The Executive Consultant by Mali Longwell Read Free Book Online

end here and now. I felt like quitting. They wanted me to
work nearly twelve hours per day plus go to meetings. Apparently sometime
either before, after or in between that time I was supposed to study what was
going on in the company. This position should come with the title, "How to
die before you reach thirty". I only had four more years left and at this
rate, I did not feel like I was going to make it.

 
    After
the meeting, I returned to my floor alone. Steven wanted a private meeting with
the CLO and asked everyone to leave. I felt alone, knowing he was not be coming
upstairs as well. I wanted to discuss how I could get around this and make
better use of my time.

 
    Did I really need to go to
all the meetings?

 
    I
felt as if I was learning nothing about the company by being his second skin. I
could probably attend only half of them for this week and then as I become more
comfortable I could attend more.

 
    It
was then that an email popped up from Steven. He seemed to have sent it from
his iPad, which he claimed was his missing arm. He does crack the odd joke
sometimes.

 
    You should have asked Walter
what he thinks of the company administration. He's been here for thirty years
and I don't think he has the answer.

 
    I laughed. Somehow it gave me the energy to go through the rest
of the day. At six, I still did not see Steven, but I was tired and wanted to
leave. I needed to make it past my first week and at this rate, I was slowly
wondering if that was even possible.
    The idea of going home scared me. I texted Anne to find out what
she was getting up to and if we could meet. She replied and said she was at a
flea market downtown. If I wanted to I could meet her and we could have a few
drinks at a bar. Right now that felt like heaven. Seventh heaven. When I got to
the café where she had told me to meet her, it reminded me of the same one that
I had gone to with Steven around the corner from work.
    After we had a couple glasses of wine we began to talk. I did
not hesitate as I knew she wanted to know more about Steven. I stared into her
dark eyes for a brief moment and noticed that she had changed her hair. There
were now a few blond streaks.
    “He’s blond.”
    “I like him already.”
    “He looks like a younger version of Brad Pitt."
    She threw her head back and laughed.
    “You’re working for Brad Pitt’s younger brother and you kept
that quiet.”
    I giggled. “I’ve got to be serious.”
    She nodded, “course you do.”
    “I’ve got to be focused,” I straightened myself up and kept a
stern look on my face.
    She agreed, "You’ve got to get laid.”
    I hit her on the shoulders, because I wasn’t expecting that to
be the next thing that came out of her mouth.
    “That’s the last thing I need.”
    She shook her head. “No, that’s exactly what you need. You need
to get that jerk out of your mind. And that two-faced faced bitch too. They’re
not worth your time, effort and certainly not your tears. You don't think I got
highlights for nothing did you.”
    I screeched again. I had wondered why she looked so different.
Now it was confirmed that she was seeing someone. I was so happy. Anne had
always been too serious and had never let anyone near her as she was always
thinking about her goal and where she needed to be in life. I envied her
determination. It was a special quality.
    “So, tell me, who is it?” I had told her all about my problems
so It was nice to listen to someone else apart from me or my parents' business
for a change. It was something else to focus on. I did not feel comfortable
talking about Steven. I was supposed to be a professional, not some hussy
working at the firm hoping to get laid or a way to get a promotion. That was
not me then and it certainly was not me now.
    “Do you remember Dominic?” I nodded. Of course I remembered him.
He must have asked her out at least an hundred times when we were at school and
each and every time she had given him the same