The billionaire's reluctant mistress

Chapter 2: Her dream job

 Rachel was lost for words. She wanted to run away but her whole body disobeyed her will.

"Please, sit down." His voice cooled down her boiling blood.

Rachel took a deep breath, trying to recall Katy’s description of him: Dalziel Albanese, an English-Italian, from a royal family, studying economics in America, freshly returning home, investing large sums of money in the real estate market...

He could not be Flynn. Flynn and Rachel grew up together in a small town in north England.  He was raised by a single mom who had struggled to send her son to school... The most important thing was, if he was truly Flynn, he definitely couldn’t have been so calm seeing Rachel. No, he wouldn’t! In fact, he would have slapped her, insulted her, then told  her to f**k off!

The man was waiting for Rachel to speak up. Seeing that she was dumbfounded and dazed momentarily, he pointed impatiently to the chair in front of him: "Please, sit down."

"Oh, right! Thank you." Rachel tried to suppress the shock in her mind, and sat down in the chair next to her.

The man's face was undeniably very similar to Flynn, but the more Rachel looked for similarities between them, the more she realized that they were not alike. Flynn was good looking too, but in a gentle, boy-next-door  way, while Mr. Albanese had a sharp cast to his face. It seemed that his nose had been broken once, and his jaw was wider than Flynn’s. Mr. Albanese’s eyes were cold, clear, and discerning whereas Flynn’s were always bright, and sparkled under the sun.

Their temperaments differed too. Flynn grew up in poverty, without a father. He always carried an inferiority complex, though it was not easy to detect. As for the person in front of her right now, his whole body exuded a defiant, authoritarian spirit, which came from wealth. It was an innate arrogance, something Flynn never would have had

Catching Mr. Albanese’s gaze, Rachel hurriedly looked the other way. She was such a silly girl. Only one glimpse from him, and her heart had already jumped out of her chest.

"I ..." Taking two deep breaths, Rachel finally managed to open her mouth: "I am... Rachel Evans."

He stared coldly at her.

As Rachel convinced herself that the person in front of her could not be Flynn, she quickly dismissed the memories that had just returned like a waterfall, cascading through her mind.

She had to stop thinking about Flynn Wilson. Their relationship was completely over.

All her inner turmoil made her forget the speech she had prepared. She could not speak fluently: "Mr. Albanese... I’m applying for..."

He hastily interrupted her: "Why did you quit your last job?"

It was one of the most frequently asked questions in an interview, but it was very hard for her to answer. Rachel forced a smile: "Just some personal matters."

He stayed quiet. Thinking for a moment, she had no choice but to explain vaguely: "In general, It was mutual. Attending social events was a part of my previous job. And I don’t feel like I’m the most suitable for it. "

Rachel had no idea if he wanted to keep asking more about this. But luckily, he moved on and asked about her other experiences. She told him what she had done for the past few years, making it sound as interesting as possible. His fingers tapped on her file. She looked at where his finger was tapping, it was “the marital status”.

In her CV, she had ticked ‘married’.

Although it didn’t effectively stop all of her previous boss’s sleazy intentions, she felt safer letting them know that there was a man in her life.

Rachel was thinking about her little trick, when he suddenly said, “Did your husband have any problems with you working as a secretary? It must be very difficult since you are very attractive.”

His words were extremely inappropriate and something in the way he was looking at her made Rachel feel uncomfortable. If it wasn’t for her desperation in finding a new job, she would have stood up and left the office.

"I think ..." Swallowing her feelings of humiliation, Rachel said: "He had no problems with me working. We shared obligations equally and we are happy living like that. Not all men are as fortunate as you, having such a successful career and not having to worry about financial issues."

"Well, I would mind my woman spending time with other men more than me."

As he spoke, his eyes arrogantly swept over her face, down to her body, lustily. She suppressed her indignation, smiled and said, "Not everyone is the same then, I guess."

"Really?" He laughed, stroking his chin and smiling handsomely. "Maybe I’m just used to having more control over my women than your husband does over his woman.”

Was this really the man Katy had spoken about so fondly? His experience of seducing married women was no different from Rachel’s previous bosses.

She stood up, clasping her hands together so she wouldn’t be tempted to slap him. Politely and respectfully, she responded, “I don't think I'm suitable for your company.” She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, maintaining eye contact and composure all the while. “Thank you for your time."

Rachel got home and took a hot bath.  She laid on her bed, blankly looking at the white ceiling. Life as an adult was so difficult. All she had ever wanted was to  just have a stable job, be able to take care of herself, and live  her life peacefully. But nothing  was ever that simple.

She used to be so naive, madly in love with a man, thinking that love would last forever. But soon, she learned that real life wasn’t a fairy tale. Recalling the past, she realized how dumb she used to be.

There was a time when all she needed to do was to close her eyes, and every single small thing he did - his gaze, his laugh, his breath on her skin - would come back to her. But time passed by rapidly. Now, she was no longer able to recall the details of his features anymore. Recently, picturing him in her mind took too much effort and it was usually disturbed by other fragmented thoughts. Flynn. Perhaps she had thought about him too much lately, and it made her  unconsciously see  his figures in another man. She kept replaying the interview in her mind like a slow-motion video. The man's face made her broken heart ache.

That evening, Rachel was quieter than usual. Only one look and Lisa knew there was something not quite right. Lisa hesitantly asked: “How was the interview?

Rachel bit her lip and didn’t know what to say. After a while, she said: "Is it weird if I say that the company's CEO looks exactly like my ex?"

Lisa laughed: "What?"

Rachel waved her hand. "It doesn't matter anyway, I'm sure I won’t get a job offer."

“Well. I’m sorry for that. I’m sure you will find other chances.”

To her own surprise, the next morning, while surfing the internet for recruiting news, Rachel received an email from L&R Real Estate. The letter thanked Rachel for attending the interview, stating  that the CEO had a very good impression of her and wanted to offer her a senior position in the HR department. Her main responsibility would be internal communication tasks, assisting recruitment activities, and dealing with documents. She would not have to accompany the directors board on business trips or attend to company social events.

Rachel couldn't believe her eyes. She reread the letter several times to make sure she hadn’t  read it wrong. The short interview the other day ended with her leaving furiously. Why did Mr. Albanese still want her to come  back?

Rachel had a bad feeling about this. She intended to decline the offer.

But as she scrolled down and saw how much they were willing to pay her, Rachel wavered. It was twice the amount she had been earning  at her last job and this new job seemed much easier.

“Maybe you are just overthinking. Maybe what Katy said about her company and her boss is true. Don’t let your subjective prejudices stop you from taking this chance.” Lisa told her.

Rachel gave herself a day to calm down and carefully consider the offer. By lunchtime the following day, she replied and said that she would love to work at L&R Real Estate.

Rachel's first day at work went very well. She was shown around and introduced to everyone by an employee in the same department named Susie.

“Mr. Albanese sets really high standards for his employees. You should be careful, especially when handling the documents which will be directly sent to him." Susie reminded Rachel.

At lunch break, Katy appeared at the door with a bright smile: "How do you feel?"

"Good. Everything is good.”

"There. I told you so. If you have any problems, find me at the reception hall.”

"Aw. Thank you very much."

“Have you had lunch yet? The food at the 15th floor’s cafeteria is very delicious and cheap, shall we go together?

“I’d love to. Thank you Katy, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

When we are busy, time seems to pass more quickly. Rachel had to learn many things for her new job. She made an effort  to get to know her colleagues and tried to become part of the new team. Soon, a month went by. Mr. Albanese was the most serious workaholic Rachel had ever met. In the morning, when she arrived at the office, the CEO's lounge was  already lit up. At night, when she and everyone left, he was still working. Of course, all employees were extremely diligent as well. Although there was a lot of work pressure, Rachel still felt satisfied, because she no longer had to attend fancy social parties which smelled like trash underneath. Moreover, apart from the initial meeting, Mr. Albanese always treated her professionally. They rarely spoke in person, and the conversations were always about the quarterly reports or business . He didn't do anything that made her uncomfortable, and even seemed somewhat aloof. Perhaps he had just wanted to test Rachel during the interview.

Rachel's life passed peacefully. Colleagues also began to be more friendly towards Rachel. Life  hadn’t been this pleasant for a long time, and she began to think about her future and career. She enrolled in a management class in the evening and read books about construction and real estate. She hoped to perform her role well and become a capable person so she won’t be easily replaced.