A shrill buzzing snapped Scott Everest from his work. He wanted to ignore it, to get back to the code he had been busily typing away at, but a second buzz, followed by a text on his phone letting him know that his interviewer for the executive assistant position had arrived. His work would have to be put on hold for the time being.

He took one last look across the three monitors on his desk, one with the software, one with his email, and the other with one of the financial channels muted, the talking head speaking silently at him, a colorful banner of stock prices scrolling across the bottom.

Scott rose from his long, mahogany desk and picked up his phone, flicking the screen open and calling the interviewee.

"Hello?" asked the timid, female voice on the other end.

"Hi, this is Scott Everest."

"Oh! Hi, Mr. Everest, this is-"

"Ashley Wilson, my nine-thirty for the executive assistant position."

"Yes, that's right."

Scott walked away from his desk, his eyes on the sweeping view of the San Francisco Bay afforded to him from the wide windows of his personal office.

"Great. Are you here now?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm at your front door. I mean, your front gate."

"Excellent. I'll buzz you in now. The front door will be unlocked; just head into the living room and make yourself comfortable. I'll be with you momentarily."

"OK, great. I'm looking forward to, erm, meeting you."

"Likewise," he said, the strange way she'd said the word "meeting" sticking in his ear.

Scott then hung up the phone and slipped it into the front pocket of his gray slacks.

Ashley Wilson, he thought to himself, the name striking him as familiar. Where do I know that name from?

He walked back and forth through the wide, open space of his office, his polished, jet-black dress shoes clicking against the parquet floor. His eyes drifted along the rows of bookcases that lined the back wall, the quick sweep of the many colors of the book spines blurring as he glanced.

Ashley Wilson, he thought once again.

Shrugging, he realized he'd find out in a moment. He strolled along to the opposite side of his desk, snatching up the white, ceramic mug and taking a slow sip of the lukewarm coffee as he glanced out the window, appreciating the cloudless blue above of the early fall day, and the sparkling azure below of the clear waters of the bay.

He drained the last bit of coffee, set the mug down and grabbed one of his laptops before heading out towards the living room.

Ashley Wilson, he thought yet again, the name stuck in his mind as he walked down the long hallway lined with tasteful modern art that led to the living room.

Ashley Wi-

His thoughts stopped short once he saw her. Sitting in the middle of the long, brown leather sofa in the living room of his mansion, was Ashley Wilson.

He recognized her right away. And judging by the manner in which her eyes went wide for the briefest of moments, Scott was sure she recognized him, too.

"Ms. Wilson," said Scott, striding into the living room and extending his hand to Ashley. "Scott Everest."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Ashley, rising to take his hand, her voice at once sweet and professional, though somehow strained.

Scott gave Ashley a quick scan, noting the tasteful navy pantsuit, the smart, matching heels, and the secretarial bun her strawberry blonde hair was tied into.

"Have a seat," he said.

Scott sat down on the couch across from Ashley, a large coffee table between them.

"Give me a moment to pull up your information, Ms. Wilson."

"Of course," she said, crossing her legs and preparing her interview material, a resume set neatly aside.

Scott realized that he couldn't continue the charade any longer. A smile appearing on his face, he looked up from the laptop.

"Ashley Wilson; now I remember where I know you from," he lied.

"Oh?" said Ashley, clearly feigning surprise.

"You're one of Regina's friends; I remember you."

Ashley's face was blank for the briefest of moments before a forced look of realization crossed over her features.

"Oh yeah…" she said, "I was wondering why you looked familiar."

Note to self: never trust this girl to keep a secret, he thought, the clumsy game of pretend she was playing causing the corner of his lips to crinkle into a smirk.

"It's been a while," Scott said.

"Yeah, it has been."

A heavy silence hung over the two for a long moment.

"You've…really grown up," said Scott.

Four? Five years? Scott tried to figure out just how long it had been since he had seen the girl –the woman, he corrected himself- sitting before him.

Years ago, Scott was engaged to a young woman named Regina. Tall, beautiful, and sophisticated, Regina was everything in a woman that Scott thought he wanted. She even seemed to have a way with Olivia, his daughter. But things went south, and the engagement was called off.

And now, years later, sitting before him was one of the younger girls that Scott had met in passing. Beautiful women like Regina had a way of attracting hangers-on, girls who weren't the prettiest flowers in the garden. Scott remembered meeting Ashley with crystal clarity, recalling her mousey features, skinny, gawky body, uneven complexion and frumpy sense of dress.

God, Scott thought, busying himself with his laptop as he considered this new turn of events, she had to have been, what, seventeen at the time?

The woman who sat before him was so different than the girl he'd once met he could hardly believe it was the same person. Her splotchy, reddish complexion was now clear and glowing with a hint of ivory white; her skinny body had filled out in all the right places, the hourglass curves of a bombshell were hinted at through her tasteful business dres, her frizzy rat's nest hair was now elegant and straight, framing perfectly her bright, green eyes, pert nose, and full, red lips.

Talk about a late bloomer, Scott thought.

"Apologies," he said, setting his laptop on the table and crossing his legs, "for both my lack of preparation, and my poor hosting. Would you like a cup of coffee? Some water?"

"Oh, think nothing of it," said Ashley. "But I'm fine, thank you."

"Very well," said Scott, sitting up straight, forcing his eyes from drifting down to Ashley's shapely legs. "Well, to be honest, you're exactly what I'm looking for. You appear to be a diligent student, my headhunter told me you were the picture of professionalism, and your schedule seems to be a perfect fit with my own."

Scott watched as Ashley's face reddened. Not one for compliments, I see.

"Oh, thank you. Yes, I think I'd be a great fit for the job, if I do say so myself."

"I have to ask," said Scott, sitting forward, "a girl like you, with such a solid recommendation and sense of…professionalism, you could have any number of executive assistant jobs in the city. How have you gone so long without employment?"

"Um," it's kind of a long story, stammered Ashley.

"You don't need to get into it," said Scott, jumping in. "As long as you weren’t embezzling money from the company till or, ah, doing meth in the bathroom, it's not a big deal."

"Oh, oh, no," said Ashley, her anxiety interfering with her ability to detect humor. "Nothing like that. No stealing, no drugs."

"It was a joke," said Scott, a smile pulling up the corner of one side of his mouth. "Besides, if you're anything like the girl I met years ago, the most mischief you'd ever get up to is staying up too late on a school night watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"Sorry," said Ashley, her face turning an even deeper red.

"Don't worry about it," said Scott. "Well, I think I'd like to bring you along. Your resume's great, like I said, and you are a familiar face."

Ashley's face brightened, the red replaced with a warm glow.

"Oh, that's so great to hear," said Ashley. "I can start whenever you need me to."

"One thing about that," said Scott. "As you've noticed, my job is my home. I do all my work here, and I'm always on the clock. I know you're a student, but I'd still need you available at odd hours. With that being said, this position would require you to move in here, temporarily, at least."

Scott watched Ashley's eyes widen in surprise.

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Ashley.

She definitely wasn't expecting that, thought Scott.

"Rent free, of course, which I'm sure works well for a student like you. You'd have your own bedroom, closet, bathroom- your own wing, more or less. It's just me and Olivia here, after all."

"Olivia?" asked Ashley, Scott catching her gaze darting down to his ring finger, clearly wondering if Olivia was a wife.

"My daughter; she's ten. I may need you to watch her from time to time. You'd be compensated for your time, of course."

"That's fine with me."

"Excellent," said Scott. "Then let's get started, shall we?"