by Mel Ryle
“I have all your information, Ms. Peterson. We need you in the office now,” he replied monotonously, his voice sounded a little tired.
“It’s my off day, Mr. Maxwell. You can even ask Maggie about it. And if you’re unable to do that, you can also review my files since you have graciously checked it to get this number...” I replied sourly with clenched teeth.
“Yes, I already know it was your day off. But we are busy this week with the new real estate contract. We need all the help we can get. If you are worried about rendering extra hours, don't worry. You'll be paid for them on your first check,” he said in a rush, his tone slightly bit irked.
That only added fuel to my already ruined mood. “Wow, Mr. Maxwell! If you really needed my help that much, you could have asked nicely. Insulting someone doesn’t get you into anyone’s good side. Even someone like you should know that,” I said bitterly as I huffed out a breath to release some tension. “I’m busy today, Mr. Maxwell. I can’t help you.”
I half-slammed the phone back in my purse in a fit of rage. When I looked up, I met my father’s eyes and saw the worried look on his face.
“Who was that?”
“My boss’ brother,” I replied as I gritted my teeth, ending the conversation.
After a few minutes, my phone rang again. My father gave me a questioning look when I didn’t move to answer. With a sigh, he reached for my bag and took my phone out. I looked at him in shock as he answered the call.
“Hello...? Yes, she is here. Can you give me a moment please?” At this point, he covered the speaker and said in a whisper, “It’s Margarette. She said you know her.”
After knowing who it was, I breathed a sigh of relief and got the phone from him. “Maggie?” I asked, just to be sure that it wasn’t Mr. Mogul.
“Hi, Andy. I’m sorry about what happened a few minutes ago. It was a bad choice on my part to let William call you. I was too busy filing some papers. Can you come in today? We really do need your help,” she asked a bit desperately.
I smiled at Maggie’s obvious plight. This woman is just so endearing. In her frantic state, she might just have forgotten my rocky relationship with William when she asked him to call me.
“I’ll be there in a few. Let me clear things up here with my dad,” I replied with a small smile.
“I’m really sorry, Andy. Can you put him on the phone? I’ll talk to him for you,” she offered sincerely.
“Sure,” I replied and looked at my father. I handed him the phone with a sad smile. He took it from me with a baffled expression.
“Hello?”
From the way his expression softened, I think Maggie sweet-talked him into allowing me to go to work today. With a soft voice, he said his goodbye and ended the call. He looked at me proudly and smiled.
“You should go now. They need you there. You can come back anytime you finish.”
“I’m so sorry about this. I’ll be back before you know it,” I said wistfully as I leaned in for a hug.
“Take your time honey. I’m not going anywhere,” he replied with a guffaw, giving me a soft squeeze before letting go.
“Do you know you’re the world’s most awesome dad?” I asked.
“I do now,” he replied with a huge smile.
With one last kiss, I went out of the room and half-jogged to the elevator. It didn’t take me long to reach the bus stop. On the ride to work, I glanced down at my casual clothes with a frustrated sigh. I was wearing my plain white shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I didn’t look like someone who was ready to face a powerful man.
When I finally arrived at my stop, I brushed off the thought. Besides, I didn’t really need fancy clothes to confront Mr. Mogul. The first time I fought with him, I was wearing my waitress uniform, which was just as inappropriate to what I was wearing now.
With my confidence back, I determinedly marched to the building. When I waved to Danny in the reception desk before getting inside the elevator, I caught her shocked response as she looked my outfit. I smiled to myself at her reaction. Strangely, that also gave me the confidence to face him.
Once I reached my floor, I was still a bit scared of facing him. But when I stepped a foot out of the elevator, I was greeted with the sight of an empty desk. I was surprised and puzzled to see no one. I was about to push the close button to check if they were on another floor when the door to Mr. Mogul’s office opened, giving me a slight jolt.
“Andy, you’re here,” Maggie greeted as she closed the door behind her.
“Hey, sorry it took me awhile to get here. You can put me to work now,” I said with a tight smile as I walked out of the elevator. I sighed in relief that it wasn’t William who came out the door. She looked at me for a second and then her eyes widened a little as she glanced down at my clothes.
“I’m so sorry for taking your time with your father. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have to.”
“It’s okay, Maggie. My dad was cool about it,” I replied with a reassuring smile. “Are you going somewhere?”
“I’m grabbing some coffee and lunch for William and me. Do you want anything?”
“A chicken sandwich and caramel latte would be lovely,” I answered shyly. “Wait. Do you want me to get it for you?” I asked. I strongly hoped she would say yes, so that I could stall the inevitable.
“No. I’m good. I need the time off anyway. I’ve been at it since six in the morning. Just go inside and ask William what you need to do. I’ll see you later,” she left as the elevator door opened.
Before I could say anything, the doors closed, leaving me with no choice but to do what I hated the most: speaking with and facing Mr. Mogul.
Did I have the courage to walk in that door?
I didn’t really have the time to mull over that, so I turned around and knocked on his door. I stiffened for a second once I heard a reply from the other side.
Fifteen
After letting out a huge, calming breath, I slowly opened the door. This was my first time to enter his office. Once I got in, the first thing I saw was a massive, clear glass wall behind him, which provided a spectacular view of the whole city. I silently gasped at the sight, which made him look up at my entrance.
His initial expression was anger, which then turned impassive in under a minute. But I saw his eyes soften for a second before he sported his poker face. He was the only person I knew who could change expressions pretty quickly.
“What took you so long?” he asked in a commanding tone, the kind I was used to hear from him.
“I rode the bus. So, what do you want me to do here?” I asked as I gestured around the room, slightly taken aback by the piles of papers in front of him.
“Straight to the point, as usual,” he mumbled softly to himself, but the eerie silence in the room made it easier for me to hear him. “You can take over Maggie’s work until she gets back. You’ll just recheck all the paperwork done for the past month,” he instructed and pointed to the huge table on the right side of the room.
When I turned to look, I was startled at the mountain of boxes and the files in them. The table looked a lot like the one in the boardroom, complete with twelve chairs. My guess was it measured six feet long. On the edge, near his dark mahogany desk, there was an open laptop. I guessed that was where I would be working until Maggie comes back.
Without another word, I turned away from him and walked towards the table. I could sense him stare at my back as I silently made my way to the laptop. When I sat down, I glanced sideways in his direction to check if my suspicions were correct. I managed to catch him swiftly divert his attention back to his laptop. I mentally grinned at his reaction.
For almost fifteen minutes, the only thing I could hear in the room was our fingers tapping the keyboard. The sound was starting to drive me insane until he opened his mouth.
“Why are you dressed like that? Were you with someone?”
His gaze was on the laptop as he asked me. I didn’t answer him right away because I wa
nted him to face me first.
“Why do you ask?” I countered with a raised eyebrow when he finally looked at me.
“Well, because you are wearing that...” he scoffed, gesturing to my outfit.
To give him the impression I wasn't affected by his words, I simply went back to work (barely managing to suppress a giggle) and calmly replied, "I went on a date."
It was strangely silent in the room after I said those words. I wondered why he became quiet, so I glanced at him to see that both of his eyebrows were raised in surprise. Incidentally, that was also the first time I had a good look at him since I arrived. He wasn’t wearing his usual corporate suit and tie. Instead, he wore a grey polo shirt with a few buttons undone and denim jeans. For the first time, Mr. Mogul didn’t look much like a Mogul. He looked more like a supermodel who just came from a photo shoot. His hair wasn’t styled back like it usually was. It was ruffled like he only got out of bed.
“You were on a date? You outright refused me because you were on a date?” His skeptical tone made me understand what he was thinking.
“Yes. I have a life outside of work, Mr. Maxwell. I need to make my man happy or he’ll find someone else,” I replied. I wanted to slap myself for keeping up with this lie.
“Then why are you here Ms. Peterson? If you feel strongly about making your man happy, why did you choose to come to work today?” At this moment, he turned my way to scrutinize me.
I didn’t cower under his gaze and stared back just as intensely. “Well, I didn’t at first. My man convinced me to change my mind. He understood that I have a boss who is very demanding of my time.”
“Are you saying that it’s my fault that you are here now?”
“No, I’m merely pointing out a fact. Why? Isn’t it true?” I retorted.
He couldn’t think of a response at first. It was only a few seconds later that he asked another question, “The guy with you in the bar last night, that’s your boyfriend right?”
“Don’t drag him into this, Mr. Maxwell. He is a decent guy. He has nothing to do with this,” I told him sternly.
“Do you think I’m going to do anything to him once I find out who he is?”
I ignored his question and continued to type out reports. He asked a second time, which I ignored as well. Then, I suddenly heard a chair move and footsteps walking towards my direction. Before I could react to the situation, he already had his hand on my chair, turning it to face him. His six-foot and glorious body was towering over me as I remained seated in my chair. I glanced up at him in shock.
“What the hell?”
“I’ve never been ignored in my life. You’re seriously testing my temper,” he said with his jaw clenched.
His actions made my heart beat faster than usual. But I sat there immobile and kept my face as impassive as I could. “You were the one who started asking unnecessary questions.”
“God! I’ve never met a woman with a mouth like yours. You always have something to say, don’t you?”
“Well, I was raised to be opinionated, Mr. Maxwell. When I have something to say, I’ll say it without second thoughts.”
“Why does it have to be you?” he softly asked to himself with a strained breath. He let go of my chair by then. “Do you loathe me that much that you have to tick me off every minute we are in the same room?”
Frustration was written all over his face and I began to feel sorry for him. “I don’t hate you, Mr. Maxwell. Maybe it seems that way, but I think that’s because we look at the world differently,” I replied as calmly as I could.
“Then what does it seem to you?” he earnestly asked.
“I think that we fight because we are afraid of each other,” I reluctantly admitted, my voice was almost inaudible so that he can barely hear me, yet wishing he could.
“I agree that you’re afraid of me. But what makes you think I’m afraid of you?” he asked, somewhat startled at my reply.
“It was obvious from your actions.”
“What have I done to make you think that?”
“Well, when you visited me at my old place, you were very nosy after Ms. Maxwell gave me a job. You were also keen on embarrassing me during that meeting. Lastly, throughout the time I’ve worked here, you’ve made my life a living hell,” I pointed out, mentally squirming under his watchful gaze.
He snorted at my reply. “You have a good memory, I’ll give you that.”
“Thank you,” I managed to give him a small smile.
He closed his eyes for a second before he placed his right hand in his pants pocket and ruffled his hair with the other. Then, he sighed and opened his clear blue eyes. His mannerisms made my stomach knot and my breath hitch.
“How about we start all over again?” he offered with a small smile, which made my stomach tighten even more. Not sure how to reply, I just gave him a curt nod.
“Sure. I can do that,” I replied after clearing up my dry throat and regaining my scattered thoughts.
“Great. I would love that,” he smiled a toothy grin. The effect, this time, was my heart stopping for a second. “So, we’re friends?” he asked after a few seconds, offering me his hand to shake.
I looked at him for a second, then to the hand he held out. I mentally gulped at the options I had to weigh. Do I want to be friends with Mr. Mogul? When I looked up at him again, his grin was still in place.
“Does this mean you won’t be slaving me around to do your dirty work?” I couldn’t help but ask. I inwardly slapped myself for asking a stupid question and letting my curiosity get the better of me.
Luckily, my question just made him laugh. And here I thought the man didn’t have any sense of humor. I liked his laugh. It was a very manly laugh. I mentally slapped myself again, forcing myself to focus.
“When have I made you a slave for my dirty work?” he asked, still chuckling as he raised his eyebrow inquisitively.
“Well, there was the coffee run, the laundry runs…” I enumerated automatically. I could never stop myself from saying things at the top of my head. I could only hope that I had enough control to prevent myself from saying anything I might regret.
He just shook his head in amusement as he faced his desk again. “Okay. I’ll cut down the slave work,” he snickered, waving his hand in dismissal.
I sneered at his arrogant demeanor instinctively and got back to work. I still hated the man enough that I could brush off my attraction towards him a few seconds ago. But if he continued to be an ass, then being friends with him might be very entertaining. I could only hope his actions towards me wouldn’t change completely, or I wouldn’t be able to fight my attraction towards him. I would never admit out loud that I found the man alluring. Anyone who had estrogen in their system would agree he was very appealing.
Ten minutes after our conversation ended, Maggie came back with our food and drinks. I was relieved when she was finally in the room because it was starting to get awkward after William and I talked.
Friends. Could we be friends? I couldn’t really grasp the thought of having any kind of relationship with Mr. Mogul. But for now, since I was going to be working with him for the next three months, I would have to swallow my pride and try to be friends with him.
Around seven-thirty, we had almost finished most of the work. Maggie was already done with her pile and was excused for the night. As for me, since I came in late, I had a few more things to finish. William was still focused on his work as Maggie bade us farewell.
When we were alone in the room again, I felt queasy. I sighed in relief that he didn’t feel entitled to say anything to break the silence, like what he did this morning. That was a good thing because I was still hung up about his sudden change of character. Around quarter to nine, I finally finished my work. I let out a huge sigh of contentment that I could leave.
As I was about to stand, William stopped typing in his laptop as well and closed it. I was a bit startled that I took a quick glance at him. But I looked away as I gathered my things.
“Are you done?” he asked as I grabbed my bag.
“Yes. I’m going to head out now.”
“Do you need a lift?” he asked as he stood up and grabbed a blazer behind his leather chair.
I stood up and turned to face him, shocked by his offer. Where was he going with this? “Ah… No, I’m going to be fine. I’ve got some errands to do,” I replied uneasily as I slowly walked towards the door.
“Oh, are you sure? I could drop you off somewhere if you’d like.”
I stopped walking and stared at him suspiciously. “Why are you being nice to me?”
“Is it really bad to be nice to a friend? I thought we were starting over,” he replied with uncertainty as he raised one eyebrow at me.
I squinted my eyes at him, not really buying it. “I only agreed to be friends so you won’t have to insult me anymore, Mr. Maxwell. We should keep this more of a business kind of friendship.”
He eyed me for a second before he started chuckling. “You think I’m flirting here, Ms. Peterson?”
“Why? Aren’t you?” I probed as I glared at him accusingly. Then, my mind suddenly went blank at what he implied. Wait, what?
He just gave me a mysterious smile. He walked towards me and stopped a foot away from where I stood. “If I was doing such a thing, I would have done it already, Ms. Peterson. I was merely being a gentleman. It’s almost nine, you know,” he whispered before he went out the door.
“Aren’t you coming?” he called as I continued to stand there like an idiot.
I snapped out of my trance and walked past him while he held the elevator doors open. Did he know that I was attracted to him? No, he couldn’t know. I verbally assaulted him since the first day we met. He was just trying to catch me off guard. I knew that this “friendship” thing is nothing to him. He was only offering it since the bickering was becoming a nuisance. Even I would think it was a waste of time if I were in his shoes.
We silently rode the elevator to the lobby. On the way down, I stood across him, not really trusting the man’s word in any way. When the door opened to the lobby, I didn’t wait for an offer to let me exit first. I walked out of that elevator without a second thought.