The Arrangement

Episode 2

“Wait, wait. Let me get this straight.” Dani said, waving a hand in the air.

I shook my head at her theatrics while glancing at my watch to make sure I had enough time on my break to race back to my desk before Donovan stepped out for his meeting with the board of directors.

“He sent a text at six in the morning to pick up his dry cleaning in a posh place in Brooklyn!” Her eyes widened and she pounded a hand on the desk, causing people around us to glance our way.

“Dani!” I chastised, smiling apologetically all around us.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll calm down. So he had you drive out there with instructions to be at work on time and then when you were late …”

“By a minute.” I added, gulping down the rest of my coffee.

“By a minute,” She pounded the table again for emphasis but softer this time. “But he didn’t fire you.”

“That’s what happened.”

“The same Donovan who fired five secretaries for not being there on time?”

“The very same.”

“Huh.” She said simply, looking just as confused as I felt. With a shrug, I pushed back from the seat and got up.

“You know, this is like the fifth time something like this has happened and every single one of those times, I really thought that he would fire me but … he didn’t. He’s callous, rude and stone hearted and God knows how many times he has made me cry over the past few months but …”

“He hasn’t fired you,” She finished for me as we made our way to the stairs. Considering we never got any cardio done working at our desks all week, we always made sure to use the stairs on our way back from our lunch break as she went back to HR and I made my way to the executive floor.

Dani and I first met while interviewing for the same position four years ago. The two of us had been the youngest in the room so we’d ended up sitting next to each other.

At the time, I was so nervous I thought I would end up drenching my clothes but Dani looked at ease and effortlessly professional in her maroon suit that complimented her brown skin and the highlights in her curly hair extremely well.

She just turned to me, introduced herself with a smile and said, “For such a big company, they have horrible air conditioning.” And that was it. We got to talking and I ended up forgetting all about my nerves until I was sitting before the interview panel.

Thankfully, we both ended up getting hired as administrative assistants and our friendship has been going strong since. Even after she got promoted to HR officer and was now a HR consultant while I applied for the job as the CEO’s secretary on a dare and ended up shocking myself by landing the job.

“Maybe all the bad PR he’s been getting is finally getting to him.”

I paused to mull this over as my thighs cried out at the strain. “That would make sense except he fired a member of the marketing team last week for using a font he hated.”

“Seriously?”

I nodded, remembering the look on the poor guy’s face. “To be fair, it looked horrible.”

Dani let out a giggle at that. “Sorry.” Our eyes met and we both burst into a fit of laughter that had me clutching my stomach. Anyone passing by would’ve thought we were insane but luckily the stairwell was as empty as ever. We were right outside HR and had officially reached Dani’s stop.

Subconsciously, I glanced at my watch and realized I only had ten minutes left which meant I needed to sprint the rest of the way. “Shoot, I need to get back to my desk. Bye, Dani.”

“Call me after dinner with all the tea.” She yelled, the sound of the door closing echoing after her.

My lungs burned as I pushed myself up the final flight of stairs. Clearly, Dani and I needed to take up running or something because this wasn’t enough.

I made it to my desk with five minutes to spare which gave me enough time to drink some water and fix my hair while I waited for my computer to spring to life. As soon as it did though, the sound of heels approaching made me pause and look up.

My heart sank, watching as she loomed closer, realizing what this meant Donovan’s bad mood was about to get even worse. I stood up, trying to think of a way to stall her and call him at the same time so he doesn’t come out now.

“Beth.” She said, voice coated with frost as she gave me a onceover to show just how much she hated my being here. Laila Woolworth, America’s top model and heir to the glamorous Woolworth fashion empire who was also a philanthropist with a heart of gold. Also known as Donovan's ex-girlfriend who didn’t seem to understand she was an ex.

She showed up on an almost monthly basis and demanded to speak to Donovan who deemed her too insignificant to take up time from his precious schedule. Harsh, I know but that’s his MO.

“Laila. I’m sorry but …”

She raised a hand to cut me off. “I know he’s inside, Beth. I just need to speak with him.”

I plastered on a tight smile, praying Donovan would stay in his office just a little longer. “I’m afraid Mr Donovan is out for a meeting right now but I would be happy to relay a message to him.”

“I’m not going to fall for it this time. I know he’s inside and I demand to speak with him,” She slammed her hand on my desk, causing me to flinch. “Who the hell do you think you are to stand here and stop me from seeing him?”

“She’s my executive assistant,” That low baritone voice said, causing us both to look back. Donovan’s gaze was firmly fixed on Laila now, making her feel the full weight of his icy glare as he walked to stand next to me. “You’re out of line. Get out.”

“Sebastian …” She reached out but he only continued to scowl.

“I don’t have time for this,” He gritted, raising his hand to look at his watch. There was nothing he hated more than running behind schedule. “Get out of my office before I call security here to throw you out.”

Tears sprang to her eyes as she gave him one last final look and turned to shoot daggers at me before she stormed out towards the elevator.

“Miller. What is on my schedule after the board meeting?” Donovan asked, already stepping away from my desk.

“The family dinner is tonight.”

“I expect that you’ll be there. On time.” He added, turning to look at me.

I nodded instantly. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” He said and with that, made his way out of the office. I collapsed back into my chair feeling breathless like I’d just been stuck in a vacuum. At this rate, I was going to be dead before I was done paying off these debts. Then what would my family do?