The laws of love, lust, and lies

CHAPTER TWO

ALICE

I try to enter the office and sit in the chair that is located in front of him in the best way I can , for I feel terribly self-conscious at this moment , and his piercing blue - grayish eyes , which at this moment are studying each one of my movements , do not help at all to calm the nerves that I am feeling , nor how sorry I am for not having gone myself to look for a better dress to wear today.

When I am finally sitting in front of him , I take the opportunity to study him briefly , he has dark brown hair slicked back , thick eyebrows , slightly slanted eyes , high cheekbones , a straight nose , and a strong jaw that hides under a short beard , perfectly fixed , when he starts to speak , I notice that his white teeth are aligned , but not like those that clearly show that they went through dental treatment , but they look natural , as if he had never needed any professional help to achieve that , he was probably born like that , unlike most people , including myself , who had to suffer with braces for years.

And it is at that moment , when I am admiring his beautiful teeth , that I realize that he has just said something to me , and I did not hear a single syllable; so , I pretend nothing has happened and I start to present myself as if I was five years old starting in a kindergarten.

" Good afternoon , Mr. Pemberton , my name is Alice Coleman , I am twenty-two years old , and I am a second - year law school student, " I tell him with all the confidence that I am capable of , but instead of answering , he c***s an eyebrow at me with an almost bored gesture.

" I already knew that from your resume , when I asked you to tell me something about yourself , I was not referring to your personal data, " he tells me with a strong English accent and cold tone.

So I try to smile apologetically , while I buy time to remember the part where they talked about this in the video tutorials , but my mind goes blank , so I rack my brains to think of something to be able to answer the question he just asked me , and at that moment , I think about my brother and how much he cared that this would go well , he will be very disappointed in me if I fail.

“ I was the top student in my class during my high school education , when I entered university I started taking courses on psychology and literature , along with sociology and political science , so I finally decided to enter law school , and thanks to my excellent GPA I was awarded a partial scholarship , I was also the best student in the first year of law school; and , regarding the work area , as you could see in my resume , I have previous experience in the position of personal assistant , I am a great worker , efficient , responsible , honest , and I am also a fast learner, ” I tell him with determination , but he doesn't seem very happy with my little monologue.

" What a way to praise yourself, " he tells me , and I frown slightly.

“ I was not praising myself , you asked me to tell you about myself , and it is obvious that you are interested in knowing the aspects of my life that are related to this job , such as my educational training and my work experience , so that is what I did , because I don't think you might be interested in knowing about ... I don't know , my family or romantic life, ” I tell him in a dry tone , and I immediately know that I have gone too far.

I know I shouldn't have said that , or at least I shouldn't have said it in that tone , but he really is an arrogant guy , and besides , it really bothered me that he thought I am praising myself , I just answered his stupid question , which by the way , I didn't understand , as he must have asked me about my abilities or specific things , so it is not my fault that he just prepared cliché questions for me , and then gets upset that I answer them in the same cliché way.

He clenches his jaw and sits up straight , so I follow suit and sit even straighter than I already was , ready to receive what will surely be another attack from him.

“ Your family life does not interest me , and your romantic life interests me even less , very daring of you to assume that it does; Regarding your so-called academic training , having chosen those subjects in college only shows a poverty of character and indecision , and the law school you attend is not even in the top ten in the country , so I would advise you to stop bragging about having entered there with a partial scholarship , because if you were as good as you claim to be , you would have been given a full scholarship; And , if we talk about your work experience , I don't think it is so good to have managed to keep your last job for less than a year , it shows that you are not a constant person , and therefore not reliable, ” he tells me , and I feel like my blood starts to boil with anger , and I try my best to calm myself so as not to say or do something that I may regret later.

But before I can answer anything , he starts talking again: " Thank you very much for coming to the interview , Miss Coleman , I would tell you that we will be in touch , but that would be a lie, " he tells me , and I feel that my breath catches in my throat.

Then I take a deep breath and reply, “ Thank you for your time , Mr. Pemberton, ” and then I hastily get up and leave the office wanting to hit everything in my way.

When I go to the reception to get my coat and umbrella that I had left there on the instructions of the receptionist , I hear her say animatedly: “ Miss Arlington , how nice to see you , how are you? You haven't been here for a long time, ” and I stop in shock , because I recognize that name.

So , this is the famous Zara Arlington-Graham , she looks at me for a few moments and then continues her conversation with the receptionist with a friendly tone , which is surprising , because her aura exudes haughtiness , just like that of the asshole Pemberton , that must be the reason they are a couple , or so said the gossip portals that I checked before coming here; although she looks even more impressive in person than she does in photos.

She is quite tall , slim but curvy , she has shiny black hair , bushy and perfectly plucked eyebrows , green eyes and very long lashes that almost look fake , her skin is basically perfect , and her clothes are designer , just like her bag and her shoes; I feel envious immediately , and while I have never been one of the girls to care excessively about her appearance , or to idolize celebrities that brag about their perfect selves , I must admit that she is the closest thing to one I have ever met.

As I am finishing putting on my coat very slowly , I hear footsteps behind me and I close my eyes as I pray that it is not who I fear it is , but I am almost sure that my pleas were not heard , because the atmosphere feels different all of the sudden , and then I see some shiny shoes stop a few steps from me , when I raise my head , I see how he immediately approaches the girl and kisses her quickly on the lips , which causes a huge surprise in me , because with his cold attitude from before , I did not think he was one of those people who make public displays of affection.

I realize my mouth is open in surprise when he turns to me and says in the same cold tone as before: " Miss Coleman , I thought you were gone already, "

" Yes , sorry , I was organizing my things , I am leaving now , thanks again for the opportunity Mr. Pemberton, " I reply in a high - pitched voice that sounds strange to my ears , and then I rush out of there.

Oh god , that was so embarrassing.

This was all a monumental disaster , and now George is going to be furious , I hate it when he gets like that , it scares me a little , and although he has never laid a finger on me , he does tend to break things when that happens; Maybe I should lie to him and tell him that it went well for me , maybe this time I can make him believe me , although I seriously doubt it , because he has always been able to see through my lies , and if there is something that George hates more than the failures , are the lies , except when he is the one who tells them , of course.

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It was not necessary to say anything to George , because as soon as he got home he could tell from my expression , and that is when things started to break down , and the whole room turned into absolute chaos that I later had to fix; After he calmed down , he came to my room and assured me that he was going to take care of everything , at first I didn't understand what he meant , but I didn't want to ask him more.

And , a week later , when someone from human resources at the i***t's law firm called to ask if I was still available to take the job , I was not at all surprised , George has always had a knack for making things happen , things that he wants to happen , and if I have learned anything over the years , especially the last two years , it is that when this kind of thing happens , it's best not to ask how.

So , I just accept the situation , and mentally prepare myself to start working tomorrow alongside who is probably one of the most arrogant people I have ever met in my life.