Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Wonderful, I’ll pick you up from here at six o’clock sharp,” he stated.
“Okay, see you then.”
Mr. Anderson turned and strutted away toward the elevator without another word. I closed the door firmly and then leaned back against it. For a second, I regretted my decision. After all, it felt like no good could come from having dinner with the CEO, but at the same time, I knew I was going to get fired anyway, what harm could dinner do? In fact, it would have been stupid to turn it down. Since I was getting canned anyway, I may as well have a nice steak dinner courtesy of the Anderson Group one last time.
Yeah, it’ll be fine, I told myself and tried my very hardest to truly believe it.
We arrived at a quaint little New York eatery on the outskirts of Manhattan. Thankfully, it wasn’t as busy as the other restaurant we’d visited in the city and we were seated within minutes of arriving. The décor was luxurious and it seemed like a little diamond in the rough of the city. When we were handed our menus, I pretended to peruse my options while really my eyes were intent on Mr. Anderson.
Just what is he thinking? I wondered as I watched him. He was dressed in typical business wear and he looked kind. It didn’t seem like he was planning on telling me off or scolding me at all. Just what was his prerogative then? I didn’t get much of a chance to think about it as our waiter turned up just a moment later.
“Good evening, I’ll be waiter for today. Can I start with a round of drinks for the table?” he said with a cheery voice as he held his pen and notebook close to his chest.
“A bottle of wine would be great,” Mr. Anderson answered. “Your finest red, thank you very much.”
“Two glasses?” the waiter questioned.
“Oh, no. None for me, thank you. I’ll take a lemonade,” I replied with a smile.
“Coming right up.”
The waiter disappeared behind the bar and left us alone again. I dropped my menu down on the table and leaned forward. I was sick and tired of waiting for men to explain themselves to me. “So, what am I doing here, Mr. Anderson?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “I don’t think you’ve invited me just for my lovely company.”
The CEO laughed heartily and closed his menu. “As usual, Miss Nelson, you are right,” he commented and pinned his blue eyes on me. “No, I invited you because what you said this afternoon intrigued me. After I left you back at the hotel, I did some digging of my own.” He paused and assessed my expression before continuing. “It turns out that Griffin is extremely loyal to his office staff and they share that loyalty with him too, clearly yourself included. From that knowledge alone, it’s evident that Griff has the right values for my company, even if he isn’t married.”
I balked and stared at him in shock. “W-what?”
“You see, Miss Nelson, Griffin’s dedication to his staff has shown me that there are more types of family than simply your biological one. The fact that you would come to defend him to Kelly, someone clearly your senior, because of the unfair treatment he was given has convinced me. For that reason, I’m not going to fire either of you.”
I still didn’t understand. This hadn’t been what I expected at all. “But... But we lied!” I exclaimed.
Mr. Anderson laughed again. “Well, yes, you did and I won’t forget it, but I do understand why you did it and it’s clear to me that Griffin has the right values for the job even if he isn’t married,” he explained. “In fact, I’m looking for someone to replace Kelly and I’ve been wondering if Griffin might be interested in moving to New York and taking up her mantle as Operations Manager for the Anderson Group.”
My jaw dropped and I pinched myself to check if I was dreaming. I couldn’t believe that Mr. Anderson had had such a change of heart and that I had been the one to inspire it. I was so grateful that my eyes grew watery. “Th-thank you, Mr. Anderson! You won’t regret it!” I gushed.
He smiled over at me and nodded. “You’re right, I won’t,” he agreed. “I do wonder, however, if the relationship you were faking with Griff was really as fake as Kelly might have believed...” He peered over the table at me with assessing eyes and I couldn’t help blushing a little under his gaze.
“You’re more perceptive than I thought,” I told him. “But Griff isn’t exactly looking for a relationship right now and I’m not planning to hang around where I’m not wanted.” My hand subconsciously drifted toward my stomach and pressed down on my tiny bump.