“I do know that. You’ve already shown me that by defending me to the council.” She ran her hand over the kitchen countertop just to feel the stone under her fingers. “I wonder what your salary is. And if I have the power to give you a raise in case it’s not sufficient.”
He grinned. “Probably something else your admin will know.”
“Then let’s go meet her. Or him.”
“Artemis said there’s access from the penthouse to the apartment below. Do you want to look for it?”
“I think for our first meeting, it’s better we show up at the front door and not suddenly appear in the living room or wherever.”
He nodded. “Good call. First impressions and all that.”
Chapter Two
They rode the elevator down one floor, and Pierce knocked. An older woman with silver hair cut fashionably short and spiky opened the door immediately. Her trim navy pantsuit was accented by a fuchsia blouse and flats and sculptural silver jewelry. She smiled at them. “Hello there. You must be Belladonna Barrone, the new governor.”
“I am,” Donna answered. “Hello to you. This is my assistant, Pierce Harrison.”
“Pleasure to meet you both. I’m Charlene Rollins, your administrative assistant. You can call me Charlie, if you like.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Charlie.” The woman had a competent air about her. And her outfit was great. Donna liked her instantly. “Anyone ever tell you that you give off a Jamie Lee Curtis vibe?”
“I get that a lot.” Charlie took a few steps back. “Come in, please. Temo is in the kitchen. He’s your driver and head of security.” She hesitated. “Unless you’d like a tour of this apartment first?”
“No, there’s time for that later. Like tomorrow.”
This apartment had the same spectacular views as the penthouse, but the decorating was much more comfortable. Oversize burnished brown leather couches, fluffy white area rugs, lots of pictures, soft lighting, and a crackling fire in the fireplace. The scent of baked goods lingered in the air.
Donna smiled at the photos on the mantel. “This place is a lot homier than the governor’s apartment.”
“I hope that’s okay,” Charlie said.
“It’s perfect,” Donna answered. “You live here, after all, so it should be to your tastes. Assuming it is. Did you decorate it?”
“I did. Mostly. I’ve been here longer than Temo, so it was up to me anyway. Thankfully, he’s fine with it. He’s added a few touches of his own too.”
“Well, you did a great job.” Donna looked at Pierce. “I want some of these fluffy rugs. Lucky would love them.”
Pierce looked at Charlie. “Will you let me know where you got them?”
“Sure.” Charlie smiled. “Come in. I’ll introduce you to Temo. And get you your welcome packet.”
“There’s a welcome packet?” Donna glanced at Pierce and mouthed the words, “Who knew?”
They followed Charlie through to the kitchen.
A large man with twinkling eyes and black hair scraped back into a long braid was stirring cream into a cup of coffee. Nearby on the counter was a plate with a stacked sandwich and the ingredients that had gone into it. A tray of cookies was on the stove. Sugar, maybe.
“Temo,” Charlie said, “this is Governor Belladonna Barrone. Our new boss. And this is her assistant, Pierce Harrison.”
Temo nodded. Black tribal tattoos swirled out from under his rolled-up shirtsleeves, wrapping his arms down to the wrists. They peeked out from the neck of his dress shirt too. “Nice to meet you, Madam Governor. Mr. Harrison.”
“Call me Pierce, please.”
Donna wanted to tell him to call her by her first name as well but refrained. Would that be a breach of protocol? She wanted to be friends with these people, but at the same time she had to maintain a professional relationship with them. At least until she got to know them better. “It’s great to meet you both.”
Charlie stood with military stiffness. “I have a master’s in business management, and before coming to work here, I was the executive assistant to the CEO of Rothchild’s Antiquities in London for fourteen years. Before that, I was a concierge at the Regency Hotel, also in London. I hold dual citizenship in the UK and the US.”
“Wow, very impressive.” Donna’s brows rose a little. That was quite a résumé.
“My background’s not so fancy,” Temo said. “I was Special Ops, did two tours I’d rather not talk about, then got out and went to work as security at a club in the city. I’ve done some high-end private security too. Besides my tactical mobility training in the military, I’ve been to evasive-driving school and racing school.” His smile was bright and broad. “I’m pretty good behind the wheel.”
“Sounds like it,” Donna said. “I think your résumé is just as impressive as Charlie’s, but for different reasons.” Then came the big question. “How did you both like working for Claudette?”
Temo glanced at Charlie.
The older woman picked up a manila envelope from the counter as she laughed and shrugged. “She’s not our boss anymore, so I suppose it’s okay to be a little honest. She was fine as a boss for me. For Temo, not so much.”
He frowned. “She didn’t like me.”
Donna thought he seemed pretty likable. “Can I ask why?”
He sipped his coffee but didn’t make eye contact until a second later. “I’m sure she had her reasons. But she almost never used the car.”
Donna thought he was holding something back. If he didn’t want to speak ill of Claudette, Donna respected that. She might be in Claudette’s position someday herself. “She told me she ran everywhere. I guess that was her way of not needing you. It struck me as weird when she said it, but hey, to each their own, right?” Donna smiled at him. “I will be using the car.”
Temo smiled back. “Good. Because I don’t like feeling like I’m being paid for nothing. Is there anywhere you need me to take you this evening? Or any security concerns you’d like to discuss?”
“No. I have my own vehicle here, and we’re heading back to my house soon. I wasn’t prepared to stay here tonight. It’ll probably be a day or two before that happens. Plus, Claudette needs to move her things out.”
“That won’t take much doing,” Charlie answered. “She has a studio in the Village. Most of her possessions are there. Here’s your welcome packet, by the way.” She held out the envelope.
Charlie knew a lot about Claudette, more than Donna had known, but the woman had been Claudette’s admin, so it made sense. She took the packet. “Well, that’s good about Claudette. I’m glad she’s not homeless. Say, if I have some things sent to this address, will you take delivery of them if I’m not here?”
Charlie nodded. “Absolutely. And if you’re buying anything for the apartment, please use the credit card in the packet. It’s paid by the governor’s account. Use it for all your expenses from here on out. And just so you know, when you’re not here, I do a daily check on the apartment, bring the mail in, that sort of thing. I actually work out of the office on this floor. Unless you’d rather I not.”