Alexander Arlan Ainsley POV
I just arrived at the office, but could not concentrate because I arrived too early. I kept thinking about Arletta. It turned out that she did have claustrophobia and nyctophobia, but they rarely recur. Perhaps yesterday's incident had awakened both phobias? I had never seen a girl act strangely like that, so I did not know what to do.
"Is my girl home? Who dropped her off at the college? Shit! This is the first time I've ever thought about a girl so much," I muttered, agitated.
I looked at the clock on the wall. It was already ten in the morning. Ah, I thought back to yesterday's events. If I am not mistaken, Arletta and I also met around ten o'clock. Fortunately, there was no important meeting today, so it did not interfere with my activities.
I heard a knock on the door. Was it Tom? No one was allowed to enter here at random unless he had made an appointment first. "Who is that?" I asked, unenthused.
"This is Tom, sir," my assistant answered from behind the door.
"Come in." I allowed Thomas to enter my room. Perhaps he wanted to give me some important documents or other information.
"Yes, sir."
I turned my head towards the door, which opened from the outside when Thomas got in there and did not forget to close the door, while I watched his actions.
Thomas walked over to me, and in his hands were some documents that looked like they needed my signature. I would let the assistant explain, and working is a great way to distract myself from thinking about Arletta.
Thomas was already standing in front of me, separated only by a desk and two chairs. "Sir, here are some documents that require your signature."
Thomas handed over the documents, and I accepted them. I want to work more and earn money for the future, especially if I get married to Arletta. As a man, I would not let my woman get hot, cold, and hungry if we lived together.
Arletta had to live happily with me, so there was no room for another man to come into our lives! Now was the perfect time to prepare everything, even though I was still confused about how to get into my girl's life.
"Tom, are there any meetings with clients or MOU signings this week or next week?" I asked seriously.
I did not want to lose a single business opportunity. Time was money, and I did not want to waste the golden opportunity that came my way! I needed more money because I wanted to get serious with a girl, Arletta. She encouraged me to work even harder, but on the one hand, there was no official relationship between us.
"There are no more meetings with clients this week, sir. In the next week, there are three meetings: two have fixed dates and one is still tentative." Thomas answered my question, leaving me speechless and thinking of something I might have forgotten.
"Did you update my schedule on the calendar as usual?"
Thomas must know what I meant, and he usually did.
"I updated your schedule this morning, sir."
I was glad to hear that answer. Thomas had been paid to do the job professionally and had been working with me for quite some time. His performance was also quite good.
"Okay. I want to ask you something else."
Was this a good time to pry into how to get along with a woman? Thomas was a man and probably had more experience with that than I did.
"What is that, sir?"
I have not told him yet because I did not know where to ask. Honestly, it was difficult to open up about my feelings to my assistant because it was something personal, and not everyone knew about it.
I shook my head, not ready to ask about how to approach a girl. Arletta and I were still two strangers, even though I had forced her to tell me her name in the elevator.
"Have other commissioners ever come to the office in my absence?"
Why did I ask something stupid like that? Ah, never mind. Rather than not asking Thomas anything at all, I had already said that.
"None of the other commissioners have come yet, sir. Usually, their secretaries will call me first if they are coming here."
Thank God Thomas was not suspicious and answered according to my silly question. I didn't want to lose my authority in front of anyone, especially my men. Without asking, I already knew that the other four commissioners were very busy and rarely visited the office. Sometimes we meet at restaurants and talk about business, including the company's development, which they entrusted me to manage.
"Okay. Thanks, Tom."
I did not know what else to ask, so decided to end the conversation. Before knowing Arletta, I was a workaholic. After getting to know her, my attention began to be divided even though I had to prioritize work, which was my source of income and responsibility.
"Yes, sir. I have to be back in my room." Thomas asked permission to leave the room, and I nodded in response.
I turned my attention to the documents that were waiting to be signed. Before doing so, I had to check all the writing, so that there were no mistakes, let alone fatal ones. Business is business; there was a risk of loss, and preventing big losses was my job.
I opened the topmost document, and then carefully read what was on the paper. I continued to do so until the tenth sheet. I sighed, then picked up a pen on the table.
"I will not approve this document. RM [1] should revise it." I muttered, as I drew lines on sentences that seemed strange and made the necessary notes.
After finishing writing the points that needed to be changed, I put the document to the left, and picked up another document. I went back and read everything written on it and did not miss a single thing. I agreed with what was written for this new one, so I signed it without hesitation.
After struggling with the documents for quite some time, my work was finally done. Well, not quite finished, because the working hours were still long and would be cut short by lunchtime. I rejected three documents because they had to be corrected and signed three more.
"It feels like something is missing. Have I forgotten-"
***
[1] RM = Relationship Manager