Chapter Eleven
The next morning Arianna couldn't chose a dress to wear to work. She never had so many beautiful clothes in her whole life. Closing her eyes, she selected one and wore it. Fixing her hair into a bun, she was ready to go. She rushed outside and started walking towards the bus stop.
A familiar Bugatti Chiron pulled up in front of her and Laurence rolled down his windows. "Get in," he said, staring at her from head to foot, minutely taking her in. Arianna didn't argue. She simply opened the passenger door and sat inside the car, buckling her seat belt in. Isabella's words rang in her ears. Was it true? Did he actually like her? Why else would he wait outside her house so early in the morning? Excitement coursed through her whole body, making her look forward to a day with her crush. "Good morning sir," she said shyly, aware of his minute scrutiny.
"Morning, " he answered in a husky tone. He saw how the new skirt and top fitted snugly to her body, accentuating her curvy figure. It disturbed him and made him wish to hold her against him all the more.
Laurence drove off towards the office silently. Arianna couldn't decipher his mood swings, so she sat quietly not knowing what to say to him. Maybe he didn't like her new clothes. All her excitement ebbed away at his disinterest. Lawrence drove into the parking area and switched off the ignition. They alighted from the car and headed towards the elevators. The elevator ride was full of tension as Arianna was aware of his constant gaze. "Umm do we have a meeting early in the morning sir?" She asked to break the awkward silence.
"We have one later but you need to get ready for the day all on your own since Mrs Drewett won't be coming in anymore. She's left," he informed her. Arianna nervously looked at him. Mrs Drewett was supposed to work for ten more days with her. Why did she leave so early?
"Okay," she said not knowing what else to say. His presence near her within the small confines of the elevator overwhelmed her and she couldn't think of anything else.
The elevator opened onto their floor and Laurence walked out. "Check my schedule and come into my room. We need to discuss, " he said, walking straight into his room. Arianna kept her handbag and started her computer. She checked his schedule and saved it on her mobile. She took a printout also and went to make coffee for Laurence. Carrying the coffee, she went into his room.
"You don't need to ask for my permission. Just knock once and come inside," he said, not looking up from his laptop.
"Yes sir, " she answered, going near his table to keep the cup of coffee. He looked at her as she came beside him. He could smell her sweet scent from the perfume that he had bought for her yesterday. The wish to pull her into his arms grew stronger and stronger but to his disappointment she moved away from him.
"Sit," he said and she obliged drawing his schedule out in front of her. "So we have a meeting with the production team in an hour. You will accompany me. Today I will formally introduce you to the whole office as my personal assistant cum secretary. All correspondences with me should pass through you. Any questions?" He asked her, his gaze taking in her jaw dropped state.
"Yes sir. What would the agenda be for today's meeting? I need to get the necessary files, documents ready, if any," she asked and Laurence mentally applauded her. She might be very young and a school dropout yet she was indeed very smart.
"We would be discussing the production of our latest range of signature Solitaire sets first," he informed and Arianna nodded.
"The Astra collection?" She asked and Laurence looked at her. He hadn't expected her to know the name of his latest designs which would hit the market once the production stage was complete.
"Yes," he said. "We will also discuss the large scale production of the most popular products that we have, " he said. She nodded noting down on her mobile.
"Is that your own mobile?" He asked when his attention fell upon the mobile aunt Henrietta had given her.
"Yes sir. My aunt Henrietta gifted it to me," she said proudly.
"No, that's for your personal use. For office use, the company will provide you with a mobile, a tablet and a laptop," he announced and Arianna stared at him. Did she need so many things? He spoke into the intercom asking for the aforesaid stuff.
"Should I help get the conference room ready sir?" She asked him.
"No that won't be necessary today. After I introduce you formally you can do it from the next meeting. Just supervise since there are people to do the job," he informed her and she nodded.
"So what should I get ready for this meeting?" She asked him.
"The designs are already with the team. You just note down the minutes of the meeting. We would be discussing the work breakup too. You need to note down who's dealing with what and then take regular updates from the department head till the completion of all the work," he said and she nodded. Laurence was excited to see her take so much interest in the work. He had never needed a PA since he was very organized but now it seemed that no one was more worthy of the job than Arianna.
The door opened and a young man of around twenty-six, with grey eyes and blonde hair came into the room carrying a laptop, a tablet and a mobile set. All the stuff looked expensive and brand new.
"John, meet my PA cum Secretary, Arianna Willis. Please teach her how to handle the stuff right now. I have a meeting in an hour," he said. "Arianna, this is John Harvey, our Technical Manager. Go with him to your workplace. He will teach you everything," he said and Arianna nodded.
"Yes sir," she said, getting up and going out with John. The next half an hour, John set up her tablet, laptop and mobile and taught her all the operations. All the softwares that she needed were already installed so she just cleared all her doubts. He made her work on them to get a better understanding of their functions. At last she got a good idea of everything. John left and Arianna just waited for the meeting to start. In the meantime she checked his schedule for the day. There was another meeting in the afternoon around 2 o'clock with the designing team.
She attended three calls. Their London outlets needed several orders on a large scale and they wanted to talk to Laurence. She put them on hold and asked Laurence for permission to transfer the call. When he agreed, she transferred the call. She was very busy the next twenty minutes, taking calls, responding to the emails and transferring the important ones over to him that she lost track of time.
Laurence strode out of his chamber. "Time to go," he said, as he walked past her towards the elevators. She picked up her mobile and tablet and rushed after him. They went to the fifth floor of the building to the production department. The conference room on that floor was much bigger and could accommodate more people.
Laurence strode into the room followed by Arianna and everyone stared at the gorgeous young girl with mouths hanging open. She stood out amongst them all, looking like a princess. "Good morning everyone. I would like you all meet my new PA and Secretary, Arianna Willis," he announced and everyone looked at her with jealousy. Arianna smiled shyly, not liking all the attention that she was getting.
"So, let's settle down and start the meeting," Laurence said, sitting down at the head of the table. Arianna went to a chair on his right side of the table to sit but he simply leaned forward and pulled her chair towards his. "Sit closer, I need to check what you're noting down," he said and Arianna nodded.
She could feel everyone's eyes glued onto them. The ladies gave her pointed death glares and Arianna wanted to just disappear. A man in his mid-twenties, strode into the room," Sorry Laurence, I was held up at the designing department," he said apologetically as he sat beside Arianna. Then his eyes fell upon her and he blinked and blinked, awestruck by her beauty.
"Did you procure the edited designs, Alvin?" Asked a displeased Laurence talking in Alvin's jaw dropped stare. He was Laurence's cousin, four years older than him and they had been working together for the last three years.
"Yes yes, I have, " he said again looking at Arianna. "Who is this, Laurence? I've never seen her before," he said in a hypnotized state.
"She's my PA and Secretary, Arianna Willis," Laurence said impatiently. Why couldn't Alvin see that he was too old for Arianna? "Arianna, this is Alvin Kingsley, head of production, Las Vegas." Arianna nodded at Alvin.
"We're cousins, actually, " said Alvin proudly, leaning towards Arianna who again nodded.
"Now can we start the meeting for God's sake?" Asked a scowling Laurence.
