Their Submissive Assistant

Both?

LEILANI

“Why would you fire her?!” I whisper-yelled as soon as the young lady rushed out of the office, leaving the mess behind. “She did nothing wrong.”

I looked towards the door and my heart pricked. No one deserved to be let go in that manner. Not when their living depended on it.

“It was a long time coming,” Landon says, placing his hand in his pockets and walking back to his desk. “Just a happy coincidence that it came earlier than expected.”

“I was getting tired of her advances, you see.” He tutted, and I stared at him in disbelief at how uncaring he was of the fact that he just rendered someone jobless on a whim.

I sat in silence, short of words as I watched the printer go off once again, dispensing papers I figured were my contract. It didn’t take long before the papers were placed before me with a pen.

“Sign it,” Landon urged, watching me intently.

I swallowed hard, unable to shake off the feeling that I was signing a deal with the devil. I picked up the pen with shaky hands, picturing my mother who lay in the hospital bed.

I couldn’t lose her. I just couldn’t.

I signed the dotted lines, placing the pen right on the side of the paper as I tried to convince myself it couldn’t be that bad. And if it was, it was worth it, considering I had an entire thirty-five grand.

“I’ll take this, and you will get a copy of yours later,” Landon said. “You can head back to the HR. She will put you through what you have to do.”

I stood up, legs shaky. “Thank you,” I said, eyes fixed on the marble tiles. Deciding to leave it at that, I made a turn for the door, feeling his gaze as I got to the door.

I pulled the door open, ready to leave when he finally spoke.

“See you tomorrow,” he said. “Bright and early.”

I hummed and walked out of the place, feeling a weight leave my chest as I trod the hallway, tightly clutching my bag. I soon got to the HR, where I met the woman from before.

“Congratulations!” she said as soon as she saw me.

I felt taken aback. “Thank you,” I responded, remaining on my feet until she urged me to sit.

“I’ll just get you sorted with a few more paperwork, and you’ll be set to resume by tomorrow. Good?” I nodded, thanking her profoundly as she walked me through some paperwork.

After what felt like an hour, I was handed my employment letter. I stared at the letter in my hands, unable to believe it. I was an employed worker of the prestigious L&L Firm.

Landon’s assistant.

I swallowed hard, anxiety pooling in my stomach as I tried to assure myself that this wasn’t the worst decision of my life. It was a job - a well-paying one.

I had bills to pay, so I couldn’t keep holding on to the past. We were both adults, and this was a working environment.

Everything would sort itself out. It had to.

The ride back to Jasmine’s apartment was quick, thanks to the road being slightly freer than usual. I got to the apartment, slowly reaching for my keys when I realized the lights were on.

I pulled on the handle and realized the doors were unlocked. “Jasmine?” I called, walking into the apartment.

“In the room!” a voice came from the room, and I smiled.

“You’re back early,” Jasmine said as soon as I came into eye contact. “Now, that gown looks fabulous on you.”

I looked myself over, realizing it was one of her outfits. Blood rushed up my cheeks as I profusely apologized to her. “I’m sorry, I had an interview and I needed something-”

“That’s fine,” she said. “You rock it better than I ever would.”

I watched Jasmine organize her vanity table while I took a seat on the bed, pulling off my shoes.

“So, tell me, girl,” she prompted. “How did your interview go? And the audition?” She turned to me with a smile. “Tell me you got it.”

Jasmine’s smile was beautiful as well as contagious. My heart leapt as I broke the news to her.

“I got it,” I say, unable to hide my grin. “I start tomorrow.”

Jasmine clasped her hands, excitement in her eyes. “I knew it!” she said, then backtracked. “Wait a minute, are you talking about the gig or the job?”

I stared at her, lips sealed in a dramatic pause before finally breaking the news with a shrug. “Both?”

“You’re kidding.”

I bit my lower lip, pulling out my employment letter, a surreal feeling in my heart. “You are looking at the newest employee at L&L PR Firm.”

Jasmine took the letter with wide eyes, her grin growing bigger as she read through the paper. “Congratulations!” she said, taking me in a hug. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Thank you,” I said, going on to explain how the interview went, intentionally leaving out the fact that my new boss happened to be my childhood bully.

As well as the fact he was paying me a ridiculous amount of money just to be his assistant. I further detailed how the audition went from last night, and by the time I was done, Jasmine had hugged me a total of five times.

“I’m so happy for you!” she said for the nth time. “We should totally celebrate.”

While the words were still on her tongue, her phone ringtone hit the air and she grabbed it from the table. I watched her eyes widen slightly as she quickly got up, muttering an excuse before stepping out of the room.

I watched her leave and heard the front door shut a few seconds after, which was weird, given her sudden countenance change.

Nevertheless, I shrugged it off, pinning it on the fact she needed some privacy and going on to pick up from where she left off at the vanity table.

A few minutes later, Jasmine returned to the house. I watched her breeze past me and into the closet. “What’s going on?” I asked, walking right behind her.

Jasmine turned around, eyes slightly widened upon sighting me. “I, um, I just need to go somewhere real fast,” she stuttered, pulling on some jogger pants and T-shirt. “I will be back as soon as I can. We can celebrate later.”

Before I could get a word in, Jasmine pulled on a black cap and a duffle bag, walking out of the closet with her shoes in hand. “Good luck with your job, Lei. I knew you could do it.”

She placed a swift kiss on my cheek and disappeared through the door, leaving me standing right in the living room.

That was not weird. Not in the very least.