Boss (9 page)

Chapter 2

15 years later…

Dragging my feet, I sulk back into my Mom’s house after another unsuccessful day of job searching.

I recently finished my degree in business management from USC and I was so proud of myself. My Mom had to work two jobs just to make sure that I actually could go to college, and I worked two jobs as well.

But now, even with this degree, I still can’t find decent work and it is starting to make me upset. I mean, what’s the point of having the thing if I can’t do anything with it? That single piece of paper cost me well over fifty-grand, a lot of stress and a lot of heartache, and I still can’t do anything with it!

Everything just seems so hopeless.

I know that most of the kids I went to college with are either starting work with their parents or their parents had gotten them in at some good business with their connections. I unfortunately don’t have that luxury, although I wish I did.

“Another long day?” asks my Mom, looking me over.

“One like you wouldn’t believe. I had two more interviews and filled in even more applications online and still nothing,” I say. “I’m starting to think that I will never find a job. Why’s it so hard out there, Mom?”

“Well, I think that I may have a way to help you with the job search,” she says.

“At this point, I’m willing to do anything. Even stripping,” I say with a straight face.

Of course I am not serious, but with the way things were going, it doesn’t seem so bad right now. Maybe a girl with a degree will impress the men at the stripper clubs?

Mom laughs and shakes her head. “Well, you can calm down dear; you can keep your clothes on for this one. Do you remember Rhett and his family?”

“Of course I do, Mom,” I roll my eyes.

“So you know that Rhett’s Dad passed away a couple of years ago, right?”

I nod my head. “Yes Mom. We went to the funeral, remember?”

“Oh yes. We sat in the back row, didn’t we?”

I nod, “It was the last time I saw his family.”

She smiles, “Well, Rhett now is the head of his father’s company and I’ve reached out to his mother.”

“Ok…”

“And she has helped me land you an interview to be his personal assistant.”

“What?”

“It’s a job, Jessica.”

“What does a personal assistant even do, Mom?” I ask her. “And what made you decide to reach out to his Mom after all of these years? Doesn’t that seem a little weird? Or have you two been in contact with each other for a while?”

“Right now you just need a job,” Mom avoids my question. “And a job is a job right? And you will get to work with your old friend Rhett.”

“You guys have been in touch, haven’t you?”

“Of course his mother and I have stayed in touch over the years. She was a good friend of mine and we still chat from time to time to discuss how things are going in our lives. It’s not like I just called her out of the blue and was like ‘I know we haven’t spoken in years but can you give my daughter a job?’”

My head immediately starts pounding because it’s clear that she sees nothing wrong with the situation.

“Mom I haven’t talked to Rhett in years! You and his Mom can’t just possibly expect him to just hand me a job because we were close friends when we were younger. After we moved I barely saw him and I doubt that he will be willing to do us any favors. He probably doesn’t even remember me. I mean, do you even think before you do things, because this is madness! You two have kept in touch where Rhett and I haven’t. There’s a big difference in the dynamics of our relationships.”

She places her hand on top of mine and gently squeezes it, “Sweetie, it’s not really a favor. You are more than qualified to do this job. You have a degree and you are super smart, even if he didn’t know you and you were some stranger off of the street, you would have a chance at this job. All Vivian did was give you a push in the right direction. It’s up to you to use the opportunity. Rhett’s family owns a multi-billion dollar investment firm - think of the experience you can gain from a job like that and how nice it will look on your resume.”

“But Mom…” I try to protest.

“I know you don’t like anyone doing you any favors but you have to admit that this is a great opportunity for you whether you agree with me or not. I just think that you should give it a chance.”

I sigh in defeat, “I guess you’re right, Mom. It’s not like I’m in a position to turn down a job opportunity anyway and this is probably a great one.”

“Of course I’m right! I’m your mother. I’m always right. Just make sure you dress like you’re all about business. We got you in the door; it’s up to you to stay in it. So, no jeans and no t-shirts. You have to look professional. I know that you were friends once but you don’t want anyone to think that you don’t deserve the opportunity.”

“Who even says things like that Mom?” I laugh. “I know how to dress for an interview. I’ve been doing it every day for two months. I know not to slack off just because Rhett is an old friend.”

“You can’t tell me that you aren’t even the littlest bit excited to see Rhett again?” she says. “I know you and I’ve known that you thought about him some over the years and I can’t blame you. You two were so close. Maybe his mother and I should’ve made more of an effort to keep you guys as friends.”

I stare at her.

I know what she means.

When I saw Rhett last, he had grown into a man.

He was definitely no longer the boy I once knew.

He was tall and broad, like his father, but with the beautiful features of his mother.

Heart-pounding gorgeous.

“It’s been a while Mom. If anything, I guess it’ll be good to catch up,” I say as I let her words sink in.

My mind drifts back to the first month after we moved into our crummy apartment.

I begged my Mom to take me to visit Rhett and she kept saying no. She didn’t want to be judged by our old neighbors for what my father had done. The embarrassment was too much for her.

And then when I told her that Rhett’s limo driver could pick me up and take me to his house she refused that as well, saying that it would cause too much of a disturbance in front of our new place.

After a while I just quit asking because it seemed like I was never going to get to go and that it was a lost cause. Rhett and I wrote each other letters for a while but even that ended.

I think that I stopped writing to him first because it was starting to get too hard to be away from my old life and then he eventually let it stop too. I still have those letters in a shoebox somewhere.

Mom claps her hands together excitedly, bringing me back to reality, “This is wonderful! Now I can tell Vivian that you said yes and she can confirm it with Rhett but the interview is at nine in the morning so be ready. I’m so excited for you. Maybe you two can become friends again. You never know, right?”

“At nine?”

“Well, I might have said that you already said yes…”

“Mom!”

“It’s an opportunity, sweetie,” she smiles. “Just be ready and on time, ok?”

“I will be ready Mom,” I shake my head. “And I don’t know about the friend thing. We’re not kids anymore and I’m sure we can’t just pick up where we left off. Our worlds became completely different after that day.”

Mom nods.

She still doesn’t like to talk about it.

“Okay… well wash your hands. I left some food for you in the microwave. I had a feeling that you wouldn’t be here on time to eat with me so I put it up for you.”

“Thanks Mom,” I say, rolling my eyes.

What she really meant was that she knew that while I was out all day, the only thing I stuffed myself with were candy and coffee and she just wanted to make sure that I got something that wasn’t toxic in my stomach.

“I saw that, young lady. Don’t think that you aren’t too old to get across my knee. Your eyes are going to get stuck like that if you keep rolling them,” she says.

I laugh. “Mom I’ve never been across your knee and you always say that and my eyes still have yet to have gotten stuck.”

She smiles and then mock frowns. “Just don’t think that it’ll never happen. There’s a first time for everything, young lady.”

“Okay Mom I’ll keep that in mind.”

She picks up her cell phone and heads out of the room while I go wash my hands in the bathroom. I open the microwave and see that she has made my favorite chicken dish.

Since I was going to the interview in the morning, I decide that I need to do a little research for the job so I pull my laptop towards me and open it.

The search engine immediately pops open and I type in Rhett Williams and a bunch of articles about him pop open.

“Wow, he’s really done good for himself,” I mumble to myself as I keep scrolling down the page.

I click on the article that talks about how he stepped in for his father as head of the company and how in a few short years, he made great strides in taking it from a multi-million dollar company to a multi-billion dollar company.

He was a force to be reckoned with and I was getting more excited to meet with him the more I read.

And then there’s his picture…

Oh, yum.

Talk about handsome. My mind begins to drift off to what might have been if we stayed in that neighborhood…

No.

I can’t think like that. This has to be about business.

He is someone I definitely could learn a thing or two from—and Mom was right, this is the head start I need. After a year in Rhett’s company, I could get a job anywhere. It would look amazing on my resume.

In the future, I really want to run my own investment company and be my own boss, but everyone has to start somewhere. The experience I will receive from working with Rhett will be invaluable for the future.

“Well Mom, for once your meddling did some good,” I say to myself as I close the laptop.

This is my chance to turn my life around.

For the past fifteen years, we have lived through a lot of pain and embarrassment, and maybe, just maybe, this is the opportunity that could redeem the family name amongst Mom’s old friends.

Romance: Assistant to the Billionaire

Jodi Cooper

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