"I need you to be on your game today, Liza. And then raise your game several levels to my game. Do you think you can do that?" Liza stood in Diana's office, watching her demanding boss apply a second coat of lipstick in the reflection of the glass window behind her.

"Uh…" She trailed off; not entirely sure what Diana was getting at.

"Just try to keep up. Charles has scheduled a meeting, and I've heard it is about repackaging. And do you know who is in charge of repackaging?"

"Us?"

"Me. And perhaps, if the client is big enough, Charles too. We may even have to work some late nights."

Liza didn't miss the look on her boss's face. It was as clear as day that she had a crush on Charles. Liza hadn't officially met him yet but had caught a glimpse of him last week leaving a meeting. He had apparently been working from home for a few weeks, only coming into the office when his physical presence was absolutely necessary. And he did have quite the physical presence. He had to be over 6 feet tall, and he had been wearing a gorgeous navy-blue suit. Liza had thought he looked like he had fallen straight out of a GQ magazine.

"Do you like him, Diana?"

Diana gave her a pointed look. "He is a married man, Liza. But an attractive straight man in a publishing house is rare. It's like finding Louboutin's at a yard sale. Plus," she added, in a conspiratorial whisper, "I heard a rumor his marriage is on the rocks. So, we are going into that conference room for that meeting. I need you to take detailed notes. I plan on being distracted." Diana got up and stalked out the room, tottering on her too tall heels. Liza rolled her eyes and straightened her top before following her boss out of the room, notebook in hand.

Charles sat in his office, gathering the last of the materials for his morning meeting. After being out of the office for the last month he was trying to get back into the routine of being in the office for at least part of the day, every day. He didn't like being away from his company, but after his wife had gone on vacation and decided to not return home, his girls had needed him. He was confused and heartbroken and angry, but Nicole and Bianca had been in worse shape once they realized that Mommy wasn't coming home.

He was, for the first time in his working career, suddenly self-conscious of the clear glass walls around him. He felt like everyone in the office was whispering about him, about his failed marriage. He had seen the way some of his employees looked at him. His head of marketing, Diana Trout, was probably the worst offender. Diana was brilliant, and he counted her as a friend, but she had no qualms about letting him know that she was interested. And she couldn't be further from his type. Not like he knew what his type was anymore. He'd been married for the past 12 years and had dated Pauline since he was in his mid-20s.

He caught sight of Diana headed into the conference room, a tall brunette following behind her. He assumed that she was Diana's new assistant. He hadn't been introduced to her yet but had seen her last week as he had walked into a meeting with accounting. She'd been sitting at her desk, eating lunch, her nose in a book, completely absorbed in whatever she was reading. He'd excused himself from the meeting at one point to use the restroom and had walked by her empty desk. A beaten-up copy of Look Homeward, Angel, lay on the corner. It was one of his favorites. Gathering up his papers, he headed into the conference room.

Liza tapped her foot anxiously as she waited for the elevator to open onto the Empirical floor, shifting the box of food from one arm to another. Diana was having a working lunch with Charles and had directed her to fetch lunch. The elevator finally opened, and she just about ran towards Diana's office, trying to catch her breath before she entered her office. Charles sat on the couch, Diana in a chair angled towards him. She tried to quietly unload the food as the two executives continued on with their conversation.

"Have you read Achebe?" Liza watched Diana as Charles asked the question. Empirical had recently acquired the rights to repackage the trilogy, which Liza happened to love. She could see however, that Diana was less than familiar with the famous works.

"Oh, I'm sure I have."

"Yeah, Things Fall Apart is one of my favorite books. I actually think it's required reading now, in high school."

"It is." The words were out of Liza's mouth before she could stop and saw Diana glare at her out of corner of her eye. Apparently, assistants were to be seen and not heard. Charles looked up at her and smiled. God, his eyes were so blue! She smiled back at him.

"Oh, have you read Achebe?" Charles stopped absentmindedly flipping through the pages of notes on his lap and looked up at Diana's assistant. Her name was Lisa or Laura or Liza, or something along those lines. She was even prettier close up, with warm brown eyes and shiny chestnut hair.

"Yeah," she said, a little breathless. "I read the entire trilogy. I couldn't put it down."

"Yes, the trilogy is groundbreaking." Diana interjected, a thoroughly annoyed tone to her voice.

"Oh, so you have read Achebe?" Charles asked her, even though he could tell that she clearly hadn't. Her new assistant seemed to be more well read than his head of marketing. He decided to test her. "So, what's your favorite?"

He leaned back, watching her. "Of the trilogy?" She asked, pausing and flashing her eyes at Liza. "Oh, um, probably the second book."

Liza stepped back and caught Diana's eye. "No Longer at Ease." She finished the sentence for Diana.

"Then put the box down."

Liza grimaced, trying to convey a message to Diana. "Is a great title for the second book, don't you think?" She asked Diana. "Adichie's Americanah comes close to capturing that experience, but nothing measures up to Achebe." She directed the last sentence to Charles, trying to impress her boss's boss. Diana rolled her eyes and stabbed her lunch with a fork. Charles leaned back, letting out a breath as he looked up at the girl in front of him. "You're very well read. I'm impressed." He couldn't help but smile at her, especially when she smiled back at him, her eyes bright."

"You know what I'm not impressed with. The state of this cod. It's freezing." She slammed the lid shut on her food and spitting her fish into a napkin. Charles jaw set as he watched her hand the dirty napkin to Liza, demanding she take it away. That was no way to treat someone, even an assistant. He felt a flash of annoyance surge through his body as Liza dropped her head and scurried out of the office. "Thank you." He called out to her retreating form. Her very tall form, he couldn't help but notice.

Liza sat back down at her desk after disposing of the ill-fated fish and tried to focus on the screen in front of her. She was distracted, though, and her eyes kept flickering to Charles, who was still sitting and talking to Diana. He really was incredibly tall and incredibly handsome, even more so up close. Don't start developing a crush on your boss's boss, Liza, she told herself, but she couldn't help but smile brightly at him as he exited Diana's office, flashing her a small smile and a nod as he strode past her desk. Of course, the smile was wiped off her face as Diana strode out of her office, an angry expression on her face.

Charles watched the interaction from his office window. Diana was clearly chastising her new assistant. Liza, he repeated her name in his head as he watched her take Diana's wrath. A pretty name to match the pretty face. He had a feeling that she would give Diana a run for her money. And hopefully she would last more than a week, he admitted to himself as he sat down at his desk, because he thought he could get used to having her around the office. There was something special about Liza.