Katherine was captivated by him. He seemed smarter than the previous assistants she had and she really hoped that she made the right choice. She loved the way he kept his calm even when he was flustered.

"What a weird guy?" She thought as she sipped the coffee. She almost cringed at its taste but managed not to show it on her face. It was too sweet for her liking.

Lionel wanted to ask if it was the right one but remained silent when she began giving out orders to him.

“Make twenty-five copies of this file. I have a meeting in exactly half an hour and I want you to be with me and take notes at the meeting.”

As much as she wanted to keep looking at him, she immediately wanted him out of her sight. Great. A full inbox, three meetings, and now an inconveniently attractive assistant. Timing, as always, was a bitch.

“Sure, ma’am. Is that all?” he asked her, looking into the documents.

“Yes, as of now,” she replied, dismissing him. She'd spent too much time drooling over an attractive man. She flipped through the file and smirked. Amateurs. The balance sheet was a mess of obvious manipulation. She wasn't an idiot who wouldn't notice windowdressing but men have always underestimated her in vain. She made a mental note to fire the Accounts manager. 

She dumped the coffee into the dustbin and much to her dismay, a drop spilled on her skirt. "Fuck!" she muttered, dabbing the stain. It was like the coffee had a personal vendetta,ruining both her mouth and her morning.

Lionel barged in without knocking, quickly averting his eyes from her.

He mentally facepalmed himself for messing up again and again.

“Mr. Lawson, please knock before entering,” Katherine said and he muttered a quick sorry.Her eyes fell on his hands, which tightly clutched the documents, and suddenly she imagined how nice they would look cuffed to her bed. She quickly shook her head, trying to get the image out of her mind. She was surprised at the way her mind had decided to work against her today.

“Wait for me here,” she ordered as she entered the room adjacent to her office. It was a small bedroom where she could rest if she wanted a break. She had kept a couple of dresses and suits in case she needed them. Quickly changing out of her skirt, she returned to her office where Lionel was waiting. She took her laptop and walked over to him.

“Are you coming or not?” she snapped, and he rushed out before her.

Katherine chuckled at the effect she had on him. Lionel was shocked at how easily he got flustered in her presence. He wondered how he could continue working there if he had to constantly walk around blushing.

He followed her towards the hall where the meeting was held and distributed the copies in front of all the designated seats. Katherine wasn’t affected by the encounter, but Lionel was a whole different story.

People in expensive suits began to file in and take their respective seats. The meeting commenced as soon as everyone was seated, and Lionel took his seat on the side. He did not have much work other than taking the minutes, and soon enough, he was bored. Somebody was explaining something, and Lionel didn’t understand any of the technical aspects of it. However, Katherine seemed too immersed in it. Lionel stifled a yawn threatening to break out and soon zoned out, resorting to looking around the meeting hall.

He was snapped back to reality by an intimidating but sharp voice.

“Are you noting down the points, Mr. Lawson? I want them after this meeting ends,” she said curtly, glaring at him.

Lionel gulped, looking embarrassed as everybody’s attention snapped to him.

“Yes, Ms. Xavier,” he replied, flustered.The meeting continued and Lionel lost the track of time.

Katherine sat at the head of the sleek glass table, her eyes sharp as scalpels. The air felt heavy as the room filled with tension.

“We pushed the campaign to next week, ma’am,” one of the junior executives finally spoke, avoiding her gaze.

She didn’t reply immediately. She merely raised an eyebrow, waiting. Incompetent staff were not new to her.

“Why?” she asked, voice cold and clipped.

“There were a few design delays... and the influencer contracts weren’t finalised on time,” said another voice, this time from the marketing head.

“So let me get this straight.” Katherine said slowly, standing up, her heels clicked on the marble floor. “Not only did you ignore a clear timeline, but you also waited until now to inform me?”

Nobody spoke.

“I asked for traction analysis. Audience behaviour breakdown. Cost-benefit projections. Instead, you give me excuses. Do you think I’m running a bakery?”

Her tone was scathing but calm, the kind that stung more than yelling ever could.

“The design team had one task, repurpose last quarter’s campaign elements and adjust them to the new vertical. That doesn’t take a week. As for influencer outreach, if you’d looked beyond your usual list of recycled Instagram faces and actually used the tools you’re paid for, you’d have ten better options with half the cost and twice the engagement.”

Someone tried to speak, but she raised a hand, silencing them.

“From now on, Paul, you’ll coordinate directly with finance and legal for pre-approval of influencer contracts. Sara, you’ll report to me with daily progress updates at 9 a.m. sharp. No summaries. I want raw data. The campaign goes live in four days.”

She sat down again and turned to Lionel, who had been taking notes silently.

“Mr. Lawson, attach this directive to the follow-up memo. Send it to all present. If anyone misses a deadline, I want their resignation on my desk.”

The room stayed silent. She leaned back.

“Meeting dismissed.”

***

Lionel rushed behind her to her cabin. She told him to take a seat in front of her desk, to which he obliged. Instead of sitting on her chair, she leaned her back against her desk, standing almost close to him. She eyed him carefully while he waited for her to speak.

“What was really so interesting that you couldn’t concentrate back there?” she asked sternly.

Lionel licked his lips nervously, and her eyes trailed the action. He opened his mouth to explain but only managed a stammer. Something told him she’d know if he lied, so he settled for the safest option, sweating quietly.

After all, getting fired on the first day of the job would not really be a good thing on his portfolio