My CEO Boss Hates Me

A difficult decision

Claude forced himself to lift his hand and point his middle finger up at her. He never passed up a chance to insult Joanne, or anyone else for that matter.

How rude, she thought, as she shoved the spoon of ice chips into his mouth harder than she intended. Claude grunted in pain. "Sorry," She murmured without meaning it.

Joanne stood up and dusted off her simple black dress. "It's good to see you awake sir, I'll go call a nurse." she said, waking out of the tastefully decorated hospital room with no intention whatsoever of calling a nurse. If he wanted to be rude, he could call himself a nurse.

Unfortunately, Claude's influence meant that nurses would check on him after every hour. Precisely at that moment, a beautiful young nurse walked into the room carrying a tray of fruits and yoghurt. She glanced at Joanne in distaste before getting closer to Claude's bed. The nurse put the tray down and checked Claude's temperature. Even though he had just woken up from a week long coma, he still found the strength to wink at the her.

Joanne rolled her eyes and crept out into the waiting room where most of Claude's female workers were sitting in their expensive outfits and blowing their dainty noses into silky lace handkerchiefs. Most of them weren't working for money, they just wanted to sleep with Claude. All of them had their fun and now they couldn't get enough. It got tiring fast, watching them wear the most revealing clothing to work and bending over to pick up a pencil ever so often in Claude's presence and he never passed up an opportunity to take them up on their offer. The sad part was that after he was done f*****g them, he cast them aside until it was convenient.

Joanne took a seat between Stephanie and Madelyn. Both of them gave her dirty looks but didn't move simply because there was nowhere to go. The waiting room was full and the visitors of other patients had to wait outside. Gina wasn't there because she had to go out of town to spend time with her boyfriend and his family, so Joanne was forced to feel ostracized even though she was sitting in the midst of people.

Sebastian Grant walked into the crowded waiting room and somehow, everybody made space for him. Sebastian was the vice president of the company and he was far more friendlier than Claude.

"Good afternoon, everybody!" He said warmly as he shook the hand of a nurse that was passing by. Flustered, she yanked her hand away and giggled nervously as she hurried out. "I'm looking for Johanna?"

"Do you mean Joanne?" Madelyn asked loudly, causing everybody to turn around and stare at her.

Sebastian scratched his chin. "I think so. yes."

"Here I am," Joanne said shyly, raising her hand. Sebastian walked up to her and Joanne gulped nervously. Sebastian wasn't the most handsome man. He was short and the middle of his head was balding. He had a large nose and tiny blue eyes, but his enthusiasm and friendly nature made him attractive. "Yes sir?" She prompted him timidly.

"Claude is going to be okay!" Sebastian announced loudly. Everybody cheered. "...in two weeks," He concluded. Everybody groaned.

"What are we going to do?" A redhead named Emily whined.

"How will we get paid?" Another voice in the back of the room said.

"I suppose we'll all have to do our jobs as if Mr. Frederickson were here." Sebastian said smartly, straightening his tie. " That means you have to go to his house and use his home office." Sebastian told Joanne.

"He said that?" Joanne asked as her cheeks reddened.

Sebastian shook his slightly balding head. "No, he was totally against it but I managed to convince him."

"Why?" Somebody asked from across the room and everybody else nodded.

"She has to do her job and part of her job description is that she works hand in hand with him. She's his assistant after all."

"I can work remotely." Joanne suggested quickly and everybody nodded in agreement. Everybody except Sebastian.

"It's easier that way, especially since he'll need to dictate often. His left shoulder was dislocated and he can't move his entire arm."

"Oh that's so sad," Emily gasped into her handkerchiefs. All the other women followed suit and began dabbing at their eyes with their hankies. "Why would anyone do that to him?"

"I'll do it." Joanne said.

Sebastian chuckled. "It doesn't matter whether you would do it or not. It's your job and you don't have a choice." With that, he raised up his stubby arms. "Everybody get out. You're hogging the waiting room!"

There was a lot of murmuring and shuffling as the room cleared out. Claude's visitors were shooed out quickly by security but Sebastian held Joanne back until everybody had left.

"I'll text you his address and then you can move you things into his house or you could commute. If you do choose to commute, you can use your company driver."

Joanne's delicate brow arched in question. "I don't have a driver." She said.

Sebastian was already walking away. "Don't be silly, everybody gets employee benefits. You should have a driver."

Joanne sank back down into the uncomfortable waiting room seat and sighed. "I didn't get any benefits," She whispered sadly to herself.

Joanne was caught in a dilemma. She didn't want to live in Claude's mansion, but she didn't have the necessary funds to commute. What on earth was she going to do?

That question plagued her mind as she caught a taxi home. That night, as she lay on her mattress, she decided the best way to go about it would be to commute for a few days and if she liked Claude's behavior, she would move in until he felt better. She felt satisfied with her decision, but still couldn't shake the feeling that she was doing something terribly wrong.