John walked into his office and dropped his keys on his desk. It was one of the few rooms in the place that actually felt like a man decorated it: Leather sofa in the corner, mahogany double pedestal desk that matched the wood panelling around the room.
Everything in the room was sturdy and didn't look at all like something you'd see attached to a barn. None the less he was beginning to make it his own by hanging some of his hunting trophies and a framed display of all his prize buckles.
He sat back in his oversized, leather executive chair and put his feet up on his desk. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He began thinking of last night and that girl.... Morgan.... Mandy.... Something like that. Her name wasn't all that important. It was just another notch in his belt. Another name to the list of women he'd owned in his life.
How he'd enjoyed having her the way that he did. He had stayed late to see her leave, if perhaps just to make her feel uneasy seeing the light in his office when she left after she had finished her work. He had watched her shadow skulk by around eleven and heard her pull out of the yard with no real sense of urgency.
He could have almost drifted to sleep when he heard a tip toe through his office door. Before him stood a petite young thing he recognized from passing through the office a few times. He hadn't really met anyone yet except the barn manager Ben and the lovely entertainment from last night.
She held in her hands a cup of coffee, some packets of sugar and sweetener and the morning news. She seemed almost timid in her gait. He mused at her bitten lip as she tried to balance her arm full of items.
"Mr. Bretton sir, I've brought you some coffee and a paper arrived this morning and I assume it's yours because no one else here reads this..."
A grin became his face; wide and disarming. "Dear, you can put it on the desk." He was trying to remember her name now. Ben had told him he had an assistant. Some girl fresh out of college with some office diploma.
He continued, "You'll have to forgive me for not knowing your name. I'm sure Ben meant to tell me."
She awkwardly placed the items onto his desk. "Oh, it's Gracie. So very happy to make your acquaintance!"
She was perkier than he was used to but seemed eager to please. He liked that. He threw the sugar and the sweetener in the trash and grabbed the coffee cup. He began his speech.
"I see you dress quite professionally. It's really your choice as you'll sometimes be required to run an errand or assist me in the barn so please just come dressed ready to be active. I've noticed the other girls around here seem to have quite the henhouse out in the front. Please do not be tempted to discuss my business with them as the punishment will be harsh. I'll need your cell number and in case Ben did not inform you I will expect you here from seven until one every day and on call otherwise."
"Oh yes, Mr. Bretton." She began, "I've been well advised by Mr. Jacobs the duties I should be expecting. He explained this was not a Monday to Friday sort of thing. I assure you I come well prepared to do whatever you require. I'm very adaptable and follow instructions well."
He almost wanted to gag at her sincerity. "Well, it seems like we'll get along fine. I'd like for you then to get me the books from last month and bring them here."
"Yes Sir!"
As she turned to walk away back out to the front office he noticed how her short pencil skirt swayed. Her relaxed gait was far more flattering than her original awkward display. He removed his feet from his desk and wiped off the hay that had fallen from his boots.
He put his elbows on the leather bound ledger in front of him and he wondered how long until she would return and how frantic she would be when she found that what he sent her to get was missing. He grinned from behind his folded hands and waited.
Only three or four minutes passed when she came in. He face was stark white. She walked slowly up to the desk and held her hands clasped in front of her. She had only a slight hourglass figure and was built more like a librarian than a Greek goddess. Her hair was neatly up in a bun with one curl let loose down the side for her face. Her glasses stood half way down her nose and she once again was biting her lip.
She took a deep breath and stated, "Sir, they appear to be otherwise disposed of. Shall I phone Mr. Jacobs or Marguerite. The both could have been using them."
"I like your swiftness and your honesty. You'll have to learn though to be more observant." He said.
Just then she looked onto the desk and noticed her sought after item. Her chin dropped with an ounce of shame in her own performance. "I should have been more acute to my surroundings."
He invited her to have a seat on the sofa. She walked over and sat, her legs crossed at her ankles and her bottom at the edge of the seat cushion. Her posture was impressive but John found himself peering through the folds in her button up shirt that were caused by her leaning forward ever so slightly.
He opened the book in front of him. He asked her how long she had been with the company.
She stated that it had only been two weeks since Mr. Jacobs had hired her and he spent every day since insuring she became familiar with the office and the business in order to not be found lacking by her new executive. She went on and on about Marguerite in accounting and the ladies out front and the trainers and the stable staff and the grounds keeper. On and on.....
Her attempted formal nature was not amusing him. "Relax," he said impatiently. "I am well aware of your credentials and besides that if it doesn't work out I'll fire you. That's pretty much how I work. I'll gladly have you take notes now and I'll let you know the morning routine.
She popped out a personal recorder out of her pocket and said "Ready!"
