10

ALEXA DECIDED TO EAT LUNCH alone that day, and as she was eating, she sent a text message to Laura to let her know about what had happened.

‘I can’t believe it!’ She typed at the end of her message. ‘Who would have thought that a country girl like me would be a personal assistant to a billionaire?’

She had a reply from Laura within minutes. ‘Yeah, and to think that just a couple of weeks ago you were ready to throw in the towel and move back to the country. Aren’t you glad you listened to me now?’ Alexa could almost hear the smugness in her friend’s words. ‘You can thank me later. LOL!’

She was paying for the bill for her lunch when her phone dinged again to let her know that she had another text message. ‘Oh yeah, and don’t forget that now there is even more opportunity for you to jump your boss’ bones.’ Alexa didn’t even bother replying to that one. She just turned her phone off and made her way back to the office, trying desperately hard to not think about what Laura had said.

As she passed the reception desk, she made sure to say hello to the girl who now sat in her place before making her way up to her new office. She had just taken her coat off and sat down when she heard raised voices coming from Dawson’s office, and her ears pricked with curiosity even as she tried not to eavesdrop on what was being said.

“I don’t give a flying fuck, Robert. He can take his contract and shove it up his ass as far as I’m concerned. I made myself perfectly clear on my terms and conditions, and if he thinks he can try to bully me into changing my mind, then he can think again and take his business elsewhere.” To say that Dawson sounded more than just a little aggravated would have been an understatement, and Alexa couldn’t help but be curious as to what he was talking about.

She heard the muffled and quieter voice of another man talking, and from his tone she would guess that he was trying to calm Dawson down or talk him around. She heard the words ‘reasonable’ and ‘practical’ being used, but other than that she couldn’t make anything else out.

“So what exactly have I been paying you for?” It was obvious that whoever Robert was he hadn’t been successful in placating Dawson. In fact, it sounded as though he’d pissed him off even more. “How about we do this instead? How about I fire your sorry ass and you can go and work for them instead, because it is blatantly obvious that your loyalties do not lie with me or my company anymore, if they ever have.”

There was the sound of the man blisteringly trying to apologize or backpedal, but Dawson was having none of it. His mind had obviously been made up, and he wasn’t about to be swayed.

“Just get out, Robert, and take your farce of a contract with you. It’s not worth the paper it’s written on, and I wouldn’t give it to a homeless man to wipe his ass with.” Alexa cringed at how cold Dawson sounded, and even though she didn’t know the circumstances, she couldn’t help but feel more than a little sorry for whoever Robert was.

She jumped at the sound of Dawson’s office door being slammed, and then jumped again as the intercom system on her desk buzzed to let her know that Dawson needed to talk to her. “Yes, Mr. James?” She couldn’t help but sound nervous as she answered him.

“Come through please, Alexa. And bring a notepad with you.” He didn’t sound angry with her, but she could hear how tense he was, and she hurried to do his bidding, knocking timidly on the adjoining door.

“Come in.”

She walked into his office nervously and sat down in the chair opposite his at his desk with her notepad and pen poised at the ready. She’d never mastered shorthand, but she was confident enough in her own abilities to know that she could write fast enough to keep up with whatever it was he wanted dictated.

“I suppose you heard all that?” He looked at her in such a way that even attempting to lie wasn’t an option.

She nodded her head slowly before answering. “I did hear some of it, yes. But I don’t know what it was about, and it’s none of my business regardless.”

Dawson looked at her intently before saying anything else, and she had the distinct impression that he was trying to sum her up. “Well, whatever it was you did hear does not leave this office. There are enough rumors flying around this place without them being added to. Understood?”

“Yes, Mr. James.” She’d never been one to gossip, and she wasn’t about to start now.

Giving a decisive nod of his head, Dawson gave her one of his irresistible smiles and then turned the conversation to the business at hand. “Take this down, please.” For a split second, Alexa thought that he’d actually said, ‘Take your panties down, please,’ and her heart leapt into her throat in reaction as her eyes shot to him in surprise. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw that his head was tilted back and his eyes were closed in concentration.

Are you sure that’s relief? She ignored the voice in her head and started to write as Dawson dictated.

“It has come to my attention that the terms and conditions of our agreed contract are no longer agreeable to you. As per the clause in the said contract, I would like to remind you that any monies already spent on the project by my company are to be paid in full and forthwith by you should this contract be terminated by you for any reason, with no exceptions.”

The letter went on in much the same vein, outlining Dawson’s expectations and brutally stating the fact that if compensation was not made for wasted time, then further action would be taken by him and his company’s lawyers.

By the end of it, Alexa was starting to feel quite sorry for the recipient of the letter as well as even more curious as to what it had all been about. It was obvious that Dawson hadn’t gotten where he was in life by being a pushover, although without knowing the full details, it was hard

to judge whether he’d established his company by being a bully or not. Either way, she felt compelled to say something.

“Will you really take further action if they don’t pay up? I feel a little bit sorry for them, in all honesty. Maybe if you tried talking to them first you could get more out of them.”

As Dawson opened his eyes and looked at her with an incredulous expression on his face, she wished that she had kept her mouth shut. “For your information, Ms. Ryan, there have been plenty of discussions both before and during the duration of the contract, and the project in question. In fact, there have been numerous occasions when I could have taken further action already, but chose to give them the benefit of the doubt in the hope that they wouldn’t let me or my company down.” He glowered at her across the top of his desk. “Might I suggest that you keep your opinions to yourself in the future, at least until you are aware of all of the facts.”

Alexa felt absolutely mortified, and her expression showed it. “I’m sorry, Mr. James. I won’t let it happen again.”

Are you crazy? You could have just lost your job before it’s even properly begun, you idiot! She literally felt like crying, but she held the tears back.

Dawson felt something that he didn’t think he had ever felt before: contrite. She looked absolutely dejected at him telling her off and he reminded himself that she wasn’t like the other women he’d employed before her. She was green and naive and, as such, he should treat her with a little more gentleness than he had other employees.

Gentle? Since when have you ever been gentle with anyone? What the hell is so different about her that she’s making you question your own judgement? He wished he knew the answers to his own questions, because right now he was feeling so confused that he was getting pissed off at himself.

He gave a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Alexa. I forget sometimes that you’re new to all this, and this business with the Grant Group has me really rattled. But it was unfair of me to take it out on you, at least without explaining a little about it all first.”

“This is your company. You don’t have to explain anything to me.” Alexa was feeling somewhat mollified by his apology, but the mere fact that he’d been right in what he’d said still gnawed at her. She was so used to always trying to think the best of people, and of trying to always be as kind as possible no matter what the situation, that she’d lost sight of the fact that she now worked in a cut-throat business world where deals were made and broken on a daily basis.

“I know I don’t have to, and I won’t go in depth, but I do want to at least give you the basic facts.” For some unknown reason, it was important to him that she didn’t think badly of him. “I requested multiple bids for a construction company to build a gym in an area of town that’s run-down and almost derelict. It’s an area where the crime rate involving teenagers is on the rise, and I thought that maybe if they had somewhere to go to channel their energy instead of being on the streets causing trouble, it could only be a good thing.” He wasn’t about to tell her exactly why this project meant so much to him on a personal level.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” Alexa was glad that he felt that he wanted to though.

“I know I don’t, but I’m going to at least give you the bare bones of the situation. The Grant Group submitted a bid along with floor plans and timelines of when the project could be expected to be completed. After further talks with them, I accepted their bid and my company paid them a percentage upfront. That was almost six months ago, and since then, it’s been one excuse after another as to why the only work that’s been carried out so far is the ground leveling.” He gave another frustrated sigh. “I really wanted the gym up and running by Christmas, because that’s when the kids get into the most trouble. But now, I’ll be lucky if it’s open by next summer, because I’ll have to put it out for bid all over again.”

Alexa didn’t know what had surprised her the most – the fact that he was willing to tell her all of that, or the fact that he felt it was such an important issue that the kids have better options available to them that he’d take the time to build them a gym. “I’m sorry, Mr. James. It sounds like a sucky situation to be in.”

“A sucky situation?” He grinned at her, his eyes twinkling in amusement at her childlike terminology, and she blushed as red as the blouse she was wearing. Little did she know that her wording had conjured up all kinds of mental pictures in his mind, and his humor was his way at trying to hide it. “Okay, young lady. Back to work with you. Will you get that letter typed up for me this afternoon, please? The address to mail it to will be in one of the files Sheila left for you.”

Returning to her own office and sitting down at her desk, Alexa didn’t start writing the letter immediately. She sat there and contemplated everything that had transpired between her and Dawson first. The man was a complete enigma and she was starting to wonder if everything she’d heard about him so far was actually true. Okay, so he was a ladies’ man; of that, there was no doubt. But with regards to his business dealings and the way he conducted them, well, she really wasn’t sure anymore.

He’d opened up to her about why he had been so angry concerning the Grant Group contract, but she had a feeling that there was a lot more to it than what he’d told her, and her curiosity was overwhelming. She gave a sigh and settled down to the task at hand.

If he wants you to know, then he’ll tell you, so stop being so damn nosey or you’re likely to get yourself into some seriously hot water, she warned herself as she typed. She’d subconsciously made it her personal goal to show him that being kind was much better than being a bully, but now she was having doubts as to whether he really needed to be taught that, especially by her.

Maybe you’ll be better off being kind to him, instead of trying to get him to be kind to others, she mused.