Falling For My Billionaire Savior - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

When I first took the job, the welcome was over the top. There was no way Mason's appearance should go unnoticed.
He got my point and said, with a double meaning, "I like peace and quiet."
I shut up immediately, realizing I was being too chatty.
Even though no one was outside waiting, Xander was already standing by the elevator. As soon as he saw us, he put on a wide grin. "Good morning, Mr. Knight, Ms. Gordon."
"Yeah." Mason gave a slight nod.
"Good morning, Mr. Anderson," I smiled. Unlike Mason, I couldn't afford to act arrogant. After all, the man in front of us was still technically my boss.
Xander, plump and eager, walked on Mason's other side like a lapdog. Xander seemed nervous, wiping sweat from his forehead nonstop, which actually made him kind of funny to watch.
We walked straight into the conference room. Even though it wasn't officially office hours yet, the room was already packed.
The moment we stepped inside, everyone stood up and applauded in unison. There wasn't any flashy welcome ceremony, but this was definitely a much warmer reception than the one I got.
The three most prominent seats were still empty. Mason walked to the middle one and waved for everyone to sit down. Then he asked, "Has Mr. Cooke from Marketing arrived?"
"Y-yes, I'm here." Oliver stood up, looking uneasy.
I had to hand it to him. After everything that happened yesterday—public humiliation in front of the staff and the harm he caused my mom—Olive still had the nerve to show up.
All eyes turned to Oliver. Some were sympathetic, some curious, some just waiting for drama.
I thought Mason was about to stand up for me. But he didn't. "Mr. Cooke, can you get me all the performance reports from the past ten years by noon today?"
Oliver looked completely dumbfounded, staring at Mason like he couldn't believe what he just heard. Honestly, I figured everyone in the room was probably thinking the same thing.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Cooke?" Mason asked again when Oliver didn't respond for a long while.
"No, no problem. I'll go get started. I mean, I'll wait until the meeting's over," Oliver answered.
Laughter filled the room, and the atmosphere instantly lightened. Then Mason called on several other department managers, all with work-related issues. I pretended to listen intently, but the truth was, I barely understood a word.
Still, those months of training hadn't been for nothing. At least I knew when to stay silent. If I didn't open my mouth, no one would know I didn't have a clue.
Just when I was starting to drift off, the meeting finally wrapped up. Everyone clapped enthusiastically as Mason exited the conference room.
I started heading back to my office, planning to sneak in a nap while everyone's attention was elsewhere. My brain needed the recovery time if I was going to deal with Oliver properly.
But Mason's voice suddenly ruined my plan. "Ms. Gordon, my assistant didn't come along today. Would you mind filling in?"
I asked, "Can I say no?"
He gave a cold laugh. "What do you think?"
In the end, I trailed behind Mason like some kind of assistant-for-the-day.
Working as Mason's assistant was absolute hell. The guy was a complete workaholic. All morning long, I was running around like crazy, constantly being ordered to do something. Mason said, "Ms. Gordon, find me the blue folder—third one in the first stack."
Then, he demanded, "Kate, go get the ninth notebook from the right on the third shelf of the fourth cabinet to the left."
And right after that, another order came in. "Make me a cup of coffee."
"Print three copies of this document," he added.
By the time it was almost noon, I collapsed on the couch and played possum.
"Kate?" Mason called. "Katherine."
I kept my eyes shut and didn't say a word no matter how many times he called me.