"Morning, May, you are very early today!" Natalia shouted as if MJ was deaf. MJ held her head and hurried to the private elevator. She was seriously not in the mood for anything today, not even Logan's friendly secretary.
"What is wrong with her? You know, for a lawyer, she's rather here too much." Demi gawked at her. Natalia just looked at her and shrugged.
Minutes after May arrived, Logan walked into the building, looking rather too happy on a Saturday. For someone who was all about hard work and profit, Logan was quite looking forward to this half day. "Morning, Natalia." Logan greeted cheerfully. "Morning, Demi."
"Morning, Mr Parker." Natalia greeted with narrowed eyes.
"Oh! Morning, Mr Parker." Demi greeted with furrowed eyebrows and went back to whatever she was doing. Demi was one of the few people who did not care whether Logan was on cloud nine or cloud eleven hundred; she simply did not care.
"Where is Fredah?" He raised an eyebrow at Natalia, and as if on cue; Mosetsana rushed into the building and literally ran to the desk.
"Here, here, Sir!" Mosetsana said breathlessly while walking around the desk. "Morning, Mr Parker." She greeted as she placed her files on the desk.
"Morning, Mosetsana." Logan greeted cheerfully, taking Mosetsana by surprise. "Have a great day, ladies!" He said and walked away.
Mosetsana looked at Natalia for an explanation and laughed. "He finally said my name." Mosetsana squealed, and Natalia smiled and shook her head.
"Just be glad he's in a good mood and didn't fire your late ass." Demi said nastily and left the reception area.
Mosetsana looked at Natalia again. "Don't ask." She said, flipping her off gently. "I don't know what is happening with the people here. May looks like she was hit by a bus, Demi is in a shit mood, and Logan is in a good mood, busy flashing goofy smiles at everyone." Natalia retorted, and they laughed before Mosetsana asked who May was.
"Sonya's lawyer." Natalia said as she watched Logan chatting with a group of interns. She was waiting for him to finish so that she could approach him before he went to his office, because he had a lot of explaining to do.
"Hmm...she's becoming quite familiar with this place for a lawyer, but anyway I don't know how she looks, but Mr Parker and Demi, you'd swear they swapped faces today." Mosetsana added, and they laughed again.
Demi walked towards the desk, gave them cold glares, and left. The two receptionists laughed as they watched her walk away, and just then, Logan walked away from the interns to his elevator. Natalia excused herself and rushed to him just before the elevator closed, and she stepped in and stood next to him. He did not say anything, but he still had that victorious smile on his face.
"You look unusually happy this morning." She said, and Logan turned to her with her smile before he faced the front again.
"That's because I am happy." He chirped happily, and Natalia gritted her teeth in irritation. He was not going to say anything until she asked.
"Does this have anything to do with our damsel in distress?" She asked, and Logan cast her a quick glance.
"Yes, it looks like our damsel in distress is going to be staying for a while longer." He said with a smirk.
"Long enough for you to make her pay for humiliating you?" She asked just as the elevator opened, but she closed it before Logan could step out, which he did not seem to mind at all.
Logan turned to look at Natalia with a hard face that was not exactly meant for her and he said in a firm voice, "Long enough to make her pay for humiliating and deceiving me."
Natalia gave him a hard and long look as if weighing the seriousness of his words before she gave a firm nod. "Good." She said firmly and looked away. The elevator stopped on the ground floor and she stepped out and walked away without looking back.
Logan made sure to step out this time when he arrived on the last floor. He walked into his office and placed his suitcase on the desk. He walked around his desk, took off his jacket, and sat down. Only when he looked up did he spot May sitting on the couch, and he smirked proudly. "You are quite early today." He said.
"Yes." MJ answered lazily.
"How impressive." He said sarcastically. "Miss Smith, where is my coffee?" He asked sternly, a smirk threatening to break on his face.
"Mr Parker." She sighed and laid her head back on the couch while massaging her temples. "Did you give me your coffee?" She gritted.
"Go to the kitchen and get me my coffee. Now." He ordered, and MJ threw him a glare before she got up and left his office without another word. Logan smirked and sat down on his chair. "This is going to be fun." However, his happiness was short lived when MJ walked back in seconds later without his coffee. "Is there a problem?" He asked, not taking his eyes from his blank screen.
"Yes, would you be so kind to show me where the kitchen is." She said in a sickly sweet voice.
Logan froze and looked at her with a gaze that would have sent anyone on their heels, but she just raised an expectant eyebrow at him. She had practically just ordered him to get his ass up and show her the kitchen, and here he was, thinking that he had her where he wanted her. Looked like it was time for the second part of his plan. "Go and ask Lola downstairs, she will show you where the kitchen is." He said with his eyes glued to the screen once again.
"Who is Lola?" MJ asked.
Logan looked up at her for an explanation but it never came because MJ was also waiting for an explanation. It was working, and soon, he would put his plan into action.
"You don't know who Lola is?" Logan asked calmly, and she crossed her arms. "Okay, do you know Mosetsana?" MJ just stared at him, a scowl on her face; how was she supposed to know all these people when he did not even introduce her? "Demi?" He asked again, but she just sighed. "Who do you know?" He asked out of irritation.
"What do you think?" MJ snapped, and Logan heaved a sigh and got up from his chair.
"Come with me." He commanded, walking out of his office. MJ followed him into the elevator and they went to the ground floor. MJ did not know what was happening because she was still suffering from a hangover. As soon as they arrived on the ground floor, Logan clapped his hands to gain the attention of his staff. "Everyone, may I have your attention for a second." He said in an authoritative voice, and before MJ could comprehend what was happening, people started to gather around and in no time, there was a huge crowd. Realising what Logan was doing, she muttered a string of curses under her breath and gritted her teeth. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to my new PA." Logan said and placed his hand on her back, pushing her forward so that everyone could see her. "Meet May Smith, she's the sister of Sonya Smith, and she will be with us for a few weeks."
A loud applause broke out, and MJ maintained all the composure and bravery she had even though this was a huge blow to her ego. She was MJ Billings, but they did not know that. To them, she was May Smith - a PA. "Make her feel at home." He said and turned to Natalia who was wearing a proud smirk on her face. "Natalia, you will be her tour guide for the day. Show her around the building and take her to her office later on." He said, and understanding passed between the two of them.
"Yes, Mr Parker." Natalia responded firmly with her Indian accent, and Logan gave a curt nod and turned his attention to the other employees.
"Very well then, you may get back to work." He ordered, and the crowd dispensed as everyone left to their respective working stations, leaving him with MJ and Natalia. He nodded at them and left to his office, leaving MJ in the hands of Natalia.
"Miss Smith, please follow me this way." Natalia said and walked towards a double door.
MJ followed her and walked by her side. "Call me May." She said. If she was going to be stuck in this hellhole for a while, why not get informal with Logan's most trusted secretary? Maybe she would help her get an insight into Logan's plans.
"Noted. I'm Natalia." She smiled at her.
"Pleased to meet you, Natalia." MJ replied sarcastically. Why was she acting like they were meeting for the first time when they met in Logan's office already?
"Likewise." Natalia smirked as they walked into the double doors. "So, May, this is the staff kitchen. Well, it's more like a DIY cafeteria, but anyway..." Natalia said, holding the door open for MJ.
"You have a kitchen with all kitchen appliances?" Surprised, MJ asked.
"Yes, we were supposed to have a cook, but come on; this is a workplace not a restaurant. Carmen was so eager to have a cook, she thought that being the boss's 'it' girl, then he would go with whatever she said, but the other staff and I argued against it." Natalia explained. "So, like I said, this is the staff kitchen; there is a private kitchen on the last floor, but it is for the boss." She clarified, and MJ nodded as they walked out of the kitchen. "The bathrooms are that way." Natalia pointed to the left of the reception desk. "Come this way." She said and led MJ to the private elevator, and they went to the last floor.
"Is that what you call a tour? Taking me to the kitchen, showing me the bathroom with your finger and now you are taking me to the last floor - what about the other floors?" MJ asked although she was not in the mood for all those things she just mentioned, she had to point out that Natalia was a bad tour guide, and what better way to point it out than pointing out what she could have done?
"I thought you were getting bored; you want to tell me you want to go through all 40 floors? It's not like you will be using the other floors." Natalia chuckled.
"What do you mean?" MJ asked.
They stepped out of the elevator and walked to a door a bit far from Logan's office. Natalia opened the door and they walked in. "Because your office is right here." Natalia finally answered. MJ's eyes widened before she narrowed them to a fraction as she zeroed on everything suspiciously.
The sight in front of her was quite tempting; a spaced office with all the office equipment she would ever need. The office was all white, from the desk, chair, cupboards, printers, fax machine, the wall, the ceiling, and the floor. It was quite like Logan's, but a bit smaller and suitable for an executive member, not a PA.
"Fancy." She muttered dryly.
"You are so lucky, May; I still can't believe he gave you an office." Natalia said dreamily and MJ fought the urge to slap the truth out of her; the bitch obviously knew this was going to happen because it was part of the plan. His plan.
"What do you mean? Didn't Sonya have an office?" MJ asked, playing along.
Natalia shook her head. "No. Well, yes. She did, but she shared with Carmen downstairs. She didn't have her own office a few doors away from the boss." Natalia said eyeing MJ suspiciously, but MJ just rolled her eyes. She could not help but notice that the name 'Carmen' kept coming up, but she pushed it aside.
"Well, what can I say?" MJ shrugged and sat down behind her new desk.
"People are already talking. You are the talk of the town. I mean, he has never done that for anyone, not even Carmen." Natalia said excitedly.
"What are you talking about?" MJ asked in a bored tone.
"You don't see it? Girl, first he introduced you to the staff, and then he gave you an office like his on the same floor as he is!" Natalia exclaimed. MJ just held her head and gave the woman a once over. Had anyone ever told her that she was loud? "May, Mr Parker has never introduced anyone to the staff before. I mean, he has never even introduced Carmen as his girlfriend." She said and headed for the door. She turned around and looked at MJ as if she was going to regret what she was about to say. "You must really mean a lot to him." She said, and MJ shrugged and closed her eyes and waited until Natalia left.
MJ opened one eye to check if she was gone, and then she sat up straight, took out her phone and dialled Liam's numbers. "Liam, we need to talk."