Chapter 13: Assistants ad Qualifications.

GIOVANNI.

As soon as I heard my door swing open, I looked up to check who it was and I wasn't even surprised. Only a very short list of people would come barreling into my office without knocking, and Matteo was one of them. He slamed the door behind h and stormed towards me.

"What is this I hear about hiring some unqualified lady as your personal assistant, Gigi? Are you fucking stupid?” He snapped off, his brows knitted together like an angry V. I grinned. He was the only person who got to speak to me like that asides my family members. I motioned to the seat across from my desk, signaling him to take his seat. He barely looked at the empty chair, ignoring me.

“I never thought I was stupid, maybe sometimes, but not in this context at all, I don't see anything stupid about it.”

"For fucks sake, Giovanni!" A heavy sigh falled out of him and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You had an encounter with a female this morning and now you want to hire her? Have you even forgotten that this was the same golddigger who embarrassed us at the dinner the last time,, she even scammed us for a stupid bracelet. Did you hit your head this morning?”

"Why do all of this matter? You flirted with her and she didn't like it and we broke her bracelet then paid for it. What's the big deal here?"

“Okay, here’s what I don’t understand. A woman stands up for herself and speaks on the injustice in her workplace, Why does this convince you she has any skills?”

“Well, see it like this, she has skills because she has guts, and she’s not easily intimidated. She'll see straight and not lick my ass." I muttered.

"And what about practical skills? Does she even know how to type?” Matteo asked.

“Come on, Matteo, do you know what year it is? Even dogs and new born babies can type and check their own Instagrams. Since I sign the checks around here, I hardly think it matters what her work experience is without a proper review. Just get her in here.” I said, leaning back in my chair.

"Fine! Here's her file and I also scoured the entire internet for you until I found her.” He said, dropping a couple of pages on my desk. “Here you go. Everything you’d ever want to know about a strange girl who’s given no good reason to work here. Stalk away.”

I shoot him a dirty look and eagerly sift through the printouts. Her name was Kiki Ajayi, She has only a GED, not the kind of background we usually consider for this role— especially since it appears she didn't even finish high school properly.

Rubbing my chin, I face my friend who kept glaring at me impatiently. “Matteo, I need a good assistant, she was feisty. A fighter. She's the kind of assistants that I like to work with, Matteo and you know this, I can always teach her what she doesn't know. It's not like this job requires so much expertise."

"Everything you keep saying about her sounds like trouble to me. Are you sure you want her as an assistant? Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this?”

My humor evaporated and my smile flattened, “Careful. I don’t like your implication. You know I don't do that."

“Oh, I’d never imply that, but you didn’t have time for a skills assessment, and she left an impression on you. I just hope you’re being honest with yourself.”

“Oh please, she’s got a spine and that’s what I need. I don’t care if she doesn’t have the right background and a litany of glowing recommendations. None of those people with business degrees and letters from their last ten bosses contributed anything tangible anyways. Why don’t we try something different?”

"Because. Miss Kiki is very underqualified. She has no experience in a top-level EA position for a company of this size, much less dealing with horrible bosses. You’re downright draconian, especially to your assistants...” He looked straight into my eyes and continued, "You’re demanding, condescending, and expect sixteen-hour workdays. If your emails aren’t prioritized perfectly, you freak out. You send unreasonable requests at all hours of the night, and even if you do provide very generous compensation, I’m not sure any salary in the world is fit for the shitpile of torture you unload on their shoulders.”

Matteo paused his grand speech and sighed, probably fed up that he wasn't getting through to me, “Look, how long do you think she’ll make it as your executive assistant? What if she snaps right here in the office like she did at the dinner? What if she flips out on a client? Aren't you thinking this through at all?"

I shrugged. “She's fierce not mad, Matteo.”

"You’re ridiculous,” He groaned. “I’ll be able to hire someone else in two weeks anyway. You know I can do it. We already have several interviews lined up. Grow some patience. Wait until we find someone who can actually handle the job.”

“Why waste applicants’ time when we’ve found our girl?”

Matteo's face drained pale. “She almost slapped you at the dinner. For all we know, she’ll laugh in our faces before she’s even invited for an interview. What makes you think she wants to work with you?”

“She's not stupid, Matteo, she’ll definitely do it for the pay,” I said, drumming my fingers on my desk.

“Giovanni Callisto, I’ve known you all my life. Even if you’ve never listened to me a day in your life, do it now. You’re making a bad move. This conversation started out dumb and just kept getting dumber. It makes no sense at all. Do not do this. Just don’t. Okay?”

I leaned forward and picked a pen up from my desk. I clicked the ballpoint in and out several times and sighed . Pretending to consider his request. Maybe I really should. Matteo was one of the few people I could count on to be straight with me. He wouldn’t have told me how stupid this is just for sport.

“Why are you so against it? This is hardly the most scandalous idea I’ve ever proposed.”

He pursed his lips tighter and looked annoyed. “I can see the dilemma on your face and it has nothing to do with hiring her,” He said softly, shaking her head. “Look, I’m not going to judge you for what happens outside this office. Hunt the woman down. Take her out. Take her to bed. Do whatever it is you want to do. But for God’s sake, don’t put her on payroll.”

My gut tightened and my fingers pinched the pen. “Again, I don't —”

"Right. You don't so that. But you don’t need the temptation. If something happens, I know better than anyone that you’d never forgive yourself. This is nothing but playing with fire.”

I scoffed. “How did you keep a straight face while saying that? I finally found a talent I want and you just don't like it?”

“You didn’t find any talent. You found a bad-tempered fighter who probably has a nice ass.”

“Hire her and you’ll find out you’re wrong. If she doesn’t make it a month, I’ll give you a bonus for having to re-interview candidates.”

Matteo flashed a fake, acrid smile. “How generous.” He paused, and the faux smile disappeared, “I’m not just here to fill positions, you know. I’m also saving your ass from making moves that could tank this whole company but if you think doing this is normal, okay!" He finally surrendered walking away from me to the entrance.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To call a fiesty woman with barely any corporate experience and invite her to interview for a position she’s completely underqualified for. Where else?”