The Arrangement

Sebastian Donovan was going to be the death of me. “Get off the road!” The cab that had almost killed me zoomed past, the guy glaring daggers at me before I could muster a small smile. Trying to find a decent parking space outside the building was a nightmare and the last thing I needed was for my car to get towed. Again. Especially since last time, I couldn’t go pick it up because of the insane hours I was putting in here. Just when I was about to bang my head on my wheel for the fifth time, I found a spot. Doing a slight happy dance, I parked the car and grabbed Donovan’s precious, probably-cost-more-than-my-whole-life clothes and ran towards the building. “Hey, Beth.” Charles greeted me as he opened the door. He was the first person I met everyday when I stepped into work and on a regular day, I would’ve stopped to talk but I didn’t have that luxury so I just waved. “Do you need any help with that?” He called out. “No, I’m okay. Thank you though.” I yelled back as I raced across the room towards the elevators, hitting the skidding of my heels against the tiled floors. A quick glance down at my watch told me I only had five minutes more until I was late. “Please hold it.” I called out towards the people inside the elevator and thankfully, someone heard. Quickly, I got in and muttered a breathless "thank you" as the doors closed and I pressed the button for the top floor. My arm was starting to strain under the weight of the clothes, almost making me wish I’d taken up Charles on his offer. But then I remembered the icy force of Donovan’s glare as he sent me out today to get his dry cleaning. He’d been in a bad mood. Then again, when wasn’t he? For the entire year that I’d been working for him, I had never once seen the man smile. But today, his scowl was deeper than ever when he sent me on this meaningless task. It wasn’t the first time he had me out doing something that was below my pay grade. As secretary to the CEO, I had naively thought I would end up doing only executive and managerial work but instead, I was always rushing to pick up coffee or laundry or attend family dinners and events. The elevator dinged, snapping me back to reality. We’d reached my floor and then my alarm went off. I was late. I crossed the hall as quickly as my heels would allow and reached his office door, shifting the clothes to my left hand so I could knock. After pausing for a beat, waiting for the response I was hoping wouldn’t come, I opened the door and met an empty office. “Yes!” I exclaimed, beyond happy that somehow Donovan was still out. This would save me a frosty confrontation from him and the trip to the bathroom to cry my heart out. Again. I draped the clothes over the lounge chair by the side and went over to his desk to reconfirm that I had placed the reminder about the family dinner on top. “Miller. What are you doing?” Like a deer caught in headlights, I instantly froze, unable to look up towards the source of the voice, even as the sound of footsteps drew closer in the pin-drop silence of the room. “I … dropped off the laundry and came to make sure your desk was in order.” Gulping down and trying to come maintain a farce of bravery, I finally looked up and met Donovan’s piercing gaze. The fierce CEO who had driven down dozens of companies. The man who had pushed employees to the brink and was feared all through the company. Yet he was also this year’s sexiest man alive. One of the most eligible bachelors of New York City. But now as his pale blue eyes burrowed into mine, making it hard to look away from the chiselled features that made magazines compare him to a modern day Adonis, brown hair that was always gelled back, never out of place and the tailor made suit that hugged every inch as though it was painted on him, only two words came to my mind: Donovan was the devil incarnate. Devilishly handsome and just as cruel. “You’re late.” He growled, lifting his watch for me to see. “I had to stop and …” “I specifically instructed you to pick up the laundry and make sure you got back here on time.” He scowled at my hands and I looked down to see them clenching the file tightly. I moved my hands off the desk and started wringing them instead. All the anxiety from my year with working this man has probably shed off ten years off my lifespan. “I got here …” “A minute late.” My eyes widened, wondering how he even knew that. “You weren’t in your office.” “I watched you come inside.” He crossed his arms over his chest, the scowl deepening even more. I realized that it was futile even trying to reason with this man so as always, I relented. “I’m sorry.” I stepped back from the desk to the other side of the room, waiting for the inevitable response. Part of what made Donovan so fearful was the way he fired people at the slightest whim. The man had previously gone through a secretary for a month and every day I was here, I was just holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. A part of me wondered if I would be relieved when it happened even though I knew it would be a major setback in paying off the loans. The awkward silence extended in the room as he simply continued to glare at me but this time, I kept my eyes on the floor. After what felt like an eternity, he moved back to his desk and sat down. “Get back to your desk.” He said coolly, making me look up so fast, I nearly got whiplash. “Sir?” I asked, needing to make sure I hadn’t misheard him. It sounded like he wasn’t firing me. “You want me to say it twice, Miller?” He asked calmly, raising an eyebrow. “No,” I answered quickly, not wanting to push my luck. “Thank you.” With that, I hurried out of the office, my heart pounding in my ears, before he could change his mind and fire me anyway