Hello Mr. Arrogant

Chapter 4

[Semi-edited]

Chapter 4: {Making It Up?}

"Where were you?" Mr. Hadley growled after the meeting. Something about him told me he was angry. It could have been the balled fists, the daggers in his eyes, or the darkness he had in his voice. Maybe it was all three! Either way, I was dead meat.

I didn't see the problem, however. I was only a minute or two late and I did what I was supposed to do, which was take notes. He just seems to have a stick up his butt and a stiff neck.

"I'm so sorry, sir. It won't happen again." I pleaded with him. But, I relented anyway because he was my boss.

"You're damn right it won't," he said while holding a stack of papers in his hands. He handed them to me and went back to his desk.

"Don't let me catch you unless every last one of those are done, you understand me?" He glared up at me for only a second before darting his eyes to the computer screen.

"Yes, Mr. Hadley," I said looking defeated.

Today was my day to show I was mature and responsible enough for this job and I screwed up. I was going to prove to myself that I didn't have to rely on my parents for money. I was going to make things right again.

Taking the horribly heavy stack of papers with me, I made my way to my office trying not to trip or fall on my way there. 

"You need help with that?" Belle said standing up from her office desk. The weight on my shoulders lifted just a bit when she smiled at me.

"Thank you," I said handing her half of the stack.

Most of them were printed out emails I had to read and sort them out into not important and important. Trash and not trash. The few others that were scattered throughout were letters from groups about tours and upcoming events. 

I signed, with fancy cursive, Semi-Important on a piece of paper, then placed it in its own separate pile, forming now three different groups. I looked through a few emails before I heard Belle hum to herself.

"What are you singing?" I asked her out of curiosity. We were both sitting in my office doing Mr. Hadley's work, might as well take advantage of the situation and talk to her, I shrugged to myself.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a song my dad sang to me when I was younger," She shrugged it off like it was no big deal. I, on the other hand, thought it was a great big deal.

"I never had that," I said looking down trying to avoid her glancing eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said with sympathy laced in her sweet voice. "What was it like for you, then?"

"My parents own a shipping company in California. They never really had time for me when I was younger," I said truthfully, letting myself be open to someone. "It wasn't until my older brother, Kade, turned eighteen that they started paying real attention to me. A year later I started working for my father, and when I turned nineteen, a few months ago, I moved here to start a new life."

"That doesn't sound so bad," She told me with a smile.

"To you maybe, but I was neglected until I was seventeen years old. My parents thought money could replace them, and it did for a while actually. I used my power to my advantage whenever I could. Everyone thought I was a spoiled brat with all the money in the world." 

I signed another paper in my hesitation, then continued. "It was a horrible way of living. People didn't like me for me, they liked my money and fame. They didn't fear me, they only feared the wrath of my title as a wealthy man's daughter." I sighed, anxious about what she would think of me.

"I could care less who your father is. You seem like a nice person to be around and that's all that matters." The corners of her lips turned upward more, if that was possible, as she continued to sign papers alongside me.

"Thank you."

***

The day went by pretty fast. The sun had appeared from behind the clouds and was now setting under the buildings when I finished the last email, scribbling Unimportant over the top.

I wiped the invisible sweat from my brow, the proud exhaustion of a hard day's work.

Belle had to leave a few hours ago for her date-night with her boyfriend. I gushed at her and then waved her goodnight. She was lucky to have someone to love and cherish her.

The only guy I could say I've ever loved was in my Junior year of high school. And it was only a childish giddy kind of love at best.

James Author Kennel.

Aka- Mr. Perfect.

He was the sweetest guy I had ever met. Golden blonde hair, dashing brown eyes, and a smile any girl would kill over. He made me feel perfect in every way possible and gave attention to me in ways my own family couldn't.

Until the day he decided his reputation was better than his girlfriend.

He tried to rape me. Used his charms and flirty ways to seduce me into his bed. When I refused he tried to take me on his couch, forcefully. I kicked him in the crotch and dashed out the door like a madwoman.

I took both stacks of papers in my hands, placing the important ones on the top horizontally and the unimportant vertically. That way he could distinguish between the two.

I made my way down the corridor to his office. The sun was way below the horizon by now, and most of the employees had gone home for the day. But I had suspected that Mr. Ashton Hadley would still be in his office doing some sort of business.

I knocked on the big wooden door. The sound echoed throughout the empty hallway sending an unwelcome cold shiver down my spine.

A gruff, "come in," told me I was allowed to walk in. Just in time because the hallway became much too quiet for my liking, almost like a horror movie. I was just waiting for the creepy twin girls to stand at the other end.

I opened the door carefully. I didn't want to disturb him just in case he was still mad at me for earlier.

I looked him up and down. He had a pen in his hands, twirling it around his fingers, his hair was beyond messy but still had that sexy look to it. He had his suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair, showing off his pure, hard muscles from under his white dress shirt.

"Are you going to stand there and drool all day or are you going to tell me something?" He asked never looking up from his folder of papers.

Was I drooling?

I momentarily touched the corners of my lips with my fingers before sighing. There was, fortunately, no drool.

"Here are the papers, Mr. Hadley," I said placing the stacks on the desk. That's when he looked up at me.

Our eyes met and it felt as though I was swimming. I could honestly stare at this man's eyes forever and never get bored. They were endless.

The corners of his lips pulled up in a grin, probably pleased at the work I accomplished.

"Well done, Miss Bennett," he said looking at the papers. "I didn't expect you to finish them all today." He folded his hands over his desk as he looked up at me.

"I didn't either," I told him bashfully, my cheeks burning crimson.

Did I really just tell him that?

"To be honest, sir., I didn't think I'd get done with half of them, but I knew, after this morning, I had to make it up to you."

"You had to make it up to me?" He asked curiously. His head had leaned a small bit to the left causing my heart to stop for a second.

"Yes, sir.," I gasped placing my palms firmly against the desk, leaning so we were level with each other. "Today was my day to prove I'm not some spoiled brat living off of her parents' money. And I will work harder than any other employee to show that."

"Good," he said calmly. We both looked at each other as a weird tension filled the very small gap between us. The tension wasn't bad. In fact, it made my heart race and my breathing stagger.

"Well," he cleared his throat, leaning back in his office chair. "Meet me at Clair De Lune in a week at noon. We have a partnership to discuss with another company."

Clair De Lune? The fanciest French restaurant in all of New York City!

"What do I wear?" I asked almost having a panic attack in my head.

"A nice dress. Maybe put your hair up? I don't know, I'm a guy, we don't think about those things." He waved his free hand in the air.

"I guess I'll leave then," I said playing with the hem of my blouse.

"Goodnight, Lydia," he said smirking up at me with piercing blue eyes. Hearing my name made my stomach flip upside down and my knees to buckle under me.

"Goodnight Mr. Hadley."

After we said our goodnights and seconds of staring, I finally left with a sense of pride warming my chest.