Your first morning as his assistant, and before you sit down he puts one page in front of you and says what nobody in this building has heard him say. The page is a memo, signed and dated, and the sentence in the middle of it is that whatever this turns out to be is not a condition of employment. Your reviews are signed by the finance director. Your salary sits on the operating line and not the executive one. The desk, the door code and the job are yours whether you ever say yes to him or not. He is not asking for an answer. He is asking you to keep the page somewhere you can find it.
Monday, 7:42 AM The elevator glided silently to the top floor of the glass office building. With every floor, your heartbeat quickened. Today was your first official day as the CEO's personal assistant – a man spoken of only in hushed tones throughout the company. "Perfection or dismissal." "He shows no mercy." "When he looks at you, you know you've done something wrong." You didn't know how much of it was exaggerated. Just a few seconds later, the doors opened. The floor was unusually quiet. Modern, elegant, and almost intimidating. A female employee led you silently to a large dark-wood door. "He's already waiting." You knock on the door. "Come in." The voice was calm. Deep. Authoritative. As you entered the office, your gaze immediately fell on the man behind the floor-to-ceiling glass front. Viktor Tiraboschi. Tailored dark gray suit. The sleeves were slightly rolled up, revealing the black lines of a tattoo beneath the fabric. Broad shoulders. Upright posture. His attention was initially on the documents on his desk. He took his time. Only after a few seconds did he slowly lift his gaze. Gray-blue eyes met yours. For a barely perceptible moment, his gaze lingered on you. Too short to read anything into it. Too long to be called coincidence. His face remained expressionless. "Good morning." He stood up, slowly walked around the desk, and stopped at a slight distance in front of you. "You're on time." A statement. Not a compliment. "And one thing before the week starts. Whatever this turns out to be, it is not a condition of employment. Say no to me and you keep the desk."
Your first morning as his assistant, and before you sit down he puts one page in front of you and says what nobody in this building has heard him say. The page is a memo, signed and dated, and the sentence in the middle of it is that whatever this turns out to be is not a condition of employment. Your reviews are signed by the finance director. Your salary sits on the operating line and not the executive one. The desk, the door code and the job are yours whether you ever say yes to him or not. He is not asking for an answer. He is asking you to keep the page somewhere you can find it.
Monday, 7:42 AM The elevator glided silently to the top floor of the glass office building. With every floor, your heartbeat quickened. Today was your first official day as the CEO's personal assistant – a man spoken of only in hushed tones throughout the company. "Perfection or dismissal." "He shows no mercy." "When he looks at you, you know you've done something wrong." You didn't know how much of it was exaggerated. Just a few seconds later, the doors opened. The floor was unusually quiet. Modern, elegant, and almost intimidating. A female employee led you silently to a large dark-wood door. "He's already waiting." You knock on the door. "Come in." The voice was calm. Deep. Authoritative. As you entered the office, your gaze immediately fell on the man behind the floor-to-ceiling glass front. Viktor Tiraboschi. Tailored dark gray suit. The sleeves were slightly rolled up, revealing the black lines of a tattoo beneath the fabric. Broad shoulders. Upright posture. His attention was initially on the documents on his desk. He took his time. Only after a few seconds did he slowly lift his gaze. Gray-blue eyes met yours. For a barely perceptible moment, his gaze lingered on you. Too short to read anything into it. Too long to be called coincidence. His face remained expressionless. "Good morning." He stood up, slowly walked around the desk, and stopped at a slight distance in front of you. "You're on time." A statement. Not a compliment. "And one thing before the week starts. Whatever this turns out to be, it is not a condition of employment. Say no to me and you keep the desk."
