Chapter 3
Annie walked into work the next day with a pep in her step. She was eager to get back to what she was good at without the distraction of a man looming over her. She walked into her boss’s office right into her own and began going over some documents. She usually did this for an hour before going in to see Alonso for his daily briefing.
An hour later she had fully gone over Alonso’s schedule and organized his business meetings for the week. She headed out of her office and into his but stopped when she heard a familiar voice. She looked at the man standing at Alonso’s desk facing away from her and thought he looked familiar, but she couldn’t put her hand on it. She went further into the office and realized that her boss was looking down at something at his desk. He looked up and saw her then smiled
“Ah, just the person I needed,” Alonso said.
Alonso was always up to something and from the look on his face she could tell today he had something special planned for her. She always wondered how he had managed to keep such a thick accent although he had lived here since his early teens.
“Hi, boss.” She said as she approached his desk.
The man whose back was turned to her didn’t move and she wondered why he was standing there. When she got to her boss’s desk she was finally able to get a good look at him. She was shocked to see the man who had been sitting at the bar the night before. She almost stuttered when she spoke but she kept her composure. She had no idea why he was there with her boss and she desperately wanted to find out what was wrong.
“Is something wrong?” she asked looking at her boss and the man who had not yet looked at her
He seemed to be entranced in a document laying on the desk before him.
“Oh dear, I haven’t made the introductions yet.” Alonso said, “Leon, this is my assistant Annie. Annie, this is my son Leon.”
Annie was so shocked she almost fell. Luckily, Leon’s hand reached out and steadied her. The heat of his touch and the intensity of his gaze threw her off yet again. She managed to steady herself just enough to take a seat and looked over at her boss who was eyeing her suspiciously. As far as anyone knew, he had no sons. She had been sure he would pass the company to his daughters but now that she looked on she realized that it was likely that this Leon was his heir.
Leon looked over at her and scrunched his browns. She knew then that he recognized her, and he smirked just a bit.
“Annie.” He said.
Her name fell off his tongue like butter and she realized she hadn’t seen him well the night before. She hadn’t noticed just how tall dark and handsome he was. He possessed the same Italian features of his father and she wondered where he had been all their lives and why he had decided to come in now.
“Delighted to meet you.” She said stretching out her hand for a handshake as she stood.
“The pleasure is all mine!” he said bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it gently. The smooth of his lips tickled her hand and sent jolts of excitement through her body. She had no doubt that Leon would be a hit among the women in the office.
“I brought Leon here today because I am prepping him to take over the business.” Alonso said plainly, “since you know the most about how things work around here, I’m going to ask you to use half your days to get him up to speed on the company processes.”
Annie wanted to protest. She wasn’t in the habit of slowing down her job for any reason and she knew that if she was going to have to teach a complete novice how to run a company, that would be a problem.
“Are you sure?” she asked looking over at Alonso, “I’ve been working with Melissa on that for a few months now. Maybe she could teach him what I’ve taught her.”
Her words were meant to remind Alonso of his other two daughters who were perfectly capable of taking over the business. The chuckle she heard from Leon assured her that he understood what she was saying.
Alonso sat back in his chair and looked up at her with furrowed brows.
“I know that.” He said in his usual somber tone, “but this is my son, he’s the one to take over and you’re the one to show him about.”
If they hadn’t been in her boss’s office she would have groaned.
“Alright,” she mumbled surrendering.
She knew there was no way she could get away from this and she was upset that her well-laid plans were suddenly off the rails.
“Will that be all?” she asked
“Yes,” Alonso said, “he will begin today, I’ll send him over a few hours from now.”
Annie placed the memos she had done up on Alonso’s table and nodded at him before walking out. She was happy he had given her the few hours because she would have to prepare herself mentally. She had nothing against the man, she just couldn’t understand why Alonso would throw his daughters under the bus for the son she had never heard anything about. He and his wife had fathered two beautiful girls in their younger days. After coming to the states, his wife had died of a rare form of cancer and he had never remarried. His daughters were beautiful women who she looked up to. The young man who stood in his office didn’t look much older than herself and she could bet he knew nothing of the business world. She would have to hatch a plan to change Alonso’s mind or God knows what would happen to the business.
She ran to her office and pulled out her phone to call Lidia. She updated her friend of the situation and within moments she was in her office
“You have got to be kidding me!” Lidia said, what’s going to happen to our jobs?”
“I have no idea.” She replied, “All I know is that I have to do something about this”
“You’re right!” Lidia said, “I say you run him out of time!”
The glint in her friend’s eye was fierce and it took everything in Annie to not laugh at her passion.
“Listen, I’ll update you on how it goes later. Till then I’m going to prepare.”
“Yes,” Lidia said, “show no mercy.”
Lidia stood and was almost at the door when she turned and looked at Annie.
“Is he good looking?” Lidia asked.
Annie almost blushed when her friend asked the question.
“Yes, he’s very handsome.” She replied honestly.
“Maybe don’t work too hard then.” Her friend said before rushing out of her office.
Annie slouched down in her chair and rolled her eyes. She only had one plan and that did not involve getting involved with her boss’s son.