68- Meredith would murder me

“That can’t be right,” I say. “A man who is that easily affected cannot have built Cognizant.”
“Exactly. But Cognizant didn't rise to its current status until a few years ago when Harold took over as CEO. I've heard though that regardless, he still gives Sasha a hard time, hence the infamous moniker of him having a stick up his ass.”
I go silent again to think.
Allen watches me for a little while. Then with a tap on the desk, he rises to his feet. “I hope you’ll consider her, but of course, no pressure.”
“No pressure? Didn’t you come in here ready to hold a gun to my head till I agreed to let her participate? But now that you heard she failed her test, your confidence in her is shaky?”
He turns to face me. “You know you instantly lose fifty percent of your coolness when you make things up, right?”

I harden my gaze on him, but still can’t help but ask, “Why do you like her so much? You’ve been her advocate from day one. Is there something that I don’t know about?”
“She's hot,” he says.
My response is simple, “Say that again and I’ll fire you.” He laughs loudly.
For his sake, I hope that his ‘hot’ comment is a joke.
“I’m playing with you. I just like her because she’s a goofball, just like I am while everyone else around here is walking around with a stiff neck and a frozen face.” He holds out his hand to point at me. “Case in point, she’s a breath of fresh air that I appreciate.”
“She’s a goofball?” My mind goes back to the serious faced and somewhat awkward woman that I have reached the extent of physical intimacy with, but I just can’t picture the image of cheer and playfulness that he is conjuring. This can only mean then that she is either excessively tolerant with him, or she is especially cold towards me. I’m not sure though which of those scenarios makes my stomach churn more.
“Yes she is, but I figure that you’ll soon chase that warmth out of her with your chill. Just a note of warning though, if I see that start to happen… I’ll immediately transfer her to a different department.”
“You figure? And why not just make her your secretary then? Right now? Why wait?”
“You can’t get rid of her that easily and Meredith would murder me. We made a pact a long time ago that I can only have unattractive male secretaries.”
“Why do the male secretaries have to be unattractive too?” I ask.
He raises his brows in a suggestive expression. He then proceeds to explain what I can’t even fathom, “In a past life, I may have been bi, until I met Meredith of course.”
I’m sure he’s joking but the shock on my face is as set as concrete.
“If I hear a word of this from any other soul,” he threatens. “I will hurt you, and then resign.”
I finally get over some of my shock and I can’t help teasing him, “You’re joking? Is that why you’re always hanging around me? I used to wonder what your constant pull towards me was all about but now I think things are beginning to make sense. For the record, I'm flattered.”
Allen rolls his eyes at me as he takes his leave. “With all due respect sir, shut up.” He exits the office. I can barely suppress my amusement.


have nearly wrung all the blood from my hands by the time Allen comes out of Grady’s office. The moment he appears, I immediately jump to my feet but still try my best to
compose myself. “Did he ask? About the test?” Once again, he mocks me with a smile.
“I swear, I still don’t know how I failed the test. I didn't even realize what it was until it was over.”
“Forget about the test,” he says. “There’s a new account that might be coming in and it’s a big one. I just suggested to your boss to have you on it, but I don’t know if that’ll do anything. You were able to get yourself on the last one, so perhaps you have some tricks up your sleeve?”
“Oh,” is my response, at the sudden information. “This is about Cognizant right?” “It is.”
There’s a knock on the door, we both look up to see who has come into the reception.
I immediately recognize her as one of the receptionists from the ground floor. She is incredibly tall, hoisted up almost to Allen’s height of 6 ft 2 on six inch heels that I can’t understand why she’s wearing at work. She does appear comfortable in them though so I immediately check my jealousy. Her hair is a shiny wavy brown, and the nude wrap dress she has on is clinging to her body like a second skin. She looks naked.
Staring at the dress, for a moment both myself and Allen are speechless. “I have a message for Mr. Abbott,” she says in a silky, breathless voice. Even her smile seems too bright for me to take in.
Mr. Allen recovers before I do, “Shoot your shot,” he says as he takes his leave.

I can’t help but think that perhaps this is exactly what this woman is trying to do. My query immediately begins after the brief introductions, “I’m sorry that you come all the way here, next time please just give me a call.”
“Sure,” she says but her gaze is no longer on me. It is on the door leading to Grady’s office. Her gaze is twinkling with excitement.
I honestly can’t blame her. But there is no way in hell that I'm allowing her to shoot her shot at the man. It is of course not personal, but during work hours, it is my job to man his territory. She can do whatever she wants afterwards.
True to form, she takes a few steps towards me and whispers excitedly, “Do you mind if I hand this over to him personally? I can say that you stepped out for a bit and that this is kind of an urgent delivery. I heard that Cognizant would be a very big client for us.”
My eyes widen in amazement. “So you want me to come off as incompetent, so that you can hit on the boss?” It is not my intention to be this crude but I honestly can’t believe she hasn’t thought this through and has only considered her interest in this intended ploy.
She immediately becomes defensive, all the light and elegance in her eyes and frame disappearing. “Who says I’m hitting on him? Sheesh, take it easy.”
I keep my gaze neutral even though I am subjected to her sharp eyes, until she hands the folder to me. Then she turns around and storms out of the reception.
I eye her retreating frame and pull the folder open to look at the one page memo. Cognizant has indeed become a massive IT consultant and digital solutions provider with about fifteen billion in yearly revenue. So, there is no doubt that I stand to learn a lot and gain some exposure from the deal. I quickly study the memo and after memorizing what I need to about the company, I knock on his door and walk into his office.
He is however on his feet and putting on his suit jacket.
My heart lurches seeing that he is about to leave. His gaze meets mine and I momentarily freeze. “What is it?” he asks.
This is the cue that I need to get myself back together. “T-the memo came from the ground floor. On the call from Cognizant?”
“I don’t need it,” he says as he grabs his phone. He starts to round the desk and I take several steps backwards as though I’m the one he’s approaching. It’s only at the slight confusion on his face that I halt my steps. My mouth then immediately blurts out what I want it to, “Can I come along? Please?”

His face goes blank.
Cold chills begin to crawl down my arms. Why are you so goddamn intimidating? I cry inwardly. If it isn’t for the fact that he has been inside me, I’m not sure that I would have been able to take the pressure of working for him. “I apologize if I'm overstepping but I—”
“You are,” he says. “You are overstepping.”