May

The day to meet Erik Clayton arrived sooner than May expected. A whole week of preparation passed by in a flash, bringing her to the most dreaded Monday of Mondays.

Hailey had left three messages with Erik’s office in anticipation of the meeting, yet she had not received a single call back to confirm the appointment. So, it was no wonder the building secretary seemed to have no idea who May was or why she was there when she arrived at their doors at seven o’clock sharp.

“Sorry, Miss, but I really can’t find your name in our system,” the woman said with a snooty smile. “Are you sure your assistant contacted the right number?”

May clenched her briefcase a little tighter. “Yes, I am. It was the number Erik Clayton’s father gave me when I agreed to take this job. And when Erik didn’t answer or reply the first two times, I looked the number up online, just to be sure, before having her call a third time.”

The secretary rolled her eyes. “Be that as it may, I don’t see your name or your appointment, so I can’t let you in.”

He wants to play hardball, does he? May thought.

May set down her briefcase on the floor so she could fold her hands on the secretary’s counter. Then she leaned in slowly.

“Listen, Brittany,” she said, addressing the woman by the name on her badge. “I’m going to level with you. Mr. Clayton is getting ready to cut this building loose, along with you and the rest of its employees.”

The secretary instantly froze, her eyes suddenly alert.

“Now, I’m sure that, despite what your computer says, Erik Clayton knows my name is May Juniper, the person hired by his father to save this company before it gets shut down. So, if you want to keep this job, I suggest you tell your boss to contact me within the hour for the meeting he knew I was coming here for. If he doesn’t, I’m going to terminate the business contract with his father. After that, all of you will be on your own.”

The young woman smiled nervously. “Ah, no! That won’t be necessary. I’ll go and speak with Mr. Erik Clayton right now.”

May smiled back. “Good. Thank you.”

With that, Brittany got up from her desk and ran down the hall. She went behind a secured door that led to the employee hub, a large and spacious office run by nearly three hundred people. A moment later the secretary returned, followed by Erik Clayton himself, and if May was being honest with herself, the many glamour photos online didn’t do him justice.

He had long, silky black hair, a sharp jawline, and dazzlingly bright blue eyes that contrasted beautifully against his dark skin. He had a fit build, indicating that he liked to work out and stay healthy, despite his unshaved face and unkempt appearance. But truth be told, she thought he looked rather fine, even in a wrinkled t-shirt, old leather jacket, and pair of jeans. He also possessed a somewhat boyish grin, which he flashed her way as he closed the distance between them.

May took a deep breath to steady her nerves. It didn’t matter if he was good looking or not; she still had a job to do, and nothing was going to stand in the way of that.

“Tell me, do you get a kick out of scaring my employees?” he asked as soon as he arrived at the desk.

As a handsome, rich playboy, Erik Clayton was also known to be very rude. Which worked out, as a little dose of reality was often all it took for May to regain her senses.

“Tell me, do you get a kick out of wasting other people’s valuable time?” she retorted.

“No. Which is why you should have called to make an appointment with me, rather than showing up at the last minute and demanding an audience. Don’t you think?”

May’s eyes narrowed. Did he take her for a fool?

“My assistant left three messages at your office. Not your secretary’s office, not your assistant’s office; your office. Did you really not get them?”

Erik shrugged, though his eyes betrayed the truth. “Maybe you had the wrong number?”

“I didn’t.”

His bright eyes narrowed with scrutiny. “Well, maybe you did.”

“Are you saying my assistant is incompetent?”

“I’m saying your assistant should have done more research before she tried to call me.”

May looked him dead in the eyes, a small smirk playing on her own lips now. “I don’t believe I ever mentioned that my assistant was a girl, Mr. Clayton. So, how is it you knew it was a woman who left those messages?”

“Lucky guess. Most hired assistants are women, after all.”

May couldn’t fathom that this was Moment magazine’s sexiest man of the year. Did they perhaps mean most sexist man of the year?

“Look, Mr. Clayton, I’m going to be frank with you,” she said firmly. “You and I both know why I’m here, so drop the act, and quit with the games. Either we have this meeting, or I let your father come down here to deal with things in person.”

He suddenly frowned. “There’s no need for threats, Miss Juniper. Do you really think I kept you waiting out here on purpose?”

May shook her head. “No, of course not. I’m sure a man such as yourself already knows full well that such childish behavior is neither becoming nor appropriate for someone of your age and status. After all, you are the acting CEO of a business in charge of over three hundred employees who depend on you for a stable job and reliable income. To completely dismiss the person your father sent to fix this failing company would have been utterly irresponsible as well as selfish.”

Erik just stood there silently, his bright eyes watching her with a dark mixture of annoyance and frustration. It was obvious that his ego had taken a bit of a hit from her words, but more than that, it seemed that he could no longer put up an argument.

“Now then,” she said. “Since we have that out of the way, and we both know you were not avoiding me on purpose, I suggest we sit down and have that meeting. Yes?”

He didn’t say a word in reply but gestured for her to follow him down the hall. So, May picked up her briefcase and followed after him.