by Sam Crescent
“Mr. Brown, a pleasure to meet you.” She didn’t have a clue what to say anymore. Words failed her. What could she say to the man who not only owned the company but whom she had been complaining to?
Her life sucked. There was no other word for it. All it seemed right now was that she did nothing but complain, and she hated that. She hated complaining, and sounding like a real pain in the ass. She never used to complain until everyone started telling her that she needed to figure out what she wanted, and get a life. It was all too much for her to think about at times.
She was more of a go with the flow kind of girl.
He chuckled. “Why don’t you go straight through to my office?”
Nodding her head, she tried to ignore the pounding of her heart. Entering his office, she went to the chair opposite the window, and hoped she didn’t make a complete fool of herself. “I’m really sorry about all of that back at the elevator. I never usually, you know, talk about everything.”
He smiled, and she noticed that he was a particularly handsome man with short, messy blond hair, green eyes, and his skin looked flawless. From how well the suit fit, she knew he was muscular, and big. He was much taller than she was, and as they had been standing in the elevator, she was struck how much bigger than her he actually was.
Still, she never succumbed to men. Just thinking about that little list was enough to turn her off, and she forced a smile to her lips, and waited.
“I found it utterly refreshing to hear your thoughts. You’ve graduated, right, and you’re packing up your dorm?”
“Yes, I am. I’m due to move into an apartment that is not too far from here. My roommate Freya said that this would be a good start for me.” She sucked in her lips. Stop being a brain-dead loser. This is your job interview, and your boss doesn’t want to know about your roommate.
“I have to ask, do you even know why you’re here?” he asked, leaning back, and pressing the tips of his fingers together. He looked totally relaxed, totally calm like nothing in the world ever seemed to bother him. She wondered what that would be like.
“For a job interview.”
“Relating to what?” he asked.
Holy shit!
She had no idea why she was here, and while trying not to cringe, she felt her palms getting a little sweaty, and her cheeks were heating. Glancing down at her lap, she just wanted the entire floor to open up and swallow her whole. She’d be happy with that any time now.
No one ever paid attention to her demands!
“I, erm, no, I really don’t.” She blew out a breath. “You know when you see a homeless woman on the corner in a few months’ time, that is going to be me because I totally suck at this kind of stuff.” Then she slapped her forehead. “Yeah, I have totally ruined this, haven’t I?”
Before she could hear him tell her to get out of his office, she stood up, and was making her way to the door. “I am so sorry to have wasted your time, Mr. Brown.”
“Sit down, Sophia,” he said. His voice was firm, hard, demanding. She instantly sat back down in her seat, tense. “Now, your position here is as a training PA, but I know you don’t have the skill yet. It will be more secretarial work. According to your student counselor, he believes you have real imagination and drive, and it just so happens, that I think I know the perfect fit. With the right guidance, I can help you with your current problem. Through secretarial work, and training as a PA, you’ll have access to many areas that could help you through this difficult time.”
“What’s my current problem?” Why was she asking this question? Why did he confuse her?
“You’re in a bit of a rut. You don’t know what you want to do with your life. You have real drive and ambition, but you are also afraid to commit to anything too serious. Believe it or not, I don’t consider that an age problem or a maturity problem. There hasn’t been anyone to nurture your many talents. I think I have the answer to that.”
“From one resume?” she asked, confused.
Mr. Brown smiled. “I have many ways of finding out if someone is worth my time. I believe you are, and I want to give you this chance. There are thousands of people, men and women, who would jump at the chance that I am offering you.”
“I don’t actually know what you’re offering me,” she said. This conversation, no interview, was confusing her. Biting her lip, she tried to think as he talked, but nothing was making sense.
“My company is vast and wide. What I offer you is six months, during that time, you will find the path that is suitable for you, and get you out of this rut.”
“Six months?”
“Maybe nine or ten will be even better. I think we will work well together, Miss Cross. You will be working here with me. I have an office set up and waiting, and I look forward to you being part of our team.” He pointed toward the office on his left. It was a small one, but she noticed it was also private, with a view. The windows were floor to ceiling, and looked across the city.
“Wait a minute. I thought this was an interview. Don’t you have other people to offer this?”
“You would really turn this down?”
“I’m considering it.”
He stepped out of his chair, and rounded the desk to move toward her. She watched as he leaned against the desk. His body looking too big for that large desk. She had no idea who this man, but something in her gut told her to be wary.
“How about I give you a promise, Sophia?”
“What promise?”
“If after one month you’re bored, I will compensate you, and you can do whatever your heart desires.”
“And if I do enjoy what I do?” she asked, feeling somewhat manipulated as she looked at the smile on Mr. Brown’s face. She couldn’t recall his first name at all.
“You agree to work for me indefinitely.”
Chapter Three
Alfie watched Sophie climb onto the elevator, and then make her way down toward the front doors, before finally exiting the building. His men were there to follow her and make sure she got home safely. He didn’t want to put her at any kind of risk.
The meeting had gone exactly the way he had planned.
Her college counselor, Mr. Coleman, had been enlightening when he’d gone to campus to have a little chat with the man who was doing fucking nothing in guiding her. No one seemed to understand that she needed a helping hand, that was all.
She didn’t know what she wanted for her future, nor did she understand what doing nothing meant to her.
From what he’d seen, she had complete understanding that there was a clock ticking. She knew she had to make a choice, and he had helped her in that. The next month he intended to spend every possible minute in her company, showing her, helping her, guiding her. Within nine months, maybe ten, he was hoping to have her pregnant with his child. First though, he planned to make her fall in love with him so there was no way in the world she could think of anyone else but him.
Leaning back in his chair, he spun around, and faced the city with which he seemed to rule.
From a young age he had forged an empire, starting with the simplest of hacking on a very old, very slow computer in his garage. That had moved to him investing his pocket money in the stock market. At first, it had been a slow turn of his money, and as he got older, he became wiser in what he invested in. At the same time he began to set up software, practicing, to see if it was hacker proof. Nothing was hacker proof, but he always planned to design a system that was similar in a way to booby traps. From designing software, to investing in the gaming industry, his company had grown from strength to strength. It had gotten to the point that anyone who thought of Brown Enterprise, it came with respect, with strength.
It was everything his parents had been proud of until their tragic deaths three years ago.
They would have adored Sophia, he just knew it.
His intercom buzzed. “Sir, your three o’clock is here.”
“Okay, send him in.”
Mitch, his PI, an
d the one who was in charge of the protection of Sophia entered his office, holding a file. When he was sitting down, he handed over the file, and waited as he flipped the folder open.
The picture on the front page was of Sophia and Freya walking the beach. He took a moment to admire Sophia’s curves. Her tits were large, as were her hips. She rarely wore clothes that enhanced her shape. When she belonged to him, he intended to make sure she knew how much her curves turned him on.
“This is good.”
He had investigated Freya, and she was a good influence on Sophia. When they finally got the chance to meet, he would make sure to make a good impression on the young woman. They strolled arm in arm, laughing and smiling. There were at least twenty pictures of them, and he only had eyes for Sophia. Her smile, her body, her personality, her everything. When he was younger, he had been consumed about the future, about picking one path that would stay with him. What if he got bored? What if he hated his life?
They only had one life, and he wanted to live his to the fullest.
“Do I have to worry about any problems?” he asked.
“Nope. Freya, the friend, organized their apartment. I made sure that I posted the flyer about the apartment they are looking into. The number was clear, the amount of rental per month highlighted.” The apartment was in his building, and he was really happy about that. He smiled, looking at their reactions from the cameras that Mitch had taken as he showed the girls around. “They liked it?”
“Yes. You got nothing but positive reports, especially as it is fully furnished with everything they both wanted, and had spoken of.”
“Thank you.” He looked down at the latest information. Freya was going to work in the art department of an advertising firm, which he was more than okay with. The company’s manager was a friend of his, and they had both discussed their … feelings with regards to the two women. Jared Varner didn’t have his thoughts on Sophia. No, he wanted Freya, and Alfie was happy with that.
They had both met up for dinner one evening, and had discussed their feelings when it came to the two women.
Jared was a family friend of Freya’s, and wanted to make sure that the other woman was taken care of. Of course, Alfie had seen that Jared wanted Freya. The possessiveness in the man couldn’t be mistaken for anything less than that. This was more about what Jared wanted than what Freya did.
Of course, Jared knew Sophia. The two women had grown up together, met in nursery, and been close ever since.
Alfie had learned everything he needed to understand the woman that was going to be his. Both had agreed that neither of them would step in the way of the other. However, Alfie hadn’t agreed to staying out of the way if Sophia asked for his help with regards to her friend. Cricking his neck, he flicked through the remaining files, and looked toward Mitch. “Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Nope. Sophia is a nice, caring woman. From what I’ve seen, she has no enemies, and makes friends out of everyone.”
“What about men? Potential boyfriends?”
“Again, she never gives any men the come on. Freya, she likes attention at times, but it’s different. She knows when to push, and when not to. You don’t have to worry about her at all. She would never do anything to hurt Sophia.”
“Good, I’m glad.” He gave Mitch the schedule he had planned, and by the end of their meeting, Alfie was feeling rather smug with himself. Everything was falling into place.
****
“So how was it, or do I even need to ask?” Freya asked, piling the last of their boxes into the car.
Tucking some hair behind her ear, Sophia smiled at her friend. “It went great.” She was tempted to tell her about the run in with the boss, and what she had said.
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened?” She lied with so much ease.
“Sophia Cross, I have known you for years, and you cannot lie to me.”
She stuck her tongue out, and winced. “I may have screwed up.”
“Sophia!”
“What? It’s nothing bad, I promise. I may just have told my boss that I didn’t know what I wanted out of life, and yeah, I screwed up big time. On the bright side, I got the job.”
She moved back toward their room to collect the last box. It had been kind of surreal getting the call from the estate agent that the apartment they were moving into would be ready, and they could move into it straight away, like today. She was looking forward to taking a long shower, and to having Chinese takeout tonight. Freya had promised takeout on moving day. They only had a few items, and had their savings to buy any furniture they needed.
The apartment they were moving to came fully-furnished, which was a huge plus as far as she was concerned. She hated spending the time to pick out furniture. She just didn’t enjoy staring at beds, cabinets, picture frames, and all of the other crap that other people seemed to like. Shopping wasn’t something she enjoyed. Freya loved it. Sophia, however, preferred not to get involved at all.
“Whoa, wait a minute there, bestie. You’re telling me that not only did you open your big mouth, but you also got the job?”
“Yep. He promised me a month.”
“A month of what?”
“If I wasn’t interested with the way his company worked, then he was happy to help me pursue whatever my heart desired.” She grabbed the final box of books, and took one last look at the room that had been her home.
“Don’t you think that is a little, I don’t know, weird?”
“No, why?”
“Look, I get that we’re college graduates entering the big wide world, but I’m not stupid. That doesn’t work like that. People who own companies don’t just offer you a month’s grace, and then offer to give you everything you want.”
Sophia frowned, and rested the box on her large hip. “You know, now that you say it, it’s kind of strange, right? Mr. Coleman was the one who organized it, and Mr. Brown seemed really happy with what he had known.”
Silence fell between them, and Freya took her last box as well. “I want you to be careful. Something seems weird, and I’m not going to lie, my gut isn’t sitting right.”
“Do you need to go to the toilet?” she asked.
“Gross! I’m being serious.”
“Okay, fine, fine. I’ll be careful. I got through college, I can get through this month, and you never know, I may love it.”
Pushing the last box into the back of the car, Sophia couldn’t believe that the last few years of her life could fit in one car. She and Freya had never been materialistic. They spent many nights studying in the library or in their dorm. Neither of them wasted their energy with many parties, and she didn’t waste time with men, or boys in men’s bodies.
“I want to remind you that you made the arrangements for this interview, and now you’re behaving like it’s a scary thing,” she said, climbing into the passenger side.
“I know, I know. Something doesn’t sound right, and if I didn’t warn you, what kind of friend would I be?”
“Tell me about your internship. You’re working in the advertising department.”
“No. I’m working at an advertising company in their art department.” Freya turned over the ignition. “I told you before. The guy I’m working for is a family friend. He’s some friend of my dad’s, and he was the one who arranged it.”
“What does your mother think?” Sophia asked. She wanted to turn the questions onto her friend because she didn’t like the direction Freya’s questions were taking.
“You know my mom. She has nothing to do with my father. He was the first guy to break her heart, and she won’t even hear his name.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Whenever Freya got home from spending time with her dad in the city, her mother wouldn’t let her speak of a moment of it. To a lot of people it sounded nasty, but Sophia knew it was down to a broken heart. Freya’s father had broken her mother’s heart, and it was the one relationship she had never recovered f
rom.
“Mom wants me to live my life the way I want to live it. Obviously, she does all of her warning things about men, and stuff. I’m used to it now. Believe me I have nothing to worry about with Jared Varner. He’s only doing this as a favor to my dad.”
“Do you want the job?” Sophia asked.
“You know, I want to know about your boss. What was his name again?”
“Mr. Brown.”
“What about his first name?”
Sophia frowned. “I don’t know it. He told me it, and I completely forgot.”
Freya burst out laughing. “You are priceless. Something tells me the next couple of weeks are going to be interesting.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m going to have to find another form of exercise.”
“Why?”
“I can’t go dog walking anymore. My new working hours conflicts with my old job. I had to call them, and let them down.”
“Let’s hope this job is good. Those two jobs paid well, and helped toward our rent.”
“I agree, Freya, totally agree.”
Chapter Four
Alfie stared across toward Sophia where she was staring at her computer, typing away. It was her first official day, and she was currently filling in the employment form, and necessary details that were needed for her to work for him. He didn’t like handwritten forms. When he first started his company, he had seen more faults from people struggling to read others’ handwriting, than anything else. There had been mistakes made in calling a person’s next of kin, and even down to paying the wrong person the wrong salary. He had learnt from his mistakes, and refused to have anything done by hand, unless it was a person’s signature.
It just so happened that as she was filling everything in, he was watching on his own computer, and marveling at just how much he knew about her. Of course, Sophia’s employment form had a few added extras that no one else’s had. Yes, it was unscrupulous, but he needed to get inside her head, and fast. For the next month, he had to make her time here totally rock, as otherwise all of his careful planning would be for nothing.