Chapter 42 I Shouldn't Be Flirting With My Assistant
Noah’s POV:
My morning has been hectic. Mondays always are but were usually I find it only mildly irritating, now I find I’m disappointed that I’ve not seen much of Eden. Other than the occasional request for coffee, I’ve not had any excuse to speak to her.
But then again, I shouldn’t be looking for excuses to talk to her. I should be working, not flirting – or even thinking about flirting – with my assistant.
I work through my lunchbreak, but Eden brings me a sandwich, insisting that I eat before the meeting. More than anything, I’m just happy to see her, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
“You need to eat,” she tells me, moving the files I’m looking at off my desk as she places a plate down in front of me.
“Thank you,” I say, although I don’t really have the time to stop if I’m going to be ready for the meeting at two.
“Eat,” she repeats firmly.
I lift up the sandwich not wanting to disappoint her. She sits down opposite me and I get the distinct impression she won’t leave until my sandwich is finished. I take my time even though I shouldn’t. There’s no time to waste but I’m not going to give up the opportunity to look at her.
I’d tell her she’s beautiful if it wasn’t so inappropriate.
She doesn’t say anything and she doesn’t avoid my gaze, staring right back at me. It’s only when I put the last bite into my mouth that she finally speaks.
“I’ve compiled everything you asked for. The factories are prepared for the extra workload and as far as I can see, the team have chosen the most cost effective materials.”
She’s all business and I’m a bit disappointed. Glancing down at her watch, she takes my plate. “You need to go, Noah. It’s time for the meeting.”
Is it? Gosh, when did it get so late? I’ve got to stop letting myself get distracted by Eden.
Climbing to my feet, I pick up the various files I need before following her out of my office. She stops at her desk, offering me another file, presumably the work I allocated her earlier.
“Good luck,” she says and then she’s walking away in the direction of the kitchen.
I watch her go, trying to work out exactly what I’m feeling. I’ll be gone for an hour at most and yet all the excitement I felt this morning at the idea of seeing her is dissipating. I don’t know what I was expecting.
Chastising myself slightly, I make my way out of the department. Everyone is already waiting outside Mrs Clancy’s office when I get there. I’m really excited about telling her about our new products and this time I’m certain that Lewis Artie hasn’t found out about them.
There’s no way. We’ve been incredibly cautious. Lewis isn’t looking at me with that gloating expression of his. That gives me hope. Just a smidge.
“Come in! Come in!” Martin says, opening the door.
We all file in, taking our seats at the table. Mrs Clancy makes her way over from her desk.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she says.
“Afternoon,” everyone replies.
“We have some brilliant news,” Mrs Clancy begins. “You should have all received an email but we beat our sales record yesterday. In fact, this weekend all round has been stellar.”
Everyone is eager to congratulate Mrs Clancy but she shakes it off.
“It’s a team effort,” she says genially, “but we mustn’t allow ourselves to stagnate. We must continue to come up with outstanding products for our customers.” She pauses, looking at each of us in turn. “I’m especially looking forward to what Design Team Two will come up with next.”
“Er…” Lewis looks shocked. He probably thought stealing my team’s idea would buy him time.
“Well, I believe it will be a bestselling product,” Mrs Clancy tells him. “We will need to develop a line of products to accompany it, of course.”
“Of course,” he murmurs.
“If you don’t think your team is up to the challenge,” Mrs Clancy begins innocently.
“No. Of course, we’re up to it.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I’ll meet with you and James later to discuss the budget.”
“Yes, Mrs Clancy,” Lewis agrees, his tone far from happy.
He’s living the dream and he doesn’t even appreciate it. That’s what we hope for each and every product we design, that Mrs Clancy will want to develop a line of products around it, but it’s rare that she gives the go ahead.
“Noah, you emailed to say you had some new designs,” Mrs Clancy says turning towards me.
“Yes,” I reply, opening the first of my files. “My team have been working on two new products. With your consent, of course, we’d like to see them both into production by next week.”
Handing out the design images, I enter into a pitch of our first product. Mrs Clancy is eagerly listening and everyone else seems engaged too. All except Lewis and James, who sit back in their chairs, rolling their eyes dismissively.
I refuse to let them influence me. I won’t be distracted by them. Instead, I direct my attention to Mrs Clancy’s welcoming smile.
We’ve got this.
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