As they approached the cabins, Amanda quickly realized that she had been wrong. They weren’t as small and simple as they had appeared from the top of the hill; the closer she got to them, the more she could see the vast size of them, and the fact that several of them had all been joined together.

Russell was still marching forward, and his cellphone began to ring again and again in his back pocket, which he repeatedly ignored.

She skipped forward a little to keep up with him and as she tried not to gasp from her shortness of breath, she managed to say, “Would you like me to screen your calls?”

Russell’s eyes shot up to meet hers from the side and he nodded his head. Behind his eyes, she could see that he was thinking about something else, that his mind had wandered elsewhere, but she could also tell that he had heard her, and he did actually want her to help him. She had heard the phone ring countless times since they had gotten in the car and made their way out to the Newport house. And he had ignored it every single time. She had no idea who was calling for him, but it sounded as if he was a man very much in demand, and he was never truly on his own. If he wasn’t surrounded by workers, then his phone was ringing non-stop and people were vying for his attention.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it had to be exhausting, and it also looked as if he were reaching the end of his patience with it.

He slipped his hand into his back pocket as he balanced the files on the top of his knee and passed her the cellphone. Amanda looked at him with wide eyes, not wanting to drop everything in her grip, but he just smiled and placed it down on top of her file stack too.

“I’m sick of that fucking thing,” Russell said as he glared at the cellphone. “I’ve been debating going off the grid for some time.”

“I know the feeling,” Amanda agreed as they reached the middle doors of the cabins and Russell managed to bend down slightly and open the handle with the edge of his elbow.

The doors to the office space opened, and once again Amanda was awestruck. The cabins had been all joined together so well, it was hard to believe they were all separated units. Inside, they were long, bright, airy, completely huge and arranged in different little sections. The back walls were long, bi-fold doors, and half of them in the middle were open and were letting in the crisp air from the forest and the sounds of another fountain close by.

“Wow,” she said. “These are certainly deceiving from the outside.”

Russell looked down at her and shrugged, and then she slammed the files down on the first desk he could find. Amanda did the same and looked around. In each corner, much like in the warehouse, there were lush plants, and artworks adorned the walls. She tried not to look too impressed, but with each place she was seeing with him, it was kind of hard not to be. This whole thing was totally insane.

There was rich… and then there was Newport rich.

And up until that day, Amanda never would have known there was a difference.

“Okay,” he sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. “The assistant’s desk is right outside my office.”

He turned and looked up to one of the farthest ends of the cabin. She could see a door that led off to a separate room, and out the front, as described, was a desk that was easily the one he had earmarked for her.

“Could you sort me some coffee, divert that fucking phone to your cell so you can answer them when we’re on the move, and then come in to see me.”

“Sure,” Amanda said.

She watched as he blustered off and slammed the door to his office, and she was alone in the cabins, looking around herself and from one end to the other, desperate to explore and see more of the place.

The desks were all new and expensive looking, as were the chairs and every single piece of furniture in the place, but with the wooden walls and the rustic surroundings, it was certainly a lot more welcoming than the cold and sterile nature of the warehouse.

She wandered over to the desk that he had dubbed hers, and she sat down and looked at the two cellphones in front of her. She began to set up the divert and as she was waiting, she looked around the room to try and spot a coffee machine.

In the other corner, there looked to be a break area, with lots of plush looking floor cushions, quirky arm chairs, a flat screen on the wall showing images of forests and beaches, and then to the side of that a small kitchenette, complete with a fancy looking coffee maker.

“Bingo,” she smiled as she crossed over the room and started to root around in the cupboards for some instructions or sachets to use, and when she finally got some, she set to work at making Russell Newport the first of what she was sure would be many coffees that were to come.

 

The cell phone rang nonstop from the second she sat back down, and Amanda got her first taste of what it felt like to be someone so wanted and in demand. She screened the calls effortlessly, taking notes, sending them via email to Russell and then scribbling them down on a pad in front of her too. She wanted to cover all bases. She had the feeling he may not be the kind of man who wanted to be bothered with each individual message, if she could just speak them aloud to him and give him the option of replying, she thought maybe that would be a better fit for him.

He was volatile and unpredictable, but she had the feeling that if she read his body language and made the right calls when it came to what he wanted and didn’t want out of a PA, then, hopefully, she should be okay.

The buzzer on her desk phone started to trill and she picked it up.

“Hello?” she asked demurely.

“Come into my office,” Russell said shortly, and Amanda bounced straight to her feet with her notepad in hand.

She knocked on the door warily and waited a moment before she stepped inside.

Russell was leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the desk and already behind her, Amanda could hear the cellphone ringing again and it made her cringe.

“Just leave it,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I have enough messages here on email to keep me busy for a fucking week.”

“Yeah,” she said tentatively, “Sorry about that, I stopped sending them around fifteen minutes ago.”

He looked at her coldly and she felt the chill he was projecting roll right over her.

“I don’t want you to send me each single message,” he said. “I’ve had incompetent assistants who have done that in the past and it riles me so much I’ve got rid of them on the spot.”

Amanda feared her face was turning red, and she tried not to let herself fully blush. She knew it had been a bad idea the second she had done it, but old habits die hard, and for every exec she had ever worked for as an assistant, that was how they had rolled.

“I have the rest written here,” she said before he had chance to continue. “If you want the names I can just cross off who you’re not interested in getting back to.”

“Better,” he said as he put his hands up behind his head and smiled. “But if this wasn’t your first day, and I didn’t see something a little extra in you, I want you to be aware you would be walking out of here.”

She nodded but glared at him just as coldly as he was staring at her from behind his smile.

He was so rude and cocky. In fact, he had it in him to just be goddamn mean. But she wouldn’t let him get the better of her. It was only her first day, and she had expected all of this and more. He was going to make her work for this job. He was going to make her earn her stripes.

“Forget the messages for now,” Russell said as he pointed to the chair in front of him and motioned for her to sit down.

Amanda reluctantly crossed the room and sat in it, before she looked back at him and stared deeply into his eyes. His were so intense and blue, they were almost alarming, but she still found herself getting lost in them and her heart beat on heavily in her chest.

He was making her nervous.

Really fucking nervous.

But in a way, she was enjoying every second of it.

“I realize this has all been a bit of a whirlwind,” he said as he stared at her. “But, so far, you don’t seem too phased.”

“That’s because I’m not,” she said.

A little smile flashed across his lips and he leaned forward.

“Normally, by now, the women are toast,” he smirked. “They hate everything about all of this and they can’t stand following me around.”

Amanda didn’t flinch, she just kept staring back at him.

“I’ve had male assistants, but I prefer someone who is easy on the eye, know what I mean?” he winked at her and she felt her own eyes narrow.

“Keep in your lane, Russell,” she said with amusement. “I need this job and I’m not afraid to fight for it.”

He smirked and clapped his hands together.

“I like it,” he grinned. “You have a spark inside of you that you can’t teach or learn. You’re not afraid to stand up for yourself.”

She nodded.

“I think we’re going to be just fine,” he said. “I’ll still put you through your paces, but I have to say, I’m impressed. Even with the gross attention to detail you’ve emailed me in every single call I’ve had.”

“It won’t happen again,” she said as she rose to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. “Anything else?”

Russell smiled at her again and raised his eyebrow.

“Yes, there is actually,” he said as he slid his chair back and stood in front of her. “I need to get back to the city, and I was going to let you go for the day. I have some things you can work on at home and I want you to come back tomorrow bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for a day of hell. How does that sound?”

“It sounds fantastic,” she grinned from behind gritted teeth.

As they left the log cabins and began to walk back to the house, she knew she was in deep water with nothing to cling onto. Nothing except her own resolve and her desire to succeed.

When she felt down, she was just going to have to keep thinking of the end game. If she kept this job, she was free from Rob and she wouldn’t have to rely on him for anything ever again.

It was good enough incentive for now… and she was determined to make it work. Her and her girls needed the money, and they needed to have their independence.

Russell climbed into the Range Rover and Amanda got into the passenger side beside him. He started the engine and turned up the radio so the music blared around them. She jumped slightly, but then she cast her gaze to the side to see him smirking at her.

“The drives back to the city are always a good time for thinking,” he said. “Thinking, and playing music as loud as I can.”

She raised her eyebrows and smiled as he swung the car around the fountain and away from the incredible house behind them. She watched it disappearing behind them in her wingmirror and wondered if she would end up there again soon, or whether Russell would change up their place of work on a daily basis.

“Where to?” he asked her over the din of the stereo.

Amanda bit her lip nervously and wished she was relaxed enough to just let him drop her at home, but she knew she wasn’t. She didn’t want to risk him seeing her kids or knowing which house hers was. She had the distinct feeling he was the kind of flighty personality that could turn up in the middle of the night, unannounced, because they couldn’t tie their shoelaces.

“I have a few things I need to do,” she said. “So if you could drop me along Broad Acres that would be great.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as if he was somewhat disappointed and then he nodded his head.

“Sure, no problem,” he said, and then he cranked up the stereo even more so that there was no question of whether there would be any more conversation flowing between them.

They kept on driving and Amanda closed her eyes and counted down the seconds until she could get out of the car.

Russell Newport was a goddamn nightmare.

But he was also one that she kind of didn’t want to wake up from.