Her Untamed CEO

Chapter 2

“WHAT?! He expects me to fit the bill for him and his friends to go on this holiday because I didn’t want to buy him the damn boat!!”

Alicia walks into the office at her normal time to already find Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett at the office and Mr. Bartlett screaming at the top of his lungs. He is known for his volatile temper, but she's never heard him screaming this much!

“Great! Thank you, Noah.” She is going to have hell on earth because he demands a holiday!

If the Bartletts are in office before she arrives, she knows that trouble is brewing at home with Noah, and no matter how nice Mrs. Bartlett can be, things still go wrong on days like this.

She spent the night before working on the notes Mrs. Bartlett sent her for the spreadsheet, so it is ready for her first thing this morning, and now she is happy she did. At least having the financial numbers first thing will help her to defend her son’s request.

Alicia quickly moves around, setting up Mrs. Bartlett’s desk and making their coffee before printing out a set of the financial statements for Mr. Bartlett. Unfortunately, she has to step into his office to hand them their coffee and the report.

She takes a deep breath, picking up the silver tray with their mugs on it and the old-fashioned leather journal with the latest financial statements underneath the tray. She steps into Mr. Bartlett’s office, she is ready for his angry face and deep sigh the moment she walks in.

“Morning, Alicia. Just put it down already.”

“Good morning, Alicia.” Mrs. Bartlett takes the reports from underneath the tray and Alicia puts the coffee down, quickly disappearing.

***

“Does that girl ever say anything?” Gary sighs sitting down on his plush leather chair, behind his huge dark wood desk.

“Yes, but only if you don’t shout or growl at her.” Mrs. Bartlett pages through the numbers.

“That is not your copy. Give!” He grunts, not wanting to admit it, but he likes the way Alicia always makes sure that the reports are neatly sent to him.

He doesn’t want his wife messing up the pages!

“Wow, you really are in a good mood today, I better send the poor girl home before you bite my head off and she is arrested for murder!” Mrs. Bartlett laughs at her husband and walks out of his office.

At first, he was furious with his wife for even thinking of retiring, but now that he has gotten to know miss Moonvalor, he has to admit that she is really good at her job. But he will never admit that out loud.

Paging through the notes, he finds a number marked in red. That has to be a mistake. Then when he follows the trail and finds that it’s Noah’s expenses, he bursts out laughing. The bright, bold red amount in his expense account might have been a mistake, but one that is exactly how he feels today.

If he tells his wife, she will discipline miss Moonvalor for making the mistake…

He pulls his notebook closer and makes a note for her to fix it and gives him the new report without that color before sending it out to the board members. Getting up from his desk, he walks into the reception area. The white tiles were his wife’s idea. At least he got to keep his dark wood walls.

Their desks are on either side of his door, and it took a small fortune to find Alicia the right desk to fit with the décor of his office. Something he never thought would be necessary.

“Alicia, please see to this.” He put the book and the note on her desk and her huge eyes made him stop in his tracks.

“Please.” Then he disappears into his office.

Knowing his wife will be right on his heels.

“What was that all about? I already gave her notes on the numbers and if you have…”

He holds up his hand, silencing her.

“Are you still retiring?”

“Of course.”

“Then I would have thought you would be happy when I started working with my future assistant. Now, I have a meeting according to Alicia’s message that just jumped up on my computer screen.”

Grabbing his file, he steps out of his office smiling. HA! For once he won an argument.

***

“Alicia, let me see that note.”

Alicia hands it to Mrs. Bartlett ready for a tirade of shouting about the huge mistake she made. Mrs. Bartlett pages through the report, and when she follows where it comes from, she bursts out laughing. Alicia is on the edge of her seat and jumps the moment Mrs. Bartlett laughs.

“Young lady, I think you might have just proven your worth to my husband, but you also showed him exactly what he needed to see about our son’s spending habits!”

“I’m so, so, sorry, Mrs. Bartlett. I should have checked the numbers again this morning. I was…”

“Don’t worry about it. As long as reports don’t go out to the board members like this, you will do just fine.” She winks at Alicia who takes a deep breath.

It’s the first time she will be sending out an email to the board members and retyping the email about fifty times before lunch. The worst pressure is off her, and today the Bartletts are spending most of the morning in meetings, so she only has this one task… Which she can’t seem to complete!

She takes a deep breath and moves over to Mrs. Bartlett’s computer to see if there is perhaps a specific way to address the board members in an email. Mrs. Bartlett is very organized and finding the previous emails she sent to them is easy.

***

“MOTHER!” Noah storms in from the lift, and Alicia feels like hiding.

“What are you doing there? Where is my mother?!”

Alicia notices the similarities between Noah and his father the moment his face has a huge frown on it.

“I was just uhm… They are…”

“Never mind! I’ll wait in my father’s office.” He slams the door shut behind him, and Alicia sits there completely frozen.

“Alicia? What are you doing behind my computer?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Bartlett, I was just looking for an example email to the board members to use. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay, I appreciate you wanting to do it the right way. Did you find what you need?”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, but Noah is in Mr. Bartlett’s office. I couldn’t stop him.”

“Whoops! Better get him out of here before Mr. Bartlett returns from lunch.” She giggles.

Closing the door behind her after she walks in, Alicia decides to go to the kitchen so she can avoid eavesdropping on their conversation. Her heart racing and her palms sweaty, she makes herself some tea to calm her nerves.

“Dammit! I can’t have a near panic attack each time one of these three-time bombs explodes!” She reprimands herself.

“Get it together, miss Moonvalor.” She hears his voice behind her and turns around to find him leaning against the door frame.

"My mother instructed me to tell you we are going out for lunch. She wants to speak to you before we go.”

Alicia notices his dimples when he smiles, but she quickly moves past him to get back to her desk. His charms might work on his girlfriends, but she was instructed on her first day that they don’t get familiar around here, and she is not planning on playing nice with Noah Bartlett, playboy extraordinaire.

Mrs. Bartlett gives her a couple of things to do and tells her to go home as soon as she is done. If she needs her, she will call her. Alicia smiles friendly when they leave and falls on her chair taking a deep breath when the doors close.

“Miss Moonvalor. Was that my wife and son who just left?” Mr. Bartlett surprises her when he walks out from the boardroom’s passage.

“Uhm, yes, sir. They are going out for lunch. Mrs. Bartlett told me that you would be out for lunch as well.”

“Hmm, the client didn’t have time.” He looks around the room as if he is suddenly lost.

“Can I arrange lunch for you, sir? Would you like to eat in the office or go out? Or I can call your wife and let them know you will be joining them.”

“Oh, lord, please don’t! I would appreciate it if you could order for me. My usual. I’m not sure if my wife has told you what…”

“Steak, medium-rare, and a salad with no peanuts.”

“Yes,” He looks surprised.

“But can I swap the salad for some fries?” He grins. “Mrs. Bartlett isn’t here and since she decided not to hang around. I feel like having a treat.”

“But Sir, she said you have a very specific…”

“I won’t tell if you don’t. Fries instead of salad… Please.” He walks into his office, and that is clearly the end of that discussion.

Alicia orders his lunch and when it arrives, she prepares it on his plate as she has seen Mrs. Bartlett do before. It’s actually a late lunch when she looks at the time, and she rushes to get it to him to make sure it doesn’t get cold.

Putting the tray down on his desk when he moves his paperwork out of the way, she is surprised when he asks her if she has had lunch yet.

“No, Sir. I will eat when I get home. Thank you.”

“Lunch is a very important meal. Please order yourself something on your way home. I don’t want to keep you later than you have to be.”

“I don’t mind, Sir. Is there anything else you need?”

He enquires about the statements, and it hits her that she hasn’t sent the email to the board members yet. She confirms that she is about to send it, and he tells her to go home once she is done.

***

“Noah, you can’t expect your father to say yes to an expensive holiday when he just said no to a boat.”

“Why not? He is just being his spiteful self.” Noah mumbles as they walk into the restaurant.

They discuss his spending habits and Mrs. Bartlett mentions the little accident with the red highlight and how funny both she and her husband found it, but Noah’s face turns almost the same color red.

“In other words, my holiday is refused because of your assistant’s mistake? Great! A junior administrator makes a mistake, and I have to pay for it.” He throws his hands in the air.

“Mom, do you have to retire? Really? I won’t be able to deal with that stuck-up, ice queen when you are gone. Especially after this so-called mistake of hers.”

It takes Mrs. Bartlett all afternoon to calm her son down and explain why he can’t have his holiday or his boat.

“You will just have to make do with one of the two other boats you already have.” She winks at him, and he rolls his eyes.

He has to find a way to get rid of this girl and get his mom to stay with the company.

***

Getting home a little earlier than usual is not on the cards for Alicia. She might be able to leave the office early, but that only means that she spends more time waiting in the ice-cold winter weather for her first bus.

She, however, will never complain. She has a job which, according to the economists, she should be very grateful for at the current moment. She hopes that things will pick up soon and that her dad will keep his job. As it is, she is struggling to send them money and surviving on her own.

“Keep your eyes on the prize, Alicia. Keep your eyes on the prize.” She says taking a sip of her hot tea before stripping so she can take her shower and jump right into her bed.

When she is settled in bed, holding a mug of hot tea. She opens her laptop to look for any emails from Mrs. Bartlett. They have given her unlimited internet via a portable router, but she wouldn’t dare to use it for personal use.

When there is nothing, she switches it off and calls her mom before grabbing her TV remote and watching the news. Keeping her strict routine is how she planned to survive until she was able to afford a place closer to work. When the news is over, she switches off the TV, her bedside lamp and pulls the covers over her head.

It’s colder tonight than it was last night… But she finally fell asleep.