ELLIE
It was my first day at my new job. I had received an email containing my official contract and boy he was right; the salary was more than I could imagine. I could serve two more Nathan Byers for this kind of money.
I dressed up in a baby blue T-shirt and jeans initially but then I realized I didn't look like the personal assistant of the CEO of a multinational company. But then, I didn't have a better option in my cupboard.
Deciding to go for a shop later tonight, I wore black pants with a royal blue button down I borrowed from Max. She was petite so the shirt was a little tight on me but I had no other choice.
I took the bus to the office and sighed in relief when reached in time. It was 7:30 and there was still half an hour to go. Perfect.
I went to the secretary's office – my office – and grinned at how beautiful it was. It was painted in maroon and beige, with white dainty furniture. It had two doors, one led to the bathroom and the other probably led to the CEO's office.
I took a quick look at the old secretary's diary and then noted down all the things that were on to-do list before Mr. Byer's arrival. It was weird that the secretary didn't stay to give over to me face to face but maybe she had an emergency and had to resign.
I then went into Mr. Byer's office and one by one, finished all the tasks from the list. His office was huge, painted in different shades of greys. From the ceiling high windows, one could easily take a look at the whole New York.
"Ehm." Someone cleared the throat behind me and I jumped up in my position.
I turned around to find Mr. Nathan Byers standing behind me. Maintaining my composure, I walked towards him and handed him his morning coffee. Yes, it was one of the to-dos.
I wasn't going to give him a reason to fire me because from what I've heard, he loved to do that. I needed money to stay in New York and this arrogant man was my only chance at that.
He looked really dapper in the grey business suit and his hair was styled back. He had a pair of glasses on and it gave him a weird sexy-ish aura. I didn't know I had a thing for men with glasses before.
He walked around his office and noticed everything; today's newspaper on the coffee table, all the files kept neatly on his desk, all the meetings of today listed on his planner, the heater set to 29°, his favourite business talk show running on the LED.
"Don't expect any praises." He finally spoke.
"I don't." I said and excused myself, leaving him to his morning ritual. I was halfway out through the door when he called me.
"You will be given your salary in advance this month. Buy yourself clothes that fit you." He said and that's when I noticed it; one of the buttons of my shirt was popped open and my pink bra could be seen through it.
Shit.
"Oh God!" My face flushed red in embarrassment and I groaned.
"And if you are wearing it intentionally, don't bother." He said with a smirk.
"Listen, you—" Before I could speak further, my mind went to the six figure yearly salary that was in my contract. "It wasn't intended that way, Mr. Byers. And if the sight of my undergarments is such a distraction, I'd change my wardrobe today." I said professionally.
He rolled his eyes at this and picked up the newspaper. "I need you to go to the storage unit and pick out the finance reports of our London project from 2011-2019. After that, I want to bring a summary of all the expenditures during that time." He said.
"Anything else?" I smiled obediently.
"Just what you are told." He replied rudely and my nostrils flared at this. Five minutes with him and I already knew he was going to push my buttons a lot. But he didn't know who he was dealing with.
As he had ordered, I went to the storage room to collect the files. On my way back to my office, I walked into the elevator where three middle aged women were already present inside.
"Have you heard Mr. Byers has a new secretary?" One woman said.
"Poor woman. Remember what he did to the last one." Another said and my curiosity piqued.
"What did he do?" The third one asked and I leaned backwards to listen.
"I don't know the exact details but she was so mentally and physically stressed that she had a nervous breakdown in the middle of an important meeting. And then she was thrown out of the office building with all her belongings and he had her banned from getting a job in New York." The first one said.
I gulped nervously on hearing that and felt sympathy for the woman that I had never seen, as well as dread for myself.
The elevator finally reached my floor and I walked to the office with a nervous pit in my stomach. What if I had made a mistake by coming here? What if my hunt for money had landed me in a much bigger trouble?
"I don't pay you to make scenarios in your head." I heard Mr. Byer's say.
That's when I noticed I was mindlessly standing in the same position for some time. "Sorry." I muttered under my breath. Under his attentive gaze, I dashed towards my office.
It took me three hours to complete the work. Pleased with the amount of hard work I put in it, I walked into his office and placed the summary on his table. He hardly gave it a look and disposed it through the paper shredder; his action made me gasp out loud.
"I don't need it anymore. And yes, you are accompanying me to lunch with Pollard." He ordered before walking out of his room.
Huffing, I kicked the wall beside me and then let out a deep exhale. I followed him to the parking lot where his driver was waiting for us. I sat down in the backseat with him and the driver started driving.
Sitting in the closed space with him made my skin tickle. Some faint memory of that night in the club reappeared in my memory. He had invited me to his room that night. What if I hadn't vomited that night? I might have lost my virginity to this evil tyrant.
"You know you overthink a lot, Miss. Anderson. You'll get wrinkles." My boss said.
"I checked your daily routine. The way you work, you'll get a heart attack sooner." I replied in a saccharine tone.
"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to." He said and I bit my lips to stop myself from smiling.
The rest of the drive went by silently and soon, we were inside the fancy restaurant. The receptionist led us to where Mr. Kevin Pollard was already waiting for us. Both of us sat down across him and Mr. Byer's asked the waiter to give the chef' specials list.
"Who is this lovely lady with you, Byers?" Pollard asked. He was a middle aged chubby guy with ginger hair and brown eyes.
"This is my new secretary. Ellie Anderson." He said, not so amusingly.
"Pleased to meet you." I said.
"Likewise, miss." He smiled.
I looked at all the five dishes on the chef's specials list and embarrassingly, couldn't pronounce even one. All these sounded like French dishes and the only french food I know was chocolate croissant.
"Ladies first, Miss. Anderson." Mr. Byers said.
"Uh—" I once again looked at the menu nervously. "I'll have this." I said to the waiter.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Byers asked. He looked amused this time as he checked my expressions.
"Pretty sure."
He shrugged and then both men told their orders. As they discussed their deal, I noted down all the minor details on my notebook. Their discussion went for some fifteen minutes after which the waiter returned with the food.
The waiter placed my plate in front of me and the sight of the abomination made my stomach churn in disgust.
What the hell is this?
"You do know you ordered a frog, right? It's a French's delicacy." Mr. Byers whispered to me.
"Of course I know. Why else would I order it?" I gulped, ignoring the churning of my stomach.
Both men engrossed themselves into eating while I continued staring at my plate suspiciously. I couldn't afford to make myself look like a fool in front of them so I cut a piece with a knife and put into my mouth.
Before I could taste it, my body rejected it by sending a strong wave of nausea. I excused myself and rushed to the bathroom we had passed by, spitting all the remains of the frog from my mouth.
I stayed in the bathroom for some time, dreading to go back. When I finally got courage after 5 minutes, I found Byers sitting alone, waiting for me.
Yes.
"Oh, it looks like I was late. I can't make you wait for me while I eat so let's go. I'll get something on the way." I said all in one breath.
"No need. I got your frog packed. You can eat it in the car. We don't want you to miss the delicacy, Miss. Anderson." He smirked and stood up, handing me the package. He knew I had made a mistake by ordering this and I don't know what pleasure it gave him to make me look like a fool.
"Thank you. Such a gentleman!" I feigned gratefulness.
"Shall we?" He walked.
"Sure." I gritted my teeth as I followed him.
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