ALICE'S POV :
"Good morning ma'am" my secretary greets.
"Good morning. Anything for me?" I ask.
"A package came in for you. I left it on your table." She says. A package?
"Thank you." I say.
"Oh and happy birthday."I say to her before I enter my office. She smiles and nods.
"You too... in advance." She says and I smile back at her before entering my office. I don't know how she can be so humble when we are literally the same age. I told her several times to address me by my name like how everyone here does but she prefers to address me as 'ma'am'.
I notice two big black boxes with white ribbons on top of my desk with a small card sticking out from the ribbon. I feel like I know who this is from. I take the card to read.
'Will you be my date to the office party? If yes please accept these dresses . You can refuse and still keep the dress it's up to you. I bought two because I couldn't decide which will look better.
Tyrese .'
He bought a dress for me? I open the box to reveal a beautiful pink sleeveless sparkling gown with a high slit.
"Oh my God. This is beautiful." Jadhiel walks in and says.
"Right?" I say.
"You bought this?" She asks but I shake my head.
"Tyresse did." I give her the card.
"What ? Awn? This is cute. And he bought two." I nod.
"It must have cost a lot." I say and she shrugs.
"You think that's a problem for him?" She asks.
"So? Are you accepting?" She asks.
"Obviously." I say and she squeals.
"Open the second one." She says and I do to reveal a black sparkling dress.
"I've always known him to be a whore but not romantic. This is so cute." She says and I narrow my eyes at her.
"Can you not call him that?" I say and she smiles.
"So you're defending him now? You two are fucking aren't you?" She asks.
"No we're not. Don't you have work to do ?" I ask.
"You're such a liar. Tell me the truth." She says.
"Jadhiel." I say but smile and she gasps.
"No way." She says.
"You're being dramatic right now. You have sex with your husband, don't you?"
"Yes, just as you said with my husband. Unless you two are together now ?" She asks.
"No we're not. He didn't ask me to be his girlfriend so I don't know." I shrug.
"So what I'm hearing is you're together but there is no title to it." She says and I roll my eyes.
"What did you come here for?" I ask ignoring her question and she chuckles.
"There is a meeting in the afternoon. It was impromptu so prepare. Mr. Baxter will be coming." She says.
"Isn't he going to rest? He just came out of the hospital." I say.
"You clearly don't know Mr.Baxter" She says and makes her way out.
"Don't forget to text him that you got his gift before he dies of waiting." She says before leaving. She's right.
Yesterday after he dropped me off, let's just say we couldn't keep our hands off each other and ended up having sex. I've had sex with two guys apart from him and trust me when I say his was different. I finally understood why girls threw themselves at him. Apart from being stupidly handsome and hot, sex with him is so damn good. I wish we'd do it again.
I decide to call instead of text. He picks after the first ring.
"Hey."
"You got a new phone?" He asks.
"Yeah."
"I got your gift. It's beautiful. Thanks." I say.
"I'm only treating my Princess right." He says making me smile.
My secretary knocks and walks in.
"Ma'am-" I lift my finger to make her hold on.
"I'll talk to you later I have a lot to do." I say.
"Okay." He says and I end the call.
"I've prepared the files for the meeting. I want to show it to you first before I send it to Mr. Tyresse." She says and hands it to me. I quickly go through it and endorse it but before I give it to her I take a small paper and right 'I accept' on it. I place it in the folder and give it to her to send to him.
After a while we gather at the meeting room for the meeting with Mr. Baxter. Despite him being so nice and welcoming at his home he has a different character when it comes to business.
First he addresses his absence and how the company has been in his absence. Then he addresses the way some staff have become so relaxed at the work place and partially blames it on Tyresse.
"With that being said, Jadhiel I'd like to commend you on your work. You are doing a good job but I'd also blame you for some behaviors of the staff. Mr. Maxwell, good job at the Research and Development Department and good job to you too PR team. Right and not to forget Miss. Elinoff. Miss Elinoff I've known you to be a very hardworking person but from the reports I received you aren't working as hard." He says and I frown. I thought I was working my butt off.
"Since I left have you come out with any new strategy of acquiring funds? Because looking at the files that was sent to me the financial status of the company has been the same since I left and I know that prices of materials has increased and so has tax rates but we're still using the same strategy. You sure aren't waiting for me to tell you before you do it because I trust that you know your work." He says.
"Yes, Mr Baxter. I'll see to it immediately." I say and glance at Tyresse who gives me an encouraging nod and I send a small smile his way.
"Rightly said. Good! Now, Tyresse will take over from here." He taps Ty's shoulder and he stands and nods.
He informs us about a promotion going out to anyone who wants it but that person will first have to send an application and will be monitored for up to 3 weeks before the promotion will be handed over. That person will be the general manager for Baxter group of companies meaning he or she would manage the affairs of all the companies under the Baxters. The offer is tempting but managing more than five companies at once? I don't think I can handle that. Besides, I thought I had this one under control but it turns out I'm not doing my job properly.
The meeting is finally over and everyone returns to their offices. Jadhiel and I leave last.
"Are you going to apply?" I ask her on our way to our offices.
She scoffs and shakes her head.
"I'm a mother and a wife, applying will mean I'm ready to forget all that and devote my life to this job. Which I don't plan on doing." She says and I nod agreeing with her.
"Oh look it's already our lunch break. Let's go get something to eat." She checks her watch and says. I hand over my stuff to my secretary and so does she before we go find something to eat. This time we order take-outs and eat at the office food lounge.
"I am starving." Jadhiel says as she unpacks her food. She bought more than she usually eats today so she must be more than starving.
"Can I join you?" Adrienne, one of the office staff asks.
"Of course." I say and she sits.
"Oh how are you doing Adrienne?" Jadhiel asks.
"Good. I heard about the promotion. Are you applying?" She asks her. News really travels fast here.
"No. I have too much on my hands as it is." Jadhiel says. She nods and looks at me.
"What about you?"
"Oh no." I say and take a spoon full of my noodles.
"Why not?" She asks and I shrug.
"Yeah, why not? You should totally go for it. You can do it." Jadhiel says.
"No. It's too much work ." I say.
"Which you have enough time for. Also even if you decide to get married it won't worry you so much if you're slacking." She says and winks at me . I snort and roll my eyes. I really get what she's implying.
"Oh you and Mr. Tyresse are getting married?" Adrienne asks and I choke on my food. What did she just ask me? How did she know about Tyresse and I. I look at Jadhiel who also gives me a confused look before we both look at Adrienne.
"What makes you think it was Tyresse we were talking about?" I ask and she furrows her brows.
"Everyone here knows you and the boss are together. Aren't you?" She asks. Together? Who told them that?
"What do you mean?" Jadhiel asks and she frowns
"Alice and Tyresse are in a relationship. There are even rumors that the two of you have been fuc- I mean having sex. But I think it should be normal for you to have sex when he is your boyfriend." She says.
"Tyresse is not my boyfriend." I say. She looks at me surprised.
"So you just have sex? That's new? I know he's not one to sleep with the same girl twice. Hannah keeps trying but he won't even look her way even though she claims they've had sex twice since he returned." She says.
"I'm not having sex with him either. We are just friends." I say. She chuckles and shakes her head.
"It sure doesn't look like it. Everyone here thinks you're together especially because we saw how he introduced you to his family and I also saw your little kiss at his backyard." She says and takes a bite of her food.
"Excuse me?" I ask shocked. I didn't think anyone could see us.
"Don't worry I won't tell anyone." She winks at me but I frown.
"I don't mean to offend you. I'm just telling you what everyone thinks. Also, there was a rumor that you've been on multiple dates. That's what made us believe you two were together. It's okay if you are dating the boss. There's nothing wrong with it." She says and I scoff.
"I personally don't have a problem with it but some people here especially females, specifically Hannah doesn't like the idea of 'her Tyresse' being snatched from her. Her words not mine. To them you are a whore but to me you two make a good couple." She says.
"Okay enough. You should mind your business and focus on work. You weren't hired to gossip." Jadhiel says and stands from the table and I follow her. I've lost my appetite. I understand now why Hannah doesn't respond whenever I greet her at the reception. She uses to and she just stopped.
Jadhiel and I walk to my office together and find Tyresse there sitting comfortably on my chair. Why wouldn't people think we are in a relationship? He enters my office at inappropriate times.
"I'm not leaving." Jadhiel says and sits on the couch. I chuckle and shake my head.
Earlier I wouldn't have minded seeing him but now that I know what people think, I'm starting to reconsider everything between us.
"What are you doing here?" I ask and he furrows his brows but with a smile on his face.
"I thought you'd be happy to see me." He stands and walks to where I'm standing. When he realizes the seriousness on my face his smile drops.
"What's wrong?" He asks.
"You shouldn't be coming to my office at inappropriate hours?" I say and walk to the front of the desk and pretend to sort out the papers on it.
"What do you mean inappropriate hours?" He asks.
"I mean you can't walk into my office anytime you want." I say before I realize my tone.
"Technically...." He starts but I glare at him and he stops and chuckles.
"What is wrong with you? Since when did that become a problem?" He asks.
"It has always been a problem Tyresse." I say and he frowns.
"Erm, sorry. Alice can I speak to you privately?" Jadhiel interrupts.
"Don't worry I'm leaving." He says and walks out. Jadhiel gives me an 'are you serious look'. Wasn't she there when the girl told me what everyone here thinks of me?
"You shouldn't take it out on him." She says.
"It's because of him everyone thinks of me like that. They probably think I threw myself at him." I say.
"So what Alice? Does it matter? What is important is that you both like each other. Who fucking cares what they think?" She asks.
"I do. I have dignity. How are they going to respect me if they see me as a whore?" I ask and she shakes her head.
"You really do not know how much Ty likes you. If you let this rumor ruin what you have with him then it's on you. He doesn't deserve the way you treated him." She says and walks out leaving me feeling guilty.
I let what Adrienne say get into my head. I shouldn't have spoken to him the way I did. But it's also because of him everyone thinks I'm a whore. I slouch in my chair and sigh. Should I text him? What if he's with his dad? I don't want Mr Baxter to think I'm not concentrating on work. He already thinks I'm slacking. I guess I'll have to wait until after office hours. Let's get some work done.
Some hours later I receive a message from him.
Tyresse: I'm sorry for walking into your office uninvited. I didn't think you had a problem with it.
Alice: Is your Dad there with you?
Tyresse: Yeah.
Alice: I'll talk to you later.
After office hours I quickly pack my stuff and head to Tyresse office. I greet his secretary but she ignores it. She has never responded to me. I don't know why I still greet her. Before I can enter, Mark and Mr Baxter walk out together.
"Sir." I say and he smiles.
"Miss. Elinoff. I'm sure you're here for Tyresse." He says and I nod.
"He's inside. I'll see you some other time." He says and walks away with Mark following behind him.
Gently, I push the door open and pop my head in. He sees me and chuckles.
"You can come inside." He says. Oh he's in a good mood. Has he ever been in a bad mood? Sometimes I feel like he doesn't have the ability to get angry. I walk up to him behind his desk and sit on the desk.
"You good?" I ask. He gives me a half smile.
"Not really. I didn't like the tone you used to speak to me. You could've just told me you had a problem with me coming to your office." He says.
"I'm sorry. I was just in a foul mood and took it on the wrong person." I say.
"Did something happen?" He asks and I smile.
"Nothing you need to worry about." I say and he nods.
He stands from his seat and comes to stand in front of me. He lifts my chin to look up at him and lowers his lips on mine. As we kiss, his hand moves from my chin to support my head as the kiss gets deeper and more intense. He parts my legs and stands in between them making my skirt pull up. His other hand slowly goes up my thighs and he squeezes it making me moan in our kiss. He starts kissing from my jawline to the crook of my neck where my soft spot is. I wrap my arms around his neck when he bites and sucks that area. I can feel myself already wet. He groans and bites and sucks again. I bite my lower lip to stop the moans from escaping. His other hand joins the one on my thigh and they move higher until his hand is buried completely in my skirt.
"Sir -" his secretary barges in making me jump up startled. He stops but stays in between my legs. I have my back turned to her so I can't tell her facial expression.
"Yes?" He asks impatiently.
"I wanted to tell you I was leaving. If there is anything else you'd want me to do." She says.
"No, thank you." He immediately responds and she leaves.
"I'm sorry about that." He says and continues kissing my neck but I push him back and stand from the desk.
"I have to leave, sorry." I say and attempt to walk away but he holds me back.
"Please wait. Just 5 minutes. Please." He says.
"I can't."
"Alice." He stands in my way forcing me to look at him.
" I just want to spend time with you. C'mon." He says but I don't respond. His secretary just walked in on us making out. Not only is this going to spread but everyone is going to believe I'm actually a whore.
"I can't, I'm sorry." I say.
"You were okay just now. What happened? Is it because of Jane?" He asks and I look at him. Obviously it's because of Jane. Jane is his secretary. He bites his lip and throws his head back. He is probably tired of me refusing him every time.
"Does it really matter?" He asks.
"Yes. Yes, it does. You may not care but I do. I don't like how people look at me because of you." I say and he frowns.
"What do you mean?" He asks.
"Everyone at the office sees me as a whore because I spend time with you. They think we're having sex and your secretary just walked in on us making out, what do you think will happen next?" I ask.
"So what? This is about me and you. Why do you care what the others are thinking?"
"I just do. I have dignity and it's being tarnished right now." I say.
"You think your dignity is being tarnished because you're spending time with me?" He asks. I know what I said but I didn't mean it that way. I didn't mean to hurt him with what I said. "So what are you doing here then?" He asks.
"I didn't mean it like that." I say but he steps away from me and walks to his desk.
"Ty—"
"Alice what exactly do you want me to do? I've tried everything I can. All this is new to me but I'm trying the best I can. Really, I am but you always have a problem with it."
"I don't have a problem with you." I say.
"Yes, you do." He says.
"No, I don't."
"Alice —" he shakes his head.
"I have a problem with the people you slept with." I say and he nods.
"I thought we were over this. It's good you finally got that off your chest." He says. Earlier I said I had never seen him angry, I spoke too soon. This is the first time I'm actually seeing him angry apart from the occasional glares he gives his cousins and steps.
"I'm really not happy with the reputation you have." I say and he hits his desk making me startle a bit.
"Reputation? You keep using that word reputation." He takes in a deep breath to calm himself down. "I really like you Alice but you're making it hard to. I already explained to you that all that happened before I was sent to Germany. If you don't trust me how the hell is this supposed to work?" He asks.
"I'm not saying I don't trust you. I'm saying that everyone is misunderstanding this thing we have because of your past. I don't want to be seen as a whore. I just—" My eyes get teary. I didn't want him to get angry and now he is and it's because of me. Tyresse that is always happy and smiling is now mad because of me. What if Mitchell became the way he did because of me. What if it was my fault? What if I'm the problem.
"— I don't want to fight with you." I say and a tear falls from my eye. His anger immediately disappears. I wipe the tear and try my best to keep the rest in. I don't want him to think of me as some weak person who cries over everything even though I am.
"I didn't mean to get you angry. I'm just saying that I don't like people calling me a whore. I want you to understand, that's all. Please don't be mad." I say and he comes and hugs me. The tears I was holding start rolling down my cheeks.
"I didn't mean to get you angry." I repeat.
"I'm not angry. I'm sorry." He says rubbing my back. He pulls me back and wipes my tears but more keep rolling down. I can't stop thinking that maybe I was the problem in my previous relationship.
"Please stop crying." He says still wiping my tears.
"How are they still flowing?" He asks and we both laugh and he hugs me again.
"I'm sorry." He says.
"Stop crying." He says when he pulls me back and wipes my tears. I manage to stop this time and he smiles. "There we go." He says.
"Can we still spend time together?" He asks.
"Please?" He pouts. I can't help the smile that creeps up my face. He looks so cute when he pouts. My heart immediately starts beating faster as I stare at how cute he looks.
"Fine but can we go somewhere else?" I ask and he nods.
"How about my place?" He asks.
Come to think of it I have never been to his house before. I'm sure he lives in an expensive penthouse or something. Wait, doesn't Lyon stay with him? Where is he anyway? I haven't seen him in the office for a while now.
"Will Lyon be okay with it?" I ask.
"Lyon went back to Germany. He has a wedding to prepare for." He says and I slowly nod. Lyon is getting married? That's good news.
"Aren't you going to be there?" I ask.
"I will. Just not now." He says.
"So?" He asks and I nod.
"But I drove here."
"I'll send someone to bring your car to my place."
"Alright."
"Okay." He says and quickly gathers his stuff. Mark comes in and helps him send his things to his car. I ask one of the security to help me with the boxes in my office. He takes one and Ty takes the other. I give the keys to the security to bring my car to Ty's place and join Ty in his car. His house isn't far from the workplace. It's like a 5 minutes drive.
I thought he lived in an expensive penthouse or apartment but he actually lives in a house. It's a very big house but not as big as his family mansion. It looks like those celebrity houses with glass almost everywhere. His place is beautiful. It's almost as big as my parents' house. He parks in the garage filled with different types of cars. I stare at the garage shocked. How many cars does he have? I know he has money but why buy so many cars and drive just one all the time? He steps out and comes to open the door on my side for me to step out.
"Are all of these yours?" I ask and he chuckles.
"Yeah."
"But you drive this one all the time."
"Because this is the only car I bought with my money. My dad buys me a car every year for my birthday since I was 18. It's something his dad used to do it for him so he thought to do same for me." He says.
"So you've never driven any of them?" I ask.
"I have. Just not to work." He says.
"Let's go inside." He takes my hand and leads us into his house through the garage. These people really have a lot of money to waste. Probably why his mother thinks our salary is little.
My jaw drops when I see the inside of his house. He must have bought this house from a celebrity or something because wow! He chuckles at my reaction.
" You like it?" He asks.
"Your place is amazing. Did you pick the interior?" I ask.
"No. Tamara did. I made her do it before coming back here." He says.
"She has good taste." I say and he nods.
"So... let me get you something to drink and eat. Make yourself at home. You can go anywhere you want to." He says and we both chuckle before he excuses himself. I take my time to examine his huge living room.