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Chapter 8

-Jianna-

I was lying under the covers, the sun peeking through my windows. I didn't want to get up. My mind is reeling and it's giving me a headache. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head, but the memories kept flooding in. Memories of James. Memories of the way he touched me, the way he made me feel.

I was deep in thought when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hello? Ms. Spencer?" said the woman on the other line.

"Yes. This is she. Who am I speaking with please?"

"This is Ashley from Mr. Cross's office. Is this a good time to talk?" she asked.

I sat up straight and cleared my throat.

"Yes, of course. What can I do for you?" I replied, trying not to sound too eager.

"Mr. Cross would like to see you in his office this afternoon if you're available. Would 3 o'clock work for you?" Ashley asked.

I felt my heart skip a beat. What did he want to talk to me about? Did he have more questions about the interview?

"Yes, 3 o'clock is fine. Thank you for letting me know," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Fantastic! We'll see you then," Ashley said before hanging up.

I threw off the covers and got ready, my mind still racing with possibilities. What could he want to see me about? I don't think he's going to want to see me reject me in person. That would be incredibly cruel!

I was filled with dread as I made my way to Sebastian's office, unable to shake the overwhelming fear that something might go wrong. My thoughts were in a constant battle of anticipation and apprehension as I tried to foretell how events would unfold.

As I made my way to his office, I couldn't help but feel nervous. What did he want from me that I needed to come in person?

I checked in with the front desk and a woman I'd never met before came and picked me up from the lobby.

"Jianna?" she asked

I stood up and extended my hand. "Yes hi," I said gleefully

"Hi! My name is Justine. I work in HR. I work with Ms. Greene." she exclaimed as she shook my hand. "I believe you've met her already? It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Mr. Cross and Ms. Greene are incredibly impressed by your resume."

She speaks a mile a minute! I can barely keep up.

As we reached the top floor, we got off the elevators and most of the cubicles were empty already. "I guess it's not a 9-5 kind of job," I thought.

She led me to the conference room where I had my interview and there were a couple of people already in the room including Ms. Greene and Sebastian.

I felt my heart beat faster as I saw Sebastian sitting at the head of the table, his piercing blue eyes locked onto me. My nerves were getting the best of me, but I tried to push them down and put on a confident face.

"Jianna, thank you for coming in today, we know it's short notice," Sebastian said as he stood up to greet me. "Please, have a seat." he gestured at the available chair at the end of the table. "Everyone, thank you for your patience. This is Jianna Spencer." he waved his hands towards me. "Jianna, meet my board of directors. I would introduce them to you one by one but I fear some of them are already missing the early bird special at the country club so we'll keep this brief." he chuckled.

"What dark humor." I thought.

I looked around the table and some of them were chuckling, some were guffawing.

"Good one Sebastian." said one of the middle-aged men seated near me.

I took a seat at the far end of the long conference table, feeling small and vulnerable under the gaze of the powerful people in the room.

"So. To business. I wanted to talk to you in person about the position we're offering you," Sebastian began. "We were very impressed with your interview and your qualifications. However, there's something else we want to offer you." He paused for a moment, I saw him thinking about his next words but his eyes never left mine.

"We're looking for someone to take on a more... personal role within the company," he continued. "Someone who can handle delicate situations with discretion and professionalism. We believe you would be the perfect person to do that." he paused for a moment seeing how I was reacting to this.

I was very confused with what he was offering. I felt my heart starting to palpitate as Sebastian's words sank in. A personal role within the company? What did he mean by that? I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about it all.

"What kind of personal role?" I asked, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice.

Sebastian leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together.

"Well, to put it bluntly, we want you to be our new 'company companion'," he said, enunciating each word carefully. A what? I tried to figure out what he meant. Those two words do not seem to be supposed to be together.

The room fell uncomfortably silent as everyone looked at me, waiting for my response. I felt a bead of sweat form on my forehead. A company companion? What on earth did that entail?

"I'm not sure I understand," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "What does that mean?"

Sebastian let out a small sigh. "Jianna, we're a high-end company with a lot of wealthy clients. Sometimes our clients need more... personal attention. We want someone who can be their companion to certain things. Show them around town."

I did not like where this is going.

"What does that mean? Are you saying like an escort?" I said starting to get angry.

"No! No! No!" said Morgan "It's more of a concierge type of position. You're still going to be the Executive Assistant to Mr. Cross but this is also entailed with your position."

"Executive Assistant TO Mr. Cross? Like a personal assistant?" I asked.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing — Executive Assistant TO Mr. Cross? Could it be? But there he was, looking almost pleased with himself as if he'd just dropped a bombshell on me. I tried to make sense of it all, but the reality of the situation slowly crept up on me.

"Executive Assistant." clarified Morgan.

Everyone is now watching this back and forth with anticipation.

"Look. If you're not interested..." started Sebastian.

I tried to stay positive while I anxiously sat up straight. On one hand, this was an amazing opportunity to get my foot in the door. But on the other hand, this arrangement felt so strange and unnatural. I had no idea what to expect from it and it made me feel uneasy but what else could I do, I might not get this chance again.

Ignoring the inner conflict I was having, I discreetly breathed a deep breath and said, "Yes. I accept."

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