Jada

After exiting the cab, we walked straight past the receptionist on Ivan’s floor. At least this one waved and smiled at me.

Ivan Vetrov’s office was in the far back corner with city skyline views that rivaled the ones that could be seen from the windows of the fifteen-story apartment building where I lived.

He put his brief case on the desk and then ushered me back down the hall.

“This is your office.” He pointed to a vacant office right next to his. “Some time later this week, you’ll make a list of everything you need to do your job. Anything.”

“That’s generous, Mr. Vetrov, but isn’t my position temporary?” I asked.

“Yes, Ms. Lincoln. This position is temporary for the moment, but either way, I’d like to make sure that you have everything you need to be productive. You said you’d do whatever it takes to fulfill your job duties and I will provide the tools necessary for you to fulfill them.”

I swallowed and nodded.

“This way.” He led me into what looked like a small break room. “This is our brewing. Aside from the Cuban deli two blocks done the street and the espresso machine at my home, this is the only coffee I’ll drink. The vendor comes once a week to refill the supplies. I like my coffee black and strong, and extra hot. No added fillers. If you give me lukewarm coffee, you will be fired.”

I started to laugh at that but quickly hid it behind a cough when I realized he was being serious. It didn’t seem like a joke.

“As I said, I arrive shortly before nine. From that, you can estimate when you should have my coffee on my desk. I like it waiting for me when I sit down.”

I glanced at the coffee machine, which looked pretty complicated with all the buttons and nozzles. I made a mental note to come in here later today to give it a test run.

We walked back to his office. He spoke as we went.

“This is the executive level. There are five of us. They’ll start coming in throughout the day, so you’ll begin to see their faces. Each top level exec works on their own divisions and their own projects and has their own personal assistant. You are my personal assistant. That means you will not do any personal work for any others at my company. I don’t care what they need.”

Possessive, much…

“Uh…okay.”

He opened up his briefcase on his desk. “Daily agendas should be prepared the day before. I’ll email you a list of top priority items in the afternoons. Along with my hot coffee, I want my day’s schedule and any messages on my desk promptly when I arrive. If there are changes to the schedule, you must run them by me before confirming anything.”

“Of course,” I stated.

“Have a seat,” he commanded, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

I took the seat and then watched as he turned on his laptop and took out his leather agenda. His desk with immaculate, virtually spotless, and without clutter. The letter tray on the left corner of his desk was empty. One tall peace lily plant sat in a corner near the window. A round table sat in the center of the office. There was another door that looked like it could have been a small closet. A coat rack was standing to the left of the door. The entire office had a Zen vibe to it.

“No one gets to speak to me directly. If they don’t have my direct line, they get to leave a message with you, understood?”

As he rattled off demands and expectations, my brain worked overtime trying to store all the information. I thought to ask to go get up to grab my notebook, but had second thoughts. I didn’t want to disappoint my new boss. Not on the first day. First days were rough. I didn’t expect to get it right the first time. Even a dominant male wolf should understand that.

“Today, you are lucky,” Mr. Vetrov stated.

I tore my attention away from his impressive collection of art pieces decorating the walls. “Lucky?”

“Yes. As much as I’d like to put you to work now, I have a pre-scheduled meeting with the other executives this morning. We’ll be in discussions all day with a business partner. You won’t be seeing much of me. This is a good day for you to look over some of my work and get a better understanding of what you’ll be doing here for me. Later on, I can walk you through my process.”

“You mean I won’t just fetch your coffee and log your calls for you?”

My tone came off as sarcastic before I could stop myself.

Mr. Vetrov’s gaze shot to me. His lips formed a grim line.

Oops.

“I’m sorry.” I pressed my lips together.

“What is it that you’d rather be doing for me, Ms. Lincoln?” he asked.

“Um…whatever you ask really,” I replied, wringing my hands under the table.

“Whatever I ask…”

Wait a minute! What was this?

I wasn’t some weak woman who let men pushed her around. Ivan Vetrov seemed like a powerful man, but I wasn’t going to sit here and cower because he was controlling and arrogant.

“Let’s set the record straight here, Mr. Vetrov. I’m highly educated and very experienced. Isn’t that the reason you hired me?”

He raised a perfect eyebrow but said nothing.

I continued. “I’ve worked at numerous successful top firms with some top-level executives—just like the ones that work here. I respect your firm guidance, but I need minimal supervision. Trust that I will perform my job duties to your satisfaction. My independence is often considered a plus since I don’t need hand-holding which frees up more time for the people in the past that managed my work. It’s quite simple, I think—you give me a list and I’ll get the job done within the time frame of my employment contract.”

Mr. Vetrov sat back in his chair. His expression had changed. A grin twitched at the corner of his lip.

“I have a question, Ms. Lincoln.”

“Yes?”

“In your former roles as a personal assistant, were you typically granted the permission to do whatever, whenever?” he asked.

“I was. There was a level of trust. They trusted me to complete my work every time, on time.”

He leaned forward in his chair, placing his hands on top of the desk. “I see.”

“You seem like a man who loves being in charge of all things. But for what it’s worth, I’ll do things your way, Mr. Vetrov. After all, you are the boss.”

His sexy lips spread into a slow grin. “Of all things, yes. I love being in charge. But, I see that you love being in control yourself. One more question for you, Ms. Lincoln, and then I must leave to go to my meeting.”

I bit the corner of my bottom lip nervously and waited in anticipation for his question.

Ivan Vetrov caught my gaze and held it. “At what point would you relinquish control? If not in a business setting, what about in a more personal setting?”

“What do you mean?”

“I think it’s the other way around, Ms. Lincoln. You don’t relinquish control because it’s you who doesn’t trust.”

I gasped, wondering why his conviction seemed so spot on.

“I, um…I’ve been married before.”

“I know.”

I shook my head. “How...?”

“Background check.”

I frowned. Since when was marital status included in a criminal background check. As much as I wanted to forget about all the time I wasted, I couldn’t.

Only a year had passed since I finalized the divorce with my ex-husband. We’d been together for a year and a half when we realized that we got married for all the wrong reasons. We were high school sweethearts and everyone expected us to get married, stick it out, and weather all the storms. But our love for each other wasn’t that strong. We separated for a couple months, hoping that would give us the time and space we needed to figure out what we wanted. At the time, I didn’t want to be alone, so I thought the only option for me was to work on our relationship only to find out that he had slept with my best friend while we were separated and again for some time after we moved back in with each other. The betrayal had hurt more than anything I’d ever experienced. I couldn’t let that happen again. I couldn’t lose control over my life. I couldn’t let another man steal any more of my happiness. But how could I be happy utterly alone?

“Don’t worry, Jada,” Mr. Petrov said, softly.

My name on his lips sent heat rising through my core.

“I’m not worried about anything,” I whispered. Lies.

“And you shouldn’t be. I’m the boss who will change all that. Trust that you will relinquish control to me…but not in the way you think.”

My mouth fell open.

Mr. Vetrov collected his leather agenda from his desk, stood, and straightened up his tie.

“Call me Ivan.”

I nodded.

“I’ll screen all my calls to your office line. You’ll tell them that I’ll be in a meeting all day and I’ll return their calls promptly tomorrow morning. The passwords to the company system are on your desk. You should be able to access and review my agenda for this week. I trust that you’ll be able to manage yourself the rest of the day while I’m gone.”

“Yes, sir—Ivan.”

He grinned at me once more before leaving me seated at his desk.

I breathed a sigh of relief the moment he was gone.

What the hell had just happened? How had Ivan managed to solve me like a puzzle?