! I would burn them all! Fucking bureaucracy!
“No, Dora, I feel like my head is about to explode any day now. Isn’t there any chance you can postpone your labor? Just a couple of months or so.” I joked, of course, but I needed her so much that I would love for such a possibility to exist somehow.
She laughed wholeheartedly.
“Sorry, sir, but you are more than a couple of months late for such a request. And Courtney wouldn’t be thrilled about it, given how long it took us to get here.
“Yeah, sure.” I absentmindedly scrolled through emails. “How is she anyway? Is little Brian’s room ready yet?”
“No.” She laughed again. “But the workers in our house are already afraid of her. One would think she is the one about to give birth.”
“Well, you were always the patient one.”
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“How is Natasha?”
“Jealous, bitchy, and hot as ever.”
“How many candidates has she already refused?”
“You know, Dora, it will be my assistant, not hers, right?”
“Of course, it will, sir. So how many?
I could hear the mocking tone in her voice. I grinned. This know-it-all. But she was right. My possessive fiancé started messing with my hiring process since Dora had to leave work abruptly. She had to stay on bed rest due to her upcoming pregnancy. It’s been six months now that I have done everything, and Natasha has brought to tears every assistant I have hired since. The longest time lasted one brave woman in her 40ties. Carol was her name, and she lasted just over a month.
“I lost count. But I hired three against her will, and she made sure they quit themselves.”
“Well. That is harsh. I’ve sent you the files, but as I said, this will be my last week. Even from home, it’s taxing for me. And I promised Courtney.”
“I know, I know, Dora. You tell your wife to cherish you as you deserve. But, seriously, if you ever want to come back, I will fire anyone lucky enough to work here.
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“What luck for them.”
“Her. But seriously, you can come back straight after your labor if you want.”
She laughed again. I was not joking. I was seriously screwed. I was wondering if I should break up with my fiancé, whom I have been with for over three years, or to give up entirely and get used to doing two jobs. I didn’t want her to win, but I was tired.
Dora fell silent on her end for a moment. “Her? Are you only looking for women?
“Yes,” I said matter-of-factly. “I prefer how women think and organize. I’ve always had women as assistants. It’s nothing sexist, I swear.”
“Mister Sanders, I think it sounds a bit sexist, to be completely honest. Did you think that maybe if you find a man, she will have fewer reasons to be jealous?”
“Maybe, but I can’t imagine having a man in front of my office, picking up my calls and organizing my calendar.”
“Let’s hope HR doesn’t stand outside and hear this by accident.”
“Dora. Seriously”
“Mister Sanders, what you just said is plain discrimination. I thought of you better.”
Thankfully I could still hear her lightheaded voice as she was saying that. I thought of it, but I felt I still had valid points.
“No, I just find women to be more… representable.”
“Okay, sir, let’s stop digging this hole, before it becomes any deeper. But let me understand this… Just so I am clear. You are only hiring beautiful women?”
“They must be smart too and have experience. They have your shoes to fill.”
“That’s kind, sir, but I don’t suppose they are also lesbian?”
“You can’t ask that in a job interview.”
“Of course not, but I can understand that given how jealous Miss Johnson is, I can expect the hiring won’t go well any time soon.”
“I am glad you understand me.”
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She was silent for a long while. I opened up one mail and frowned upon reading it.
“Sir, may I have a suggestion?” her voice brought me back, but I knew this tone too well…
“Tell me I am desperate anyway. You want me to hire a man?”
“You trust men with many tasks. So why is having a male assistant different?”
“Okay, can I be frank?”
“Can you ever not be frank, sir?”
I smirked. I miss this woman! “If I needed to know something about a client or any situation, you just looked at that person. Or you called a few friends and handed me the best way to approach it on a silver plate in an hour. Heck, in minutes if it was necessary! You just know how to work with people! You could have read the atmosphere in the room. And within minutes, diffused any tension with your wit and charm. You knew secrets that no one should ever have known, and I could trust you with any of mine. You were perfect, and I cannot imagine having anyone else. I am great with codes. You are with people. We were the best team. I am not even mentioning the way you could organize this mess.” I glared at the papers on my desk; they should be obsolete now! Damn it! We are in the 21st century!
“And Natasha knew that. She knew that if I ever had to choose between her and you, I would rather find a new fiancé than a new PA. That fact that you are a lesbian was just a bonus for her. But now, when your dream about having a child comes true, don’t get me wrong! I wish that for you with all my heart, but my own is broken because I have to find a new assistant.”
She was quiet for a minute.
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“That is so sweet of you, sir. Thank you.”
Another silence. This time I waited.
“There is one person I can think of. He is a man. He is gay and, as far as I hope, in a relationship. But besides his gender, he is precisely the person you’ve described. Honestly, he’s the person I learned everything from. So if what you are looking for is, what you just described, my best qualities as an assistant, he would be perfect. Would you be willing to try it with him?”
“I don’t know, you know I am not that good with big changes. But I suppose I trust you the most.”
“He is currently self-employed, but I can ask him for part-time support. He owes me his life.”
“I don’t know if I want a part-timer.”
“He could help you for the time being with administration and take some of the workloads off. You never leave the office before eight pm anyway, sir. So, even if he comes for a few hours weekly, it would be helpful, and you could find a suitable poor woman as my replacement in the meantime. Not to mention that if he trains her, you would have the best PA, no matter whom you hire.”
This time I was quiet. I didn’t like that one bit, but the amount of work in front of me was compelling enough to try it.
“Okay, Dora, I suppose I could try it for a couple of weeks. I appreciate it a lot.”
“I will call him now and set the meeting in your calendar.”
“Thank you.” I yawned.
“Good night, sir.”
“Good night Dora. Say hi to Courtney and Brian for me.”
“I will, sir.”
She hung up, and I slowly put the phone on my desk. I was so tired I just left everything and went home.
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– – –
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The following day I saw a meeting on my calendar with someone named Thomas Birns. It took me a moment to realize it must be the man Dora told me about. However, in the email, she wrote only:
“Give him a chance. I will come back in three years 😉 D.”
Three years! Damn, just reading that gave me anxiety. What will I do without her?!
I closed the calendar and went through my day.
. . .
At four o’clock, someone knocked on my office door.
I stood up from the desk and went to open it. There stood the most beautiful man I ever saw. I know it sounds cheesy calling a gay man the beautiful one, but I haven’t even meant it sexually. Just his features looked sculpted. His brown hair was short and slightly longer in the front. The way they were styled heightened his angular jaw with high cheekbones. He looked like he worked in a model agency and not an office. His full lips had a slight smile, and his dark blue eyes seemed just mesmerizing. He was clean-shaven and wore a navy blue fitted suit that enhanced his lean muscles and broad shoulders. ‘Does he swim?’ That was my second thought of this man, the first being, ‘How can a man be this fucking beautiful?’
I composed myself and realized I must be staring.
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“Hello, Dora called me yesterday. My name is Thomas Birns,” he reached to me with his hand, and I shook it.
“Yes. Sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was. I am over my head here.”
I invited him inside, and he went to the chair in front of my desk.
“Right, Dora mentioned that. Would you mind telling me more about what kind of person you need?” he spoke as I sat in front of him.
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“Sure, would you like something to drink?”
“Thank you, I am fine,” he looked at me, probably realizing I would be the one to have to bring it. He took out a brown leather-bound notebook and fountain pen. Do people still use notebooks these days?
The confidence radiating from this man showed that this was not an interview. He came knowing he was the one granting favors by being here. I wasn’t sure if this was the right kind of power distribution, given he should be my assistant, but being so desperate, I let it slide.
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“Well, I have a desk full of papers I don’t want, and I wouldn’t know where to start explaining it all.” I started babbling away. I felt increasingly stupid with every word that came out of my mouth.
“The same goes for files in there.” I pointed to my computer. “I have folders and folders of client data I need to work with. I’m not too fond of many meetings, but I am essential, as they like to say. I don’t know if that should help me somehow. I am good with computers, data, and numbers, but I sometimes lack a simple human touch. I need someone who can be my front and someone who would organize this mess I created here in those months since Dora left.”
He watched me silently and then asked about my clients and work in general. We talked for over an hour, and I felt at ease with him after a few moments. He seemed professional and even pointed out things Dora and I had never thought of.
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As I mentioned, throughout the whole meeting, neither of us treated it as a job interview. However, we both knew that I needed help, and Thomas had the expertise I was looking for desperately. So, in the end, I was the one asking for a favor.
“Dora mentioned you are self-employed. Would this interfere with that?”
“Given the character of your work, I think it shouldn’t be a problem. But I prefer this to be a short-term arrangement as I will be doing this in my free time, and money is not an issue. Time is.”
“Of course, I will look for Dora’s replacement in the meantime.”
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We talked more about my vision and his ideas on where to start. Financial compensation and, of course, times when he’ll be available.
We agreed that he would come tomorrow to sign the contract and start.
I then wrote an email to HR, and he said he would call Dora to get any information needed.
We shook hands, and he left. I just sat there staring at the door. I don’t think I had any thoughts, just a blank mind spent. I need to go home now.
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>> Chapter 2 – Evening with Natasha and Thomas’s first day