In Love With My Friend's Billionaire Father

Chapter 5

Standing in front of the building now, I couldn't help but be shocked at how gigantic it truly was. I have only seen it in pictures and magazines. Now, for the first time, I am actually going to enter inside it.

The Richardson Complex.

I followed the trail of business men and women dressed in corporate wear as they entered the building and I approached the woman sitting by the reception.

“Hey,” I said gleefully. “It's a wonderful morning, isn't it?” The woman clearly wasn't in the mood for any pleasantries.

“How can I help you?” she asked.

“Uh! I have an appointment with someone,” I said.

“Who?” She asked.

“Alan Richardson,” I whispered, too shy to say it out loud. The receptionist looked up at me like I had gone crazy.

“I'm sorry, ma'am,” she said. “If this is a prank…”

“No. No,” I quickly replied. “I have an appointment. You can check with his office,” she said nothing. She just picked up the phone beside her and dialled a number.

“Hi. This is Emma, from the reception. A woman is here. She said she had an appointment with the boss,” she waited a while for a response. “Name. What's your name?”

“Mary Anne Rovers,”

“Right. Mary Anne,” then she paused. She was in disbelief for a while. “Alright, thanks. I'll pass it along,” then the call ended. She turned to me unrepentantly.

“Here, take this tag,” she passed a tag to me. “Take that road and go straight for the elevator. You're going to the main conference room which is the fifth room by your right on the first floor. Got it?”

“Thank you,” I said but she did not reply to me.

“What a crazy woman,” I thought. It didn't bother me though because when I finally get this job, I will be her superior and she wouldn't dare look down on me then.

As I walked over to the elevator, I thought of the achievement I've made these past few days and I couldn't help but be proud of myself. I remembered telling Arianna that her father had allowed me to stay in the house for as long as I wanted and she was blown away.

“How did you convince him?” She asked but I just brushed it off as luck. For hers and her family's sake, everything between her father and I had to remain a secret.

As I walked out of the elevator, I started feeling uneasy. I knew I had leverage and this was going to go exactly as I wanted. The last time we had a conversation, I was the one giving him the terms.

“I want a position as the head of a department,” I told him. “ With a salary that will average 5 million dollars a year,” I told him. The plan remained the same. Get the salary and pay back my parents loans, then use the experience to reestablish my family.

But over the weekend, I read about the great Alan Richardson. He has successfully implemented over 10 corporate takeovers and won against several government policies. This is not a man that goes down without a fight. I wonder what surprise he has in stock for me this time.

There is a man standing at the entrance of the conference room. He opened the door for me with a smile.

“He's waiting for you,” he said. I nodded and walked inside the room. He seemed to be concluding a meeting with some top executives who were leaving the moment I walked in. He looked up, saw me and checked his wrist watch.

“Mary Anne,” he said, probably the first time he would be acknowledging my name. “You're a minute late. First rule of business. Always stay on time,”

“I'll keep that to mind,” I replied. This is going better than I thought it would.

I sat on the empty chair and, in his usual fashion, he sled a brown paper towards me. I picked it up and checked the content.

“It's your contract with the company,” he said. “All you have to do is sign.”

I knew better than that. Even if it was harmless, it wouldn't hurt to go through the whole document word for word. So I took my time and went through it.

I was horrified. A job as a secretary? Two million a year? A five year compulsory term? This was not what I asked for.

“I'm sorry,” I said. “I think there's been a misunderstanding.”

“There's none,” he replied. “Second rule of business, Mary Anne, you don't reveal all your hand in one meeting. Because of what you told me, I knew exactly how much you needed and that you were planning on ripping me off for one year then disappearing into the corners of the earth. Guess what? It's not going to work that way,”

“No. No. You don't understand,” I protested.

“That's my final offer. You will work as my personal secretary so my eyes will be on you 24/7. You think you can rip me off and get away with it? Nah. I will make your life a living hell and make sure you wish you had never crossed paths with me,” he said all of that while keeping a cool face.

“I know who you are now, Mary Anne,” he said. “So, there is no point hiding myself from you,”

“But… But your wife…” I stuttered.

“Oh! I have contingencies just in case. In the few days you have given me, I have managed to erase all footage of our meeting. You have no proof. No evidence. Worse. I can tell my daughter that you tried to seduce me and she will send you out of the house herself,”

I knew he was a cold blooded corporate man, I had no idea he was just plain evil.

“Then why are you giving me this contract to sign then?” I asked with my voice breaking. “You're already in control of everything,”

“To make it more believable,” he said. “The official narrative will be, I offered you a job, you wanted more so you tried to seduce me, but because I am a family man, I refused. So you started spreading false rumours about us sleeping together,” my mouth was agape. I had no words.

“That is if you don't sign it, of course,” he continued. “If you do, I will make it my life's mission to frustrate your life till you leave and never return. So, my advice for you right now is to take the 50,000 I'm offering you and run. This climate is not for you. I am willing to double that offer to a hundred thousand cause I'm feeling generous,” he said.

The paper was right in front of me and so was the pen. I was in a huge dilemma. If I sign this document, I'm signing myself off to s*****y. His time will be my time. I will be bound by his strict hours and travel routes. I will have no freedom of my own.

But if I don't, my family will remain in captivity with no hope for freedom. I had no choice. I picked the pen and saw his surp

rised face as I signed the document.

“Do your worst,” I thought.