“Hi honey,” I softly kissed my boyfriend Skylar’s cheek, my hand wrapped around the side of his head and he giggled gently, nuzzling the side of my neck, “how are ya feelin’?”
“I’m fine,” he beamed, kissing my nose, “I went to the doctor today.”
“Oh? Did they give ya new medications? Did they answer our questions?” I picked him up quickly, his blonde waves bouncing.
“Mhm,” he kissed me softly, smiling as he did, “I’ll be able to get pregnant. We can have a baby. They are unsure why it didn’t work. Probably… because my IUD was in for too long.”
“Really?” my eyes grew wide and he wiggled happily, nodding his head, “Oh my God,” I kissed him deeply, “Oh we’ve been tryin’ forever…”
“I mean we’re pretty young to be talking about having a child. We’re only 22. What will our parents think?”
“I don’t really care what they’ll say. I wanna share a baby with ya. Get married at some point.”
“My doctor told me we're probably going to have to be intimate a lot in order for it to happen just because my hormones are off. I’m worried you’ll leave if it takes too long.”
“I never could, Skylar,” I slowly kissed him, my hand on his throat as his bright green eyes started to fill with tears, “you’re scared, my love.”
“Of course I am!”
“Let me take ya somewhere. You and me to a nice cabin. We can hide away for a while and I will prove to ya that you are all I will ever need.”
“Well… okay,” he smiled, wiping tears away, “promise?”
“I swear. We’ve been together for 3 years now. Since we were 19. You will always be with me.”
“I believe you.”
I shot up in bed, my chest heaving as tears rolled down my face and I ripped my sheets off, walking to look over the Manhattan skyline that settled below my penthouse apartment.
Skylar and I never made it to that cabin. He decided that rather than wait for me to get him pregnant, he would find a better-suited partner. He met another man who attended our college and slept with him in our bed. I caught them and it absolutely devastated me.
Skylar had left me 9 years ago now and I had entirely dedicated myself to my publishing and advertising company, Parallel. I had two dedicated offices, one in Denver, Colorado, and one in New York City, and would regularly travel between the two. My sister Serenity oversaw the office in Denver and I ran the one in New York, but I was the sole owner, Serenity my Chief Operating Officer, or COO. Her fiance Garett was her assistant as well as the Chief Systems Officer, and he was a wonderful man that always made me laugh as he followed her around like a puppy, bending to all of her commands and making me happy to see just how genuinely my older sister was loved. My twin sister Winifred was a theater teacher in Los Angeles, grateful to have put in the work she did to get this far, and my older brother Silas, Serenity’s twin, owned a restaurant in Denver called “The Garden”. We were all from a small town in Montana called Livingston and had ventured out as young adults, only truly seeing Winifred and Silas at Christmas when we would go and visit our parents Hunter and Grayson.
Currently, I had an assistant named Lauren, a sweet woman who ensured all of my appointments were kept and scheduled, my penthouses cleaned and stocked, and my German Shepherd Aldo was cared for. However, Lauren was set to marry her fiance Enzo in Genova, Italy in a few months and I was going to be losing her as my assistant, something that devastated me as she was incredibly efficient. Lauren had slowly become my best friend over the last few years and I knew that while that bond would never disappear, having to replace her would be difficult. Every person I had interviewed to be my new assistant had been insufficient and I was steadily growing to the point of giving up on finding one.
Pacing my apartment, I dressed slowly and grabbed Aldo’s leash, deciding to take him for a walk even if it was three in the morning.
“Come on, Al,” I sighed and he stretched slowly, padding over so that I could slip his harness on.
We headed out onto the street after taking the elevator from the top floor of the apartment building and slowly began to walk through Manhattan, avoiding people who accosted us as they would truly look at me, panic, and run away. I was already an intimidating figure due to being 6 foot 5, but I was very broad-shouldered and chested as I had played football from high school all the way to my third year of college before my right leg was destroyed due to a car hitting me. I now wore a leg brace from my upper thigh to the middle of shin, my speed slower but I could walk fine, I simply had to ensure that I didn’t push myself.
“Excuse-moi?” a soft voice called and I looked around for a moment before turning, my gaze falling on an absolutely tiny man, the top of his head coming to the middle of my chest, his hair strawberry blonde, skin peach toned and covered in freckles but what had stolen my voice was the fact that his eyes were two starkly different colors, one a deep shade of dark chocolate and the other as light as ice, “I am… lost. Can you please assist me?”
“Of course,” I whispered, “where are you trying to go?”
“Um,” he pulled his phone out and looked at the screen, the tip of his tongue sticking out, “1 Hotel?”
“Oh! You’re so close. Would you like me to guide you?”
“S'il te plaît,” he nodded excitedly before chewing his lip, “I apologize. My English is still not um the best. I am from France.”
“I can tell,” laughing softly, I began to lead him toward the hotel, “from where?”
“Beauvais. It is near-”
“Paris.”
“Do you know France?”
“Un peu,” I smiled down at him and his eyes grew wide, “when I was in college I traveled there and had to learn some of the language. I love geography, so I took the time to look over the areas around France. I remember seeing Beauvais on a map.”
“Where do you… are you from?” he smiled and I returned it, feeling calm for the first time in a while.
“Livingston, Montana.”
“Is it nice?”
“Much quieter than here or Denver, Colorado. I live there sometimes too.”
“Ah. Okay,” he nodded, “oh!” pulling me to a stop, I looked at him confused as his entire face went red, “My name is Sebastian. Sebastian Aubert. We didn’t do introductions.”
“Ah that we didn’t,” I laughed, “my name is Oliver. Oliver Hope.”
“Huh?” his eyes grew wide, “non…”
“Yes? I know my name.”
“You are the owner of Parallel?” Sebastian whispered.
“Yeah.”
“But you look so young?”
“I’m 31. I’m not that old.”
“Oh. You are 8 years older than me. I turned 23 in January.”
He’s so young…
“Sebastian?” I pulled him gently so we could continue to walk, “how do ya know who I am?”
“You are famous but that is not why. I applied to be your assistant. I have the qualifications and I love the novels that your company publishes. I have read them all. I can read and write perfectly in English. It is speaking I struggle with sometimes. I forget words.”
“You… applied?”
“Oui. I am supposed to interview with you le matin,” he shrugged, “Mme West offered me the interview. She is very sweet.”
“Yeah, Lauren is… pretty great,” a strange smell came from Sebastian and I stopped, my heart skipping.
“Monsieur Hope? Are you okay?” he turned to look at me, his eyes shining in the streetlights above us.
“I’m fine.”
Sunflowers.
He smells as nice as sunflowers.
It’s intoxicating.
“You look flushed. Are you uninterested in interviewing me?”
“Huh? Oh of course I want ya to interview. I’m not worried about that. I had a nightmare before I came out here to walk Aldo that’s all. A bad memory. It flashed in my head,” I smiled, shaking my head.
“Ah! I was concerned.”
“Sebastian?”
“Yes, sir?”
A tingle shot down my spine at Sebastian calling me sir and I gripped Aldo’s leash tighter, “You have the necessary qualifications to be my assistant?”
“Oui.”
“You’re willin’ to travel at a moment's notice?”
“Oui,” he tilted his head, “I am alone in the world. I have nothing holding me anywhere.”
“I require that my assistant live in my penthouse. They will have their own bedroom, office, and bathroom. The kitchen and living space is shared as well as the outdoor area on the roof. I’m the only one with access and ya have to have a key to the elevator to get to my floor.”
“Oh. Well, that explains why you have not had luck,” he giggled, “finding an assistant.”
“Exactly.”
“But I would not mind. It would be nice and make work easier.”
“Alright. There’s no need for an interview tomorrow. I’ll look over the file that Lauren gave me regardin’ you. It’s in the pile of other people wanting to interview. But I'll have Lauren send ‘em an email statin’ the position is filled. Meet me at Parallel at 9 am. Let the front desk know that you’re there to meet with me. I’ll have paperwork waiting for ya to sign and accept the position. There’s an NDA in there as well. You’re not allowed to share my personal business with anyone. No matter what ya might learn about me. Do ya understand?”
“I do,” he nodded excitedly, his hands clutched in front of his chest, “I would never share your business.”
“And I will have one written that I don’t share yours. I have one for Lauren regardin’ her time as my assistant. What would ya like to have kept from the public that I may learn?”
“My past before I came here,” he whispered, looking at his shoes.
“Did you commit crimes?”
“Non. It is simply something that I do not want shared too publicly.”
“Fair. Alright,” I held my hand out and he shook it quickly, “I’ll see ya in the morning. Or a few hours I suppose.”
“Merci for the opportunity,” he beamed, “but… I am still lost, Monsieur Hope.”
“We’ll get ya to your hotel and I will send a car to pick ya up. Be waiting at 830 for Garett.”
“Okay. I absolutely will.”
“Dress business casual. A suit but no tie,” we began walking again, Sebastian struggling with his duffle bag as he had to carry it and it was stuffed to the brim and I grabbed it from him, slinging it across my back.
“Monsieur Hope, I could have managed!”
“I’m strong. Don’t worry. This weighs next to nothin’.”
“Well… merci for caring for me tonight.”
Shit.
Don’t talk like that.
It’s… so nice to hear.
“I’m your boss now. It’s my job to care for ya. You’ll see what I mean when ya come in to look at the paperwork. It will take a while to sign.”
“I’m only in my hotel until tomorrow. I could not afford a longer stay.”
“Well, that’s fine. Remember? You’ll be staying in the penthouse. Bring your bags and have Garett take ‘em to my apartment. The doorman will send them to my floor and the maid service will place ‘em in your bedroom. I will ensure it happens.”
“Merci… truly. I was scared I would be stuck in New York with nowhere to rest.”
“Did ya… come here with nothin’?”
“Oui. I could no longer stay where I was.”
“You will always have somewhere to stay and the money to get a place should ya wish to stop working as my assistant at any point. I take care of my employees.”
“How many?”
“300. Half here and half in Denver. I travel between the two quite a bit but as my older sister Serenity’s fiance stays here, she is going to take control of this branch and I’ll go back to the one in Denver. I opened that one first.”
“Oh! Is there neige?”
“Neige… oh snow! Well… not so much this time of year, but in the winter yes. A ton. Do you enjoy it?”
“Oui, I love to ski so that will be nice.”
You love to ski?
I do too.
“As do I,” I smiled, leading him up the steps of the hotel, “I own a chalet in Aspen. And Switzerland.”
“You are very rich,” he laughed.
“I spend money on property. But yes. I suppose I am. Most of my money goes back to my employees, however. I want them to never struggle to live in New York City or Denver.”
“There was no salary listed to be your assistant.”
“Then why did ya apply?”
“The money did not matter,” he shrugged, “I have read your novels and admire the charity work your company does. I wanted to be a part of that in what way I could.”
“And ya are now,” I smiled, leading him into the hotel, “hello,” I called softly to the receptionist, “checkin' in? Sebastian Aubert.”
“Ah. Non it is under Maria Aubert,” Sebastian quickly grabbed his wallet to show his ID to the receptionist.
“Your mother?”
“Non. I will explain tomorrow. It will go in my NDA.”
“Let’s see,” the receptionist typed quickly as Aldo lay at my feet, “room 102. We will charge it to your card at checkout, and here is your room key,” she smiled.
“Merci,” Sebastian nodded, “Monsieur Hope? I will be there tomorrow morning.”
“Perfect,” I handed Sebastian his bag, “get plenty of rest okay?”
“I will,” he smiled and headed to the elevator and as soon as he was out of sight I turned to the receptionist.
“Ma’am? Can ya change the card on file?”
“Of course,” she smiled knowingly and I handed her one of my cards, “thank you. Should we inform him?”
“I will. It’s part of his new employee package. I pay for all lodging. Have a lovely night okay?”
“It’s 4 in the morning,” she laughed softly, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
“Ah, then a good day. Thank ya,” I nodded and got Aldo up, heading back toward my apartment with the full intent of looking at Sebastian’s file, my hiring him based solely on the comfort I felt in his presence. Not his qualifications.
Lauren is going to kill me.
But it’s worth it.
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