Side Note: Picture above is of Chace Crawford who plays Jeremiah Copper in the story.
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Monday, 11:55pm. 30th April.
"This is... completely stupid. I'm having second thoughts." I said as I stared at the handcuffs though they have a longer chain than the usual police issued ones. A slit of glass was in the middle of each. As it turned out, Marvin thought about this plan in particularly unsettling detail. The cuffs were activated through an external source and they even counted down the one hour timeout when taken.
"I thought you worshipped my dad." Ezra said with a hint of a smile on his face that just made me glare at him.
"Shut up."
"Alright, let's get these tethers on." Clive Owen's friend said and I looked at the ring of plastic with a horrified expression.
"It won't kill you," Ezra scoffed and I huffed out a breath in agitation.
"It will tie me to the Devil, that's murder enough." I replied and it was then his turn to be annoyed.
Clive's techie friend put the tethers on Ezra and mine's left ankles and it felt like a foreign weight. I turned my leg however I could and stared at the foreign material until I got used to it. Not so surprisingly, I don't think I'll ever get used to it.
"Feels like a house arrest... Devil included." I looked over to Ezra when I mentioned and stressed on the word 'devil'. He narrowed his eyes at me and I quickly looked the other way.
"And now for the handcuffs." The techie said in excitement and held it in the air for some dramatic effect he was trying to achieve. I could almost envision a beam of light from the heavens and angels singing in the background. Wait... what the hell am I thinking? I must already be going mad and I haven't even been cuffed yet.
"Oh, I'm left-handed." I said when he tried to put it on my dominant hand. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Just one person out of the 10%" I shrugged and he put the cuff on my right hand. Gosh, the metal was so cold and weird and I wanted out! Why Marvin? Why me? Couldn't you find some bimbo who'd treat Ezra like the King of the World?
The other cuff landed around Ezra's left hand and the only thing tying it all together was the chain in between us.
"12am, perfect." Clive checked his watch. "Well, good night Mr. Copper, miss Penn." He shook our hands and a maid helped him and his friend out of the house. I raised my hand to study the metal in detail. A simple yet strong silver chain that might just be the death of me.
"I have a meeting tomorrow; I suggest we go to sleep." Ezra said.
"Screw you." I turned to face away from him.
"You don't have to be such a drama queen."
"Mainly acting like all your other whores, Ezra." Out of nowhere and with no warning, he yanked on the chain and I stumbled backwards, the metal cutting into my skin.
"The women I've been with love to be with me, Clara, and they act nothing like you." He looked down at me with an angry expression. "Now can I just get some sleep?" We turned at the same time and when he moved right, I moved left, only to get pulled back together because of the chain.
"Ugh!" I cried out in frustration.
"Chill, Cookie. We don't want your head exploding now do we?" He pushed back my hair from my face in what would normally seem like a sweet gesture. But everything that ever had to do with Ezra Copper was cold and insulting. We ended up climbing from the base of the bed and somehow managed to get under the sheets.
I don't know if Ezra was just faking it or if he really was sleeping but I just can't bring myself to close my eyes. In one day, I had changed my residency to the bed I slept in and I hated every bit of it.
It was 2:30am and I was still silently tossing in bed while Ezra slept like a baby on my right. His left hand was so close to my right in between us. If I just moved a millimetre, they would be touching. The moonlight made the chain sparkle. One month. 30 days. How was I going to manage? I could always kill him...
Now that's stupidity, Clara. My mind retorted. The best thing you can do is make his life a living hell for this month. The things I could do... I smiled at the thought.
I stayed awake a little while longer but finally succumbing to sleep at 4am.
* * *
Tuesday, 01st May, 2015. Day 1.
"What the hell?" I gasped and jolted out of bed. Water ran down my face and hair in tiny rivulets.
"You sleep like the dead." Ezra towered over me with a now empty glass in his hand.
"You... what?" I looked down, the front of my shirt is wet. "Why the hell did you do that?" I glared at him. The one word flashing in my mind was 'KILL'.
"I have a meeting, get up." He ordered and I craned my head to the side to look at the clock.
"It is 6 bloody am! What wretched inhuman wakes up at 6am?!" I fell back on my pillow and closed my eyes, trying to dismiss Ezra as I reached out to get my sleep back. There was no way I could wake up so soon. Not with just two hours of sleep against two days of hell.
"Unlike you, some of us work for a living."
"I work too you know!" I said in a gruff voice. Ignorance would get me nowhere.
"You waste time." He said instead and tried pulling me out of bed.
"God, Ezra! It's just the first day and you're making my live a living hell."
"Mess with the devil, hun," he winked, "that's what you get." With a final tug, he threw me off the bed and stood in front of me.
Ezra's bathroom could be considered, no wait, scratch that, waa bigger than my bedroom. Or maybe even my whole apartment. Two washbasins in a granite counter with a huge mirror on the wall. In the middle of the room was a bathtub and to the far right corner, there was a huge room just for a shower! The commode waa to the left. One wall was made of black slabs while the rest were made of white ones. The shower had the black one in the background and its surrounding three walls were made of glass. I guess you can fit around four people in there comfortably.
We brushed our teeth side by side, the chain dangling between us as a silent reminder of our fate. I still couldn't get used to the cuffs or the ankle monitor. They gave me a reason to fiddle with the devices and even scratch my skin. There was no way I would be able to function on two hours of sleep, especially after a day like yesterday. I might just fall asleep during the meeting and as usual, I knew exactly how Ezra would react.
Once we finished brushing, Ezra got his clothes from his closet before I got mine from my suitcase. He then took out his phone and texted. A second later, the handcuffs beeped and it unlocked.
"Fancy." I muttered sarcastically.
"We still have to stay-"
"I know Ezra." I cut him off.
In the shower, I turned the hot water on first to fog up the glass.
"Turn around." I said when it was unclear enough. Ezra smirked at me knowingly and turned, facing away from the shower. "You better not turn back, Ezra, or I'm going to..." I trailed off, because I didn't know what to say. I retreated into the shower and adjusted the temperature of the water. Our radius was so small that it wasn't fair. Ezra was just a step away from the shower doors. Why couldn't the damn distance be more?
When I was done, I opened the doors slightly and felt my hand around for the robe. There were hooks attached to one of the glass walls for which I am grateful for. I do remember hanging a robe but I just couldn't find it... Ezra.
"Ezra, give me my damn robe."
"Or what?" He replied in that cheeky ass voice of his.
"Or you are going to be late for your meeting." I popped my head out to give him a glare. It seemed like I had given him more glares in the last 24 hours than I had in the past year. I might just get wrinkles in my early twenties.
"Fair point." He remarked and handed it over. Once I wore it and tied the sash securely, I stepped out. My jaw dropped when I saw the view waiting for me. Ezra was just in his boxers and oh my, those perfectly sculpted abs and the v and the...
"Like what you see?" Ezra asked and I looked up to find him smirking. Shit. He caught me yet again. I stood straighter and looked away to hide my blush.
I huffed out a breath in agitation. "Shut up, Ezra." I crossed my arms on my chest and looked at the floor like it was a difficult puzzle. He brushed against my side when he got into the shower and a bolt of electricity shot up my arm.
"See you in a bit, my Blushing Tomato," he winked and closed the glass door. Fucking hell... I slapped my hand on my forehead. I have got to stop ogling from now on! God, Clara, you call him the devil and yet... ugh!
When I heard the shower turn off, I turned just in time to see Ezra in all his naked glory and Oh My God.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I quickly coverer my eyes with my hand and squeezed my eyes shut. Ezra chuckled and I felt more naked than him in that moment.
"Just getting my towel." He brushed against me yet again but this time, he held my arm and pulled me along with him.
"What are you doing, Ezra?"
"Have to stay close to you remember?" He said but I knew so well that the towel was just hanging on the hook. "You can look now," he said and I peeked from in between my fingers, just to be sure. When I believed it was safe, I put my hand down. Water dripped from the tips of his hair and ran down his bare chest. And if you wouldn't call him hot, you, my friends, are not normal.
"Bastard." I muttered under my breath and turned around to walk away.
"Only for you, Tomato." Ezra followed behind me and I let out an agitated breath. It's only 30 days, Clara, you can do it, can't you?
I stood next to the closed bathroom door quietly while I waited for Ezra to finish dressing up. When he knocked, I opened the door and took in the sight of him in a black suit. Delicious, might I add. Then, I stepped out and he went in and closed the door. If this is the daily routine to get showered and dressed then I'd rather just shoot myself.
Frowning, I put on my undergarments and once I was halfway through putting on my dress, Ezra opened the door.
"Ezra!" I screamed and scrambled to put the dress on completely. He was simply expressionless except for the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
"I am going to be late. Can't you hurry up?"
"Excuse me? I only take five minutes." I snapped and faced him as my hands worked on pulling up the zip behind my back. He then stepped closer and turned me around. Zipping me up in a second, he took me over to the bed and put us both in the handcuffs. "We could have just taken the one hour timeout." I said but without a word, he grabbed my purse and ushered me out the door.
"The meeting might take more than one hour. I don't want to risk losing the estate because you were a second late." He said once we were down the grand staircase.
In the lobby, all the housekeepers wished him good morning but he ignored them and led me out the door.
"You could at least be nice to them." I remarked but he put me in the car without a word.
"They aren't worth my time."
"That's mean." I scrunched my face up in disgust.
"Get used to it." He replied and shut the door on my face.
* * *
"Good morning, Mr. Copper." The personal assistant, I think, greeted Ezra once we were on his floor. 50th, to be exact.
"Good morning, Sylvia." I stared, stunned when he wished and wait, there's more, he smiled! Like an actual full on heart melting smile! And despite the miracle and he being the reincarnation of Lucifer, I still felt a pang of jealousy. Maybe this was the side effect of two hours of sleep.
"The partners from the Browning Corporation have just arrived. Conference room 3." She said as I took in her appearance. She was wearing an emerald green dress with black heels and her blonde hair was in a neat chignon. Her smile was nothing evil of the sorts. In fact, it seemed genuine and she radiated a wonderful persona. "Hello, you must be Miss Clara Penn." She shook my hand and for a second, I didn't get how she knew my name until she silently gave me the answer by looking down at the dangling chain between Ezra and me. "Sylvia Green. I'm just a call away if you need me."
I felt a bit silly now. Sylvia seemed like a wonderful woman and here I was, throwing daggers at her just because of one look. Thinking of starting fresh, I gave her my most genuine smile back and said thank you.
"Now that introductions are done, let's go." Ezra began walking and I ran to catch up, the cuff biting into my skin. If Ezra kept this up, I might have a sore wrist by the end of the day.
"Stop, Ezra." I said, forcefully pinning my heels to the ground. He didn't listen but only when the chain was pulled to its maximum length, did he turn around when he faced resistance.
"I don't have time for your drama, Clara, let's go." He said dully.
"If you're going to be a grumpy old prick then I'd rather have my timeout." I crossed my arms to press the fact that I am not going to budge. His jaw tightened and I could tell he was trying to control his anger. If there was one thing Ezra Copper hated, it was being late for an important event. He slowly stalked towards me like a lion to his prey. I swallowed and froze in place.
He walked past me and turned to stand behind me. I went to turn to face him but the hand on my shoulder stopped me. "Ezra...?" I slowly whispered when he put my hair to one side to expose my neck. What was he doing? Is he going to... no, he wouldn't possibly kiss me.
I gasped when out of nowhere and with no warning, he lifted me up bridal style. The chain dug into my back and cut into my wrist. "Ezra! Put me down! What the hell are you doing?!" I struggled but it was of no use. I heard Sylvia laugh in the background and it made my cheeks flame red. "Damn it, Ezra, we are at your office! Put. Me. Down!" My cries of protest were ignored as well and I sought to hide myself in his chest when he pushed open the doors of the conference room.
All the chatter in the room stopped immediately and I could feel all eyes on us. Then, Ezra rubbed salt in the wounds created by shame and let go of me without any warning. I fell but the best part? He fell with me because of the chain. And there we were, a CEO and an ordinary woman in a messy heap on the floor. And then came the worst part, the other men in the room began laughing.
By latching on to all things possible from Ezra's shirt to his hair, I managed to stand up and he followed with me. It took a glare from him to shut them all up but there was still one person who continued laughing and that person, to my horror, was Jeremiah Copper.
"Congratulations for the rather funny crossing of the threshold, bro. When's the honeymoon?" Jeremiah asked, still laughing. I blushed even redder if that was possible and I could feel the anger radiating out of Ezra. He held my hand and pulled me to the two chairs at the head of the table. Once Jeremiah finally managed to grab a hold of himself, the meeting began.
"I want the timeout." I whispered five minutes into the presentation. It was boring, dull and I couldn't understand one sentence being said.
"No." Ezra said in that commanding tone of his.
I glared at him. "Embarrassing me in front of your colleagues wasn't enough?"
"Shut up and sit, Clara." He said and I shrunn back into my seat. I was on the verge of tears then. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the embarrassing episode or just everything that had to do with Ezra Copper.
* * *
"Wake up, Clara." I felt a nudge on my shoulder and blinked my eyes open. It was only after I saw the empty conference room that I realized I fell asleep. "Here." Ezra handed me a glass of water and I accepted it gratefully.
"What else do you have to do?" I askee once I drank most of the water.
"I have work to do in my office. Do you want the break now or later?" I thought about it for a long time. If I take the break now, I could get some fresh air but my hour would be wasted at... I looked at the time and found it to be only 9am. I still had the rest of the day.
"Later." I said, deciding to keep my break hour for a more important time of day. Ezra nodded and we both stood up. He lead me out and to his office, all the while keeping a palm on my lower back.
When he opened the large mahogany doors, I stood stunned as I took in his office.
An expanse of white tiles covered the floors. The walls were stark white with abstract paintings as the only decoration. The right side of the room had a soft blue carpet you could sink your toes into with a glass coffee table and it was surrounded by white and grey leather couches with blue, decorative square pillows. The left side of the room had floor to ceiling windows that showed an amazing view of the Seattle skyline and on this same side was Ezra's dark wood desk with a black chair on his side and vanilla seats on the other. Overall, his office was meant to intimidate. And intimidate it did.
I wanted to compliment it so badly but I decided against it and let Ezra work.
We spent the rest of the morning at his desk. I went from reading newspapers and magazines to just day dreaming while Ezra worked on some documents and his Apple computer. Sylvia kindly got me some fruits and coffee but Ezra passed on what could have been his breakfast.
For lunch, we got Chinese delivered to the office as we didn't want to be seen together in public or showcase our gear like we just broke out of prison. By the end of the day, I was extremely tired and bored and Praise the Lord! Ezra had more work to do.
"I'll be taking my time off now." I said when it was 9pm.
"Don't. This will take more than an hour." Ezra pointed at the stack of files on his desk.
"All of your work takes more than an hour, Ezra! I'm done acting like a sitting duck! My butt hurts and so does my head and I didn't work today and I just want some sleep!" It felt good getting that out but the throbbing in my head didn't stop. I could see the wheels in his head turn before he finally spoke.
"You can sleep on the couch." He jerked his head towards the leather couches and I got even more irritated.
"How about you stop acting so selfish now?" I almost jumped on him and savagely searched his pockets for his phone. Clicking the message icon, I went straight to Ezra's recent message to David, Clive's techie friend and asked for the time off. Within seconds, the handcuffs beeped and both the cuffs began the one hour countdown.
"Clara, get back here." Ezra said from behind me but I ran out the doors the moment I was free. I took a cab and went straight to Ezra's mansion. Throwing my heels and my purse somewhere, I went straight to a guest bedroom, dove head first into the bed and let the soft pillows silence my sobs.