The Boss’s Unconventional Assistant

When Lyner reached her desk, she noticed that the lights on her phone were already lit up, signalling that she had several calls on hold waiting for her. They weren't officially open for business yet, but the calls were already coming in. Another busy day, it seemed.

Slipping on her ear piece, Lyner pressed the answer call button on the phone next to her computer as she settled into her chair. "Blue Zircon Enterprise, Lyner speaking."

At first there was no verbal reply. There was a sound like that of an annoyed sighed or some irritated muttering. She wasn't at all surprised when the line suddenly went dead a few seconds later. She shrugged her shoulders and pressed the end-call button and turned her attention to her computer, which hadn’t even started up yet.

Sudden hang-ups weren’t all that uncommon with her job, unfortunately. She knew who were responsible for these hung-ups. The vast majority of phone calls that Lyner had to filter through each and every day were from those of the young female socialite variety. Why would they be ringing up the place of Lyner's employment? Simple - she was working at a billion dollar business and her boss happened to be none other than Croix Bartel.

Yeah, that Croix Bartel. Handsome, rich, successful, the CEO of his own business. Prime husband material to the ladies and heiresses of society. Add in the fact that he was the CEO to a jewel mining empire (you know, diamonds, rubies and sapphires, the like), it was hardly a surprise that he was so sought after.

While it wasn't a part of her job description, Lyner had taken on the task of being the filter between those who only want to score with Croix and those who actually want to talk business with him. It's not an easy job and sometimes a Money and Fame Obsessed Socialite (or MFOS, as they were referred to) slipped through the net, where Croix himself would have to deal with them. Croix had absolutely no interest in any of the socialites that flocked to him and had no intention in fulfilling any of their selfish (and mind-bogglingly stupid) desires of flings and arranged marriages.

These women...they really had no sense of respect or morality. They were willing to do anything and everything (legal or not) to get what they wanted. And she really did mean anything. Blackmail, scandals, paying a hit man to pretend to target her so that she can use protection as an excuse to get close to Croix. Yeah, nothing was off limits.

Lyner answered another call as she pulled up her work schedule. “Blue Zircon Enterprise, Lyner speaking.”

“Who’s this?”

Lyner felt her shoulders sag when a highly agitated and feminine voice shrilled through the phone.

“This is Mr Bartel’s secretary,” Lyner stated in a well-rehearsed manner.

“I don’t want to speak to Croix’s secretary,” the voice on the other end shrilled, sounding incredibly impatient and demanding. “Put me through to Croix!”

Lyner rolled her eyes. Yeah, no, making demands through the phone wasn’t very effective. “What is the manner for this call?” she asked, despite already knowing what it might be about.

“That’s none of your business!”

“Actually, it is,” Lyner replied coolly. “Mr Bartel is a busy man running a business; he does not have time in dealing with matters outside of business. If you wish to speak with him in attempt to ask you to marry him, then I’m afraid the answer will be no.”

“How dare you-!”

Before the person on the other end of the phone could lapse into a far too familiar rant about how she needed to speak with Croix for matters that were of utmost importance and how she didn’t know who she was talking to, Lyner typed in the number being presented on the phone before pressing the end call button.

She’ll ring again, no doubt about that. If she did on the same line, Lyner simply won’t answer it.

Opening a document on her computer, Lyner added the phone number to an increasing list of other numbers. She didn’t want to count them. Just looking at them was daunting enough. She didn’t want to know the exact number.

“Calls coming in already?”

Glancing up from her computer, Lyner was unable to stop a smile from appearing on her lips. Standing in front of her desk, just outside his office was Croix. He had a few files in his hands, which he had picked up from her desk.

“Mostly nonsense calls,” Lyner commented. “Nothing important.”

“I see…” Croix murmured as he glanced over to her, his face stoic, but his eyes holding a sense of guilt and sympathy. “Do you think changing the number would work?”

Lyner rolled her hand in a dismissive manner. “I don’t think so. Maybe for a day or two, but they’ll track it down eventually.”

Croix sighed and shook his head. “True enough…”

Lyner allowed Croix some silence to go through his files of the day. She was really the only person to have such contact or conversations with Croix, despite him being the famous CEO of Blue Zircon.

Her relationship with Croix was...complicated didn’t seem like the right word.

He was her boss and she was employed as his personal assistant. She answered to no one but him and if anyone wished to speak with him, they had to go through her. So, in short, that kinda made her second in charge. Right?

He was her roommate and she was his live-in maid as he was too work orientated to care for himself, so they were actually living together. They lived in an exquisite two-floor apartment in a high security gated complex in a quiet and safe part of town.

Also, she had known Croix for years. They were childhood friends and considered best of friends. She knew everything about him and he knew everything about her. They had been with each other through thick and thin. Including the death of his parents and the sudden inheritance of a billion dollar business. Also, not to mention how he immediately gave her a job to keep her away from her controlling and demanding father and her impulsive and self-centred sisters.

Lastly and the real kicker; they were actually lovers. A couple. Dating. Sleeping together. That sort of thing. Yeah, they were in a secret relationship. He was her first love. She was his only love.

While working, Croix was cool and aloof. He had to be. A young CEO dealing with more devious, experienced owners (and desperate to be owners of) million dollar businesses and having to sometimes literally beat social climbing beauties with a stick, he needed to be on his guard at all times.

Outside of work, he was attentive and sensual. He was easy going when he was relaxed and made sure to pay her special attention. It made Lyner feel important and made her wish that he didn’t have to work so hard. She understood why he had to work. This company was his family’s business, his legacy. He wasn’t going to let it fall into the hands of his incompetent cousin.

As she sorted through the phone calls, Lyner couldn’t help but watch Croix silently from the corner of her eye. He was wearing a black suit that fitted his tall, muscular frame so well. A pair of thin-rimmed glasses sat on the tip of his nose as he flipped through the day’s calendar. His dark purple hair was loose and hanging around his ears, his dark green eyes narrowed in focus.

He was indeed a very handsome man and sometimes Lyner couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to snag such a guy. She was self-conscious at times, but that didn’t mean she was willing to let him go the moment someone else ‘better suited’ for him came along. And a lot of women had strutted along claiming to be ‘perfect’ for Croix and ranted about how they were ‘destined’ to be.

While Croix looked handsome in his work clothes, he was downright irresistible in casual wear. Stick that man in a pair of jeans and a shirt…my god.

Lyner’s own work attire wasn’t anything special or flashy. While her personality was airy at the best of times, her clothing was always practical. She wasn’t trying to win a beauty contest or trying to out-fashion her other female staff members. She wore a long black skirt that had a slit on her right leg, reaching her thigh, a light blue blouse and a black blazer with its sleeves folded half-way up her arms. Her hair was short and a little shaggy, some people would say. She tried to keep it tamed with a few girly hairclips and such.

She never wore heels. Those towering heels that some of the other staff members wore? No, they were simply too impractical for Lyner to wear. For starters, she didn’t like them and felt that she looked absolutely silly in them. Secondly, sometimes the unofficial side of her job required her to run. Not walk briskly, not jog. Run.

The shoes that she wore were flats or slip-ons so she could slip out of them easily to run bare foot. She had done it before and more than likely would have to do it again. The reason for her impromptu sprints at work was to ensure that a MFOS didn’t get to Croix first and confront him with her sassy personality.

The record was five times in one day.

That was a very exhausting day.

“I have three meetings today,” Croix murmured as he shoved the files under his left arm and removed his reading glasses.

“Two of them I am certain are here for legitimate business reasons,” Lyner said as she added yet another phone number to the list to be avoided. “The other one, however, I’m not so sure. I didn’t have a good enough reason not to allow the meeting to go ahead.”

While she was suspicious, she couldn’t outright say ‘no’ as it would be bad for business if the reason for the meeting was indeed authentic.

“One way to find out,” Croix said as he glanced around, noting that other employees were starting to file into work.

Lyner’s desk was situated just outside of Croix’s office and she was pretty much the only person allowed inside when he was there. After a few bad past experiences, he decided that any and all meetings were to be held in another room, a large conference room with windows and a security camera, and where there was high foot traffic. And Croix’s office was to be locked at all times, even when he was inside. He and Lyner were the only ones with the key card to get in.

The other staff members were resentful and suspicious that Lyner was one of only a hand full of people to interact with Croix. But after having dealings with a MFOS, they were more sympathetic. Some even wished they had their own offices to hide in.

Lyner was pulled from her musings when Croix leaned across the table to curl a strand of her hair behind her ear. He didn’t say anything as he dropped a small piece of paper onto the desk and quickly made his way into his office, the door falling shut behind him.

Picking up the piece of paper, Lyner felt herself smile as well as a blush. The note was one of those little endearing (sometimes saucy) notes that she and Croix would send to each other. This one asked her to sneak into his office when she had her lunch break because they had slept in that morning and didn’t have time to participate in their morning ritual of, ah, showing affection toward each other.

Lyner shoved the note into the pocket of her jacket as she took another call, which did little to wipe the smile off her face. After all, Croix’s office didn’t have any inside windows or security cameras.

And no one could walk in on them.