The CEO And His Assistant

Chapter 4

PEARL

“I think we should start walking sir,” I spoke after hours of keeping quiet.

“Do you even have an idea of where we are? This isn’t America. We are not at home okay?” He said sternly.

“But we cannot keep standing here forever, we have no choice,” I said with my brows furrowed, he was acting all scared without considering the mess we were actually in.

“You can’t tell me what to do, I say we stand here!”

“Well I’m leaving sir, it doesn’t feel safe being out here alone.”

“So you think it’s safe to walk alone?”

“I believe we might be closer to civilization than we think. I was driving and you didn’t pay attention while we were coming, so I'll advise that you follow me. But if you want to stay, then fine, once I get help, I’ll come get you too.” I started to walk away.

“You must probably hate me right now, and you want me to believe that if you saw help first you would come for me?”

“What makes you think I hate you?” I stopped walking and faced him.

“Because I have decided not to give you the job, you might as well exert your revenge on me and leave me here to rot.”

“I’ll leave you but not to rot, I would still come for you, you’re human. Besides, you saved my life, how could I forget that?” I shrugged.

“I think I’m going to take my chances, I brought you to France so I can’t leave you by yourself.” He quickened his pace toward me and we started our journey off to the sunset.

After 15 minutes of walking, the cloud began to rumble and before we knew it raindrops began to cascade from the sky, pounding on us, each dropping a stinging hit. It was loud, drowning out everything else. I was soaked instantly, clothes sticking to me. Walking felt like a battle against the wind and rain. There was no shade nor shelter to hide our heads and I had begun to regret forcing Mr. Clyborne to walk with me. Just then, a truck drove past us and then started to reverse towards our direction. Mr Clyborne held my hands tightly and pulled me behind him, as though he wanted to save me from an incoming danger.

The truck driver stopped in front of us. “You guys lost?” He said with a raspy voice, he was an aged man.

“Yes,” I said.

“No” Mr Clyborne replied and I looked at him with a frown.

“Look I know that you may think it’s not safe, and you are right, it isn’t, but at least I speak English. And I can shelter you till tomorrow. I’ll drive you to a place where you can get a good reception.”

“Thank you!” I said.

“No thanks.” Mr. Clyborne said.

“Come on! You would rather die of cold than get help?” I asked with a fret stirring up inside of me.

“If your boyfriend doesn’t want to then I must go.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

We said simultaneously.

“Whatever!” The old man replied and he was running out of patience.

“We’ll follow you, right sir?” I smiled at the man and faced Mr Clyborne with a frown.

“Fine.” He said. And we entered the front seat of the truck.

The moment we got to his cottage, It was old, with weathered wood and moss-covered roof tiles. Its windows were fogged, and a chimney stuck out, darkened from years of fires. Bushes and wildflowers surrounded it.

“I have just one room here, and I’m afraid you both will have to make do with the living room. Besides, you will need the fireplace.” The old man said before entering his room.

I stood there like a wet puppy, staring at Mr. Clyborne, unsure of what to do.

“You will need this!” The old man tossed some clothes to us, they were pajamas and blankets that smelt of old people.

“Thank you.” I nodded with a smile.

“Are you gonna change here?” Mr Clyborne asked me with one of his brows raised.

“Yes, I need to change. You do too.” I stood there with my eyes widened expecting him to leave.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Where do you want me to go? Outside? I’m not going back inside the rain.” He folded his arms.

“Look away!” I yelled. And he turned his back to me as I quickly changed into the pajamas and spread my clothes. He changed too. We sat close to the fireplace and the old man came in with a hot tea.

“Thank you.” I nodded slightly with a grin, and I faced Mr, Clyborne who had an indifferent look on his face. As soon as the old man went back I turned to Mr. Clyborne.

“Why are you being ungrateful?” I raised my brows.

“Why are you talking to me like that? Hello? You forget I’m your boss?” He said with a frown.

“Well right here, you aren’t. You aren’t officially my boss and it’s not looking like you will be so cut the crap, Lucien!” I said grimly, frowning at him. He was being a brat and I had to put him in his place. I knew I wasn’t going to get the job anyway so there was no point being scared of him anymore.

“Did you just call my name?”

“Yes, I did! You are being ungrateful and unpleasant to somebody who is trying to help us.”

“Until he kills us in our sleep. I’m being vigilant like a man ought to be and you are just a little girl who knows nothing!” He whispered.

The nice man wouldn’t bring us to his home, or show hospitality just to kill us. Right? The thought of what Mr. Clyborne said started to linger in my mind. Even when he brought us dinner, I respectfully declined and Mr. Clyborne smirked at me.

A few hours past midnight, we were both still up, unable to sleep, the fear of being killed in my sleep lurked inside of me, I was fighting the sleep as tired as I felt.

“You should sleep. I'll watch over you. Nobody is going to harm you on my watch.” His voice was very soothing but that wasn’t enough reason to sleep. I knew he could bearly defend himself not to talk of keeping me safe.

30 minutes later, I started to shiver, the rain had begun again and it came with a great wind that even the fireplace couldn’t withstand. I could feel Mr. Clybornes’s eyes gazing at me and after a while as if he was fighting the thought. He moved closer to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulder. I was ensconced in his warm embrace and time stood still.

He had a mix of the old man’s pajama smell and a strong woody scent that made me relish his warmth. His shoulders carved around mine made me feel like the world had ended and I had found eternal peace in his solace.

**********************

At dawn, the old man drove us to a nearby town with a reception and we placed a call to people in Paris, before the man left he made a statement.

“I heard you guys saying I could be a serial killer last night. Maybe you were lucky.” He said and guffawed with laughter before zooming off and we couldn’t say farewells or thank him. Not like Mr. Clyborne had the intention of thanking him. I glanced at him and he shrugged.

When we got back to the hotel in Paris, Mr. Clyborne called me to join him for a ride and I wasn’t sure of where we were going. I knew it wasn’t work-related. The journey was quiet and he was driving by himself which was a little bit weird.

He pulled up in front of the Eiffel Tower, my eyes widened at the tall steel structure in front of me. The Eiffel Tower rose high above me, dominating the skyline. Its crisscrossed beams created a striking pattern against the sky.

“You wouldn’t visit Paris without coming here would you?” Mr. Clyborne said with a smirk. My eyes were still gaping and I shifted my glance to him. He was so thoughtful. How could a person be so nice and mean at the same time? I chuckled.

“It’s beautiful!” I said with a grin.

“How can you say that when you aren’t on it yet.” He said and stretched his hands to me. I took it and we walked towards the structure.

From the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris sprawled out beneath me like a magnificent picture. I could see the city's landmarks and winding streets, and the Seine River glimmered in the moonlight. People looked like tiny dots from up, bustling about in their daily lives. It was an incredible sight and I couldn’t stop chortling with laughter.

“Now this is beauty, don’t you agree?” He said with a simper.

“It’s magnificent!” I grinned at him and glanced around.

“Look, Pearl, about your job.”

My heart skipped at the sound of my name on his lips, and my heart began to palpitate, anxious to hear what he wanted to say.

“You have a long way to go, right? You need to learn more but the truth is I didn’t expect you to be perfect in such a short period. You are doing pretty okay and I wouldn’t want to go through the stress of looking for another assistant.”

“Does that mean I am hired?” My eyes widened.

“Yes, you are.” He had a suppressed smile on his lips. And I screamed in exhilaration, I leaped on him with joy.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Then I realized I was in his embrace again, I had no idea why I hugged him, I slowly untangled myself in the realization of what I had done and he set his gaze in my eyes, we were eyeballing each other and time was still, our face moving closer slowly.