Chapter 4 - About this undefined thing growing between boss and assistant that neither of us knew how to name without ruining everything.
Then Elliot left his office and came straight to my desk.
“Conference in Boston. Three days. You’re coming with me.”
It was not a question.
“You never need an assistant at conferences.”
“Today I do.”
His green eyes dared me to question him.
“Flight tomorrow, 9:00 a.m.”
The flight was smooth until the turbulence started. The plane shook violently, and my hand grabbed his arm in pure instinct.
“I hate turbulence,” I managed.
His hand covered mine, warm and firm.
“I’m here.”
We stayed that way until the seatbelt sign turned off. Neither of us let go immediately.
At the hotel, the receptionist looked apologetic.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Hawkins. The conference booked everything. We only have 1 suite available. Or I can put Miss Summers in a partner hotel, 30 minutes away.”
Elliot looked at me.
“Are you okay sharing the suite? I’ll sleep on the couch.”
I should have said no.
“Okay. But just 1 night.”
The suite was huge, with a giant king bed and a couch in the corner.
“You sleep in the bed. I’ll take the couch,” I offered.
“No. You’ll take the bed. I’ll be on the couch. This is not negotiable.”
The meetings that day were genuinely necessary, but between them there were prolonged looks and smiles that had nothing to do with work.
We had dinner talking about everything except work, and when we returned to the suite, the tension was palpable.
I changed in the bathroom, coming out in simple pajamas with loose hair.
Elliot froze when he saw me, his eyes scanning from my hair to my bare feet.
“Is the couch comfortable?” I asked.
“Yes. Pretty much. It’s great, actually.”
He lied.
I sat on the edge of the bed, and we started really talking.
“Are you lonely?”
Elliot was silent before answering.
“Sometimes.”
“With all the Siennas in the world?”
“Especially with them. It’s empty. No one really sees me.”
“Then why do you go out with them?”
“Distraction from realizing something real is missing.”
He stood and sat on the edge of the bed. Too close.
“But I think I found it. Recently.”
My heart raced.
“Who?”
“Someone who challenges me, really knows me, sees me beyond the CEO.”
His eyes were fixed on mine.
“Someone who kisses posters when she’s angry.”
I genuinely laughed.
“I’m never going to forget that, am I?”
“Never. It was a defining moment.”
“Of what?”
“Of realizing you’re everything.”
“Elliot.”
He did not finish the sentence. He just leaned in and kissed me.
It was hesitant at first, giving me a chance to pull back. Instead, I pulled him closer, hands in his hair, responding with all the frustration of weeks.
The kiss deepened until we needed to breathe. We separated, foreheads together.
“Shit,” he murmured.
“Agreed.”
“We shouldn’t.”
“I know.”
“You work for me.”
“I know. But I don’t care.”
“Me neither.”
We kissed again, more desperately, until I stopped with my hand on his chest.
“Elliot, wait.”
He pulled away immediately.
“What?”
“This. What is this?”
“What do you want it to be?”
“That’s not an answer.”
I held his face.
“I want to know if tomorrow you’re going to regret this. If I’m going to be just entertainment.”
He held my face between his hands.
“You were never entertainment. Since the poster, since before. You’re scary because you’re real. I don’t know how to handle it, but I won’t regret this. I promise.”
“Then what are we?”
“Still figuring it out. But I know I want you. For real. Not just today.”
“Even though I’m your assistant?”
“Especially because of that. You really know me.”
We kissed again, gentle this time, until my cell phone rang.
Jade.
“How’s Boston?” she asked.
I looked at Elliot, at his swollen lips and messy hair.
“Complicated.”
“Did something happen?”
“Maybe. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I hung up.
“Complicated?” Elliot repeated, smiling.
“You’re complicated.”
“Fair.”
We stayed like that, kissing and talking quietly, eventually deciding not to go further because the situation was already complicated enough.
I slept in the bed, and he slept on the couch, insisting on it. Somehow, we were both happy.
In the morning, we woke and spoke at the same time.
“About yesterday—”
“I don’t regret it.”
We said it together and laughed.
On the flight back, our hands stayed intertwined under the blanket, hidden but connected.
“What do we do when we get back?” I asked quietly.
“Discreet for now. Until we figure out how to make it work.”
It was not perfect, but it was honest.
We were something, even without a name yet.
Arriving in New York, reality hit: the office, HR policies, the relationship between boss and subordinate. Complicated did not even begin to describe it.
On Monday at the office, we tried to act normal, but it was impossible. Every look lasted too long. Every proximity seemed intentional. I made his coffee, and when I placed it on his desk, our fingers brushed on purpose.
Marcus walked into Elliot’s office and immediately noticed something different. Through the glass, I saw him talking and Elliot running his hand through his hair, frustrated.
At night, we started meeting in secret.
Dinner at his apartment, because restaurants were too risky. There could be photos. We talked, laughed, kissed a lot. We did not go further because we wanted to define the relationship first.
Jade cornered me on Friday.
“You’re glowing.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. What happened in Boston?”
I told her everything. The kisses. The confessions. The decision to try something real even with all the complications.
“You’re dating?”
“Secretly for now. Until we figure out how to handle work.”
“That’s progress.”
The problem started the 2nd week.
Julia Chen, the new intern in the marketing department, decided Elliot Hawkins would be her personal project.
She was pretty in that young and bold way, 22, fresh out of college, with ambition written in every calculated movement.
“Mr. Hawkins,” she purred, passing by his office for the 3rd time that morning. “Do you need help with anything? Coffee, organizing files? Anything at all?”
The tone was so obviously suggestive that even deaf people would have perceived the intention.
Elliot looked up from his documents with the politely cold expression I recognized as his I’m not interested at all mode.
“No, thank you, Julia. I have everything I need.”
But she did not get the message, or she chose to ignore it, because she came back the next day and the next, always finding excuses to pass his office, always tossing her hair back and leaning over his desk in a way that left little to the imagination.
I silently seethed at my desk, typing emails with unnecessary force and imagining elaborate scenarios where I could mark territory publicly and definitively. But I could not, because our relationship was secret, and public jealousy would raise questions we were not ready to answer.
Elliot noticed my mood change on the 3rd day of Julia’s persistent advances. He came to my desk mid-afternoon with a concerned expression.
“You’re quiet today.”
“I’m working.”
“Lie. You’re practically emanating irritation. I can almost see the dark aura.”
His tone had a touch of amusement.
“Want to talk about what’s bothering you?”
“Nothing’s bothering me.”
I kept typing with excessive force.
“Alexia.”
He said my name in that low tone he used when he knew I was lying.
“Is it Julia?”
My fingers paused over the keyboard.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Terrible liar.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
“She’s persistent, but completely irrelevant.”
“She flirts shamelessly with you.”
“And I completely ignore her. Noticed?”
His green eyes studied me.
“You’re jealous.”
“I’m not.”
The denial came out automatic and unconvincing.
“You are, and it’s adorable.”
His small smile was infuriatingly charming and completely unnecessary.
“Don’t you believe me?”
“You are—”
“And it’s adorable.”
He pulled me into his office, locked the door, and kissed me.
“She doesn’t interest me,” he said. “No one interests me. Just you.”
“But she—”
“She can try all she wants, but it won’t work. I’m committed.”
The word made my heart stop.
“Committed?”
“I’m committed to you. Wasn’t that clear?”
“It was, but I’m not going to lie. Hearing it helps.”
We kissed more until the phone rang.
That night, there was a corporate event. Elliot went alone because it was not a gala, just a mixer. He came back late. I was still at the office, pretending to finish a report.
“Still here?” he asked when he walked in.
“Finishing a report.”
“Alexia.”
He knew it was a lie.
“How was the event?”
“Boring. Without you.”
I smiled until I saw the lipstick on his shirt collar.
Red.
Not mine.
I froze.
“You have lipstick.”
He looked down.
“Shit. It was Sienna. She was there. She tried to kiss me. I pushed her away, but she managed to touch me. I swear it wasn’t reciprocated.”
“You pushed her away?”
“Immediately. And I made it clear I’m not interested. Never again.”
I wanted to believe him. But she was a model. Beautiful. Familiar. From his world.
“She’s a model, beautiful, and I—”
“You what?”
“Are incredible. Intelligent. Real. Everything I want.”
He showed me his phone.
There was a message to Sienna.
Stop showing up at places I frequent. I’m with someone. Serious with someone. Respect that or I’ll take legal action for harassment.
The tension in my shoulders relaxed a little.
“You said you’re serious.”
“I am. With you. Completely serious.”
He put the phone aside and held my face.
“Even though it’s still secret. Even with all the complications.”
“But does it have to be secret?”
The question came out before I could censor it.
“No. It doesn’t have to be. Not anymore.”
He took a deep breath, as if preparing for something important.
“We can tell HR. Make appropriate disclosure. You transfer from executive assistant to another position at the same salary level. We’d still work together, but you wouldn’t report directly to me. No conflict of interest.”
I stared at him, processing the words.
“You’ve thought about this. Planned it.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.”
“Since Boston?”
“Maybe even before Boston.”
The vulnerability in his voice was rare and precious.
“I want to do this right, Alexia. I want it to be official and public and real in every way.”
“What if I don’t want to change positions?”
May you like
I tested him, curious about the answer.
“Then we stay secret, and I respect your decision. But eventually we’ll want more. Events together. Going out without hiding. Introducing you as my girlfriend and not my assistant. The longer we stay secret, the harder the transition will be.”
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