Chapter One

“Please don’t move away Miss Peters” is what I heard throughout my last day at New Hope Elementary School. I felt terrible for moving away from my students but I knew it was time to move on to bigger and better things.

I have been a first grade teacher for ten years living in a small town in Arizona. I love my little cottage and the people in town but I’ve always dreamed of living in one of the biggest cities in the US; Los Angeles, California. I was starting to get anxious because I was just realizing how close tomorrow was. I was trying to pack up my desk at the school so I could have the afternoon to pack up the rest of my house. My students were a little upset with me since I was leaving rather suddenly. I didn’t know how to explain to first graders that I had to get out of this small town.

“Lilly, where are you?”, a voice called out.

“I’m in here trying to get some things packed away and ready for the next teacher” I replied. I knew Lisa was coming over this afternoon to help me, she always comes to offer help even when she is sick. Lisa is the one person I will miss most in this little town, she is always so positive and upbeat, something that has helped me get through my ten years here.

“What would you like help with? Just point me in the direction I’m needed and I’ll be off”, stated Lisa. Lisa knew I wouldn’t ask her to help much because I’m too independent and I don’t like bothering others with my problems. “I took the whole afternoon off so we could spend some time together before you leave, so let’s get to packing and go out for dinner.”

I could see she had been crying earlier, it made my heart break just a little more. I don’t want Lisa to be upset with me for leaving, I have to make sure she knows she can always call me and come see me whenever she would like to. “Lisa, you do know you can always come see me in L.A. right?”

“Yeah I know, but I feel like I’m losing my best friend. You won't be right down the street for me to come talk to. Instead I will have to call you or wait until I can come see you in order to talk”, Lisa stated sadly.

I knew I was going to have to make up for leaving Lisa behind, but I didn’t think it was going to hurt me as bad as it was. Lisa and I have been best friends since the day I came to work for New Hope Elementary School. Lisa was the secretary at the school and was in charge of the faculty parties. We started getting close after another teacher, Mr. Green tried to sexually harass her and I stood up for her. It was the start of a great friendship. She trusted me and I trusted her.

After getting all of the packing over with, we decided to go eat at the cafe on Winter street. The cafe was a small quiet diner where Lisa and I could have some time to ourselves. We both enjoyed being around other people but tonight was special since I was leaving in the morning.

“Have you met your new boss yet? I heard he’s one of the most eligible bachelors in L.A.”, Lisa asked.

I think Lisa was giving me a hint, she had been trying to hook me up with different guys around town hoping I would stay. “No I haven’t met him, I only know he is my boss and my job is to run his errands.” I was trying to lay it out there so Lisa understood I don’t want a relationship with anyone.

“But you know he has to be hot if he is L.A.’s most eligible bachelor, there’s no harm in mixing business and a little bit of pleasure.” Lisa gave me that crooked smile like she was planning something. “I just don’t understand how a beautiful woman like you hasn’t snagged a gorgeous husband by now. It just doesn’t seem right, you have the body, the smarts and of course those sexy green eyes.”

Lisa was your typical country girl, wore sundresses, never really put any make-up on and was a little round in the middle. She always said I looked like an exotic goddess because my eyes were such a bright green. I thought I looked like a normal everyday woman, but maybe I was wrong. I just glanced around and replied casually, “Maybe men don’t like sexy green eyes, maybe they like natural looking women like you Lisa.”

There was a big burst of laughter from Lisa’s chest that echoed through the cafe’. “I highly doubt men are looking for a normal chubby girl like me, maybe as a nanny or teacher but not as a wife.”

Lisa was so hard on herself sometimes, she had a great personality but always downgraded herself. “Let’s make a deal, if you don’t find a man within the next six months I will let you hook me up with a guy. Now if you do find a man in those six months, you have to leave me alone about being in a relationship.” I wasn’t too worried because I already knew the gas station owner Alex wanted to date her.

Lisa thought about it for a minute then smiled real big and said, “It’s a deal sweet cheeks.”

It was getting late so I decided to end our dinner date and go home to look over my agenda for tomorrow. Lisa said she’d be over early in the morning to say goodbye and bring some snacks for the road.

As I walked through the front door to my little cottage for the last time, I noticed a letter had been slid through the door. It looked like it was from a law firm, I quickly opened it hoping it wouldn’t be something to delay my trip. Enclosed was a key and letter addressed to me that read:

Dear Miss Peters,

I wanted to introduce myself before you came to L.A. tomorrow, I am the CEO of McAlister Enterprises and you may call me Mr. McAlister, I will be your boss at the company. I look forward to meeting you in person and hope that you come dressed appropriately for the job. I would hate to have to send you home on your first day due to horrible clothing attire. The key you hold is to open the office in the morning. I also wanted to go ahead and give you a list of things that need to be done before I arrive.

1. Have my coffee ready and hot first thing

2. Make sure all business mail is on my desk

3. Pick up my dry cleaning at 105 Southport Lane

I would hope you can handle those small tasks for me.

Sincerely,

Logan McAlister

CEO McAlister Enterprises

I had to read the letter three times before I finally calmed down enough to comprehend everything this crazy egotistical man was saying. I had a bad feeling about this boss of mine, I really hope he doesn’t ruin my time in L.A.

That night all I dreamed about was a bossy stereotypical man that made me slave day and night for him. I had decided that I would not let this so-called CEO run my life and he damn sure wouldn’t treat me like a slave. I was fuming by the time Lisa arrived to say goodbye and wish me luck, I just couldn’t believe someone could be this bossy and rude yet still run a multi-billion dollar company with ease.

“Wow what is wrong with you this morning, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Lisa asked. She put the peanut butter sandwiches and homemade lemonade in the cooler, she looked at me with a sad face then busted into tears.

I immediately forgot about the letter and just hugged her, “It will be fine, peanut, you are coming to visit me in two weeks and I am going to call you every night.” Lisa finally calmed down, I looked at my cell phone and realized it was 5am I had to get going or I would be late on my first day of work in L.A. I said my goodbyes to Lisa and drove away with tears falling down my cheeks, not because I was sad but because I was finally moving on to better my life.