Page 13 of The Rebel

“Good morning, Mr. LeBlanc.” I felt utterly and completely ridiculous. Mentally, I reviewed my appearance. I was wearing a demure black dress that was perfect for work. It was my lucky attire, but clearly it wasn’t doing its job this morning.

He stepped inside the office.

“Dorothy let me in. I hope it’s okay. I was just waiting here on the couch.” Now I was rambling. That was just perfect. What was I supposed to do now? Address the fact that we met this morning or completely ignore it?

“Please, call me Anthony.”

Anthony. What a handsome name to go with a handsome face.

Put those thoughts away, Daisy. He’s your boss and nothing else.

“Daisy,” I said, stepping forward to shake his hand. The tingle I felt from our touch was insane.No, no, no. I need this job.

“Please sit down, Daisy.” He seemed unaffected and pointed to the chair in front of his desk.

I scurried over, immediately lowering myself into it.

He walked around to his leather desk chair but didn’t immediately pull it back. He just put a hand on it and rolled his shoulders. And did his nostrils flare? What was he thinking? Actually, I didn’t even want to know.

What felt like an eternity later, he finally pulled back his chair and took a seat. I nervously tapped my fingers on my knees. Then I smoothed out my dress even though there were no wrinkles.

“So, Daisy, Dorothy tells me that you already have a foot out the door.” His comment was belligerent. Almost provocative.

I cleared my throat. “Yes, that’s true.” I’d decided to be honest from the get-go. Samantha had advised me against it, but I didn’t like to lie. “I had an unfortunate situation with a hiring freeze.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You usually work in marketing. What makes you think you’d do well as my assistant?”

I jerked my head back. Was this an interview? I’d already signed the hiring contract.

“I’m a very hard worker. I’ve been doing operational tasks for years. In fact, I started off as a marketing assistant.”

“That’s different from being the assistant of a CEO, isn’t it?”

Well, hell, I wouldn’t have thought the flirty guy from the coffee shop would be such a hard-ass. A handsome one, but still.

“I’m a very fast learner, Mr. LeBlanc.”

“Anthony,” he corrected.

“Anthony.” It felt odd saying his name, almost like it was crossing a line, which was ridiculous. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Is this an interview? Because I was under the impression I already had the job.”

He frowned. “No, it’s not an interview. I just want to make sure you know what you signed up for. Make sure we’re a good fit.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why the hell he didn’t participate in the hiring process, then.

“As I said, I’m a very fast learner, Anthony. I can put up with anything you throw at me, I assure you. You won’t be disappointed.”

“All right. I see you got your iPad from Dorothy.”

I held the tablet to my chest, nodding. “She also gave me a phone and laptop.”

“Then we can hit the ground running. There’s a music festival coming up at one of our trademark venues. I’m going on location today to check that everything is going according to plan.”

“Do you have any to-dos for me?”

“Eventually. However, today you’re coming with me.”

So, when Dorothy said I was to shadow the CEO, she’d actually meant it quite literally. All the better. If I stayed here all by myself, I would go crazy.