Hired, page 4
She sighed. “You don't want this job, Hadley. Trust me on this. You look like a nice, competent young man, and I'm telling you, this isn’t a good fit for you.”
What the hell? “You don't think I can do it?”
“Oh, I have no doubts about your qualifications. But you don't want to work here. For him.”
Hadley could almost taste her displeasure on his tongue. “Why?”
“You can't tell me you haven't noticed his demeanor. He's brusque at best, rude at worst, and he's made grown men cry on several occasions. If you ask me, his father should never have left the firm to him. He'll run it into the ground. Mind my words.”
Hadley was getting the picture. “You worked for his father, then?”
She nodded. “Mr. LeClerc, the older Mr. LeClerc, is a wonderful man. Kindhearted, warm, a real family man. He built this firm up from the ground, and I worked for him as his secretary almost from the start. I was heartbroken when he retired.”
“But you still stayed?” Why? If she hated Sebastian so much, why hadn’t she resigned? She looked like she was close to retirement age.
Another deep sigh. “Oh, I wanted to leave. Trust me. But I needed three more years to maximize my social security. I wasn't going to let that be taken away from me, not after working here for such a long time. I have eight more months to go, and then I'm gone.”
That explained a lot. She was biding her time, doing as little as possible until she could leave. “So all you have against the younger Mr. LeClerc is his demeanor?”
There had to be more to the story. She couldn't dislike Sebastian purely because he was grumpy.
“No, though that plays an important role. It's such a sharp contrast with his father, who was such a nice man. Sebastian, the younger Mr. LeClerc, is… How do I put this?” She tapped her index finger against her chin. “He’s not a good man. Not just in his attitude, his behavior here, but in general. I don't condone his lifestyle choices at all.”
Whoa, lifestyle choices? In Hadley’s experience, that was often code for being a homophobic, judgmental asshole. He knew little about Sebastian, but the man wasn’t straight. But was he out at work? He needed to check with Beryl what she meant by her words without outing Sebastian.
“Lifestyle choices?” He'd discovered a long time ago that echoing people's own words in the form of a question usually got them to reveal more.
“He's what's referred to as a player. I learned that term from my grandson, by the way, who is gay and very happy with his boyfriend. No, Sebastian’s sexuality is not the issue for me. I’m an LGBT ally, you know? And yes, he is out as gay. I'm not revealing any big secrets here. But he's not after a relationship, a family. I don't understand it, because his parents are such wonderful people. They raised Sebastian and his sister, Deborah, well. And Deborah is married and has two adorable children. But Sebastian seems to want to set some kind of record for sleeping with as many men as possible, and that's not something I can condone.”
Ah, she was one of those allies, the kind that was supportive on the surface but only as long as gay people still lived according to their moral code. Hadley swallowed back the sharp reply that was on his tongue. Sebastian’s bedroom activities were none of her goddamn business, and aside from that, it seemed Sebastian and Hadley had that in common. Hadley wasn’t after a relationship either. Hell, no. But this whole topic was a minefield to navigate, and Hadley had no intention of setting off a bomb. He wouldn’t gain anything from antagonizing Beryl, no matter how wrong she was.
“I see,” he said noncommittally. “And you don't think he's doing a good job with the company?”
She hesitated. “I don’t think he’s suitable to lead this company, but neither he nor his father wants to see the truth. Sebastian was always his blind spot. Nobody wants to work with him, and he’s not taking care of the company the way his father did. He's smart. I'll give him that. He has a bachelor’s in engineering and a master’s in robotics. Clearly, he's got brains. And he's had some innovative ideas for the company over the years that have done well. The Mow Buddy, for example, is his brainchild. It's in the final stages of development and should launch within a few months.”
“He asked me to find him the latest test report.”
Beryl harrumphed. “See, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Why would he ask you that if all he has to do is grab it himself from the system? It's right there on his computer. Why would you have to do that for him?”
Because that was the job of a personal assistant? Hadley didn't say it, but he wasn't following her reasoning here. The whole point of having an assistant was to farm out the time-consuming jobs so one could focus on what was most important. “I don't mind doing it, but I don't know where to look for it.”
She held up her hands. “Don't ask me. I stopped trying to find things for him a long time ago. It's pointless, what with the mess he's making of what once was an organized system.”
She could hardly expect the CEO of the company to waste his time keeping files organized. Wasn't that the job of a secretary or an assistant? Maybe Hadley was still missing something. “I'll try to find it using search terms.”
“Good luck with that. But I'm telling you, honey. Don't waste your energy trying to find your way around here. You're not gonna last long anyway, whether it's because you decide you don't want to work for somebody who’s that rude to you or because you'll get fired.”
“Fired?”
“In the two years since the older Mr. LeClerc left, Sebastian has had twenty-two assistants. It was about fifty-fifty between them quitting and him firing them for what he labeled incompetence.”
Holy shit, twenty-two assistants in two years? That meant the average person had only lasted about a month. That had to be a record of some kind. “Thank you for the warning, but I'm only filling in for Caitlyn. She and I are good friends, and I didn't want her to lose her job because of sickness.”
Beryl clicked her tongue. “She's not gonna last. She was already close to tears on her first day. She's a nice gal but way too soft. And no offense, honey, but you're not tough enough to work for a man like Sebastian. And you don't want to be. Working for him will suck the joy right out of you, trust me. He may be smart, but he’s not fit to run this company. That takes much more than brains, and he doesn’t have those qualities.”
Hadley sent her a sweet smile that hopefully covered the irritation inside him. How rude and disloyal of her to speak about her boss like that to a new employee, and on his first day. “Thank you so much for your concern for me, Beryl. That's so sweet of you. But I can promise you I'm a lot tougher than I look. For now, let me get back to trying to find that report, and we'll take it from there. I’m assuming there is no job description of any kind?”
Her mouth set in a thin line. “Of course not. His assistants have to do whatever he tells them to, plus whatever he thinks they should do, since apparently, reading his mind is part of the job. Good luck to you, honey. I applaud you for being so loyal to your friend that you would take this on for her. She’d better be grateful.”
Hadley didn't respond to that because anything he said now would not be friendly. Regardless of what had happened, she showed bad judgment and questionable morals in talking to Hadley like that. Maybe she was right about Sebastian being an asshole, but that still didn't justify her spilling the beans to someone new on his first day. If she hated working here this much, she should have left, pension be damned. Principles and all that.
He also made a mental note to have a stern conversation with Caitlyn once she was better. If what Beryl said was true and Caitlyn had been close to tears the week before, she should’ve mentioned that to Hadley. All she’d said was that Sebastian was a grumpy asshole, but that in itself wouldn’t have been enough to make her cry. What had she not been telling him?
Anyway, he had to focus on getting Sebastian that report. It had been fifteen minutes since he'd asked for it, so Hadley had better get on it. He started by searching for any documents with Mow Buddy in it, but that still gave a ton of hits. Okay, it was a test report, so what file format would that be in? Probably not a Word doc or PowerPoint presentation. It had to be some kind of text document, so maybe a PDF?
It took him ten minutes, but then he’d narrowed the options down to two similar files, the only difference being the date they'd last been opened and changed. The most recent one had to be the correct one, right? Just in case, he printed both and labeled them so Sebastian could see the difference. He knocked on the door, got another terse “Enter,” and walked in.
Sebastian sat at the table in his office, papers strewn all over the surface. His face was dark, a thunderstorm brewing in his eyes. “Do you have that report for me?”
“Yes, sir. That is, I have two versions, and I've marked which one was updated most recently. I don't know which is the correct one because they had similar file names.”
Sebastian cursed. “I swear to god, that whole file system will be the death of me. How hard is it for people to put something where I can find it?”
“Would you want me to reorganize it and sort it all in files and folders that make sense?”
Sebastian waved his hand, already thumbing through the printed reports Hadley had given him. “Obviously, but it seems impossible. If you think you can manage it, knock yourself out.”
Hadley forced himself to stay calm. Clearly, something was bothering Sebastian. Something other than his presence. “Mr. LeClerc, is there some kind of task list you have for me? A job description, anything that would help me decide what you need from me?”
Sebastian looked up, his dark, perfect eyebrows furrowing. “What?”
“I'm here to assist you, but that's hard for me to do when I don't know what you need assistance with.”
Sebastian groaned. “God, save me from incompetent people. From the way you handled that crisis this morning, I could've sworn you had more than two brain cells, but apparently, I was wrong.”
Hadley bit down on his temper, which was bubbling close to the surface. “Insulting me won't make our work relationship any smoother, sir. I'd like to point out that I don't know you, the company, or the job, and I've been thrown in at the deep end with no instructions. I strive to do as well as I can, but I'm going to need some help from you telling me what I need to do for you.”
Muttering another curse, Sebastian flung the report onto the table, where it almost sent a pile of papers cascading to the floor, then leaned back in his chair and looked at Hadley. “I don't have time to hold your hand. This product needs to launch, and I can't afford to waste any time on mundane tasks like helping you find your way. If you can't work independently, this is not the job for you.”
Hadley clasped his hands behind his back, digging his fingers into his skin to prevent himself from speaking his mind. “Understood, sir. I'll leave you to it.”
He kept his composure until he closed the door behind him, and by then, his hands were shaking with anger. What an asshole. The unmitigated arrogance to assume that Hadley didn't know how to do his job. How the hell could he when he had no idea what was expected of him? He'd worked for dozens of companies, and he'd never been in a situation like this where he had no guidelines whatsoever about what his boss wanted of him.
Then he straightened his shoulders. Damn if he would let this arrogant jerk get the better of him. He’d do the best job ever and make himself so indispensable that when Caitlyn had recovered, Sebastian would want to keep him and not have her back…at which point Hadley would tell him to fuck right off. He couldn't wait.
Also, this should help cure Hadley of the notion the man was attractive. He was vile, an asshole. Nothing hot about that.
4
When Sebastian stepped out of the elevator the next day at nine-fifteen sharp, Hadley was already behind his desk, tapping away on his keyboard. Sebastian walked over to him, and Hadley looked up with a friendly smile. “Good morning, sir.”
“You’re back?” Sebastian winced at his own rudeness. In his defense, he was a grumpy bear before he had his coffee.
But Hadley sent him another sunny gaze. “Yes, sir. Caitlyn is still under the weather, and it seems she's out for the rest of the week and probably longer, so I’ll be here as long as needed.”
It took Sebastian a second to place the name Caitlyn. No wonder with the revolving door of assistants he'd had over the last two years. None of them had stayed. The longest record was seven weeks. The shortest was a few hours, some girl who’d walked out crying after he'd yelled at her for messing up the presentation he was about to give. She’d changed slides without his permission. If that didn’t deserve his wrath, he wasn’t sure what would.
“Good luck with that. Do you have my coffee?”
“Yes, sir. It's on your desk, waiting for you.”
“It's a different order than the one I drink at eleven and three o’clock.”
Hadley nodded. “A triple espresso, one sugar.”
“I guess you've been informed.”
“I was advised to provide you with the necessary caffeine intake, yes.”
His face was completely smooth as he said it, and yet Sebastian had the feeling Hadley was making fun of him. Whatever. As long as he had his coffee, he couldn’t give two fucks.
He walked into his office, where, as promised, a Starbucks cup was waiting for him. Huh, it wasn't a regular paper cup but a ceramic one. Still with the Starbucks logo on it, but it looked more like a travel mug. That was new. He shrugged. He didn't care as long as he got his coffee, now did he?
What had happened here? When he’d left the day before, the table had been littered with papers, but now it only held a few stacks of files. He walked over. Each stack was labeled with a Post-it Note that, in neat handwriting, told him what it was. Mow Buddy Test Reports. Mow Buddy Market Research. Mow Buddy Sales Plans. Had Hadley organized these for him? Sebastian winced. He’d meant to tidy before leaving, but he’d been exhausted, like always at the end of the day. Staying organized wasn’t his strong suit, and it was the first thing that suffered when he was under pressure. Well, at least Hadley had proven himself to be useful.
He sat down at his desk and logged on to his computer. Should he check his email first? God, that would cost him another two hours. No, he couldn't afford that. Not when he had to make his pitch today for the launch of the Mow Buddy. The last round of test results had been green across the board, with no issues reported. They were ready to start production. He couldn't wait to see it in the stores. It felt like his baby, as he’d been there every step of the way from the first idea he’d had through the whole developmental process, the first prototype, and now finally production.
The presentation to the board was at noon, so he had a little over two hours to get ready for that. He might be the CEO, but the board would still grill him, as they should. It was all part of the rigorous process his father had set up for the approval of new products and key business decisions. Sure, as CEO, Sebastian had the final say, and he could override the board, but his father had always warned him he should only consider that risky move in extreme circumstances when he was certain of his case.
He opened the Finder on his Mac to have another look at the presentation he made the day before. He blinked a few times. What? That couldn’t be right. Instead of the usual chaos, he found ten folders, neatly numbered one through ten, with a keyword behind them. Financial reports. Test reports. HRM stuff. Legal stuff. He snickered at the label “stuff” that appeared no less than five times in the names of the folders, but he had to admit it was pretty self-explanatory.
Who had done this? It had to have been Hadley. No way would Beryl have ever undertaken such an ambitious project. She could barely be bothered to answer the phone. But when and how had Hadley managed this? He'd only been here a day. Each folder had subfolders, some by date, some by topic, depending on what was more logical. Sebastian’s heart sped up. This was fucking amazing. Instead of having to search for minutes to find a file, he'd know exactly where to look.
It seemed Hadley wasn't done yet. The last few folders still had a lot of orphan files in them, and Sebastian found one folder labeled “Still to Sort.” But the system was clear, as was the fact that Hadley had spent a lot of time setting this up. He'd already made more progress in one day than all his previous assistants had accomplished in weeks. Damn, Sebastian was impressed.
With a few clicks, he found the presentation he’d made the day before, now renamed “Presentation Board Mow Buddy” with the date behind it. When he opened the file, he was in for another surprise. On the very first slide, he came across a note from Hadley. If you'd like help with presentations, don't hesitate to ask. I'm proficient in both PowerPoint and Keynote.
He sipped his coffee as he studied that sentence. If you'd like help… He'd formulated that pretty smart, hadn't he? He hadn't said if you need help, which might've gotten Sebastian's pride up and caused him to refuse. No, he'd worded it as an option, something that Sebastian wouldn't need but that he might like. Pretty damn insightful.
Not that he’d take him up on his offer. Hadley didn’t know the first thing about their company, let alone about this specific product and how important it was. Besides, no way in hell would Sebastian risk someone fucking up his presentation ever again. That stupid girl had changed the font of the titles to Comic Sans, for fuck’s sake. Comic Sans! He’d looked like an absolute idiot. No, he’d do it himself so it would be perfect.
He pushed all thoughts of Hadley out of his mind and focused on reading through his notes, the test reports, the recommendations from the team that had worked on this, and all the other data he'd gathered. At eleven on the dot, knuckles rapped on the door, and Hadley walked in with a fresh cup of coffee, again in a ceramic mug.
“Where'd you get the mugs?” Sebastian asked.
“I ordered five of them from Starbucks. Much better for the environment and more hygienic, since we can wash them. I also set up a standing order for your coffee on all weekdays, so all I have to do is pick it up. If you're not coming into the office, please let me know ahead of time so I can cancel it.”
