1. Milo

Chapter one

Milo

O rientation at a brand new job is always awkward. A new environment, new people, new vibes. I’ve always been good at shaping myself however I need to in order to fit in, and this job won’t be any different. Once I actually have time to figure this place out, that is.

When my best friend who works in HR at this company recommended this job to me, I wasn’t entirely sure what to think. I’ve been known to pick up temp jobs from time to time, but this felt so much bigger than my past jobs. Instead of working the desk at a hotel or covering the scheduling for a small town accounting firm, I’ll be taking on the monumental task of being the personal assistant to the CEO of a large company.

Bridgette told me it was the perfect job, especially because she knows how much I enjoy doing administrative work. She also knows I don’t pull my punches and won’t take shit from anyone. Even so, my stomach is turning and my heart feels like it may actually leap out of my chest from how nervous I am.

The company apparently takes care of manufacturing industrial kitchen equipment for restaurants. I find that incredibly interesting. What I find less interesting? Apparently my new boss is a bit of a hard ass and not in the fun way.

Though, now that I think about it, is having an ass that’s hard something fun? I like it when I smack someone’s ass and there’s a bit of jiggle to it. Food for thought.

A short woman with a black bob walks over to me. “You must be Mr. Moreace,” she says with a smile, holding out her hand for me to shake. As I shake her hand, I take a deep breath. I smile, realizing I’ll be around other shifters at this job. Being around people like me lets a little weight fall from my chest.

She smells like a wolf and depending on how well she is at picking shifter notes from people’s scents, she’ll either clock that I’m an octopus or she’ll assume I’m some sort of sea creature. Either way, it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

“You can call me Milo. Are you Brenda?”

“I am. I’ll be the one onboarding you today. We’re incredibly excited to have you here, Milo. Bridgette has had nothing but good things to say about you.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m excited to be here as well.”

We spend the entire morning going over things. I fill out some paperwork, sign a few things saying I won’t share anything I learn from this job with competitors and to keep anything I learn about Mr. Ongash, my new boss, to myself. Plus, there’s some standard tax forms I have to fill out. After that, Brenda shows me around the office. I get to meet a handful of people, see where Bridgette’s office is, and get a better feel for the lay of the land around here. Finally, we make our way to the IT office so they can get me all set up with my work equipment and login credentials. It’s all very straightforward and nothing I haven’t dealt with before.

Overall, it’s a wonderful start. I’m practically beaming as we make our way to the top floor where Mr. Ongash’s office is located. I’m not entirely sure why, but I have a really good feeling about this place. There’s something about it that has me almost skipping as we get out of the elevator and make our way to Mr. Ongash’ office.

“Okay, so you know where the bathrooms are, the cafeteria, the breakroom, and where all the important offices are. We’ve gotten all your paperwork signed and squared away. You’ve been given your laptop and all of your login information,” Brenda says, checking things off her mental list. “I think that’s just about everything. Let’s get you up to Mr. Ongash’s office so you can see exactly where your desk is. This is where the majority of your time will be spent.”

“Perfect,” I say with a bright smile, holding my new laptop against my chest. “Lead the way.”

Heading out of the elevator, there’s a glass door straight ahead of us and a hallway that goes to the left and to the right. We walk through the glass doors. The room we walk into is like a huge glass box. Every office in here has large glass walls so I can see exactly who’s in and who has clients or is on the phone. The far wall is the only one that has an office with regular walls and a regular door. There are two offices on the left and two on the right.

The office at the far end of the room has a desk in front of it and I realize that will be where I’m stationed for the foreseeable future. The door behind the desk has a plaque, showing that it’s Baylen Ongash’s office.

I’ll be at this job until Martha, Baylen’s other assistant, comes back from maternity leave. She’s scheduled to be gone for the next six months but Bridgette mentioned she may stay gone for an entire year. That’s not that much time in the grand scheme of things but it still makes me just a tad bit worried. I’m used to quick, temporary jobs and this one might turn into something longer.

What if Baylen really is an asshole to everyone including me? How long will he actually put up with me if I refuse to take his shit?

I’ve never been fired from a job before but who’s to say this isn’t the one to ruin that streak?

“This is going to be your main location,” Brenda explains, gesturing at the room. “The four others in here aren’t your concern though from time to time, you may need to help them with little things, as long as those things don’t interfere with what you have going on for Mr. Ongash. They only work from here occasionally, or when they’re taking on meetings with important people. These are the heads of the other departments.”

I nod along. “Thank you for the explanation. I’m sure I’ll figure out the swing of things quickly. I’ve always been good at adapting to whatever environment I’m in,” I say with a subtle wink that makes Brenda give me a knowing smile. Octopi are known for being intelligent and squeezing into any situation they’re thrown into, I’m planning to handle this job in exactly the same manner.

I make my way behind the desk, placing my things down and opening my laptop. The door behind me swings open and I freeze.

God fucking damn it. I didn’t know my boss was going to be hot .

My heart leaps up into my throat and my mouth runs dry. I want to look away. I want to act like everything is business as usual but I can’t seem to pull my eyes away from the man in front of me. My entire body heats all over, an instant crush starts to take root inside of me. Oh fuck.

I’m going to have some strong words with Bridgette tonight about disclosing all the important information before I take another job that she suggests!

Baylen Ongash is taller than me with strong looking shoulders that taper down into a thin waist. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s a runner based on his body shape. His eyes are bright blue. He has a clean-shaven face while his hair is blond, cut into a very smart style, short on the sides with just a little bit more on the top.

He’s wearing black slacks, a white shirt that’s got green pinstripes, and black suspenders over his shoulders. He’s fucking gorgeous . I feel my mouth run dry and my brain scrambles in an effort to keep up with this new information.

Baylen looks between Brenda and I, those pretty blue eyes narrowing. He checks the watch on his wrist. “It’s after lunch,” he states, “why are you so late? That’s not a very good impression for your first day of work, is it?”

I open my mouth to respond. That little crush I was suddenly developing? Yeah, that shit has dried up in record time, because Baylen might be a smoke show but apparently, he really is a dick. It’s fucking orientation! What did he expect?

Brenda jumps in before I can say something. “It’s Milo’s first day, sir. I just finished his orientation and getting everything squared away. Starting now, he’s officially on the clock and at your disposal.”

“Don’t let it happen again, Milo,” he says before shaking his head and going back into his office, closing the door behind him.

I bite my bottom lip so hard it might actually start bleeding. I close my eyes and count to ten before turning back towards Brenda. “What a lovely man,” I say with a fake smile. “I can see that the next few months are going to be a blast.”

Brenda cracks the tiniest smile before her professional face is back in place. “Let’s make sure you have everything you need. All the incoming emails to Martha are now going to be redirected to you. She’s left you a binder of notes to help get you started. If you have any questions, you can email me or go directly to Mr. Ongash.”

“Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it.”

“You’re most welcome.” Brenda turns to leave before pausing. She turns back to me. “Umm, good luck, Milo.”

The excitement I was feeling earlier? Yeah, that’s pretty much been lost, replaced by a static nervous energy.

I log into my new laptop and open up my emails. I’ve literally had this account for a few hours and already it shows I have 300 new emails. How the fuck is that even possible? I push my glasses onto the top of my head so I can rub at my eyes for a moment before putting them back into place and getting to work.

I start at the top, realizing I don’t know who the fuck is who and decide maybe it’ll be smarter is I flip through Martha’s binder first. That’s an excellent decision because she’s got a page filled with who’s important at this company, including the names of shareholders, the board of directors, the head of each department, and even notes on Baylen’s family.

Apparently, any time his mother calls, I’m to put her through no matter what. Baylen and his mom are super close. Okay, knowing that makes the coldness in my chest towards him melt the tiniest bit. I have a feeling it’ll only be a matter of time before he somehow freezes me all over again.

With this newfound knowledge, I start to traverse the disaster that is my inbox. A few of these are easy peasy, just emailing them to explain who I am and that I’m taking over for Martha while she’s on maternity leave. Others have details about upcoming events. I pull out my planner, immediately jotting some of this down, making sure my personal calendar is cleared.

Jesus, I should have realized this job was going to be so involved.

As I’m getting through the emails, the door behind me opens again. I turn around, putting on my best smile only to have Baylen not even acknowledge me at first. He’s talking to someone on his earpiece.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s perfect. Hey, can you hold just one moment? Yeah, I’ll be right back.” Baylen pulls out his wallet, tossing a card onto my desk before pressing a button on his earpiece. “Hey, I wasn’t able to get lunch. Can you run across the street to that food stand and grab me some shredded chicken tacos and a diet soda? Thanks.”

“Really?”

Baylen’s hand freezes on its way up to the earpiece. He turns towards me fully, raising his brow.

“It’s so nice to officially meet you, Mr. Ongash,” I say, putting on my best ‘fuck you’ smile, letting my voice take on a sickly sweet tone. “I’m so pleased to be working for someone so kind and personable. In the future, I would much prefer you hand me things instead of throwing them at me, if that’s okay with you, sir?”

Baylen stares at me for a long moment before he nods. “My apologies. I wasn’t thinking,” he says. “It won’t happen again,” his voice trails off.

I just barely keep myself from rolling my eyes. He doesn’t even know my name? Really?

“Milo,” I say, again with that giant grin. I reach out and grab his hand, giving it a gentle shake before turning around and picking up his card. “I’ll be right back with your lunch.”

I make my way out of the office without looking back. I’m not sure how long Baylen sits there but eventually, I hear his voice pick up again as he goes back to his call.

If he thinks he can treat people like that, he’s got another thing coming.