four

Gray's Consulting did it all, which meant that I did as well.

The paperwork, filing and business correspondence was endless. I took all of my boss's calls, planned out his every move, and made sure he was everywhere that he was meant to be. I also attended countless meetings, where I was basically just the scribe, writing down every notable comment that was made. It really baffled me as to why billion-dollar businesses like his hadn't implemented some sort of recording technology to replace the physical labour.

In my first few weeks on the job, I'd also done a lot of research, both assigned, and of my own accord. I was obviously required to know every intricate detail of the business in order to represent it well. But in addition to studying the surface facts, I' s found myself more often than not digging deeper into the history of Gray's Consulting, as well as into their many scandals, both past and present. I was more than aware that a lot of what I was reading had been completely manufactured for the sake of selling a story. Nevertheless, they certainly gave a good indication of the various perceptions of the company, both from the media and the public eye, which were arguably just as important as the facts and figures.

Every business had their scandals - it proved that they were significant enough for people to care. And every business had their rivals - it proved that their product was good enough to be worth competing with. A large portion of my job revolved around the detailed knowledge of this. From very early on, I'd been presented with a list of names; companies, media outlets, and individuals; to avoid like a plague. Although Mason's name was (thankfully) not on the extensive register, the company he represented most certainly was. 'Nelson Incorporated' sat boldly near the top of the document, second only to 'Life & Style Weekly', who seemed to find joy in running Mr Gray through the mud at any chance they got. And through completely unbiased research, I'd also discovered that Mason's portrayal of my employer as the bad guy of the feud with his was in fact rather twisted.

I had been surprised to discover that Nelson Incorporated had in fact started up well after Gray's Consulting had been established by Mr Gray Senior some thirty-five years ago. According to my reading, their products and campaigns had, in their short history, appeared to mirror ours, in a pretty non-discreet manner. It seemed as though the company Mason was aligned with was in fact the antagonist in a lot of the unsavoury interactions between businesses, and had been rather petty with the numerous fabricated scandals that they had circulated. They also made a considerably smaller income than Gray's, which didn't confirm anything in itself, but definitely helped the argument. The more I read into it, the more the rivalry resembled a sort of restraining order, preventing Nelson Incorporated from touching us.

"Morning, Al," Bella greeted me as I made my way hurriedly towards the elevator. "You in a rush or something?"

"He's gonna be pissed," I laughed, causing her to cringe.

"Good luck," she chuckled. "Sounds like you're gonna need it."

As the elevator door closed, I checked my phone for the time. 7:01. Although it was only a minute past my scheduled clock-on, I was certain to incur my boss's wrath because of it.

Ever since I had 'argued' with Mr Gray on my first day on the job, he'd given me a new set of requirements, which basically ensured that he would never have to see me unless we were in a meeting, where he acted as though I wasn't there anyway. I now had to arrive at around a quarter to seven, early enough to deliver his coffee and get settled in for the day before he arrived right on seven o'clock. From there, he would send me my daily tasks in choppy emails, and I would return them in a similar manner. It had been like this for almost four weeks now, and this was the first time I had failed to make it in on time.

"Miss Carson," his voice boomed the moment the elevator opened onto the seventy-fifth. His eyes were dark, his fists clenched tightly. "My office, now!"

Ok, so I'd expected a reaction, but this seemed just a little extreme.

As I followed him towards the corridor, I looked over at Nikki, who was wriggling her eyebrows almost suggestively. I rolled my eyes playfully, shaking my head at her immature ways. She certainly didn't take much of anything too seriously, but I loved her for it.

"You're late," he stated as soon as I'd closed his office door behind us. I turned to find him leaning against his desk, so I decided to stay by the doorway in order to keep some distance between us.

"Yeah, I am," I replied shortly. "You're awfully observant today."

He grunted, frustrated by my snide remark. This was honestly our first real face-to-face interaction since day one, and I was definitely going to make the most of it after the treatment he'd given me.

He was silent for a good while, his expression unreadable but definitely not impressed.

"Well," I continued, "if you don't have anything else to point out, then I'm going to go get started on my work."

Still no comment.

"Here's your coffee," I handed him his double Espresso with two-and-a-half sugars and cashew milk. His order was almost as stuck up as he was. Almost.

When I still got no reply, I turned to exit.

"We have a meeting at two," he spoke as I was closing the door behind me.

"With who?" I opened it back up slightly. "I don't remember booking anyone in."

"Mr Russo," he replied, causing me to raise an eyebrow curiously. I had heard a lot about the powerful businessman, but had no idea what the nature of his visit may be. "I scheduled it myself."

"Is there anything I should do to prepare? Or anything I should know in advance?"

"No," came his simple response. "You'll just be there to take notes anyway."

I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to reply before shutting the door a little more forcefully. He could have at least given me some sort of warning, given the obvious importance of the afternoon's meeting. I was sure that I'd only added fuel to the fire with my expression and door-slam, but I somehow found legitimate pleasure in making him mad.

With that out of the way, I walked into my office, starting up my computer to begin the day's work.

———

"Did you hear that James asked Lucy out on a date?" Conner asked, taking a bite of his double-beef burger.

"No way!" Nikki almost choked on her lemonade.

I had no idea why this was so crazy, but was certain that I would soon have it explained to me.

One thing that had remained consistent was the way I spent my lunchtimes. The daily catch-up session with my two favourite colleagues had quickly became the highlight of my routine. Although I hated the fabricated spread of gossip from people back home, there was something so exciting about office drama, especially when I didn't know half the people who were being talked about.

"How did Paige react? I mean she was certain that James was in love with her."

"Apparently she's moved on," Conner shrugged his shoulders. "I have reason to believe that she may even be involved with Mr Gray."

It was safe to say that by this point my interest was well and truly piqued.

"Of course she'd spread some bullshit like that," Nikki obviously didn't think too highly of the girl. "I doubt Mr Gray even knows she exists."

Once we'd finished our burgers, we made our way back to the office, saying goodbye to Conner as he got off at the sixth floor, before making the long journey up to the top. Nikki and I then parted ways as she headed over to her desk.

As I walked down the corridor towards my office, I quite literally ran into an overly fake yet undeniably stunning blonde, who had evidently just come out of Mr Gray's office. I didn't recognise her as someone I'd seen him with before, and she definitely wasn't Paige from Accounting.

"Watch where you're going," she spat, her strident voice certainly not as attractive as her appearance. However, from what I'd seen of Mr Gray's dealings with women, the sound of their speech wasn't one of his main concerns.

"I- I'm sorry," I stuttered, surprisingly intimidated by my boss's latest love interest.

"Well you should be, bitch." Ok that was completely uncalled for. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm your boy toy's assistant," my blood was boiling and my confidence was growing.

"Ha!" She laughed loudly. "What was he thinking hiring someone like you?"

"I could ask the same for his choosing you," I shot back, "and the various other girls that have filtered through his office this week alone."

She huffed, giving me a death glare before storming past me, bumping my shoulder on the way. I had no doubt that she would be met by an army of glares from the other girls who worked on this floor.

I chuckled to myself, walking past Mr Gray's office towards my own. His door was slightly ajar, making me wonder whether he'd heard my confrontation with his little fling. I gave a quick glance in his direction, and was considerably shocked to find his piercing eyes on mine. The smirk that crept onto his face as I looked at him was enough to answer my question in detail.

'Oh well,' I thought to myself. 'It wouldn't hurt either of them to hear a bit of truth.'

I shook my head at him, a small smile playing on my lips as I headed into my office to get myself ready for the afternoon's all-important interview.

In order to give myself a some much needed peace of mind, I'd set aside a few moments before taking my lunchbreak to do some quick research about Mr Russo. He was an investor; a key shareholder and stakeholder in the world's most prestigious firms. Having his name linked even loosely to your business was like the ultimate tick of approval in the corporate world. I could only assume that today's meeting would revolve around this type of partnership, and knew that it would therefore be a very big deal for my boss.

Walking into the meeting room at ten minutes to two, it quickly became clear that this assumption was at least somewhat accurate. Mr Gray was pacing from one side of the room to the other, a very rare sight given his usual unwavering confidence.

"Is everything alright, Sir?" He jumped slightly as he noticed my presence for the first time. He was completely out of it at the moment, which definitely had me concerned.

Although I didn't like the man, it was my job to love the business and have it's best interests at hear. There was definitely not going to be much success in the cards if the CEO remained the nervous wreck that was standing before me.

"You've got nothing to worry about," I tried my best to comfort him. "You're Tyler Freaking Gray, for god's sake. People fear you, not the other way around."

He still hadn't said anything, but had relaxed his demeanour to some degree.

I noticed that his tie was a little off-centre, probably the result of his nervous tugging on it as he moved around the room. I hesitantly made my way over to him, reaching up to adjust it.

"What are you d-"

"Just relax," I cut him off. "Your tie was wonky."

He let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes in what I assumed was an attempt to gain some composure.

"Thankyou," he said softly. The simple fact that he'd used some sort of manners was proof of his current vulnerable state, but I knew that it wasn't the time to point that out to him. I simply smiled up at him, before moving away to make some final adjustments to the conference room.

Not even five minutes later, the chairs were all occupied by sophisticated businessmen in expensive tailored suits. Our guest had brought a considerable team with him, but so had Mr Gray. I knew all of our representatives quite well, and was very confident in the diverse line-up. There would surely be no question that could not be answered by one of the five experienced men.

"So, Mr Gray, tell me why I should give you all my money," Mr Russo started the meeting off with a light joke. It was a serious question, just as he was a serious person, but was pitched in a way that helped to relax the mood considerably.

My boss gave his pitch without hindrance, holding the whole room captive with the way he so vividly described his company - his pride and joy. Although I was meant to be writing notes, I couldn't help but to stop and listen, as his passion for his business was so clear and contagious.

"Sounds a little too good to be true," the potential investor laughed, something that he seemed to do a lot. He wasn't mocking or making fun of the situation in any way, but was simply a good-humoured man.

"What about you, Miss Carson?" Everyone's attention was suddenly on me. I'd hardly been mentioned in the introductions, and was beyond surprised when Mr Russo addressed me so early in the meeting, or even at all. "How long have you been working here?"

Even though I was quite aware that situations like this were exactly what I'd signed up for when getting into business, it didn't make it any less daunting when the opportunity actually presented itself.

"Coming up to one month, sir," I did my best to hide my nerves.

"Then you're the perfect person to answer the question," he smiled. "Why should I invest in Gray's Consulting, assuming of course that you believe I should?"

"Without a doubt, Mr Russo," I began. "There isn't a company in the country that rivals Gray's."

As I elaborated on my answer, I tried to gauge my audience's reactions. I definitely hadn't spoken as perfectly as my superior, but I also didn't have a fraction of his experience, so I hoped that a perfect answer wasn't expected.

"Very impressive," our guest nodded his head, taking in everything I'd just said. "But tell me, Miss Carson, how do I know that you're not just reciting a script?"

I paused for a moment as I considered my response.

"Ask me anything, Mr Russo, and I'll answer you honestly."

He looked a little taken aback by my reply, as I had so confidently returned the ball to his court.

Everyone else around the table seemed highly amused by the way this conversation was playing out before their eyes. Even Mr Gray, who was sitting rigidly at the head of the table, had the slightest hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

"If I offered you double your current salary and a generous tenure to work for me instead, what would you do?"

That was definitely not the direction I'd expected him to take this, but I wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing through me that easily.

"I believe this is getting away from the point," Mr Gray piped in, evidently just as nervous about the question as I was.

"Let her speak," Mr Russo silenced my boss. If it had been anyone else, Mr Gray would have been enraged.

"With all due respect, Sir, I wouldn't even consider your offer," I began honestly, sticking to my word. "In the few short weeks that I have been here, I've become so inexplicably loyal to this company. Never before in my life have I had the pleasure of observing, let alone being involved in, a team of people so personally invested in their work and in client outcomes. Nor have I ever known someone who, through simply hearing them talk about their work, could make me passionate about it, until meeting Mr Gray. So no, Mr Russo. I would have to politely decline, no matter how good the offer."

A long silence followed, in which I seriously considered shitting my pants with nerves.

"Mr Gray," Mr Russo began after a while, shifting the spotlight to the head of the table. "Where do I sign?"