At the age of 21, most people complain about being caught up in a substandard job. Whether it be having the worst boss or the worst pay, some would rather jump off a cliff than to live through such a condition for their entire life. For Valarie Lauryn, that wasn't the case. She was one of the lucky ones to find the perfect job on the first try. To change anything in her life at the time was just unimaginable.
The sun blasted through the large glass walls that surrounded the entire lobby. Monday, the most dreaded day of eternity. Today her boss would be hiring new workers and she was excited to see who the new members of the family were...or not.
She walked through the large mahogany double doors and entered into her boss's office. His eyes rose to meet hers and a mischievous smile played upon his face.
"Excited for the interviews?" she questioned, observing his features.
"As always" Nikolai smiled, wise eyes still fixed on her.
"I'll need you today as my second guide. Your judgement is almost as good as mine. Just give me the nod, lose them or keep them."
"Me?" Valarie questioned.
"What do I know? I'm not employee picking material. Besides, did you not see my hair today? I practically just rolled off the bed and left for work."
Nikolai chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, I trust that you'll do a good job on this just like any other challenge I've given you."
She smiled and smoothed the seams of her skirt.
Just then, the phone rang. Nikolai reached over to answer it.
"Mr. Osbourne" the assistant spoke into the phone.
"The first candidate is here for the interview. Shall I send her in?"
"Yes send her in" he responded kindly then hung up.
He straightened his posture and sat tall in his chair then glanced at Valarie. "Well here goes."
The door creaked open and the frail body of a woman jerked forward, landing flat on the floor with a thud. Valarie gasped and both she and Mr. Osbourne stood in sync. They attempted to go to her aid but she stopped them.
"I'm okay!" the woman rose awkwardly from the floor.
She tried feverishly to tuck her puckered shirt back into her skirt and walked unsteadily towards them. The glasses were simply too large for her face and she was forced to point her chin slightly upwards to keep it from falling.
"Mr. Osbourne!" her voice was way too high pitched to be normal.
"Ms. Taylor" he greeted.
She gave him a feeble hand shake and turned her attention to Valarie who stood slightly open mouthed.
"This is my assistant Valarie. Valarie Lauryn" he introduced.
The ladies shook hands. Valarie couldn't help but to notice how clammy Taylor's were. Her skin slid on hers like slime and she bit down on her lips to pass off the icky feeling without showing it on her face. She secretly wiped her hands at her side when the greeting ended.
"So Ms. Taylor, what brought you to apply for a job here? Why would you like to work at my company?"
She pondered on the question. With the time she took wounding up an answer you would think she would come up with something great but she should have probably kept her mouth shut.
"Uhh I don't know. I just uhh didn't get accepted anywhere else so I thought that you would be my lucky charm. Funny because Lucky Charms is like my favourite cereal" she laughed boisterously.
Mr. Osbourne and Valarie stared at her in awe until her laugh gradually came to a stop. They looked at each other the same time. Valarie widened her eyes and subliminally shook her head from left to right. Osbourne definitely agreed.
"Okay Ms. Taylor. That will be all. We'll give you a call if you get accepted."
She rose from her chair and shook his hand one last time before exiting.
"That was awkward!" Valarie said when the door closed.
Osbourne laughed. "She's still okay compared to others that I've met."
He phoned his assistant. "Send in the next person" he instructed.
Valarie's lips creased open when the next being walked in. Dark muffled hair, grey-blue eyes and a sharp jawline mounted upon a carefully chiseled body about six feet tall. The metallic grey suit that fell perfectly on his body did nothing but compliment him. He strolled confidently towards them until he brought himself to a stop. With hands placed casually in pockets, he ignored Valarie completely and kept his focus on Mr. Osbourne.
"So, which part of this place are you assigning me to?" he questioned boldly.
Valarie furrowed her brows then proceeded to raise an eyebrow. Already a strike one. Her biggest turn off in a guy was arrogance. Who the hell did he think he was walking in there without introducing himself, skipping the interview and demanding his place in the company? She forced the hormones already reacting to his presence back into their cage and took advantage of the role her boss had given her today.
"Excuse me?" she folded her arms.
The man diverted his eyes to her only for a second then returned them to Mr. Osbourne. A wave of heat passed through her veins and she clenched her fists. She scanned him from head to toe. "Oh gawd" she breathed silently as her eyes browsed over the facial hair groomed neatly on his face. She cursed inwardly and wiped the thought. There was no way that she was going to let herself morph into jello for such a guy.
She coached herself "Okay, he is nothing but a piece of shit. Now carry on Valarie."
"I said excuse me" she got his attention again.
"Who the hell do you think you are coming in here and demanding your place when you are not even sure if you even got accepted or not?"
His lips shifted erotically into a one sided smile and his eyes caught hers. She swallowed the lump in her throat and glared at him.
"I didn't exactly catch your name sir" she spoke powerfully.
The man again disregarded her and turned his attention back to Mr. Osbourne.
"Your name!" Valarie demanded.
He turned his head to face her once more, annoyance clear on his features.
"Dimitri" he answered, the name rolling off his tongue and tickling her inner air.
"Well Dimitri, you are already off to a bad start here. You have no right to approach-"
She wasn't given a chance to finish.
"Osbourne" Dimitri said matter of fact, as if it was his golden ticket out of her wrath.
Valarie froze and allowed the name to sink in.
"Osbourne?" she questioned more to herself than anything.
"Yes" he said harshly without removing his gaze from her.
Valarie raised both eyebrows slowly and turned her attention to Mr. Osbourne whose eyes were already on her.
"Well, Ms. Lauryn. I think it is about time you met someone" Osbourne spoke. "Valarie, I would like you to meet Dimitri...my son."
Valarie gasped for breath and looked on completely astonished. She looked back and forth between the two. The sight was just too contrasting to win her vote over to believe. Dimitri narrowed his eyes on her .
"A minute ago you couldn't shut up. What now? Have you lost your voice?"
She glared and him and caressed the roof of her mouth with her tongue. Nikolai eyed them both.
"Valarie I know this is a bit short noticed but I thought it was time to let my son work here. He is after all second in line to me."
She kept quiet the entire time. It wasn't within her jurisdiction to comment. If it was up to her, his ass would have already been out the door.
Dimitri looked away, contentment clear on his face. He spoke to his father once more.
"I ask again, which area you are going to assign me to?"
"I was thinking of letting you choose." Nikolai responded.
Dimitri pondered only a short moment .
"Fashion" he said decisively.
Valarie snorted. She couldn't contain her laughter.
"Fashion? Really?" she asked.
Dimitri gritted his teeth and eyed her.
"Yes fashion. Who better to know of a woman's body than a man? Most girls would agree to that but I can see that you probably haven't had much explore you before" he responded.
Valarie swallowed, reality slapping her in the face. She'd only been touched by one before and he was merely a man.
"Well if it's what you want, Fashion it is" Nikolai agreed.
Dimitri turned on the balls of his feet to walk out when he paused. He faced them one more.
"She is not one of the models right?" he questioned.
Nikolai paused "Um, no. She is my assistant."
"Good" Dimitri spat then exited.
Valarie exhaled the breath she was holding. Her fists were still clenched. She needed to quench her anger. A smile played across Nikolai's face.
"Quite a character isn't he?"
"Why didn't you tell me that your son was coming to work here?" she blurted.
"If he is even your son" she finished.
"Haha, yes he is my son. The part about telling you sort of slipped me, sorry."
"He can't possibly be your son. You are too good of a man to make something like that. Yes, I said it...something, because that's what he is."
Her exasperation amused him and he couldn't help smiling.
"You will get used to him don't worry."
"Oh I highly doubt that" she responded.
His laugh slipped now.
"Are you ready for the next interview?"
"Um... no thanks. That's enough interviews for me. I'll go shred some papers or something if it's okay with you."
She ran her hands through her hair. Nikolai smile and allowed her to leave.
It was as if he'd been there his entire life. Dimitri propped against the coffee table totally engrossed in conversation. Valarie rolled her eyes as she approached. She walked silently towards the table and began fixing a cup of coffee for herself. She could feel his eyes fall on her at different intervals but she forced herself to keep her focus on what she was doing.
Beverly stood on the opposite side of him fixing a cup of tea at snail's pace. Her hazel eyes kept its focus on him only, paying no mind to what she was doing. Her dark brown hair was swept to one side, revealing her bare chestnut skin. Valarie's eyes observed as she slowly slid her tea cup across the table, closer and closer to Dimitri. She deliberately tipped the cup over and allowed the liquid to trickle across the table towards him. The hot tea soaked through the fibers of his pants until it pinched his skin.
Dimitri jumped and immediately tried alleviating the burning sensation. Beverly hurriedly reached across and used a cloth to wipe his pants.
"Oh I'm so sorry. I don't know how it slipped." she lied.
Dimitri glared at her. He looked like he was just about to strangle her last breath when her hand snaked up his side, over his firm chest and found its place on his tie. He observed her movements.
"Why don't you say we go get this mess cleaned up huh?" she questioned and his eyes darkened suggestively.
He had the share feeling that this was going to be more than just clean up and his lips shifted up into a smile. Beverly modeled off and he strolled behind her like a dog chasing after a bone.
Valarie shook her head in annoyance and rolled her eyes. She was even more disgusted now. A sharp sigh escaped her and she stalked off to carry on with the day's work.
It was already past lunch when Dimitri decided to quit toying around. He walked into his father's office still adjusting his suit. Nikolai's eyes scanned him and he shook his head.
"Who?" he asked.
Dimitri raised an eyebrow before smirking.
"I think the better question is who didn't or how many?" he joked.
Nikolai ran his hands through his hair.
"For how long will you remain a boy before you grow into a man?" he asked.
"For as long as the girls keep me this way" Dimitri responded.
"So what are you suggesting that they are not women but girls?"
"Yup, girls just wanna have fun" he laughed.
"But I think I've sent you women before. What happened to the last few that I hooked you up with? They were as much of a woman as you can get. Do you really not feel anything at all when you think about them? Okay, okay, tell me exactly what comes to mind when you think of them. Let's do a little test here."
"Okay, name them" Dimitri encouraged.
"Jessica?"
"Sex" he responded.
"Charlene?"
"Sex"
"Ivanka?"
"Hot sex"
"Hope?"
"No hope!" he couldn't hold back his laugh.
"Unbelievable! Are you telling me that absolutely none are marriage material for you?"
"No, not them, me. I am not marriage material" he corrected.
"I'm not into that commitment thing."
Nikolai sighed. He was bubbling over with frustration now. If he couldn't see a great responsible leader in his son now, he may just be forced to place his business into the hands of someone else who does.
Hey guys so that was the first chapter. Please feel free to let me know what you think of it. It would mean a lot :)...