Christina smiled happily as she looked at the time on the start bar of her monitor. Quarter past five in the afternoon and everything was up to date. She had done the filing, made all the necessary travel arrangements for her boss and even managed to get some letters typed up that didn't need to be sent until Friday. Third day on the job and Christina had it all under control.
Christina took a look at her desk at decided that it would be best to try and arrange it a little before heading home. It was only her second job as a personal assistant, and at her old workplace she managed to get things settled just the way she wanted them. Her new desk was completely different though. Where her old one was a beautiful mahogany monster with more draws and hidey holes than anyone could possibly use, her new desk was a sleek chrome and glass number that had a single set of metal draws tucked underneath it. The trick was getting her new desk to hold all of her stuff, yet still look nice and neat.
The first thing that had to go for the afternoon were the post-it notes on the monitor. They were Christina's own brand of super-advanced self-reminders. She usually went through at least two post-it note stacks per week. Today she was splitting her tasks between fluro yellow and baby pink; yellow for urgent and pink for tasks that could wait. It was with much pride that Christina begun to remove the sticky notes from her computer screen. Each one, to her, felt like a job well done.
"Oh shit." Suddenly Christina's day just went from a complete success to a complete failure. "Shit, shit, shit!" She snatched away at the row of pink post-its and gasped when she saw the last lonely note on her computer monitor.
It was yellow.
It was urgent.
And she should have given it to her boss well over two hours ago.
Christina's face went deep red as she snatched the note off the monitor and leapt up from her chair. She turned around and saw that her boss, Mr. Alex Bennet, was sorting through several large stacks of paper work. Christina smoothed her skirt, took a deep breath to center herself, and then tried to figure out what the hell she was going to say as she made her way across the large open-plan office space and towards the glass haven that was her boss's office.
If she were completely honest with herself Christina had to admit that the thought of telling her new boss about her oversight was only half of the problem. The other half was that she turned into jelly in his presence. When she had gone to the interview he had been called away on business. Instead, she had met a lovely middle-age woman from HR and a younger lady who worked as a personal assistant for one of the other partners. When she met Mr. Bennet on the first morning of her employment she had been rendered speechless and turned an unfortunate shade of pink.
Alex Bennet was stunning. He had a strong chiseled face that framed deep brown eyes that were the most gorgeous Christina had ever seen. She could easily tell that he was older than her - there was just the lightest splattering of grey hair around the edges of his deep brown hairline, but instead of making him look old Christina decided that the terms experienced and knowledgeable would be more accurate. He was stunningly attractive in an insanely-hot-older-guy kind of way.
When Christina knocked on the door it took a few moments for Alex to look up from his work. When he did his eyes were glazed and his face was tense. It made Christina's stomach turn uncomfortably; the news she had would only make his afternoon more stressful.
"Can I help you Miss Smith?" He asked, his dark brown eyebrows creased.
"Er- sorry to interrupt sir, but I just remembered something that I forgot earlier and it was kind of urgent but I didn't see my memo until half a minute ago and it was yellow. It was hidden beneath all the pinks otherwise I wouldn't have forgotten." Christina babbled far too quickly.
"Yellow? Pink? What are you talking about Miss Smith?" Alex asked, his deep brown eyes filling with confusion.
"This-" Christina held the note out to him "Ms. Petler called while you were out to lunch and said it was urgent."
Alex's deep expression went from confused to sharp in an instant. His entire demeanor changed and he clenched his teeth. Christina couldn't stop the blush from rising on her cheeks as she realized that this was turning from a bad stuff-up into a monumental oversight.
"Ms. Petler called just after lunch and you are telling me now?" Alex snapped irritably. Christina flinched and nodded, then tried to calculate how whether her stuff would fit into the single box she had in her car or if she'd need another one to clear her new draws out.
"Yes sir. Sorry sir. Like I said, the note was yellow and it was hidden under the pink." She said with an apologetic frown.
"What time is it?" Alex asked, ignoring her pathetic attempt at an excuse and turning to look at the clock on the wall behind him. "Oh for the love of.... Quarter past five already?"He looked at the massive piles of paper on the desk in front of him and again at the clock and groaned. "This day just gets better and better. On the only night that I am supposed to be leaving the office early..."
"Sir, is there anything I can do to help?" Christina asked quietly, tucking a strand of her long black hair behind her ear.
"I'd say you've done more than enough." Alex growled, his brown eyes meeting hers. Christina had to look away.
"I really am sorry Mr. Bennett. I swear it won't happen again." Christina turned around and made to leave.
"Actually..." She stopped and bit her lip before turning around. "There is something you can do for me. I have to call Ms. Petler right now, but I also need this paperwork filed before I go home. While I'm on my call you can put all of this away." He gestured at the mountains of paperwork on his desk and didn't even bother to wait for a response before he picked up his phone and started dialing.
If her old boss had done this to her Christina would have glared at her and told her that she'd only stay back if she was going to get paid over time. However, this was not her old job, and after such a monumental mistake Christina could not afford to have an attitude. So, ignoring the fact that the paperwork would take the better part of an hour to put away, she gritted her teeth and decided to atone for her sin. Plus, even if he was angry he was still a treat to look at.
Christina made her way over to Mr. Bennet's desk and picked up the file that was closest to her. She looked up, and then around, and then back at the file with a frown. Mr. Bennet's office was just as sparse as the rest of the offices. His large metal and glass desk was clear of everything except for his computer and his paperwork. There was a sleek black leather chair on the opposite side of his desk, a chaise lounge against the far wall and some strange modern art statue that Christina thought looked like a giant bent spoon. How on earth was she supposed to do his filing for him if there was nowhere to put it? There wasn't a single filing cabinet in sight.
"Excuse me Sir, but where do these go?" Christina asked in a hushed whisper, felling like a complete idiot.
