“What about you?” Mallory asked her and made her snap from her Mallory-induced trance, “When did you first kiss a girl?”
“Why do you assume I like women?”
“Well, I’m sure I’ve been pretty obvious about my more-than-friendly intentions, and you’ve happily complied this far so, when did it happen?”
Mallory’s boldness swept Amanda off her feet again and again, but she found the courage to answer, “I was nineteen.”
After taking a sip of her coffee and noticing Mallory’s skeptical stare, Amanda explained herself.
“Look, not all of us look like that!” Amanda exclaimed, and the spontaneous compliment made Mallory choke a little, “I was timid, a little overweight and to this day I’m still so socially awkward.”
“I think you are a princess,” Mallory stated, “and if I had met you earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted a second in getting you into… this cozy coffee shop.”
It was safe to say Amanda was speechless; she didn’t even feel like she could breathe. Mallory was good with words, and that was an understatement. All Amanda wanted to do was get lost in the hypnotizing depth of Mallory’s green eyes.
Chapter 3
Monday arrived almost unexpectedly for Amanda. She spent half of the weekend overthinking reasons why a relationship with Mallory would never work. She had nearly convinced herself except for one detail. She had spent the other half of the weekend talking to Mallory on the phone and in result finding out a million reason why it should work. The problem, Amanda realized, was that somehow those reasons overlapped each other. For example, Mallory was the most beautiful woman on earth, probably. So that was a reason to go after her, don’t lose her chance, and do anything to be hers. Simultaneously, that also meant she was entirely out of reach for Amanda; she just didn’t deserve it, she couldn’t compete with the rest of the world to win Mallory’s heart. It became an epic battle between Amanda the hopeless romantic and Amanda the embodiment of insecurities and self-doubt.
At least, with her head so preoccupied, Amanda hadn’t spent much time worrying about her awful boss. It was only when she arrived at the office early on Monday morning that she was cruelly reminded of the coldness of Tom Langdon. Tom, who woke up craving a very special coffee from his favorite coffee shop in the world and some pastries of the same place that apparently couldn’t be found anywhere else. These items also were impossible to get delivered at the office, which meant Amanda had to go out and get them – go out under the wild, wild storm that broke through the sky that morning.
That’s how Amanda found herself talking to herself again, while standing under a bus stop, doing her best at avoiding the cold raindrops that leaked from the small roof. She was wrapped up in her coat, she was wearing a big frown, and she was carrying Tom’s delivery.
“Warm coffee. It’s the perfect day for warm coffee. Oh, Amanda fetch me my favorite coffee. I’m your boss, and I don’t drink coffee like a normal person. I need people to suffer for my coffee. Nothing like coffee and pain in the morning…”
A loud honk stopped Amanda mid-sentence.
“Hey! What are you doing there? Get in here!”
Mallory. That was none other than Mallory Langdon driving a stylish black sports car, shouting at Amanda through the rolled down window in a mixture of amusement and real worry.
“I – can’t! I’ll ruin your car!”
“I’ll buy another one! Get in!” Mallory laughed.
Who could have fought with that argument? Amanda ran straight towards the car, and she almost felt pain for the raindrops she splashed everywhere, but as soon as she felt the heating of the vehicle she sighed in relief. Plus, when she looked at her side and Mallory was there smiling affectionately at her, she felt in heaven.
“Thank you so much! God bless your car and its warmth,” she said.
“Not a problem, darling,” Mallory replied with a quick wink at Amanda as she continued to drive. “Anyway, what were you doing out in the rain? Going late for work?”
“Not really. Tom was in the mood for coffee and pastries from his favorite store in the world and nowhere else.”
“What? Don’t tell me he sent you out in the rain to get him a stupid coffee?”
Mallory sounded genuinely upset at that; she had been driving confidently and relaxed, but then her knuckles tightened slightly on the wheel. Amanda noticed a big black car going behind them, of course, Mallory could drive her own car, but she was still a billionaire worth protecting with a group of bodyguards.
“It’s not a big deal, it’s just – he’s a coffee freak,” Amanda laughed to lighten the mood, but Mallory didn’t seem content yet.
“Don’t compromise your dignity or your happiness for this job. It’s not that important.”
“But it kind of is, though, for me. It is kind of a big deal, this job.”
“Well, if he oversteps his boundaries, if he ever goes too far and makes you feel bad, you come to me, okay?”
Amanda’s heart warmed at the concern she could feel coming from Mallory’s words. Simultaneously, though, her heart sped up at the firm tone which Mallory used. She’d never be able to deny anything to that woman, Amanda figured out.
“Sure thing, boss,” she replied, playfully.
“I’m not your direct boss,” Mallory told her, finally a smile was back in those beautiful lips. “Not unless I inherit the company.”
“What would you do then?”
“I was thinking of asking a beautiful woman out on a date. But I figured I could do that right now.” Mallory looked beside her and was pleased to find Amanda purposely blushing; she took that as a yes. “Tomorrow after work?”
Chapter 4
For the next month or so, Amanda felt like she was part of a dream. At times, she genuinely started to think she might have been dreaming – that was the Mallory effect, she called it. It was the little things, mostly, good morning texts and late-night phone calls. It was the thrill of maybe crossing paths during the day or riding the elevator together and especially enjoying their beaks together. Amanda quickly realized that Mallory, unlike her oh still so annoying brother, actually went to the office to get some work done.
Since that first date, things escalated beautifully and quickly. They continued the coffee dates, they went to the cinema, for dinner, walks in the park, and even thirty minutes together to eat ice cream was enough to keep them both overjoyed for an entire day. Often, Amanda could almost forget she was dating a billionaire woman. But then she’d remember that when they walked in the park, there was always a bodyguard or two around. Or that time they had dinner in the most luxurious of restaurants. Or the fact that for the first two weeks Mallory always appeared in a different expensive car. However, Mallory’s gestures were thoughtful and delicate. Even though she more than easily could, she wasn’t about extravagant gestures to win Amanda’s heart. She bought her flowers; maybe just one red rose, she dropped cute little letters on Amanda’s desk; she laughed loudly at Amanda’s jokes, especially when they weren’t perfect. She didn’t suspect that she owned Amanda’s heart since the very first sight.
The best part, Amanda thought, was when she’d spend the nights at Mallory’s apartment – Mallory’s huge, very impressive apartment. The place was modern and surprisingly cozy for it. Mallory was a lover of art, but she didn’t have her walls covered by famous names, instead, she enjoyed going out and looking by herself at the paintings of local artists, besides a painting or two that she had admitted of making herself but felt weird about hanging on her own home.
“So, what movie do you want to watch?” Mallory asked as she moved to the kitchen to grab them some drinks.
Of course, Mallory stumbled with one of her own chairs.
“I don’t know, I think staring at you is way more entertaining,” Amanda laughed.
“Ha, ha, hilarious,” Mallory said as she returned to the sofa, “now answer my question, movies, or do you rather watch a TV show? You’re staying the night, right?�
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Still, Amanda couldn’t just answer Mallory’s question. Turns out she meant it, when she said she could just stare at the other woman and be content. It wasn’t that Mallory ever came off as cold or distant from the world in her personality, it wasn’t intentional. But when she walked the hallways of the company, with her head held high, her combed hair shinning, her expression firm and determined, wearing tailored suits that cost more than the salary of most employees, knowing she was the owner of the ground she walked, well, there was something undoubtedly intimidating about Mallory, something almost goddess-like. However, although that was pretty distracting for Amanda, what she really found most captivating was Mallory in the comfort of her own home. Mallory without the contact lenses and wearing regular glasses that constantly slipped down her nose and she had to fix. Mallory, wearing the softest sweatpants and flannel shirts with paint stains everywhere, instead of those tight suits. Mallory with her hair turned into a soft mess and her smile honest and relaxed.
“So?” she prompted, breaking Amanda off the spell.
“A movie. And yes, I’m staying tonight.”
“Well, then, kiss me, would you?”
There was no need to ask twice. Mighty billionaire or soft painter, Mallory Langdon was Amanda’s greatest weakness, and the kisses they shared she wouldn’t change for the world.
The Langdon siblings were excellent, it seemed, at keeping Amanda on her toes. On one side, there was Mallory, with her dazzling looks and charming personality, who effortlessly took up the most space in Amanda’s mind throughout the day. On the other side, however, there was Tom, in all her irritating, inconvenient glory. Amanda was getting used to the rhythm of working for x showed up to talk to her brother. Mallory smiled and winked at Amanda as she his job, generally not working too hard. There was, though, a small change that Amanda started noticing one day.
“Mr. Langdon,” she called out from the door, peaking into the massive office in which she was finally allowed to step in briefly if necessary, and “I need you to sign this report of the production department, sir.”
“What? What’s that? Come on, bring it here,” Tom signaled her forward and hastily took the report from her hand and only scanned through it for a second or two, “I don’t think so, Miss Young. This is for my sister, you know? She’s a viper. I’m not going to do a thing for her. I’ll sign this next week, maybe.”
Amanda was thrown off by the way he spoke of his own sister. Mallory, a viper? That seemed impossible! And it was even worse when, exactly a week later, Mallory herself showed up to talk to her brother. Mallory smiled and winked at Amanda as she passed her desk, as usual. But Amanda could tell, from the tense shoulder and the force of her steps that Mallory was upset and the meeting had not been a success. Her theory was further proved correct when Tom grumpily called her into his office and started passing her a small mountain of signed papers.
“Miss Young, I need you to complete the details on these for me, make a copy of each and I don’t know, archive them.”
“Daddy needs this information urgently, and he wouldn’t want to know his son disappointed him,” he said in a mocking tone, imitating a small girl, meaning to sound like Mallory.
Amanda noticed two interesting things. One, how come a man of his age was really talking like that, mocking his sister with such silliness. Two, did he know that Mallory did not sound like a five-year-old, at all? If anything, Amanda thought, Mallory inspired much more respect than this man did.
“I’m the older brother, Miss Young, did you know that? This company is mine. It’s my right! It’s mine, and she wants it! She wants to take what’s mine! My entire company!” he complained.
“She wants to ruin me!” he continued to exclaim even as Amanda was leaving the office.
It was an extraordinary interaction, and a strange relationship those two had, that was for sure. Because it wasn’t like Mallory was too far behind in talking ill of her brother.
“Did you know he’s basically alive because of his assistants?” Mallory asked Amanda one day as they lounged in one of her sofas. “He can’t do anything by himself. It’s a miracle our father hasn’t noticed that Tom’s a puppet in his charge.”
“Well, he’s an ugly puppy, that’s for sure,” Amanda commented, as she took a sip of her drink and with her other hand she rubbed her temples, “and one that knows how to give me a headache.”
“Oh, another bad day?” Mallory asked, suddenly softened by the sight of Amanda in pain. “Babe, I can’t stand you having a hard time because of him. Have you ever considered quitting, if it becomes too much?”
“Mallory, you know I can’t do that. This job is precious for me.”
“He doesn’t deserve you,” Mallory sentenced. Her hand continued to rub Amanda’s back, and she started showering Amanda’s face with tender kissed to make her feel better.
What Amanda didn’t ever expect, however, was being dragged into the personal and professional issues of the siblings.
Chapter 5
It was a Friday, the end of a week and the end of another month at Langdon Inc. Now, that was a huge company, well, it was run by billionaires, to say the least. To stay on top of the entire world market and to keep employees on their toes, everyone, from the newly contracted janitor to the two directors and most important people of the company, there was an extreme sense of competitiveness. There were rows and rows of employees of the month, prizes and awards, recognition for divisions and branches of the company, and, the most awaited announcement each month, which department was the best, sales or production. Despite the clear advantage of the department lead by the capable Mallory Langdon, turns out that her brother had a very competent team on his side and he wasn’t that bad at choosing who should do his job for him. So, even if the production department was used to winning, it wasn’t a completely given result.
That’s why it wasn’t completely unbelieve that that month, the department sales won the competition. All the employees clapped politely, the executives of the department brought out champagne, Tom acted like he had won the presidency, and everyone congratulated Amanda, kind of knowing it was mostly thanks to her. The only problem with her victory was that standing in front of her was Mallory, defeated and reacting immensely graceful about it. No one but Amanda was able to notice the tension on her shoulders and the tightness of her smile. But there was nothing she could have done then, Amanda smiled, shook hands and received the glass of champagne offered by her boss on the first day he had been genuinely pleasant.
As it had become part of their routine, Mallory and Amanda left the office together, and Mallory would drive Amanda home. Often, on the weekends, they’d spent their night together, but this time Mallory hadn’t asked, and Amanda didn’t know why but she didn’t find the courage to ask. The tension hadn’t lifted from Mallory’s entire body, though that didn’t stop her from praising Amanda’s job as earnestly as usual.
“I’m proud of you, you know?” she said, her left hand effortlessly working on the steering wheel and her right hand interlocked with Amanda’s. “This has to be the best performance of the sales department.”
“Thank you,” Amanda whispered as she blushed.
“Oh don’t be shy!” Mallory laughed fondly, “You know this is all yours. It’s certainly not Tom’s achievement.”
“You know what? This is almost the perfect job.” Amanda said, “If it wasn’t for Tom, this would all be perfect.”
“Is he still bothering you too much?”
“No, not much. Sometimes he makes me want to set the building on fire, or him, or me.”
Amanda laughed, but unknowingly, her answer only worsened Mallory’s state.
“I hate the idea of him making your life miserable.”
“My life’s fine. He just makes me hate the world a ninety percent of the time,” Amanda continued to laugh, bubbly with all the champagne.
“You don’t even notice, do you?” Mallory said, she didn’t raise her voice at all
, but the change in her was rather obvious. “He’s always been like that. He thrives on making his employees suffer. He takes the best out of each of them, and as soon as they’re useless for him or if they start getting too much recognition, he just throws them away.”
This time Amanda laugh was nervous, “what are you talking about?” she inquired.
“Amanda, you’re on shaky grounds. Tom is… awful. He plays dirty games. He’s possessive with the company and with his power. He doesn’t stand threats, and he’s like a dog pissing everywhere just to claim what’s his.”
“Now you’re not making any sense, Mallory.”
Amanda had started to frown, and she had crossed her arms defensively on her chest, leaving Mallory’s hand hanging between them.
“He’s my brother, Amanda, I know him. Just – take my advice, okay? Two tips. One, if he starts acting too nice, be worried.” Despite Mallory’s genuinely warning tone, Amanda scoffed, she thought the other woman was acting over dramatic.
“Two,” Mallory continued, “Don’t let him be the one to hurt you. You should quit before he…”
“Oh? Quit? I should quit? Do you really think that, Mallory?” Amanda asked, suddenly losing her patience and taking Mallory by surprise, “should I quit for you or for me?”
“What?”
“You heard me! Are you jealous because Tom and I are successfully working together?”
“Together?” Mallory scoffed. “You’re not working with him. He’s making you work for him, do his work for him.”
“Whatever. I think you’re trying to use me against me.”
“What? Amanda, you are so completely wrong.”
At that moment, Amanda finally realized they had been parked in front of her house for a while, “I’m leaving.”
“If you ever need me, call me,” Mallory called out.
“I won’t! Goodbye, Mallory,” Amanda said, as she snapped closed the door of Mallory’s car and walked away.
You Should Believe Her Page 2