Page 2 of Every Broken Piece
“Hello! Gabriel. In case you didn’t notice, your assistant walked out.Again. This has to stop.”
“I want Mrs. Martinez back.”
“Mrs. Martinez is sunning herself in Rio with her main squeeze.”
“Could you please not?”
Mrs. Martinez was my assistant for fifteen years. She ran my life like a well-oiled machine so I could concentrate on building the business. Then, last year, out of nowhere, she up and left me. Abandoned me to a long string of subpar assistants who Jack claims I keep running off.
To be fair, Mrs. Martinez didn’t abandon me, but in this I prefer to be the martyr. In truth, she gave me four months’ notice after having met the love of her life. A sixty-year-old man named Donny who adores her, who happens to be filthy rich,and who stole her from me to fulfill her wishes to travel the world. I hate Donny.
“You know what I think?” Jack asks, crashing through my thoughts.
“No. Nor do I care. You may not have work to do, but I do. Go away.”
He leans back and crosses an ankle over his knee. “You need two assistants.”
“The fuck I do! I can’t keep one. How the hell am I supposed to keep two?”
Damn Donny. It’s all his fault. For a second I think about kidnapping Mrs. Martinez—although I guess her name isn’t Martinez anymore—and bringing her back here. That would show Donny.
“Hear me out, brother.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes. I can fix all your problems.”
“Doubtful.”
“You need a west coastandan east coast assistant. The reason you’re losing all of them is because you work them too hard. I bet you told old man Morrow to stop working his people seventy hours a week.”
I press my lips together and attempt to ignore him.
He shakes his head. “Why would you do the same thing to your assistant?”
“I don’t require seventy-hour work weeks. I do need someone who can communicate with both coasts. So, yes, evening hours are required for this position, but their time is flexible.” Mostly.
I’m all over the country. Some months I’m all over the world. I need someone who can handle my calendar in any time zone. I pay well. I’ve provided a generous bonus package, more PTO than most companies, and I’m okay with flexible hours as long as it doesn’t interfere with my schedule.
Okay, maybe I have a lot going on, but there has to be someone out there who can meet my demands. Meet myrequirements.
“If you have an assistant to handle your east coast calendar and one who handles your west coast then you’re splitting the duties.”
“And adding double pay and double benefits.”
“Strong Sterling can afford it.” He finally pushes himself from the chair and half turns, giving me hope that he’s heading to his own office. “I’ll tell Barbara in HR to look into finding two people for you.”
“I don’t want two people,” I yell after him as he disappears through the door. He waves his hand above his head and keeps going.
Chapter two
Tess
“I’m assigning you a new client.”
I grip the phone between my shoulder and ear as I type an email to my favorite client, an author who I adore because she’s quirky and sweet and writes the best swoony romances ever as I listen to Mary, my manager, tell me about my newest addition. I’m not surprised I’m being assigned another client. My stable of clients is already full, but I don’t mind more work. I love my job as a virtual assistant. I love the varied work tasks. I love connecting with the people I’m helping. But mostly I love working from home.
“Are you listening to me, Theresa?”
