Yes-Man

Yes-Man By J.M. Snyder Monday morning, 5:45 A.M. The moment the alarm clock buzzes, Bryce Howerton is up, turning it off before the sound can wake his lover still slumbering beside him. Despite the early hour, Bryce is wide awake, his mind already reeling off the things he has on his schedule today. Two interviews this morning for customer service reps, he thinks, carefully slipping out of Tim’s arms to stand beside the bed they share. He stretches his arms to the darkened ceiling above, feeling his muscles come alive all along his bare torso. The files should be waiting for me on Alecia’s desk when I get in, I can look them over then. Need to have Alecia call the coffee service, see if they can restock before tomorrow’s staff meeting. Phone meeting with the Japanese rep at one this afternoon. I’ll have to read through the account when I get a chance and review it with Eckhart over lunch. It’ll have to be over lunch because we have an eleven o’clock conference… He glances at the clock—a minute has passed, and already the weight of the day is beginning to sink down on him. When he left the office yesterday, he’d forgotten about the phone call today, so he didn’t get the account files in order, which means he’ll have to rush to do that between the interviews this morning. Or get Alecia to do it for me, he muses as he pads barefoot into the bathroom. He waits until he closes the door behind him before turning on the light so he doesn’t wake up Tim. Yes, he’d definitely get Alecia to work on the Japan account while he’s in the interviews. He’s probably the only executive assistant with his own secretary, but some days, he doesn’t know what he’d do without her. Eckhart feels the same way about me. The thought makes him smile at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. Actually, no. He’s pretty sure he’d never feel for Alecia the way he knows his boss feels for him. Sure, she takes his calls, juggles his calendar, and maintains his files, all the same things he does for Eckhart, but there are things in his job description that separate his position from hers. There’s a reason his business cards say executive and hers simply say administrative. She does the paperwork, while he…well, he does everything else. There’s a reason Eckhart calls Bryce his “yes-man.”