up in your head about me, you should forget about it. I’m not that man.”
“I just want to get to know you, Mr. Davenport,” she says, in a sweeter voice now. I’m not sure what to think. Am I missing the point of this conversation? I don’t want to make assumptions about my assistant throwing herself at me.
“It’s…” I begin to say. Not that I know where I’m going with this. There’s a knock on my office door, and Blaire looks in. Erica and I both turn to her.
“Oh, sorry, are you in the middle of something? I just thought I’d see if you have a moment. It’s about these weekly meetings you’ve added to my calendar,” she says, throwing a passing smile at Erica.
“I’m free now; we can talk,” I say. “Close the door behind you, Erica.”
My assistant walks away silently, and I wonder if I should thank Blaire for rescuing me.
She comes into my office, and my body physically reacts to her presence the way it never does to anybody else. I wish I could explain it to Erica.
Blaire waits until we’re alone in my office before she speaks.
“What is this about?” she asks, holding up a sheet of paper, which I assume is the calendar invites I’ve had Erica send before.
“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
Blaire rolls her eyes.
“You’re expecting me to meet with you every Monday morning at nine? Is this a joke?”
I decide not to mention that I was going to have Erica set up a meeting for us today too. I sit back in my chair instead and weave my fingers together.
“What is the problem?”
“It is going to be a waste of my time and yours. This is not what I signed up for, Trevor. According to our contract, you’re going to keep your nose out of my business and let me run my company the way I’ve been single-handedly running it so far.”
Blaire is standing with her hands hooked on her hips. Her dress is nowhere near as short as the ones Erica likes to wear. Her makeup is minimal. Her hair is smooth and neat. Why am I comparing the two women? I can’t help myself. I think I’ll be comparing every woman to Blaire for a long time to come. Until I can get her out of my system.
“I don’t believe it’ll be a waste of my time. I’m going to let you handle your company without any major interference, as promised. However, I would still like to keep an eye on things. It is an investment for me, after all.”
The tops of Blaire’s cheeks have turned bright pink. I can see she’s unhappy with what I’m saying.
“This is not what was discussed.”
“You want to be given free rein to do whatever you want, while I keep paying you to do it? Do you know what that sounds like?” I speak in an even voice.
“Go ahead, Trevor, tell me what that sounds like.”
“Like you’re an entitled, spoiled brat.”
I can see her chest heaving. Yeah, maybe that was a bit too harsh. But this is business. I’m not here to make friends or get in her good books. I still need to make sure this will be a profitable venture for me.
She takes a few firm strides in my direction.
“I’ll remind you that you came to me with an offer; it wasn’t the other way around. I didn’t ask you to throw money at me!”
“I have no intention of throwing money at you with no payback.”
She is trying to stay in control. Her fists are clenching as she clutches them to her hips.
“I’m not going to let you control me or the way I run my company.”
“That is not what I’m trying to do.”
“Aren’t you?” she snaps, and I finally stand up from behind my desk. Her eyes follow me. She watches in silence as I walk around to stand in front of her.
“I’m trying to make sure I know how my investment is going. That is all. I’m not going to give you any unsolicited advice, unless you need it. If we are going to be able to work together as professionals, you need to be able to trust me, Blaire. Do you think you can do that?”
She is searching my eyes, almost like she’s waiting for me to crack. Like she’s expecting me to laugh any moment because this is a joke.
She gulps. “I have been doing this alone for a while now,” she says in a softer voice.