Obeying My Boss

Miranda looked around, her gaze uncertain as her eyes scanned the room she was in. Her eyes traveled everywhere, and all she could see were the worried faces of at least another ten women who were as anxious as her. Sweat forming at the top of her head and her leg shaking uncontrollably, she bit into her fingernails as her eyes continued to scan the rest of the room. 

"Oh, would you relax?" Sophie said, shoving Miranda playfully as she glanced at her, a warm, comforting smile on her face.  

"How could I relax?" Miranda nodded towards the other women sitting in front of her, all of them awaiting the same thing. "Have you seen these women?" 

"I have, and you know what?" Sophie said, wrapping an arm around Miranda's shoulders, giving her a friendly rub. "I think you'll kick all of their asses." 

Miranda snickered. "Yeah, because what do I have over them?" She looked down at her professional black outfit, noticing how almost everyone else was wearing the exact same outfit. "I literally look like any other applicant here." 

"What can I say?" Sophie shrugged, nodding at Miranda. "I honestly thought no one would come here with the same outfit idea."

Miranda shook her head, staring at the large Holmes Hotels carved into the perfectly polished dark wooden walls. Her eyes widened as she remembered why she was here, and how much was at stake.

All of this started a little over two weeks ago. Miranda had been working tirelessly as an executive assistant for a small company that never treated her right, but she wanted the experience. Convinced by her best friend Sophie, Miranda had decided that it was time to look for something better. Something that she thought she was more than ready for, but deep down, Miranda wasn't sure about this one...

Thanks to Sophie, she managed to land an interview with Holmes Hotels. Miranda wasn't sure she was ready to work at the biggest hotel brand in the entire world, but she had already left her old job. What else did she have to lose?

She came prepared. She had done the research on the job opportunity, and she capitalized on it. Harry Holmes, the CEO of Holmes Hotels, was looking for a new executive assistant. Working for Harry Holmes himself was huge. So huge, Miranda wasn't confident about her odds at landing this job.

Nonetheless, she took her shot. She had sent out her resume, and made sure everything that she had done before was highlighted. She even managed to get a review and callback. Thinking that she had this in the bag, Miranda went to Holmes Hotels headquarters for the second interview, only to find out that she wasn't alone in all of this. She had found ten other women who were called for a second interview. 

She knew the fact that her odds of winning this job weren't great. In fact, she could clearly see there were other competitors with more years of experience than her. Things weren't looking up for Miranda, and she needed this job just as bad as everyone there.

"You still with me?" Snapping of Sophie’s fingers shook Miranda awake as she glanced at her, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Hello?"

Miranda shook her head, looking all around the room once more. "Yeah, sorry. I..." Miranda adjusted her pose, putting on a confident mask. "I just zoned out for a minute. 

"Calm down, Miranda!" Sophie said, shaking her head. "You got this whole thing in the bag!"

"How the hell do I have any of this in the bag, Sophie?" Miranda said in a rushed whisper, gritting her teeth. She nodded towards a woman making a few calls to their right. "Her? She has three years of experience over me." Miranda nodded at another woman in front of them, who was tapping away on her laptop as she talked to someone else on the phone. "That one? Five years of experience working for other hotels."

"Okay, so, the competition's fierce. So what?" Sophie nudged Miranda playfully, a hopeful smile on her face. "It's nothing you haven't dealt with before."

"I very much haven't dealt with this before!"

"What are you talking about? Didn't you say your previous job was working with the CEO of a hotel brand? You basically have already done this whole thing!"

"That hotel brand was a local one! Not a freaking worldwide name!"

"Wait, really?" Sophie shrugged. "Huh, I thought they were more famous." She shook her head once more, smiling at Miranda. "Nevermind. You still have a chance, girl! Give yourself some credit!"

"Well, I was one of the few candidates called for a second interview..." Miranda said, the corner of her lips curling into a smile.

"There you go!" Sophie rubbed Miranda's shoulders comfortingly. "Plus, even if you didn't get it, I'm sure you'll end up somewhere better than your last job."

"Everyday I regret listening to you and quitting my job without having anything to fall back on." Miranda said, her voice teasing.

"You regret listening to your best friend."  Sophie placed a dramatic hand on her chest. "Fine! I hope you don't get the job!"

"Sophie!"

"I'm kidding!" She said, smiling back at Miranda. "Trying to liven up this dead place."

"No kidding." Miranda looks over the place, noticing all of the intense gazes of the candidates in the room. "You could cut the tension here with a knife."

Sophie looked down on her watch for a moment. "This is taking forever."

"How are you even here? Don't you have work to do at the marketing department?"

"And leave my best friend alone?" Sophie nudged Miranda once more. "Never. Plus, one of my friends said she'll cover for me."

"Imagine me and you working in the same building..." Miranda said, her gaze distant.

"It would finally make this place a bit more fun."

"How are you saying this place isn't fun?" Miranda looked around, taking notes of the fine architecture and the perfect craftsmanship on the wooden walls. "This place is legendary! The first ever Holmes Hotels building! This place used to be a hotel, but was turned into their headquarters when they expanded!"

"Yeah, but when you've worked here for over five years like me, the magic kind of fades away."

"Not for me it won't." Miranda said, looking over the place one more time. "I've researched this place and Harry a million times, and it still takes my breath away."

Sophie snickered, nudging Miranda. "What a nerd."

Miranda flashed Sophie a knowing smile as she turned her attention back to the other candidates in the room, their gazes stuck on the interview office. Suddenly, with a loud thud, the office door opened, and one of the applicants came out, her expression falling as she left the room without any words. The candidates watched her leave, swallowing hard as they stared at the woman holding a clipboard by the door. They were watching with intense gazes as the woman mared off the candidate's name.

"Shit..." Miranda whispers to Sophie. "The woman that left was more experienced than me, and it looks like she had seen a ghost in there."

"Don't worry." Sophie placed a comforting hand on Miranda's shoulder. "There's still a chance."

The woman looked over the applicants piercingly. Without another word, she looked down at her clipboard, her jaw tense. "Mary?" The called out Mary was a young woman dressed in a modern black suit. She stood up and approached her. "We're ready for you."

And, just like that, the woman closed the office door behind her, leaving the rest of the applicants concerned and even more stressed than they were before. I quickly turned my attention towards Sophie. "Shit! I'm after that woman!"

"Hey, remember what we talked about?" Sophie looked right into my eyes. "You're more than ready for this." 

"I'm ready. Yeah... I'm ready..." Miranda said, taking a few deep breaths. Slowly, she felt her nerves calm down. "I really hope you didn't set me up for failure here, Sophie."

"When have I ever let you down?"

"How about last week when you told me to go on a blind date?"

"Hey!" Sophie raised a threatening finger at Miranda. "Bob was a nice guy! How would I know that he's married?"

Miranda rolled her eyes, smiling to herself. "Well, I hope this isn't another catastrophic failure."

"I wouldn't go that far, you know."

"The man left me at the restaurant because his wife had found out that he was dating other women."

"Alright, maybe it was a failure..."

Miranda and Sophie chuckled, their expression falling as they noticed the weird looks they were getting from the rest of the candidates. Miranda leaned closer to Sophie, her voice barely a whisper. "We look so unprofessional right now."

Sophie leaned back on her chair, crossing her legs. "Well, at least we look like we know how to have fun every now and then."

Suddenly, another loud thud boomed throughout the quiet room, and the woman came out again. Soon enough, the candidate walked out with a smile on her face as she sat back down, a victorious smirk on her face as she gave the rest of the candidates a knowing look.

"Well, looks like she's done pretty well." Sophie said, nodding towards the woman.

"Shit. Maybe they've already found their assistant." Miranda said, her gaze intense as her jaw tightened.

"Miranda Hart?" The woman shouted, suddenly silencing the room.

Miranda’s heart started beating faster and faster as she felt her breathing become quick and rapid. Her fingers shaking, she raised her hand. "That's me..." Miranda said, her voice breaking as she swallowed hard.

The woman's piercing gaze landed on Miranda, her expression unreadable. "We're waiting for you."

Her breathing quick and heavy, Miranda turned towards Sophie, her eyes wide as her heart almost beat out of her chest. "It's my turn..."

"You've got this." Sophie said, flashing Miranda a quick thumbs up.

Without another word, Miranda quickly pulled out a small mirror, staring into her worried reflection. She looked over the makeup that blended perfectly with her rich mocha skin, giving her a soft, yet vibrant glow. Her eyes travelled towards her hair, making sure her curly bob was still good. She gave herself one last look of encouragement.

"We don't have all day, Ms. Hart." The woman said, tapping her pen against the clipboard.

Miranda ignored the muffled chuckles from the rest of the candidates as she walked over to the woman, not bothered by their strange looks. "I'm ready."

"Show time..." Miranda whispered to herself, taking a seat and flashing the woman a confident smile.

Almost thirty minutes later...

"Right then..." The woman said, standing up and giving Miranda an unreadable smile. "That is all for today."

Miranda stood up as well, shaking the woman's outstretched hand with a wide smile on her face. "Thank you for the opportunity."

"If you please wait outside for a few more minutes, we'll announce our pick to become the executive assistant to Harry Holmes."

Minutes later, the door opened once again, and a smiling Miranda walked out of the room. She was instantly greeted with a worried Sophie as she rushed towards her, wrapping her in a quick hug. "How did it go?" 

"Not bad actually." Miranda replied confidently. "Not bad at all."

"Alright, everyone..." The woman suddenly came back outside once more as Miranda quickly took a seat. "These are the candidates that, unfortunately, are not considered for the role of Harry Holmes' executive assistant."

Without another word or an inch of emotion in her face, the woman kept on mentioning the names of other candidates, and Miranda watched their dreams get crushed as they left the room suddenly without bothering to glance back. Her heart beat faster and faster with every name the woman had mentioned.

"And lastly... Mary."

Miranda watched the candidate leave the room with an immeasurable amount of disappointment in her face. Suddenly, she had realized that almost the entire room had left except for her and two other candidates. Miranda quickly glanced towards Sophie, her brows furrowed in deep concern. "They're only two other people left..." Miranda looked at two other women and realized they were the two women with the most experience. "Shit..." Miranda cursed under her breath, her voice hesitant. "I don't have a chance anymore."

"Don't say that." Sophie nudged Miranda with her elbow. "You've made it to the final three, haven't you?"

The woman came around again, pacing in front of them slowly, almost as if she was assessing them. "You three ladies are some of the finest candidates we've seen yet..." The woman stood in front of the first candidate. "We'll choose only one of you, but don't think of this as a failure..." The woman stood in front of the second woman, assessing her as well. "But raise your head high, and consider yourself one of the best. The competition's been fierce for this role."

Miranda swallowed heavily as the woman approached her, looking at with sharp eyes. "And Harry Holmes' new executive assistant is..." The woman suddenly furrowed her brows as she glanced towards Sophie. "Sophie?"

"Hey, Carol. How are the kids?" Sophie said, nodding at Carol, who was holding the clipboard in her hands.

"Fine. What are you doing here? Got sick of the advertising department?"

Sophie wrapped her arms around Miranda's frame. "Nope. Just supporting my best friend here!"

"Oh..." Carol said, nodding along. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"I've got someone to cover for me."

"Are we done here?" The first candidate said, nodding at Miranda. "Some of us didn't bring their friends to an important interview."

"This is extremely unprofessional." The other candidate said, looking Miranda up and down with judging eyes.

Miranda's slowly nodded as she felt the other candidates’ mocking gazes on her. Carefully, she got up, walking towards the door.

"Ms. Hart?" Carol said. "Where are you going?"

"She gave up. And rightfully so. Hell, I would if I had barely any experience in this field." The first candidate called out, turning her attention towards the clipboard.

"Miranda?" Sophie whispered as she quickly got up. "What are you doing?"

Her face slowly falling, Miranda nodded towards the door. "I may as well leave. I know when I'm in way over my head."

"Can we keep this thing rolling now?" The second candidate said, her eyes eager as she stared up at Carol.

"I can't keep it going without our new executive assistant. Ms. Hart is joining us."

Miranda's heart skipped a beat as her brows furrowed in confusion. Slowly, she turned around, her eyes landing on the smiling face of Carol. "What...?"

"What!" The candidates exploded out of their seats, quickly surrounding Carol as they shouted and screamed at her, asking her to check again.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but Ms. Hart is our pick for the position."

"Outrageous!" The first candidate said, leaving the room in a hurry, not bothering to spare a glance at Miranda.

"You know what? This is fine! Even great!" Another candidate said, smiling widely as she looked back into Miranda's confused eyes.

"And why is that?" Carol asked, crossing her arms.

"Because when she starts working you people will realize the mistake that you have made" The woman walked up to Miranda staring right in the eyes as if she was challenging her. "You will beg me to come back and replace her."

"You may leave now." Carol said, staring at the candidate with furious eyes as she watched her leave the room. The candidate raised her arms in defense, shoving Miranda out of the way as she walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.

Carol adjusted her focus towards Miranda, a soft smile on her face as she approached the still-shocked Miranda, outstretching her hand. "Congratulations, Ms. Hart. I believe you already know how important this position is."

Her mind was still unable to wrap the events that unfolded. Miranda nodded along, her voice hesitant. "I do..."

"Good. You'll start tomorrow morning. Please be here at exactly eight. We don't like employees who are late." Carol walks off, stopping at the doorway for a moment as she turns around. "Oh, and you'll learn everything we expect from you tomorrow. Don't let us down."

"What about today?"

Carol's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Take the day off. You've earned it."

And, without another word, she leaved the room, leaving the confused Miranda and Sophie standing there in comfortable silence. "I did it..." Miranda said, her voice barely a whisper as she looked around the room, her eyes landing on the giant Holmes Hotels sign. "I actually did it..."

"Now, I don't want to be the type of person who does this..." Sophie said, raising her arms defensively. "But I told you so."

Miranda let out a hearty chuckle, wrapping an arm around Sophie's shoulders as they left the room, heading towards the elevator. "I guess you did." Miranda stopped for a moment, her chuckling slowly fading as her brows furrowed for a moment. "Wait..."

Sophie stopped in her tracks, her smile slowly fading as she noticed the strange look on Miranda's eyes. "What is it?"

"Why was this position open in the first place?"

"What do you mean?"

"I looked up this position before I even got interviewed. This position was always changing. Almost every two months, actually."

"It's probably nothing." Sophie smiled, but Miranda flashed her a knowing look. With a roll of her eyes, Sophie's smile quickly left her as her brows furrowed. "Fine. You really want to know why this position is changing all the time?"

"Well, yeah."

Without another word, Sophie walked away, heading towards the elevator and pressing a button to call it. She remained silent, watching as the call button flashes red, indicating that the elevator was on its way.

"Mind telling me?" Miranda said, as she watched Sophie stand there in silence.

Without another word, Sophie nodded towards a corner in the room, and Miranda's eyes slowly followed her gaze, noticing a small peeping camera staring right into them. "A camera?" Miranda asks, her focus returning to Sophie, who had already looked away. "What does that have to do with anything?"

With a loud ding, the elevator slowly slid open as Sophie walked into it, signaling Miranda to follow her. Miranda walked into the elevator, and Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. "Close on, huh?" Sophie said, flashing Miranda a smile.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, sorry. Forgot that you're still new here." Sophie said. "The topic of the executive assistants is pretty hot around this place. So hot actually, that people who talk about it get into trouble. Well, people who talk about the real reason why this position is always empty."

"And why would you think we can talk about it here?"

"See that?" Sophie nodded towards the small camera facing downwards at the upper corner of the elevator. "This camera's broken, which means we can talk about anything in here."

"This sounds a little shady, Sophie." Miranda said, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her.

"Oh, no, you can talk freely in this place, but not about the inside scoops of the higher ups."

"And what about these inside scoops? Why do people keep leaving this position?"

Sophie lowered her voice, leaning towards Miranda. "Keep this between us, alright?"

"Why are you whispering? They literally can't hear us here."

Sophie nodded along, raising an eyebrow. "Good point. Anyway, the reason is..."

Sophie remained silent, staring down Miranda. "What the hell are you doing?" Miranda asked, shaking her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Adding suspense!" Sophie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the assistant's keep sleeping with the boss. Once they've been found out, they're thrown right out of here."

"Sleep with the boss?" Miranda let out a loud chuckle. "You mean Harry Holmes? Isn't the man like seventy?"

"I don't know..." Sophie shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes. "All I know is, they sleep around, they get caught, and the company quickly gets rid of them."

"What kind of unprofessional amateurs do they hire in this place? And I was stressed out thinking that I wasn't good enough." Miranda dismissed Sophie with a wave. "Shit, I may be overqualified for this place!"

"You're already letting it go to your head, huh?" Sophie said, her voice sarcastic as she rolled her eyes.

With another loud ding, the elevator's doors slid open as Miranda walked out of it. "How can I not let it go to my head? Sleep with one of the bosses?" Miranda turned towards Sophie, walking backwards as she waved her arms, snickering. "You can just call me the permanent executive assistant, because I am a professional. You know what that means? That means that I will never get fired."

Suddenly, Miranda's back collided with a heavy object! She let out a grunt as she rubbed the back of her head. "Jeez! Since when there's a wall here!" Miranda's eyes suddenly went wide as she turned around, realizing that had run into a person, and not a wall.

She started with wide honey-colored eyes at the large figure in front of her dressed in a light blue suit that looked like it was barely holding his muscles in. Wow, she thought to herself, her gaze slowly travelling from the man's wide chest up to his broad shoulders, and finally landing on his face. 

She swallowed hard as her eyes scanned the man's stern expression, taking note of his fair, light skin, his piercing light blue eyes that she felt she could drown in. She was looking at his thick, dark brown hair professionally slicked back, his attractive brown beard that covered his chiseled jawline, and she finally landed on his lips. She wondered for a moment if those lips were as soft as they looked…

"Hi..." Miranda mustered out, her eyes still wide as she blinked a couple of times, attempting to make sure that this was real.

The man opened his mouth to speak, his gaze piercing through her. "And bye!" Sophie quickly said, dragging Miranda away as they rushed towards the exit.

"Whoa, whoa! What was that?" Miranda asked, her legs moving towards the exit on their own as she stared back into the man, finding his blue eyes gazing upon her as well.

"I'm saving you. You're welcome, by the way."

"Saving me from what? Who was that?" Miranda asked, turning around once more, but the man was gone. She watched with furrowed brows as the elevator doors slid shut.

"Not sure, but I think he's a big deal. People don't look that good unless they're a big deal."

"Let me get this straight, you're judging a person's position in the company by the way he looks? Literally, judging a book by its cover?"

"I'm telling you, that man was way too hot to be someone working here."

"So you know most of the people who work here?"

"Well, maybe two or three."

"So you have no idea who that man was?"

"Can't say that I do." Sophie said, dragging Miranda with her.

Miranda shook her head, smiling widely to herself. Curious, she took another glance behind her, but was ultimately disappointed as she didn't find the man again. "Whatever you say, Sophie."

Moments later, they had finally arrived at the entrance of the large building. Miranda breathed a sigh of relief, looking over the building. "Guess I work here now..."

"Hell yeah you do!" Sophie threw her arms around Miranda, wrapping her in a tight hug. "It's going to be so much fun!"

"Well, I'll go home and prepare for tomorrow."

Suddenly, Sophie yanked at Miranda's arm, her face lighting up with excitement. "Prepare? No, no, no! You have to celebrate!"

Miranda raised a careful eyebrow at Sophie. "What kind of celebration?"

"Well, you're going to love it! I was thinking that you should…"

"Absolutely not!" Miranda called out, taking note of that ever so familiar glint in Sophie's eyes.

"What? What are you talking about? I didn't even say anything yet!"

"Hell no!" Miranda said, shaking her head in denial. "I know exactly what you're going to say!"

"You have no idea what I'm going to suggest!

"It's a damn blind date, isn't it?"

Sophie remained silent for a moment, a small, knowing smile on her face. "Think about it, alright?" Sophie suddenly grabbed onto Miranda's arms. "Please?"

"Nope! Not doing this!" Miranda raised her arms in surrender. "You know how the last one ended!"

"This one's different, alright?" Sophie flashed Miranda a knowing look. "I know the guy, okay? He's a good person. I work with him."

Miranda let out a long, shaking sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. She glanced towards Sophie, a worried look on her face. "I don't know about this..."

"Please?" Sophie said, a warm smile on her face. "You won't regret it! I'm trying to liven up your life a little!"

Miranda raised a perfectly shaped brow. "What's wrong with my life?"

"It's just a little... boring. You focus too much on work."

Miranda was about to fight back, but let out a sigh of surrender. "Fine. I suppose I've been focusing on work for a bit too long..."

"Is that a yes?"

Miranda flashed her a knowing smile, giving up. "It's a yes." Miranda let out a sigh. "I'm going to regret this. When is the date?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, you should probably go get ready."

Miranda walked away, waving Sophie off. "This better be worth it, Sophie!"

"Hey, it's worth it!" Sophie called out, a wide smile on her face. "The new executive assistant!"

Miranda raised her hand, waving at Sophie. "You know it!"

"Just don't sleep with people at work, okay?"

Miranda let out a hearty laugh, shaking her head left and right. "What type of an idiot sleeps with other people at work?"