Jason Masters tapped his fingers on his desk impatiently. He was tired of the persistent lateness of his current secretary. She had no redeeming qualities. She wasn't even easy on his eyes.
He had a client that owned a local recruitment agency and gave him a call. Maybe this time he would try a serious of temps out before he settled on a permanent replacement.
For now, his chief financial officer's secretary was pinch-hitting for him. She could set up interview times with a few of the temps the agency sent over. As the day went on, this seemed like a better and better idea.
Dammit, where was she?! She had gone to lunch at 12, and it was after 2 already, and he had a 3 o'clock appointment that he needed her here for. Lately she'd been out of the office more than she was in. He did have some sympathy for her situation, as it appeared she'd had an accident of some kind, what with the bandages and baggy clothes. It was really the only reason that she was still here now; he felt sorry for her. She really hadn't been lazy or a bad secretary, at first. It seemed more to him like she was just bored with her job.
Be that as it may, enough was enough, and Jason Masters had had it with Samantha Monroe.
He heard the door to the outer office where her desk was open and close, and he knew she was back (finally!). Time for Miss Monroe's pink slip. He was in no mood to wait until the end of the day.
Just as he picked up the phone to buzz Samantha to come into his office (he'd decided he could handle the 3 o'clock appointment without her), he himself got a phone call, and so was momentarily delayed.
By the time he'd finished the call he was on, it was 5 until 3, and Samantha buzzed him that his appointment was here when he was available. Her voice sounded funny; he wondered if she had a bad cold or something.... but he told her to send his client in, and to bring them coffee once she had.
Jason was standing behind his desk chair as the door to his office opened. He had smiled, expecting to see the silver-haired man who was one of his longest term clients, Hugh Sanderson. Instead, he saw a delicate, auburn-haired flower clad in green that most perfectly matched those cat eyes of hers. He didn't recognize her at first, but Jason Masters did a double-take when he realized who she was. It was his very own, nearly fired secretary, Samantha Monroe. Hugh Sanderson seemed quite pleased with how Miss Monroe had been treating him while he was waiting. His complaint seemed to be that Jason was actually ready to discuss business.
At the moment, Jason could not even remember what he and Hugh were planning to discuss. This one time, he didn't care! He did very much care that he had to at least pretend to concentrate on any conversation they had. Any plans that Jason Masters had to terminate Samantha Monroe's employment with him went right out the window.
"Would you like coffee now, Sir?", she asked, in that different-sounding voice.
"Er....yes, thank you.", Jason said. He was mildly irritated with himself that she was having the effect on him that she was, and that his business partner knew it. It was one thing for her to have that effect on Hugh, but she was HIS secretary!
Samantha swished out, and swished back in with coffee. As she placed Jason's cup on his desk, she brushed against him, and he could smell her perfume. He sighed, although it sounded (even to him) like more of a growl.
Hugh chuckled and shook his head. Jason frowned.
"That will be all for now, Samantha. Thank you.", Jason said, in a clipped tone.
But he wasn't happy when her emerald green form disappeared behind the closing office door.
Hugh actually took pity on Jason, and asked if they could table their discussion for another time, that something had come up that was rather pressing, that he needed to attend to. Jason breathed an inward sigh of relief, and agreed. He hoped his relief wasn't too apparent.
Once Hugh had left, Jason cleared his throat, and he came to the door of his office.
"Samantha, could you please come in here for a minute?"
"Yes, Sir. Do I need to bring anything with me?"
"Just yourself.", he said.
Samantha giggled lightly.
"Samantha, I have not been happy with your performance lately. You've been late, and missing work a good bit. You also haven't been doing a very good job. I have been patient, but my patience is at an end. Today is your last day of employment with me."
Samantha's green eyes widened, and she started to cry.
"I knew you didn't like me. All I was trying to do was fix things so maybe you would. ", she sniffed.
Jason softened a little and handed her a Kleenex.
"So that's what all this was, in front of Hugh, then?", he asked her.
She nodded. "You've always acted like I was invisible. "
Jason looked at her. "You weren't invisible.", he said softly. "But I like the green dress."
He shook his head and smiled. "You're not fired and you damn well know it. But I could throttle you for the day you did it. I am never going to live this down with Hugh Sanderson."
"He liked my green dress, too."
"Yes, I know he did.", Jason growled.
Jason's reserve was gone, and he grabbed Samanthaand pulled her down on his lap. She squealed.
"I can't really decide if I want to kiss you or kill you! But I think I'm going with kiss."
"You're working late tonight. No excuses."
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