Sweet Revenge

The Contract

As soon as the elevator doors swung open on the 24th floor of the building, I was still slumped on the floor looking defeated.

I pair of familiar Italian loafers came into view and I panicked.

I scrambled to get up and inhaled sharply when I came face to face with the man that I had eye contact with a few minutes ago.

I held my breath in awe of what I saw. He had a perfectly chiseled face. His dark hair neatly combed back to reveal his intelligent sea-green eyes. It looked like he was frowning. His brows were drawn together and his looks revealed pity. He was wearing a dark gray collared shirt underneath a perfectly pressed black coat which brought alive the green in his eyes.

I felt that familiar warmth run through my body. I quickly brushed it aside and soon after was replaced with embarrassment and shame.

I tried to straighten out my clothes and walked out of the elevator. With all the dignity I have left, I raised my chin and continued walking through the glass doors. I could feel his eyes following my every moment. It felt like hot burning coals traveling up and down my body. It took every ounce of my strength not to look back and ask him what the hell was wrong.

I was a coward. I didn't look back and pushed the glass doors open.

When I quickly looked back to check if he was still there, I felt a little disappointment that he was gone. Who the f**k was he? What gave him the right to look at me with pitiful eyes?

I was quickly jarred back to reality by a friendly voice.

"Hi. My name's Cathy. How can I help you?" beamed Cathy on the other side of the desk.

Cathy was stunning! She had shoulder length red curly hair and her bright blue eyes twinkled with excitement.

Oh great! Why is this building surrounded by gorgeous people? I thought to myself.

"Hi. My name's Bella and I'm here to sign my contract." I answered back.

Cathy looked confused for a second and then checked her notebook on her desk and immediately widened her smile.

"Isabella Parker? Hi. Just in time for your meeting with Mr. Bradshaw. He just stepped out for a quick appointment and should be back in half an hour. Do you mind waiting for him inside his office?" She quickly discussed as she pointed to the double french doors at the end of the hallway.

"No. I don't mind at all Cathy. I'll head in now, thanks." I replied.

I walked on the lavish gray carpet towards the doors of the office.

I pushed open the doors and gasped at the enormity of the space. All sides of the room had ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the lake at the distance. There was a dark mahogany desk elegantly placed at the middle of the room and a high backed black swivel chair neatly tucked underneath it. On the top of the desk were 3 computer monitors and a laptop at the side. I remember thinking to myself, who the f**k needed this much equipment? At the right side of the room was a mini bar stocked with all kinds of liquor, probably used for entertaining guests. At the left side of the room was a row of TV screens with different channels of the stock markets. The room was adorned by 2 leather sofas placed in front of the TV screens and a small side table by the entrance with a large snake plant. This made me chuckle. The snake plant looked so out of place inside the well equipped room. Just beside the french doors were blinds that covered the windows looking out the hallway. I guess Mr. Bradshaw liked his privacy.

I walked towards the large window and looked at the view. It was breathtaking. For some weird reason, the view calmed me down and cleared my head a bit.

I had my back to the doors and didn't hear it open until I heard a deep voice arguing on the phone.

"I just told you that I won't sign the deal! I don't care if they worked on the contracts for a century Jim but there's no way in hell that everything they put on the contract is 100% legit!" the voice screamed.

I quickly turned around and held my breath. s**t! Is this Mr. Bradshaw? I quickly bowed down my head and waited for him to acknowledge me.

"Jim, for the nth time! I will not..." His voice trailed off when he saw me standing quietly by the windows.

"I'll call you back. I think my new secretary has arrived." He chuckled.

I can still hear Jim ranting on the phone when the man quickly pushed the end call button on his phone.

He walked towards me and decided to change routes and went straight to his chair from the desk.

I didn't move an inch. I suddenly realized I was still holding my breath and quietly let the air out so that I could breathe.

"Are you going to keep your head down the entire time?" The voice sounded annoyed and commanding.

I looked up and met his gaze. That now annoying warmth started to travel up and down my body again. Why does it continue to happen when I look at him? I wondered to myself.

Finally I mustered the courage to speak up. "Good morning sir. I'm Bella and I'm here for the job offer?" I croaked.

"Isabella Parker, do you want to know the terms and conditions of your contract or are you going to stand there all day?" He quickly stated sounding annoyed.

"I'm sorry sir." I responded meekly as I walked towards his desk.

It was an uneasy feeling being this close to him again although I was seated opposite his desk, there was that strange warm sensation that was taking over my whole body that I can barely look him in the eye as he presented the contract in front of me.

He cleared his throat and stated matter-of-fact the summary of the role I was signing up for.

It was a bit unnerving the way his voice sounded while he went through the inclusions of the contract and I was mentally taking notes of what he was dictating.

"...and under no circumstance that you are to decline my requests as these requests can affect the operations of the business as a whole." He stated without missing a beat.

This jarred me back to the conversation and I opened my mouth to protest. At that point, I didn't care whether I was to put my future employment in jeopardy or not.

"Excuse me? Are you saying I can't say no?" I asked incredulous of the request.

He looked at me with a glare in his sea green eyes. Damn those eyes!

"Do you have a problem with that?" His lips pursed but the words that came out sounded like a challenge.

I challenged back. "Well, it sounds like you want me to be at your beck and call 24/7. Do I look like a slave to you, Mr. Bradshaw?"

For a moment he looked taken aback by my statement. Good-bye dream job! I can feel the contract slowly going down the drain. Me and my big fat mouth!

He raised an eyebrow at me, stood up and walked towards the gigantic windows.

"The compensation is way above the industry standard and you get to put into good use what you've studied in college. You'll be taking care of my appointments and travel bookings plus you'll get to meet powerful people that can help pave the way for better career opportunities." He stated matter-of-fact.

I looked at his well shaped back and started to ponder the things that he said. At this point in my life, there's nothing left but to focus in building my career. At 26 years old, I've been with 3 different companies and couldn't seem to get the satisfaction and happiness I need in my career. Unlike Sandy, she had the career she wanted from the get-go.

"You can leave if you don't want the job. I can assure you that I have a long list of applicants who want the position in Bradshaw Industries." He said arrogantly snapping my thoughts back to reality.

By this time he was facing me with arms folded and looking like a predator ready to jump on its prey.

Was he threatening me? What have I got to lose? It looks like I'm trapped at this particular moment.

I stood up, brushed the wrinkles from skirt and took 2 steps towards him to close the gap.

"Looks like you got yourself a deal, Mr. Bradshaw." I extended my hand to shake his as a gesture of claiming the position and closing the contract.

Big mistake!

As soon as he took my hand to shake it back, I felt the electric current run from my fingertips to my entire body. s**t! I feel faint!

I let go of his hand immediately after feeling the current and cleared my throat to break the silence that happened after the handshake.

"Call me Nick." He smiled mischievously.

What have I gotten myself into?