Chapter 642

The next morning at eight, Juniper rolled up to the Eilish Group.

She'd ditched the job she had lined up overseas 'cause Aaron was sick, so this gig as a secretary at Eilish Group was her first real job. Standing on the top floor, checking out the killer view of all those fancy buildings, she felt a rush of excitement. She was never cool with just being a trust fund baby; she had big dreams. She studied finance 'cause she was into it and wanted to be a boss lady someday.

This was just the beginning.

Now, she had even more fire in her belly because of Anthony. She was dead set on proving herself, showing him she was the real deal.

"You're early," Terry strolled in with a laptop, followed by a tall chick with black-framed glasses and a work uniform, looking a couple of years older than Juniper.

"Morning, Terry," Juniper said.

"Morning. Let me introduce you. This is Mira Collins, Mr. Eilish's secretary."

"Hey, I'm Juniper. Can't wait to work with you," Juniper said, trying to be all polite.

But Mira was kinda cold, just giving a slight nod.

"Mira, show Juniper around the place," Terry said.

"Sure. Follow me," Mira replied.

Mira took Juniper downstairs, showing her all the different departments. They hit up over twenty departments in more than two hours.

"There are a lot of departments. It's cool if you don't remember them all on your first day," Mira said.

"No, I got 'em all," Juniper replied.

Even though getting hired as a secretary at Eilish Group meant Juniper was top-notch, Mira was still a bit shocked she could remember over twenty departments so fast. On Mira's first day, she only remembered half, and Terry had already thought she was awesome.

They got back to the top floor, and as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they saw Anthony coming out of the executive elevator next door.

"Mr. Eilish," Mira bowed her head.

Anthony walked past them without even glancing their way, and Juniper felt a chill. Such a strong vibe.

She sneaked a peek at Anthony, her heart pounding. Now Anthony was a whole different person from the one she knew before; with his new status, he was so high and mighty, totally out of reach.

Besides admiring him, she was kinda crushing, her heart doing flips.

Mira brought Juniper to her desk, "You'll be working here from now on. If you have any questions, just ask me."

"Got it," Juniper sat down and set up her stuff.

A little plant, a notebook and pen, a water cup.

A wave of excitement hit her. She thought, 'From now on, I'm a secretary at the Eilish Group.'

Her spot was awesome, right across from Anthony's office. With the blinds down, she couldn't see anything, but just knowing he was in there made her feel calm and pumped.

She used to think office romances were a bad idea, but now it seemed perfect. Being close to someone you like was just too sweet.

Terry came out of the executive office, "Mr. Eilish wants to see you in his office."

"Okay," Juniper quickly stood up and fixed her hair.

"You're already gorgeous," Terry, who liked her, joked, "Mr. Eilish is pretty hot, huh?"

Juniper blushed a bit, "Is he? I didn't, didn't notice."

"Don't kid yourself. Look at all the ladies on this floor; they all dress up for Mr. Eilish. I'm used to it."

Juniper stuck out her tongue.

"Don't sweat it, Mr. Eilish is cool. Go on in," Terry said.

"Okay, thanks, Terry," Juniper said.

Juniper stepped up, stopped at the office door. After taking a deep breath, she knocked, "Mr. Eilish, I'm coming in."

She walked in.

Anthony, in his crisp white shirt, looked up from his work. Juniper's breath caught - he was like a model straight out of a magazine.

How could a guy be so elegant and charming? He was mesmerizing.

Seeing he was busy, she kept quiet and waited.

After Anthony finished signing the contract, Juniper had already gotten her head straight and met his gaze naturally, "Hey, Mr. Eilish, I'm your new secretary, Juniper."

It was like they were meeting for the first time. She didn't bring up the past.

Anthony looked a bit surprised.

"Thanks for giving me this shot. I'll work hard and won't let you down," Juniper said seriously.

Since she was being all formal, Anthony replied, "Being my secretary isn't a walk in the park; it's gonna be tough."

"I'm not scared of hard work."

"Take these documents and process them. If there are any mistakes..."

"I won't mess up," Juniper said confidently. This wasn't just talk; she had never made a single error handling complex data before. In finance, every decimal point counts.

"Go ahead."

"Okay," Juniper left the office, facing a mountain of documents, "Let's do this!"

She dove into work, super focused.

Anthony forced himself to concentrate on his own tasks, pushing thoughts of her away. By the time he looked up, it was already 12:30; he often lost track of time when he was deep in work.

Suddenly, he had a thought.

He walked to the window, lifted a slat of the blinds, and saw Juniper holding a piece of bread in one hand and a pen in the other, deep in calculation. Her sharp gaze narrowed, a frown creasing her forehead. She was totally serious, a far cry from her usual carefree self.

And she was usually picky about food, but now she was munching on hard bread.

To test her, he had piled on the work for her first day, more than usual, which even Mira would have struggled with, but she hadn't complained at all.

He seemed to be seeing a whole new side of Juniper.

It seemed he couldn't judge a person by just one aspect.

She gave him the vibe of being a hidden gem.

Juniper wrapped up her work by three in the afternoon. Her neck was a bit sore, but looking at the finished stack of documents, she felt a huge sense of accomplishment; all the hard work was worth it.

She handed the processed documents to Anthony.

So fast, work that would take others two days, she not only finished in one day but also several hours early. Anthony was surprised by her speed, 'She's super productive. Her output is double that of her colleagues, finishing tasks hours ahead of deadlines. Her efficiency is off the charts for her first day.'

And after he checked, there were no errors.

Juniper was confident she hadn't made any mistakes, but she still hoped for some praise when he reviewed her work.

But Anthony just put the documents aside after looking through them, "Okay, go handle other tasks."

"Yes, Mr. Eilish," Juniper felt a bit let down. But she got it; it was work. Doing well was expected, and bosses didn't have much time to hand out compliments.

She could be a bit stubborn in her personal life, but she kept work and personal matters separate, never losing her cool at work.

Just then, Anthony's internal line rang with Mira's voice, "Anthony, Mr. Cox is already waiting for you in the conference room."

Anthony stood up, "Coffee, conference room."

"Got it."

Juniper didn't usually drink coffee, so she quickly went to ask Mira for tips. Mira showed her how Anthony liked it, "Mr. Eilish likes black coffee, no milk, two sugars. Got it?"

"Got it, thanks, Mira," Juniper could remember over twenty departments, so making coffee was a piece of cake. People in finance had killer memories.

"Take it over then."

"Okay."

"Mr. Eilish, Mr. Cox, your coffee is served," Juniper bent down to hand the coffee to Ernest Cox.

Stunned by her beauty, Ernest brushed her hand as he took the coffee.