Not On The Resume

Not On The Resume CHLOE PETERSON Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Chloe Peterson All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Editing by Sheryl Lee Cover Artwork – © 2023 L.J. Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations Contents 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 Chapter 1 Throwing in the Towel Cameron“You cannot be serious.”Pressing my fingertips to my temples, I squeezed my eyes shut against the impossibility of it all.Barely 9 am, and I was ready to go home.“There m-must be some mistake!”“The only mistake was hiring you as an assistant!” I yelled. Frustration dug white-hot claws into my skin.My assistant shrank in front of me, hunching her shoulders as if I’d raised a hand against her.Fury bubbled in my chest and stung like poison on my tongue.“Is it really that impossible to schedule a goddamn brunch date?” My fingernails left tiny red crescents in the palms of my hands. “It’s the same time every week, and yet you’ve scheduled me in for three investor meetings at the same time!”“It was an honest mistake,” she pleaded, wringing her hands anxiously. Her eyes widened in fear, like I was a stalking tiger. And honestly? It gave me a sense of satisfaction. If only I could scare her into doing her job right.“I-I’m so sorry, Ms. Pierce,” Lydia stammered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. I wanted to feel sorry for her, to tell her it was okay, and everything was easily remedied. But energy wasn’t something I had in surplus.“This is the third time, Linda!”“It’s L-Lydia,” she stuttered, but I held up a hand.“Just…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. A brand new migraine pounded at the base of my skull and I knew it would get worse. “Get out; I’ve had enough of your incompetence.”She hiccupped and all but sprinted out of my office. Slumping back in my chair I booted up my computer, quickly typing an email to HR. By now, the words practically typed themselves – generous severance package, decently written recommendation letter, blah blah blah.Another assistant, another disappointment.With a sigh, I hit send and opened my calendar.“Christ!”I stared at the mess. Each task overlapped the last in a frantic excuse of a schedule. My stomach turned and with a sigh, I grabbed my phone instead.“Ms. Pierce?”“Get HR on the phone and have them finalize my request,” I said, wishing the iciness away. “Once that’s done, tell them I’m no longer interested in entertaining their idea of competence.”“Right away, Ms. Pierce.” The line went dead with a muffled click and I spared a second to stare at the ceiling.My head throbbed, the aching pulse thrumming up into my temples. I didn’t want to think about the rest of my day, let alone the rest of the week.“Isn’t this a sight for sore eyes?”My eyes squeezed shut.“Why are you here?” I groaned tiredly, resting my head on my chair. I heard the telltale sound of a chair squealing against the hardwood floor and tried not to sigh.“I couldn’t help notice you were, once again, sans assistant,” Hayden said smugly. I blindly flipped her off, ignoring the satisfied slant of her giggles. “What a shame, Cam.”“How so?” I asked in a monotone, refusing to open my eyes to see the grin on her face.“Whenever you don’t have an assistant to corral your unholy schedule, I’m the one who has to hear all about how dreadful your life is.”“Yes, I can see how this is terribly dreadful for you,” I drawled, opening my eyes to send her a scathing glare. She rolled her bright green eyes and tossed her dark curls over her shoulder.As usual, her pressed pants suit left little to the imagination; her slacks clung to every curve and line of her body, her pristine white shirt unbuttoned just low enough to make it provocative.And yet, she still held herself as the most terrifying woman in the hospitality industry.“Look, all jokes aside, this is a problem,” Hayden said, suddenly serious. “I can’t believe you fired another one?”I stared at her for a long moment before blowing out an exhausted breath.I deadpanned, turning back to the mountain of tasks that only grew with each second that ticked by, “Why is it so hard to believe that I’m just tired of having to deal with assistants who can’t do their fucking jobs?”“Because I know you, Cameron. And I know there’s more to this than your staged little power trip.”Gritting my teeth against the shame, I pushed away from my desk and got to my feet.“Power trip, really?” I scoffed, focusing on the clack of my heels on the floor to keep from tearing my hair out. “You only say that because you have an angel of an assistant who serendipitously fell into your lap. If you had to deal with the amount of bullshit I have, you’d be singing a different tune. How the hell did you even find out?”Hayden chewed on the inside of her cheek like she didn’t want to answer. I narrowed my eyes at her and she gave in.“Fine, Nicola told me,” she admitted with a dramatic sigh.“Why am I not surprised.” I chuckled mirthlessly. “Your assistant knows everything, it’s uncanny.”“She’s a gem,” Hayden said with a small grin. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t find an assistant who’s right for you. In fact, I have the perfect candidate for you.”“No,” I said immediately, a