She shakes his hand. “Have a seat, Xander. Thank-you for coming in today.”
He opens his briefcase and pulls out his resume, handing one to Lisa. She looks it over as he begins talking of his marketing experience and duties at his previous companies. Looking at Xander and setting his resume down, she crosses her fingers on her desk. “Xander, I need someone who will go the extra mile to help me be successful. I’ll be honest with you. My last assistant was amazing. She was on top of things before I knew they were coming.” Lisa thinks about that statement for a moment. She wonders how much Mariah knew about Alex. “I need to know you can do that for me. I need you to be able to be one step ahead of me.”
“Yes, ma’am. Absolutely. Once I understand your schedule, how you work and how you adjust to the environment around you, I’ll be your number one guy.” He grins, almost in a flirtatious way.
Something about Xander strikes her as familiar. She looks at him for a moment longer, then nods. “Okay, I appreciate your time today. I’ll be in touch. There are a few more candidates I need to interview before making my decision.” She stands and offers her hand to him.
“Thank-you for the consideration, Ms. Adams." Lisa walks Xander to the door, noticing the females in the office turning to watch him. He was definitely easy on the eyes, but he was a little younger than most others working there.
“I’ll be in touch.” Lisa smiles at him, then turns back to her office, closing the door behind her.
Walking to her desk, she smells a hint of sulfur. Looking around, she knows that she’s alone, but decides to investigate anyway. Opening the coat closet, she turns the light on, seeing everything is normal. Closing the door, she walks to the windows and looks outside. People are walking on the sidewalks and cars drive on the streets, but everything seems normal.
“Maybe I’m losing my mind.” She shakes her head, then walks back to her chair. She notices the time is 12:30 when someone knocks. “It’s open,” she calls.
The door opens and Alex walks in. She beams at him and stands up. He’s carrying a picnic basket and a large bottle of water. “I thought I’d bring you lunch. CEO’s have to eat, too.”
She smiles and crosses the room. Standing on her toes, she kisses him. “You have perfect timing. Come on in.” She shuts the door behind him and he takes a seat in a guest chair.
Setting the basket down, he looks around her office. “It’s big, and nice.” He inhales and his brows furrow.
“You smell it, too, don’t you?” she asks.
“I smell sulfur, but it could be anything.” He hopes it’s anything else, but is pretty sure a demon has been through here. “The smell is usually quite pungent. You’d know if a demon were in your presence, especially now since...” He trails off.
She nods, her gaze lowering. The ordeal she went through with Samuel and Alex is still fresh in her mind. Nightmares sometimes plague her; other nights, she sleeps without dreaming. “Yeah, I know.” Pushing the thoughts aside, she looks back up. “So, what did you bring?”
“Finger foods.” He opens the basket and sets it on her desk. She looks inside and grins at the assortment of small sandwiches, fruits, and nuts.
“Perfect.” She looks at him and he stands up, leaning over her desk to kiss her. Taking a seat, he starts putting the food on her desk.
“I’m starving! Thank-you for this.” She smiles, watching Alex while he sets up the paper plates and napkins.
~~~~~~~~~~~
A few months have passed since Samuel’s disappearance. For the most part, Lisa’s life has returned to normal. Alex has moved in with her, and they’re planning a getaway during Christmas and New Year’s.
Xander was offered the assistant position and he’s working out great. After Shawn promoted Steven to partner, Steven seemed to walk on eggshells around Lisa for the first few weeks until he felt satisfied that his promotion wasn’t Lisa’s attempt at pity.
The week leading up to Thanksgiving, Lisa suddenly woke up one night and ran to the bathroom to vomit. Alex padded into the bathroom behind her and held back her hair, rubbing her back. “Baby, are you okay?” He turns to the cabinet and pulls a clean washcloth. Running it under cold water and wringing it out, he hands it to her.
When she finished and flushed the toilet, she sat and pressed her back against the wall. She wipes her mouth with the cloth and then folds it, pressing it against her forehead, groaning. “Oh, my god, what did I eat last night?”
“Baby, I ate the same thing and I’m fine.” Alex looks over her face, not seeing any signs of food poisoning.
She glares up at Alex. “Stomach of steel?”