THE BILLIONAIRES SECRETARY

☕︎ |||Lilly

ʚ♡ɞ

After waking up on my boss' couch yesterday I did not know how to act around him, he dismissed my apologies with a simple "If you're not going to let this go consider it that we're even now." I can't believe I even suggested firing me because I felt embarrassed but I for one knew just how much I needed this job the most. his laughed, he looked so beautiful it was almost as if he wasn't the arrogant

Today is my official first day at work. I got into the office at six forty-five AM to prepare for the day ahead. The schedule was nothing out of the ordinary, Mr. Lancaster was going to be in his office all day working on his paperwork up until late afternoon when he would have a meeting with representatives from a partnering company.

My work was minimal and boring. All I did was check-in with him to see if he needed me to get him anything, which he didn't, when I was going down to get myself lunch from the coffee shop I checked in to see if he needed me to grabe him anything he arrogantly dismissed me with "You're only supposed to be in here when I ring for your help if I don't that means you have to stay the hell away from here"

Mckenzie rang for me to meet her at the coffee shop for some late lunch since we both hadn't had lunch. she introduced me to some of her office friends it didn't make sense to me none of them worked for the same company the two girls Lisa and Fern worked for Cosmetics by Bloom their mother owned the place, Josh and Henry had their own tech companies, I had picked up all this information in passing thanks to the conversation at the table.

From their outfits, I could tell they were from a wealthy family like her. My thought led me to wonder if I was the only financially struggling person my friends knew and had as a friend from all of the parties I attended everyone seemed to fit in perfectly into their wealthy aesthetic not that they made me feel out of place and that's one of the many things I appreciated about them. It was not hard to notice that there was a very huge difference.

I had noticed that Josh, who was seated across from us on the opposite side of the table, had been staring at me since we got here his face turned red as he blinked a few times then smiled sheepishly when he realized I had caught him red-handed, I offered him a small awkward smile and went back to awkwardly staring at my plate. Mckenzies' friends were bright and bubbly holding a conversation with them was easy unless you were as awkward as I was.

I passively listened to the conversation and threw in a few comments when they directed the conversation my way. When I stole peripheral glances at Josh, I noticed him examine me intently with a glint of brightness in his eyes each time I spoke. His face resembled a five-year-old tasting candy for the first time it made me giggle a little. The food was great it didn't seem like everyone else liked it. They had barely touched their plates, and ninety-five percent of their lunch break was spent in conversation they talked a lot, and their conversation was about everything work tea about staff they hated, or just had something on, money, holidays, clothes it was hard to predict what'd be talked about next

When we were all done eating, Josh offered to take the bill, which I objected to, and offered to compensate him for my share he then burst out in a fit of laughter and gave his card to the waiter who seemed to be irritated by the two minute back and forth about who should take the bill

" You'll pay next time," was his response he wore the most devilish grin on his face, it sent a shiver down my spine. the walk back to work was not long. I shared my socials with everyone, and they said it'd really be nice if we continued going down for lunch together. Josh spent the whole time angrily taping on his phone and remained silent the rest of the walk. I wanted to thank him for paying for lunch today but was debating on whether I should lightly tap his arm or not.

I did and regretted it almost immediately he looked at me with a scowl on his face like he was irritated by the contact I swallowed a guilty lump for evading the personal space of a stranger I just met less than an hour ago and began to speak "I-I ummh, thank you for paying for my food" he said nothing all he did was hurriedly walk back into the building with a frown on his face.

Nobody noticed what just happened, they had all hurried back to clock back into work. As I walked towards the private elevator that went back to the eleventh floor where I worked my phone dinged it was Mckenzie telling me she enjoyed having lunch with me and we'll catch up after work. The elevators were all jammed their doors stubbornly refused to budge, I stared at the screen of my phone as I watched the seconds pass by I couldn't afford to be late, not on my first day of work I tried to ring for help my calls went unanswered. Without any further hesitation, I ran toward the stairs my legs trembled with each step I took after the seventh floor.

Thirty minutes later I was standing in front of my large desk that sat right before the two glass doors leading to Mr. Lancaster's office drenched in sweat. He was standing by my desk looking at the watch on his wrist I continued walking until I was a few steps away from him before I could speak he beat me to it

"You're late" The firmness in his voice made me feel like a child being scolded by their parents. I didn't mean to be late if the stupid elevator had not jammed I would have been here at the right time, I wish I would have said that straight to his face but I couldn't. Is he serious you'd think working for a fully grown man your father's age would be much easier than working for a younger boss?

"I was here on time, it just took longer than intended to get here" was all I said hoping he'd be understanding enough to let it slide this once. His facial expressions remained the same, blank and unreadable i couldn't tell whether he was okay with it or not i was about to walk past him to my desk when he began speaking.

"Are you trying to make an excuse for being late from your break?" he took a few steps until he was standing right in front of me I didn't know what to do. I knew if I said anything to defend myself he would not look at things from my point of view there was only one way out it was me giving in

"My apologies. I am very sorry for showing up late." I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper "I take full responsibility for the mistake i promise you it will not happen again." I climbed the stairs to the eleventh floor you'd think a normal boss would cut me some slack it being my first day of work boy was wrong.

"This should be the last time we discuss such a trivial issue it could have been avoided if you had come back here on time speaking of which I missed my meeting this afternoon because somebody decided to socialize instead of doing their job right, If you were a boss to such an employee what punishment would you give them?" My stomach crunched with guilt as I listened to his scold "I am asking you a question, Anderson"

" I-I would forgive them and give them a second chance" I shifted uncomfortably creating more distance between us. Taking a deep breath I silently meet Mr. Lancaster's unyielding gaze. I had messed up the thought of getting fired on my first day left a lump in my throat.

"I don't give second chances to anyone Anderson that is your first lesson working here, the small mistake of clocking in late from your break has cost us time and recourse and you can't afford any of those. For someone with a sense of fashion and grades like yours, I expected you to be a lot more organized and work-oriented but I guess I was wrong" his voice echoed sternly. He threw the folder he had been holding in his right hand on my desk

"I have given you two days to get yourself together and also come back to work dressed appropriately you're a secretary, not a kindergarten teacher" I nodded keeping my eyes downcast as I struggled to keep the tears of frustration and regret when I looked back up he was walking away in the direction of the elevator, his harsh words hung in the air my glazed flickered between the elevator and the spot Mr. Lancaster was standing a few minutes ago