Vanessa thought of different ways to get revenge on Darryl but nothing came to her mind. Her mind was focused on how she was going to survive as Darryl’s secretary. Just a few hours with him, she already felt like pulling his hair off his head. She closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath to calm herself.
“Have you seen your office? It is next to mine.” Darryl was not concerned about her anger, in fact, he was enjoying her reaction. “I have to keep you next to me always”, he smiled as he played with the pen in his hands.
Vanessa didn’t reply. Instead of replying to him, she moved to the door that led to her office. How can his office be fixed inside his own? Working with him was enough torture, now she had to share the office with him. This means Darryl will know when she goes out and comes in.
She pulled the door knob and the door opened, revealing an arranged office. Files were neatly arranged on the cabinet. A computer sat on the desk, a collection of pens on the side of the table, highlighters and post-it notes were also on the desk. On the other side of the desk, some files were arranged neatly on it. The office was a comfortable place to work, unlike her former office which she shared with two others.
“Have you been given a tour around the company?” Darryl’s question took Vanessa out of her thoughts. She was so engrossed in the arrangements of the office that she didn’t notice Darryl was already behind her.
“No.” she turned around, facing him squarely. He was so much taller than her, but she remained unfazed.
She checked how his white shirt hugged his body, but it was not tight. It fitted him, like it was tailored specially for him. Vanessa avoided checking him out, but she couldn’t help it.
“I will ask Phoebe to give you a tour around…” Darryl took a step closer to her. “Or should I attend to you personally? You know I would love to spend more time with you,” Darryl said as he moved closer into the office. Vanessa took a step back, so she could create a decent space between them.
This was the Darryl she knew, the playboy who took everything as a game. She knew all his tactics, and she was prepared to play along with them, but the real question was how could she play along?
Vanessa was not a player. In fact, she strongly believed in relationships and love. She believes in marriage and commitment. She was from a completely different world from Darryl. How would it be possible to beat a player at his game?
“I won’t be needing a tour.” Vanessa dismissed his attempt to flirt with her. “You should fill me in on how being your secretary works. I don’t know how it works.”
Darryl smiled at her honesty. He saw Vanessa as someone with a different personality. One minute, she could be confident and outspoken, and the next minute, she could be shy like a little mouse.
“Little mouse” he laughed at the idea. Vanessa stared at him, confusion was etched on her face. She wondered what she had said to make him laugh. Little did she know that Darryl was lost in his thoughts about her.
Darryl cleared his throat, a tough facade was etched on his face. “These are the important things to know about this job. Every morning, you’d get a cup of coffee for me before I start any meeting.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes as she heard him. So she was there to get coffee for Darryl. Why didn’t he employ a maid instead of a secretary?
“I don’t really observe lunch breaks and other breaks, but if I want to go for lunch, you will go with me.” Darryl added to his unending list.
Vanessa was too stunned to talk. She wasn’t just a maid, she was also a handbag. Did he just say they would go to lunch together? Even though questions bubbled inside of her, Vanessa maintained maximum composure. She remained silent as she listened to Darryl’s unending list.
Darryl could see a flicker of something in Vanessa’s eyes as he talked, but he didn’t know what it was exactly. “The important contacts and to-do list are in a file on the desk. You should go through them and memorize everything in the file.”
Vanessa could not contain her irritation as she watched Darryl list the things she had to do as his secretary. Her gaze was fixed on him in disbelief.
“This is important information, you should write it down, so you won’t forget any of it.” Darryl advised her. “I don’t think your sassy brain can handle so much information.” He insulted her in a joking manner.
Ignoring his arrogant attitude, Vanessa grabbed the pen he was holding and began to jot down the things he had mentioned in her notepad. Even if she was mad at him, she didn’t want to do a shitty job as his secretary.
“Should I continue?” Darryl winked at her. Vanessa rolled her eyes as she countered his action. “I would have loved this attitude of yours if we were in the bedroom.” Darryl teased her
Vanessa shot daggers at Darryl with her eyes. If staring at someone could kill, Darryl would be dead by now. Darryl remained unfazed as she laughed at her reaction.
“Contract all important information to our clients and receive important visitors on my behalf,” Darryl continued.
“How would I know important visitors from unimportant visitors, sir” Vanessa asked, sarcasm laced in her voice.
“If you had allowed me to finish, you wouldn’t have asked that question, but I would give you an answer.” Darryl tapped the top of her nose as he answered.
This was becoming too much for Vanessa to handle. She felt like hitting him with her notepad, but she didn’t do anything. Instead, she had a wry smile on her face.
“Whenever you get an appointment or invitation, you forward them to me. This way, I will choose the important ones. Is that clear enough, Vanessa?”
Vanessa didn’t reply, she was focused on jotting down the information Darryl shared with her.
“Lastly, I have an important meeting with the accounting department in an hour. While I am gone, go through the filled documents in the cabinet. Memorize their code name and the category they belong to.”
Aside from the coffee and the lunch he required, Vanessa didn’t see her work here as a big deal. If she followed the instructions he gave her, she wouldn’t have a problem with being his secretary.
She took a look around her office again before she sat on the chair. “Welcome to D’Peters.”