Chapter One- First impressions
"Elena you look fantastic, stop fidgeting" Caroline barked at me from across the table. It was my first day of work at a new job and I was completely horrified by the ensemble she had chosen for me. Granted, fashion wasn't exactly my greatest forte, especially corporate fashion, but I felt like her choice was a little too sexy for my taste. She assured me the high waisted pencil skirt and skin tight white blouse was 'Totally in right now', but I had a feeling my new boss wouldn't totally agree.
"I just want to make a good impression Caroline, and I feel like this is a little too come and get it, especially on my first day and particularly because I haven't met this boss in question"
"Yeah, how does that work anyway? Isn't the boss supposed to be the one who hires you?" I had had my interview at Salvatore & Sons yesterday afternoon, and the overly nervous finance manager had hired me on the spot. I had the feeling she had never undertaken a job interview before, at least from the hiring point of view, and it seemed a little strange to me to give somebody a job after just a few minutes without asking them any relevant questions other than 'do you scare easy' and 'when can you start'.
"Mr. Salvatore is away on business and they need somebody to replace his personal assistant ASAP. I didn't realise the girl who had gone missing last week worked for the Salvatore's. Regardless, Penny said he's back in town this morning and would be too busy to conduct interviews himself. God I hope he's not disappointed" I huffed again and creased down my skirt again. My legs already felt longer than a giraffes in regular clothes, and this skirt was making them feel much much worse.
"Well trust me when I say that you won't be disappointed. Both of the Salvatore brothers are absolute dreamboats, with millions and millions and millions.." Caroline began
"I know how rich they are Caroline. I might have only just moved back to town but I haven't been living under a rock" It had been a huge story when Giuseppe Salvatore had died two summers ago and left his multi-billion dollar financial investment and real estate conglomerate to his two trust fund babies. Stefan and Damon had been shipped away from Mystic Falls as children to attend the finest boarding schools in the world. They returned back every few summers to cause a stir in town but Caroline and I never knew them as they were much older than us. After they accessed their trust funds, they both travelled the world living the playboy lifestyle until their father had passed suddenly and left the business in their hands. I imagine returning from the life of glitz and glamour to living in Mystic Falls would have been a shock to the system to the two royal asses, but for some reason Salvatore senior was hell bent on keeping headquarters in his hometown. Lord knows why, nothing ever happened here. The only reason I had returned to Mystic Falls is to look out for my brother after our Aunt Jenna had passed away. He wasn't taking it very well at all.
"Whatever, just, wear the outfit, do your best, and report back tonight with all the juicy details on your hot hot hot boss"
"Emphasis on boss" I clarified. My correction was met with a scrunched face and I couldn't help but laugh at my best friend. For all her quirks, Caroline Forbes truly was one of the greatest people I had ever known. Her compassion and loyalty knew no bounds. I looked at the watch on my wrist and noticed that I should be on the road by now "Alright I'm off. Thanks a million for coming over to assist with the outfit. I owe you big time!"
"My pleasure. I forgot to ask, is Jere here this morning? I needed to get the projector back from him that he borrowed for his presentation a few weeks back." My eyes rolled back into my head at the question. Since moving back to Mystic Falls, my brother and I hadn't exactly been on the same page when it came to the rules of the house. For the first few weeks I had let his erratic behaviour slide, taking it as his way of losing our last adult immediate family member, but now the late night partying and underage drinking was getting out of control. He was a smart kid, and I didn't want him to mess up his senior year because of grief. Jenna had always been quite lax when it came to trusting us to make the right decisions, but I knew in his current state of mind he wasn't exactly thinking straight.
"Honestly if you find out I'd love to know. He comes and goes as he pleases and hasn't spoken a word to me in days. I honestly have no idea what to do with him anymore"
"Just give him time Lena, he'll come around. You have to remember that you've been out of state for 4 years at NYU, he was just a kid when you left. Things are different now and you both need time to adjust"
"You're right. Ugh, I'm changing out of this, there's no way I can go out in public like this!" She was absolutely horrified at the slacks and basic vest and blouse combo I had chosen, but the last thing I needed on my first day was to feel uncomfortable.
x
"Please tell me you didn't hire some incompetent fuckwit while I was in New York." It was only 6.45 and already I could tell I was in for a hell of a day. I hadn't even been gone a week when I got the call that my favourite assistant had gone and got herself on the missing persons list- as if I needed that on my plate as much as everything else at the moment. She had only been in the position for a few weeks but she knew how to keep out of my way and make me happy; which just happened to be two of my favourite traits in an assistant. I liked them to be efficient and almost like a ghost, and Emily Brown had been just that. Now as it turned out, she had turned herself into one completely.
"I assure you Mr. Salvatore, Miss Gilbert will fills her shoes nicely. I will have all of the bases covered by the time you land sir" I didn't mean to make Penny nervous, she had been at the company for a long time and was very good at her job, I just didn't trust that she knew exactly what I was looking for.
"Yes well she better not be completely useless or it will be your head on the chopping board. Anyway, I'm off, I'll call when I land." This was going to be one hell of a day.
x
I stood out the front of the forty story skyscraper, the only one of its kind in Mystic Falls, and wondered what the hell I was doing. I had graduated NYU in the summer with a degree in Social Sciences and was headed on to complete my Master's Degree in the fall. How had I ended up being the personal assistant to the richest man in town? Whatever the situation, Jeremy needed me, and I was going to apply myself completely to this job. Even if it's not exactly what I thought I would be doing with my life, the pay was excellent and it had built in insurance and dental in the job contract, I couldn't ask for much more at the moment. I finally gained the courage to walk through the revolving glass doors and into the extravagant lobby. I entered the lifts and automatically felt out of place with all the beautiful people who surrounded me. Most were gorgeous 5 foot something blondes with legs for days, and I immediately felt out of place with my dull as mud brown hair and matching eyes. I could tell they were all looking at me, wondering what on earth I was doing in a place like this but I had come across women like this before, and I would always get further in life with my brains than they ever would with their looks.
As the elevator started emptying out, I was relived to be riding the last ten floors by myself. Even though I was certain I could do this job with my eyes closed, I was nervous about meeting my new boss, Mr Damon Salvatore. He was notoriously short tempered, and from what I had heard his personal assistants didn't last very long if they didn't follow his orders to a t. My thoughts were broken when the doors opened and revealed Penny standing there.
"Good morning Miss Gilbert, I trust you found Mr Salvatore's office okay?" She greeted with a nervous smile on her face.
"Yes I did thank you"
"Well I hope you're eager to start, we have a lot to cover before he arrives this morning."
I didn't even have time to catch my breath as Penny took me on a whirlwind tour of the office. We began with my new work station, I would be working primarily as his Receptionist and scheduler, but was also expected to undertake any and all requests he put forward to me. Penny advised this would be everything from lunches, monitoring his emails, greeting clients, organising his schedule to other more domestic jobs like his dry cleaning and liaising with his house staff. I would in all honesty be his right hand woman who was constantly on his beck and call. It was during this conversation I realised just how demanding this role was going to be, and just why their salary offering was so generous. For the next two hours I took notes on everything from how he likes his coffee, to where and what type of food he eats to whom he took direct calls from and who he didn't. I was expected to arrive promptly at 7.00am every morning, an entire hour before he himself arrived to make sure there weren't any kinks in his schedule. He was, according to Penny, a man of routine, and wished to be greeted at the elevator door at 8am with his coffee order. From 8 we were to go into his schedule changes for the day and anything else that was upcoming, and before I was to depart in the evening at 6 we were to have an hour meeting going over his schedule for the next day. I got the gist that Mr Salvatore liked things done his way, and any deviation away from that was unacceptable. Penny left me at around 10am and I felt competent that I could handle this. That was, until, the elevator doors opened but a few minutes later, and my eyes were fixated on the most beautiful man I had ever witnessed in my life. Our eyes locked for what felt like an eternity, and the ice blue pupils felt like they were burning into my soul. I was shaken out of my trance when his gruff voice spoke.
"I'm assuming you're the new Emily" He stated, the emotions having disappeared from his eyes. His tone caused me to stand from behind my desk as a sign of respect
"Yes sir. Elena Gilbert, I will be your new assistant" I managed to say through the dry throat his gorgeous looks had caused
"Well that remains to be seen. I'm sure Penny advised you that I expect my coffee to be here when I arrive in the morning" Dick
"She did sir, it's waiting on your desk for you, as well as this morning's agenda and your pressing telephone messages." He looked taken back at my words
"Until I am comfortable with you Miss Gilbert, I would prefer that you didn't enter my office when I am not there. And for future reference I would prefer my messages to be emailed through" Who knew a man so gorgeous could be so fucking rude
"Duly noted sir, it won't happen again. I'll give you a few minutes to settle in. When you are ready to go over your schedule please let me know" He eyed me warningly for a moment, and I noticed his glare go from my face, down to my blouse and to my pants
"Fine. And Miss Gilbert, for future reference, we're running a corporate business here not a Wal Mart. Tomorrow ensure that your attire is a little more professional." I didn't even have time to respond to his rude comment before he walked into his office and closed the door. His office doors were glass and I knew his desk was in perfect view of mine, so I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing that his comment had upset me. I made a mental note to make Caroline throw out all my clothes tonight and replace them with hers, but I couldn't focus on that now. I had an arrogant ass of a boss to impress, and even though I was not the kind of girl to kiss his ass to get acceptance, I would perform my duties and earn his respect. It was my short temper and sharp tongue that I would need to control around him.
My first day was nothing short of a nightmare. No matter what I did, it seemed to be wrong in Damon Salvatore's eyes. I thought I was doing everything that Penny and the 'Salvatore bible' she had left me wanted, but according to him, I couldn't put a foot straight. First his coffee was too cold, then the schedule wasn't what he was expecting, then I put a call through from his brother which he didn't want to take direct- and they were the minor things. When I ordered him the wrong lunch I thought he was going to fire me on the spot, but after a verbal lashing he let me return to my desk. I looked at the clock on my computer and noticed that it was 5.25pm, according to Penny he usually liked to spend the last half hour of the official work day going over his schedule. Not wanting to disturb him in his office, I sent him an instant message asking him to advise me when he was ready to go over it. I wasn't quite prepared for the response I received.
I will handle the schedule myself today Miss Gilbert. Please pack up your things and go. I hope for your sake your performance is better tomorrow.
-D.S
His rudeness knew no bounds, but I was happy to be getting the hell out of there. I made a promise to myself that tomorrow he wouldn't know what had hit him. Nobody belittled Elena Gilbert like that, I don't care who you are. Yes, tomorrow would be the day that I knocked Damon Salvatore's socks off!