by Young, M. L.
SEDUCED BY YOU
TAKEN BY YOU 2
M.L. YOUNG
Kindle Edition
Copyright 2015 M.L. Young
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances of characters to actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. The author, M.L. Young, holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cover Design: © L.J. Anderson, Mayhem Cover Creations
Formatting by Mayhem Cover Creations
INTRODUCTION
This book features alternating points of view. Each chapter is titled with the character whose point of view you are reading from.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
Penelope
So far, my last semester in school had been a boring one. I guess I shouldn’t have expected too much, but none of my professors even seemed to be trying to give me a challenge, and trust me, I really needed something to keep my mind occupied right now.
Just over a week had gone by since the incident with Blake. I couldn’t even believe what happened. Things had always seemed so perfect with him, even if they were never supposed to be. We were supposed to have something casual—something that would fulfill his needs and in turn, fulfill mine. I knew it wasn’t supposed to be serious, but it sure felt that way. He made me think the relationship would become serious, but in reality it was all just a joke.
He wanted to save his ass and he went about it the wrong way. Had he been upfront with me from the beginning and asked me not to say anything about us, I wouldn’t have. I would’ve been disappointed about not getting the internship, but I wouldn’t be out to get revenge on a guy I’d just slept with. It was just as much my fault for sleeping with him as it was his for sleeping with me. It was sad to think this entire thing could’ve been avoided, but instead, here I was.
He’d tried to contact me a few times since that night, but it was to no avail. I never answered any calls or texts, and the one time the buzzer to our apartment went off when I was home alone, I was too scared to answer it or see who it was. I didn’t want to take the chance.
It wasn’t that I planned on never talking to him again, but I just didn’t see how I could right now. He’d hurt me, badly, and it wasn’t something I thought I could just bounce back from. Even if I did talk to him again, though, I couldn’t imagine it would go well. I did harbor some resentment towards him and was still angry with him, and I hoped those feelings would pass. I wasn’t the type of person to hold a long grudge, even if I should.
I sat in class tapping the eraser of my pencil against my bright, empty notebook, as the professor hadn’t said anything worthy of taking notes the entire lecture. The class, a communications course that was required for graduation, was as dull as a gray sky in the middle of February. My professor, an older woman likely close to retirement, talked more about her own life experiences than things we actually needed to learn. I didn’t think I was alone in my assessment, though, as I peered around and noticed that nobody else had taken any notes, and our professor didn’t even seem to notice. That was usually the case in classes I took. It seemed like the professor never noticed when you didn’t care.
“Any questions?” she asked, as our time together had come close to an end.
She looked around the room as nobody, not even the know-it-alls, raised their hands or asked a question. I could tell she hoped somebody asked something, if not just to hear herself talk again, but her hopes were dashed.
“That concludes our lesson for today. Don’t forget that we have a test on Friday. I’ll see you all again on Wednesday,” she said, before going back behind her desk.
I put my notebook and pencil back into my backpack, as I figured I’d hopefully use them another day. I had a different notebook for each class, and at this rate I was thinking this one wouldn’t get ten percent full.
I slung my backpack over my shoulders and headed out of the classroom before turning the corner and hightailing it for the exit. This was my last class of the day and besides, I had somewhere else to be.
I had applied for a couple jobs since Blake and I split, as I knew I’d need some kind of income, no matter what it was, if I were to actually pay any of my bills, which were piling up. One of the jobs called me back within two days and wanted an interview today, a request I was happy to oblige. It wasn’t anything special, only a perfume girl at a department store, but I figured it would be fairly easy. The job description said I would offer samples to customers and spritz perfume and cologne around to set a mood and ambiance that would make the customers inquire and in turn, buy from us. It wasn’t as good as a tech internship, but I figured that ship had sailed and I was better off just applying for actual jobs when I got out of school.
I took the bus home and sat next to an older man who smelled like piss and booze. His beard, long and scraggly, looked decades old, and the smell emanating from of his body seemed like it had been there equally as long. Luckily my stop soon came and I got off so fast I could’ve burned holes in my shoes. I knew I only had an hour to get changed, get down to the store, and get there early so I could make a good impression.
I quickly ran upstairs, my thighs and calves burning, before locking the door behind me and running into my bedroom. Nicolette was of course still at work, though she said I could take any of her clothes if I needed them. I wore a pair of black pants I already had, plus a blue button-up Nicolette said I could take. It was dressy enough to make a good impression, though not so much so that I screamed corporate job hunter. It was the best I had.
Luckily for me there was a bus route fairly close to the department store. I got off before looking at my phone and seeing that I had only fifteen minutes before my interview. I always liked to be early for interviews, no matter how big or small the job would be, as I thought that being professional and making a good first impression was key.
“Hello, can I help you?” an older woman behind the customer service desk asked as I walked up.
“Hi, yes, I’m here for an interview. My name is Penelope Wells,” I said.
“Oh, yes, the other candidates are here as well. Please take the escalator up to the second floor and turn right. Walk down and you’ll see a waiting area,” the woman said.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile before walking off.
I felt a knot in my stomach as I realized I would be in yet another scenario with a bunch of other candidates around me. Wasn’t there one job or internship I could apply to that wouldn’t have this happening? Couldn’t I be the only one for once?
I rode up the
escalator and turned right before walking down the shiny white walkway and finding the area the woman was talking about. There wasn’t a signup sheet or anything else for identification, but there were three others already waiting in the chairs, playing with their phones. They didn’t pay attention to me, which I thought was a little risky, considering I could be the interviewer walking in. For that reason I sat down, knowing I had about ten minutes left by the time on the wall, and waited patiently without my phone out so I could be the only one to say hello when the interviewer walked in.
As I sat with my bag in my lap, another person walked in and sat down. Then a woman in a pantsuit came in with a clipboard and stood in front of us. I, being the only one without my phone out, was the only person to notice her. I smiled politely and waited for her to speak.
“Hello,” she said to everyone else, before they pulled their noses from their phones and shoved them away.
She looked at her clipboard as she hummed to herself before looking back up.
“Penelope Wells, please come with me,” she said, before turning around.
I quickly got up and followed her down the hallway, where a bunch of offices were, before she opened the door and let me in. She closed the door behind me, sat behind her desk, and pulled out my application.
I looked at her desk and saw a bunch of family photos in silver frames. She and her kids looked absolutely delightful. She didn’t show it now, but I could tell she was a happy woman deep down. I guess working in retail didn’t really lend itself to making you all too chipper.
“Hello, Penelope, my name is Karen and I’ll be interviewing you today,” Karen said.
“Thank you for affording me the opportunity. It’s a great store,” I said, even though I’d never been here a day in my life.
“So, tell me, Penelope, why do you want this job?” she asked, before looking up at me and taking off her glasses.
“Well, I like to think that I’m great with people. Most people feel comfortable around me, and I’m a great seller. I know the right things to say to get people to buy products without coming off as pushy or salesperson-like,” I said.
“This position will likely not have as much interaction with sales as you might’ve thought. You will mostly be giving out free samples and asking if customers walking by would like to smell the product or receive a free spray,” Karen said.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Still, I think that I have the right amount of politeness to know when to push, but I also know when to pull back and realize that the customer wouldn’t like any interaction,” I said.
“Well, we always want our perfume girls to interact with customers passing by. We don’t want them to pull back,” Karen said.
“I understand that, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that. You see, there have been many times when I’ve gone through a store and an associate or other person hassled me when I just wanted to get what I came for and get out. Usually I find that people who have a certain look on their face are on a mission, and they’re the people to stay away from because you’ll only be met with rudeness and coldness. Those who have a confused or interested look on their faces will always find you, and those are the types of people who will buy,” I said.
“I see. I also see you’re still in school. Is this a position you’re looking for short-term, or long-term?” Karen asked.
“I could definitely see myself here for a while,” I said, smiling, as I lied through my teeth.
I had no plans of staying here long-term. I knew it might’ve sounded bad, but I was just looking to get through the rest of school and then get a job that paid many, many times more than this one, which was minimum wage. After all, a good computer science degree just shouldn’t go to waste.
“That’s good to hear. We like to know that our associates would stay here and be a part of our family for the long-term,” Karen said.
Karen asked me a few more questions, mostly about times I’d faced adversity or times I went above and beyond to help a customer, before ending the interview and likely preparing herself mentally for the four other candidates she still had to get through. I stood up, shook her hand firmly, and looked her in the eyes as I thanked her for her time and consideration. She didn’t say I had the job, or even how many positions were open, but I figured I had a pretty good shot. Had she been turned off by my comment earlier, I felt like she would’ve acted differently or ended the interview early. She didn’t, though, and we walked out of her office together as she said they’d call me about the job either way.
I checked my phone as I walked onto the escalator and saw that I had a message from Nicolette. I opened it and saw that she asked if I wanted to meet for Thai food when she got off work. I said yes, and to make it easier for her I decided to meet her there instead of making her come pick me up. I really wished I had Gustav on standby right now. He always made things easier.
I had enough time to get home and get changed, which I definitely wanted to do. Going out on the town in business casual was definitely not me. I went home, changed, put on some more makeup, and left just in time, as the restaurant was about a fifteen-minute walk from our apartment, and I wasn’t taking the bus.
The nighttime air was chilly. January was drawing to an end. It had been unusually cold this season, though I guess it was never super warm at night this time of year, either. You always needed a jacket, but now I had gloves and a scarf on too. I saw the weather on my phone earlier saying there might be snow tomorrow, though the chance was low. I really hoped it stayed away. Snow and I didn’t mix one bit.
Nicolette was pulling into a space about a block away as I walked up. I stopped, waited, and gave her a hug as she walked up before paying the meter.
“How was the interview?” she asked.
“It was okay. I think I did well, but there were a few other people there for the same job. I guess I did as well as I think I could do,” I said.
“No CEO pulled you out, did they?” she asked with a grin.
“Very funny,” I said, as we walked into the restaurant.
“Hello, do you have a reservation?” the hostess asked.
“No, we don’t,” Nicolette said.
“How many are in your party?” the hostess asked.
“Just the two of us,” Nicolette said.
“I have a table open. Please follow me,” she said, before grabbing two menus and guiding us to our table.
The restaurant, which was dimly lit, had the best Thai food you could get anywhere in the city, at least in my opinion. I opened my menu, which was thickly laminated, and read over the options even though I always got the same thing, which was Pad Thai with chicken and no peanuts.
“Feel like some spring rolls?” Nicolette asked.
“If you’re paying,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said under her breath.
A busboy came and filled our water glasses before leaving us to talk about our days.
“So, how has work been going?” I asked.
“It’s going. A lot of stuff on our plate, but we’ll get it done. There’s a newer guy in my department who’s a moron, though. I think he’s going to end up holding us back a little,” Nicolette said.
“You haven’t, you know, heard from him, have you?” I asked nervously.
“Who? Blake?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Nope, nothing from him. I hope I don’t, either. It’d probably be pretty uncomfortable. How are things between the two of you? Did you talk at all?” she asked.
“He’s tried talking to me, but I haven’t replied or given him anything to work with,” I said.
“Are you ever going to? You had a sweet gig, you know,” Nicolette said.
“Yeah, but at the expense of my feelings. I was being used, Nicolette,” I whispered.
“Yeah, at first, but things changed. He said so, and so did his friend, from what you told me. I agree that what he did was wrong, but he’s obviously sorry. I think you shou
ld see him again. Talk to him,” Nicolette said.
As we talked, the waitress, a cute Asian girl, walked over with a pad of paper in her hand.
“Hello, my name is May and I’ll be your waitress today. May I start you off with a drink from our bar, or perhaps some appetizers?” May asked.
“I think we know what we want. I’ll have a Malibu and Diet Cola, please. I’ll also have the Pad Thai with chicken,” Nicolette said.
“I’ll just have water, and also Pad Thai with chicken, but with no peanuts,” I said.
“Okay,” May said, before taking our menus.
“Oh! And some spring rolls, please,” Nicolette interjected.
“Got it,” May said with a smile, before walking away.
“Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe someday, but not now,” I said.
“Well, there’s one thing you have to do then,” Nicolette said.
“And what is that?” I asked nervously. Her schemes were never great ideas.
“Go on RandomMeetX and find a guy,” she said.
“I don’t think that kind of stuff is for me,” I said.
“There’s tons of people that use it for dating and not hooking up, you old maid. You can even specify that shit now. Just download the app, make a profile, and talk to some guys. They’ll even message you first. It’s rare in this city that the woman has to initiate the conversation. Maybe go on a few dates, have some fun, and take your mind off Blake,” Nicolette said.
Even though RandomMeetX wasn’t exactly my thing, the thought of taking my mind off Blake and seeing another guy was tempting. After all, the best way to get over a breakup or separation is to find someone else who’ll make you never think of your ex again. Who knows, maybe I’d even find my future husband.
“Yeah, maybe I’ll get it later,” I said.
“No, do it now. Here, give me your phone,” Nicolette said, extending her hand.
“Nicolette, we’re in a restaurant,” I said.
“Who gives a shit? Give me,” she said.