His Treasure

Arsen

Arsen“He’s straight through the doors,” I heard my assistant say from afar. I turned from my view of the city to see Lola sitting there, looking as beautiful as ever. I was shocked. She looked completely different from the girl with the jeans, sneakers, and ponytail she’d been when I first saw her. I smirked and sat down at my desk.

“Hi, Mr. Lockhart. How are you today?” She sat in front of me with a smile on her face and her notebook in hand. I watched as she opened it and wrote something down. She looked back up at me, confused as to why I was staring at her, but I just chuckled and leaned back in my chair.

“I’m doing great, Lola. How are you?” I stood and walked to the front of my desk, leaning against it. I looked down at her in her chair and finished before she could speak. “Let me guess … ‘I’m doing well Lockhart, and I’m looking very beautiful as well.’” I mimicked her voice and laughed.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably and shifted in her seat. “Good. Um. Actually, Mr. Lockhart, I was going to say I’m doing fine.” She looked me directly in the eyes with a straight face.

I laughed. She couldn’t possibly be serious right now. Who knew she couldn’t take a joke? Scoffing, I grabbed a cigar from my desk and lit it. “Well, what are your questions?”

“For one, I wanted to know what inspired you to become a novelist.” She looked down at her book, ready to write. Her nails were painted beige and her hands looked soothing and slightly glossed from the lotion she had used.

“Since I was young, I’ve loved reading, so by the time I was seventeen, I had written my first book. It was never published, but since then, I’ve been extremely passionate about writing. It’s really all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life, so I decided to turn it into a career. Now look at me—a billionaire!” I laughed and took a drag from my cigar. I loved talking about myself. It’s not so much of a ‘cocky’ thing to do. I’m just very confident, and talking about myself helps remind me of how I made it to the top on my own.

“Great,” She spoke, writing down what I’d just said in her notes. “And how long have you been writing, Mr. Lockhart?”

“Twenty years.” I returned back to my seat. “Published my first book when I was twenty-two years old”

I saw her eyes widen slightly, but she continued to write. Her bracelets clanked together softly and her hair fell on her face. She was so beautiful. I really wanted her in my life. There was a silence in the room and the air grew thick. I decided to lighten the mood a bit.

“How old are you, Lola?”

“‘I’m twenty-one, Mr. Lockhart” She kept her eyes on her notes, but I could see her face turning red.

“Do you want to be a novelist?” I asked and she nodded.

She finally looked up at me and spoke. “I do, Mr. Lockhart”

“Call me Arsen,” I told her “How badly do you want to be a novelist? How hard are you willing to work for it? It’s not as easy as you may think. You can’t just write a book and get it published. It’s much more than that. It’s hard to catch the reader’s eye these days, and this field is competitive, since most people read on their electronics. To get to the top, you have to be the best and don’t stop working, ever, until you get what you want.”

She sat there in shock, not doing anything. She had completely stopped writing and just stared at me. She was startled and I could see it all over her face.

“Let me mentor you, Lola.” I smiled and leaned forward on my desk.

“O-okay, Mr. Lock—Arsen.” She shifted in her chair once more and wrote something down in her book. I could see her begin to turn red in the face again.

“Every Tuesday, same time.” I stood up and fixed my tie. “I’ll show you out”

She looked at me, confused, and stood up, following me toward the door. Before she could fully exit, I grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on it. She furrowed her eyebrows and continued walking.

I couldn’t afford to be around her too long or I might just grab her and kiss her. She was so gorgeous, standing at 5’6 with a perfect curvy figure and long, black hair. Her freckles were like constellations and her lips were pouty and desirable. There was no doubt in my mind that she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my life, and I had to have her. I didn’t mean to come on to her too strongly. I guessed that she just needed time to get comfortable around me. She seemed stubborn about who she gave her attention to and that’s what attracted me the most. I’d be a fool to let her slip through my fingertips.