Personal Assistant.

"God knows I've given you the best advice I can give you as a friend. All this your churchiness won't take you anywhere. Last last, I might even go to heaven, and you will go to hell," Sharon said with a giggle, making Kathleen laugh as they both stood up.

"Enjoy your movie, Jare. Let me come and start going to church," Kathleen said as she picked up her handbag.

"Remember what I told you about your boss? Join in the race for his heart o. Better don't dull," Sharon said as she pulled her ear in warning.

"Abeg, I'm not interested. I'm going before you start talking about another thing again," Kathleen said with a small laugh as she turned to leave.

"Thank you for the money, o. Make sure I hear something good when we next see each other," Sharon called after her as she left.

*******

MONDAY MORNING

Pete had a bored expression on his face as he stood by his office window, looking at nothing in particular. He only knew that if he remained seated in that chair staring at one more paperwork, he would likely go raving mad.

He glanced at his wristwatch for what appeared to be the tenth time in that hour and scowled when he saw that the time seemed not to be moving at all.

Even after working in the office for over two months, he still couldn't get used to it. He could never get used to this whole company business. Office work just wasn't his thing.

He discovered early on, during his university days, that he had a passion for food—not just eating it but also the art of making it. Cooking and watching people enjoy his delicacies made him happy.

His father had adamantly refused to hear any of it. God forbid that the almighty Chief Howell would allow his eldest child to pursue such a passion of becoming a mere chef.

Of course, his mother wasn't one to interfere in such issues, so she took his father's side. Despite their disapproval, Pete went ahead to pursue his dreams and registered himself in various schools, where he took catering and hotel management courses.

He never would have thought he would end up working in his father's office again, especially after their last row before he left the country.

But here he was, doing everything he had said he wouldn't do because his father was a very cunning old man.

He had received a call from his father's lawyer some months earlier asking him to come back home and take over the company.

He had rejected it outrightly until he heard his father was in the hospital after a major heart attack. The lawyer had also gone on to tell him that his father had in his will that if Pete refused to take over the company in the case of his demise, his property was to be given away to charity, and none of his other children were to be given a dime.

So here he was, sacrificing himself for the sake of his siblings, leaving little or no room for himself and his daughter.

His childhood friend Kenneth had suggested that he probably needed a personal assistant—someone who could help balance things for him both at home and in the office and be a babysitter when he went on his business trips.

"Preferably a very attractive female," Kenneth had added with a wink.

Now that he had considered it, perhaps Ken was right. He needed help, and he needed it urgently. He could simply ask his secretary to recommend a suitable person for that position.

He decided there was no need to waste extra time thinking about it when he could act on it.