Page 50 of The Executive Assistant

The only upside about the work emergency is that it meant I was too busy to spend too much time thinking about Cameron. Only yesterday, I had been imagining going on weekend getaways more frequently. I’d had ideas of spending nights together, and wasting away Saturday mornings. I’d even been proud of myself for taking more time to myself.

Look at how that worked out.

Now, I couldn’t bear to look at Cameron, otherwise I’d see the hurt expression on his face. I felt guilty, but angry too. He was supposed to be my assistant. We’d both screwed up.

Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if I’d been with another man. If I’d gone on holiday with someone who wasn’t my employee, this wouldn’t have happened. This imaginary other man wouldn’t have encouraged me to unplug from work. Cameron would’ve alerted me immediately of a work emergency. He would’ve held the fort at the office while I drove from the beach.

There was no point wondering about it now.

Finally, we arrived at the office. Before Cameron could even turn off the car engine, I was already flying out of the passenger’s seat.

I practically ran into the building, panic pounding in my chest as I hurried to the elevator. Once I stepped out onto the main floor where the design offices were, I rushed to Hannah’s office, seeing her at her computer with two other designers huddled around her. “Where are we at?”

“We’re going over the documents and design notes for the original version and dividing up responsibilities,” Hannah explained as she showed me on her computer screen. “Video ads, web ads, promotional posts, everything.”

“Alright, once everything is divided up, put it in a document and share it with me so that I can keep up with progress made,” I told her, keeping my voice as strong and steady as I could. If I freaked out, they would freak out even more, and nothing would get done.

Cameron stepped into the room, breathing a little heavier than usual. He glanced at me, face tight, before looking away. “What can I do to help?”

“Stay with them,” I told him in a firm voice. “I’m going to keep an open line of communication with Henry and feed him updates as we go along.”

Cameron looked over at me again, like he expected me to change my mind and keep him by my side. But I couldn’t be near him right now.

I turned to Hannah. “I’ll be set up in my office. Put out a list of tasks. I’ll tackle everything that I can while dealing with Henry.”

Hannah nodded in understanding. “I’ll keep you updated.”

I strode out of the room, passing by Cameron without even looking at him. This wasn’t a problem that we could solve in a weekend, but starting today showed Henry that we were serious and dedicated to making him a satisfied client, and it also allowed us to get a head start on the new week of hell.

Once I reached my office, I shut myself inside and got to work, checking on my team’s progress and relaying them to Henry to get feedback. I just hoped this didn’t cost me good employees. I could feel the tension up and down the halls as everyone rushed to fulfill Henry’s last minute wishes. Their irritation and exhaustion didn’t go unnoticed by me, and I knew that I would have to think of a good way to thank them all besides paying them overtime.

Around nine o’clock, Hannah appeared in the doorway of my office, looking tired. “There is still a lot left, but I think it can wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ve sent off rough drafts for approval.”

I tore my eyes away from my computer screen, blinking them a few times as they stung from staring at the screen for too long. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed.

“Get some rest. Make sure the others leave too. Kick them out if you have to,” I told her.

Hannah gave me a half-smile. “We’re going to get this done. We’ll just need to rally.”

Hell, we needed a miracle, but I didn’t say that out loud.

“We’ll rally,” I assured her. “Thanks, Hannah.”

Hannah nodded and dragged herself out. I heard her voice down the hallway as she told the other designers to head out for the night. Employees from other departments slowly left too, and soon there wasn’t any noise at all.

I put my head back down, reviewing everything that the design team had put together. I left some notes for tomorrow, adding my opinions and, more importantly, Henry’s.

I still managed to find things to do, checking a few small things off the list of things to do that Hannah sent to everyone. It wasn’t much, but it would clear up time for Hannah and the others to focus on more important things.

A knock on my door dragged me out of my busy daze. Cameron stood in the doorway, looking concerned.

“You should head home, Cameron,” I said. “Get some rest before tomorrow.”

“I will, if you go too.”

I frowned. Why was he trying to bargain with me? “I’m fine. Go home. Get some sleep.” When it looked like he was going to argue, I added, “I’m saying this as your boss.”

Cameron flinched. “Don’t speak to me like that.”

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