Bounded To My Playboy Billionaire Boss

Chapter 7 - An Unpleasant Encounter

Stacey’s POV:

I walked into the office feeling very nervous and unsure. Today was the day I sign the contract with Richard.

I sat at my cubicle, which was directly opposite Richard’s office. I thought to myself how much of a difference it would make, now that I’m no longer just his secretary but also his fiancée.

I decided not to overthink things and just allow things to play out on their own. I focused my attention back on my regular morning routine. I began arranging today’s files in order of importance and cross-checking Richard’s schedule for the day. Richard usually came in by past nine, and I was alway in by seven-thirty at the latest.

I was still handling the task at hand when I heard the sound of heels against tiles which had been reverberating through the halls come to a stop at the front of my desk. The person cleared her throat as if preparing to give a presidential speech.

“I’m here to see Richard.” She announced. I raised my head to look at the face of the person whose perfume was about to snuff the life out of me; It was Vivian. She stood tall wearing a red strapless gown that perfectly matched the red lipstick shade on her lips. Her hair was tied in a bun, allowing her smooth neckline to remain the object of focus. I couldn’t deny she was beautiful, externally, but inwardly, she was dark as coal.

“Miss Vivian, do you have an appointment?” I asked cordially. It was mandatory to have an appointment beforehand, but this simple question seemed to make Vivian flare up in anger.

“An appointment?” She sneered. “The audacity for a lowly secretary like you to ask me that.” She swayed her head around in disbelief like she was looking for someone else who heard me being irritably audacious when I really was just doing my job.

“Well listen here, Stapler,” She mispronounced my name on purpose, it was actually kind of funny. “I am an exception to the requirement of needing an appointment, okay.” She continued using her hands to express every word. I adjusted my chair a little to avoid getting my eyes poked out by her long nails, unintentionally or intentionally.

“Just tell Richard I’m here, and he’ll let me in.” She ordered. “I’m sorry, Miss, but Mr. Richard isn’t on seat right now.” I replied.

“Oh, so now you’re lying.” She yelled, slamming her bag against the glass barricade that served as my cubicle wall. I was beginning to get scared; the situation had escalated in a matter of minutes. It seemed she had something personal against me.

“Oh! You think because you’re engaged to Richard you can act as you like?” She spat out in irritation.

There it was. The real reason she was annoyed.

“Ma’am, please just calm down,” I attempted to soothe her but she wasn’t having it. She continued slamming her bag against the wall. “Ma’am, please, I wouldn’t want to call security on you.”

“Is that a threat?” She froze for a second and stared straight into my eyes.

I gulped.

Vivian began walking slowly towards me, moving past the glass barricade. “So you think because you have two of the richest bachelors in LA, that makes you anything more than the poor, pathetic, insolent secretary that you are?”

This was beginning to feel really dangerous. It felt like she could attack me at any moment. I was no longer close to the telephone, so I couldn’t even call security now if I wanted to. Vivian began to get dangerously closer, and I couldn’t do anything but close my eyes and pray I could shoulder the attack she was about to launch.

“What is going on here?” A voice interrupted before anything could happen. I opened my eyes to see who my savior was; it was Ollie.

Ollie was the only other close friend I had apart from Aliya. We all went to film school together, and he actually played a crucial role in me landing a job here at Desmond Pictures. The one who allowed a fresh out of film school graduate the opportunity to land a job in such a big company like, Desmond Picture, was my dear friend Ollie. Without him, I wouldn't have lasted up to a month here.

“Vivian, are you the one causing all this commotion?” He had his phone in front of him. He seemed to be recording.

“I’m curious what people would say when they see an A-list actress bullying a secretary who is just doing her job.” He threatened as he drew closer to us, still recording. Vivian quickly retracted her steps and raised her bag to hide her face.

“This isn’t over, pauper.” She swore as she swiftly walked out, still hiding her face.

“Come on, you won’t even say hi to the camera?” Ollie called out to her sarcastically. “I thought you were obsessed with being the center of attention.” He laughed.

I breathe a sigh of relief. Honestly, if Ollie had appeared any later than he did, I really don’t know what might have happened.

“Are you okay?” He rushed over to me. “I hope she didn’t touch you because I swear if she—”

“I’m fine, Ollie.” I assured him. He scanned me and then bit his lower lip. From the five years I’ve known Ollie, I knew whenever he bit his lip like this, it meant he was very angry.

“Was she here to see Richard or to see you?” He asked after I settled down on my seat.

“See me?” I replied, puzzled. “Why would she be here to see me?”

He propped his head back in disbelief. It was evident that I was oblivious to something I really should know. “You haven’t seen it, have you?” He questioned, scrolling through his phone.

“Seen what?” I was starting to get really confused. What other event had the universe orchestrated for me this time?

“Shush-talkz has convinced everyone that my best friend isn’t the only one with eyes for you.” He stretched his hand to show me his phone screen.

Oh! Yeah, in case I didn’t say, Richard and Ollie were best friends.

On the phone screen was a picture of me and Chad in his car. On closer inspection of the surroundings, I recognized that this was the parking lot Chad had brought me to, the day the reporters were after me.

But how did Shush-talkz get this picture? I mean, it was a private parking lot. The only people there were me, Chad, and…

And Richard.

The headline on the post read, ‘It seems Cinderella has two princes after her.’ It already had over a million shares. I attempted to open the comments.

“Stacey, don’t.” Ollie quickly yanked his phone from my hand. “Trust me, you don’t want to do that.”

“Do what?” Richard’s voice trailed from the other end of the hall.

He had on a three-piece cotton vintage suit set with his hair styled backwards to complement the suit’s aesthetic. He moved in his usual stylish but dominant steps as he approached where I was. The air was immediately filled with dark, earthy sensuality that told you to stay clear of him but also whispered to you the euphoria of being touched by him.

“Your crazy stalker came to pay you a visit,” Ollie said with a chuckle.

“Vi was here?” He quickly scrutinized the area.

“The girl has given you some sort of traumatic response.” Ollie burst out laughing as he witnessed Richard giving the area one last Vivian-safety assessment.

“Relax, she’s gon,.” He assured Richard after he managed to stop laughing. “For now.”

Richard jabbed at his shoulder. “That’s not funny, dude.”

“Alright, man,” Ollie said in surrender. “I’d tease you some other time.” He curled his fist and extended his arm towards Richard. “Put it in.”

They fist bumped and then proceeded to do a whole handshake routine for like twenty seconds.

“Alright, bye Stacey.” He waved to me as he began to leave. “Bye.” I waved back.

Once he left, Richard proceeded to walk into his office but stopped midway and turned back to face me.

“What are you doing sitting there?” He asked.

I looked up, caught off guard by the question.

“Come in and let’s sign the contract,”

“Babe.”