Page 10 of Irresistible

Chapter 6

Scarlet woke up early and got to the bank with a smile on her face. She resolved to keep her promise, but figured that there was no reason that she couldn’t enjoy Richard’s presence. After all, genuinely liking someone as a person wasn’t a crime. All she had to do was make sure that she didn’t act any further on it.

Everything felt easier. Opening the bank wasn’t the drag that it usually was in the morning. Getting her drawer in order felt much simpler and quicker than on the average day. Her annoying co-workers didn’t get on her nerves quite as much. She could just tell that it was going to be a great day.

Richard entered the branch about half an hour after it opened. He carried himself with his usual confident and calm sense of self. Everyone in the bank was instantly drawn to him as they had been the day before. Richard greeted everyone before heading to the office in the back of the branch that he had worked in the day before. Something must have been off with the branch’s financials, as he was carrying at least two more bags than he was when he initially arrived.

“Hey, Scarlet. Can I talk to you for a second?” Jim asked in the tone of voice that he reserved for appearing like a manager.

“Why, yes, Jimothy,” Scarlet replied mockingly.

“Shut up!” Jim spat under his breath.

“Right, right. Sorry,” Scarlet said sarcastically, winking as she followed Jim toward his office.

Scarlet sat down and picked up a piece of candy from the bowl on Jim’s desk. She unwrapped it conspicuously and loudly just to infuriate him. As much as she enjoyed working with Jim, she found that it was just as much fun to try to get under his skin at work. He was so easy to pick on.

“Ok, ok. Seriously. There’s something I have to tell you,” Jim said.

“What is it?”

“So, remember Cody, Richard’s assistant from yesterday?”

“Yeah, of course. He was basically trailing the guy the whole day,” Scarlet replied.

“Well, it turns out that he had to go with another executive to an emergency meeting in Thailand. I know, it’s weird, but apparently they needed someone experienced and the guy’s assistant got sick at the last minute,” Jim explained.

“Ok. That sucks. Why are you talking to me about this, though?”

“Well, Richard’s going to need an assistant while he’s here, especially since he’s going to be here for two weeks. He requested you.”

Scarlet’s heart rate increased again, just as it had last night when she dared to dream of the possibility that Richard was staying so long just so he could be around her. Jim sensed her excitement and stepped in to bring her back to Earth.

“Ok, now. Remember what you promised me last night. Don’t get ahead of yourself. This means that you really have to be on your best behavior. You can’t let yourself slip here. Just do what he needs and nothing more. You have to be a real professional here.”

“You know I’d never break a promise to you, Jim. But, seriously, man. You have to wonder why he would specifically pick me as his temporary assistant. This is just weird, isn’t it? First, he has to stay here for two weeks for a completely random and inexplicable technological error, then he chooses me to be his assistant? Doesn’t something about that seem a little too convenient?” Scarlet asked, rambling as she tried to figure out what was going on.

“Yeah, it’s weird. I’ll level with you on that, especially since I recommended that he pick someone else. I told him it was because we needed up you front. I didn’t put you down at all. But we have to just get through the next couple of weeks with our careers intact. After that, we can go back to the way it’s always been. I’ll try to help you out as much as I can.”

Scarlet was dumbfounded. Not only had Richard Grant chosen her to be his assistant, but he did so over the objection of the branch manager that knew her better than any other employee could. To her, this was far too much to ignore. There were clear signs of interest, but she had already promised Jim that she wouldn’t act on any of them. She had already banked on largely being able to avoid Richard by focusing on her work as a teller. But that was no longer an option. She would have to be in near-constant contact with him for the next two weeks.

“Well, this is going to be the biggest test our friendship has ever had, isn’t it?” Scarlet said, laughing quietly to herself.

“Please don’t do anything that we’ll regret. Two weeks. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Well, I made you a promise. I intend to keep it,” Scarlet said reassuringly. All she had to do was convince herself that she could keep her promise, and she would be all set.

The two stood to leave Jim’s office. Scarlet grabbed one more piece of candy from the bowl on his desk and opened it with a snarky look on her face. Jim rolled his eyes and ushered her back into the lobby. She quickly disappeared behind the teller’s desk and resumed her normal tasks.

“Scarlet, your new duties start at noon. Head to Richard’s office then, and he can give you more instruction from there,” Richard called out in his authoritative, bossy tone.

“Sure thing, boss,” Scarlet said with a wry smile.

The next few hours flew by as a flurry of thoughts raced through Scarlet’s mind. She wanted to know what sorts of things Richard would have her doing. She had actually worked as an executive assistant a few years earlier, but her boss in that job was an old man who barely left his office most days. Scarlet contented herself to browse the internet and chat on the phone with her friends, save for the two or three minutes per day that her boss actually needed her to do something. Something told her that this assignment would be different than that.

Customers approaching Scarlet’s window could tell that she was mentally distant. She had to ask several of them to repeat their very basic requests. Her mind was a million miles away, obsessed with her upcoming reassignment. It made focusing on even the most rudimentary tasks almost impossible.

“Did you hear? Apparently I’m going to have to be Richard’s assistant while he’s here for the next couple of weeks. Isn’t that weird?” Scarlet asked, turning to Deanne, her coworker in the next window.