I was nervous. First days are always like that. But in my experience in working as an Executive Assistant, meeting the boss on the first day was always nerve wracking. I had worked for a temp agency for several years and during that time I had met all kinds of CEOs. There was the bully, the coward, the nice guy, the workaholic, etc. The list goes on. I had heard different things about Mr. Ryan and most of them good. Judy, the hiring manager, told me that he was easy to work with, and very professional. That would make it easy.
I took a deep breath and then walked into his office, notepad pressed to my chest and my head up with confidence. I almost tripped over my own feet.
Mr. Ryan sat behind his desk, a folder in one hand and a pen in the other. He reclined back as he read but it was clear he and I had met before. Of course we had. He was the man I saw at the bar on Friday. I was wearing a pencil skirt, blue blouse and my glasses so I had a good chance that he wouldn't recognize me. I did the best I could to breathe so my face wouldn't turn red, but of course it felt like a thousand degrees in his office all of a sudden.
"Hi um, good morning Mr. Ryan," I said through a dry throat.
He looked up at me with his piercing green eyes. "Hi, you must be Anya," He replied.
"Yes, I am sorry I should have knocked," I said suddenly fumbling over what the protocol was supposed to be as if I was some college kid.
He waved my comment off with his hand gently. "No big deal. If I am not in a meeting then don't worry about it."
I stopped in front of his desk awkwardly.
"Please sit down," he said with that hint of a smile.
I promptly sat.
He ran through, what felt like, a very standard explanation of my role and expectations. It was all stuff that Judy had shared with me before, so there was no need to take notes. Of course I wrote everything down and did my best not to hold eye contact for too long. He spoke so easily it was clear that he didn't recognize me from the other night and before long my nervousness began to subside.
We went through his schedule, and which meetings he needed me for. He was very professional, extremely intelligent but also had a kind of grace as he was used to people not quite thinking as fast as he did. I fell into my role easily and by the end of our meeting I felt like things were right on track where they should be. I left his office and took my place at the desk. Judy came over a few minutes later.
Judy was around my age with black hair cut into an a-line. She was very pretty and I could tell a bit desperate to be my friend. There weren't many women in the office our age and I half wondered if that was why she had hired me. During lunch I got up the courage to ask her.
"Haha of course," she laughed. "I have these other girls straight out of school and they are the worst to manage. They just don't have any skills and they are all expectation, as if they need to be given a raise for showing up on time two days in a row or something."
I liked Judy already.
"I know they type," I lied.
"So what did you think of Mr. Ryan?" Judy asked. She looked at me and sipped her ice tea.
"He was exactly as you described," I said without any emotion.
Judy smiled. "He is cute though, right?"
I laughed.
"Oh come on Anya," she continued. "I am married too, but I am still a woman. It's not like I am going to go sleep with him."
I laughed again and nodded, "Yes he is pretty cute," I agreed. "But I will be working with him a lot so I don't think that is something I should dwell on too much."
Judy smiled, "Of course. But it is nice to have something pretty to look at in the office. Most of the other guys are tools."
I laughed again. Judy was so fun. We spent the lunch getting to know one another. She was also married to a very nice man and as we talked I could tell she was less satisfied with him than I was with Jim. She was more demeaning toward her husband than I was used to, but then I could see that was just her personality and I didn't think much of it. Judy and I became friends that day and I was happy.
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As the days went by I fell into a routine at work. Mr. Ryan or Eric as he preferred to be called was a good boss. He was in the office like clockwork and I could tell he appreciated my ability to understand his routines. By the second week I knew his schedule inside and out as well as which meetings to push and which calls to handle myself and which to forward to him. He rarely spoke to me outside of our meetings and when he did it was clear he had no memory of meeting me. With that, I pushed our meeting at the bar out of my mind entirely.
Judy and I had lunch every day and over time I began to share with her my frustrations with Jim.
"Some girls have it too good," Judy said with a smile. "I mean, Jim is super cute too. That's actually wrong, he is hot."
"I know," I replied. "But..."
"It isn't that," Judy finished my thought. "I get it. Look, Frank is a good husband. He has a good job, he is fun and he treats me well. But I am going to be honest with you. I mean, can I be honest?"
I nodded.
"I think I am just a little bored," Judy said. "It's like we are..."
"Roomates," I finished her sentence.
"Yeah, but half the time it is more like he is my son. I have to cook for him, clean up after him and make sure he is ready for work. I am his support and all of that is ok," Judy said,"I mean I wish he helped more but these are the roles we fell into. I am just, I don't know, bored."
I nodded. I knew what she meant. "Jim is the opposite. He does almost everything," I said with a smile. Jim was so sweet.
"I know and you are a spoiled bitch," Judy said with a joking laugh.
"I know I am," I replied. "Jim is like too good though maybe? Except he isn't good at...everything."
"The truth comes out!" Judy blurted.
I laughed, "I mean he tries really hard but..."
"I get it," Judy said. "I am just glad to know he is human."
