The CEO'S Secretary

Chapter 1. Isabella jerked up from her bed.   “Oh, s**t!” She cursed….  It was seven-thirty and she should have been done with dressing for work. It was horrible because she was supposed to be on her way now or risk being late. She couldn’t afford to be late, not today.  Isabella jumped down and quickly headed for the bathroom. It was then she realized she was still in last night’s outfit, or rather, identity.  She barely remembered all that had happened the previous night.  She had gotten s**t drunk and dozed off without setting her alarm. Inside her bathroom, Isabella looked at herself through the big mirror placed above the vanity top.  “I look like s**t,” she said, brushing away strands of hair from her face. “But not just me, though.”  Isabella raised a brow and smirked.  Biting her bottom lip while making a funny face, she scoured around the space.  From the bathroom hamper, down to her room, and her entire apartment.  She needed to tidy up, she thought. Everything was out of order. Her life was so rushed daily that she couldn’t find the time for herself.  She dispersed her bedding and every other thing on top of it, searched for clean sheets and remade the bed.  Having almost all of her wardrobe scattered on the bed and floor was definitely not normal. Leaving the wardrobe door wide open was always not too.  The black marble floors had cans of food littered all over. The trash can was always pouring, and of course, there was Billy, her big German shepherd. He did a great job of making sure all the trash didn’t last in the trash.  She moved to her dressing table. Her makeup set was turned over, and her comb had a bush of hair everywhere on it.  Isabella picked one up and wrinkled her nose at the thick bush of hair in it.  Everything was a total mess!  “I can’t be doing this now, not now. Ugh!” she said to herself, moving away from her table.  She checked her bedside clock: seven-forty.  She had barely twenty minutes left to be at her office desk. Her heart beat thumped harder in her chest. Isabella already knew it wouldn’t be possible to achieve all she had to do in such a short time. She was going to be royally screwed, eventually.  But then, she could be twenty minutes late just for today, she calculated. Her boss never complained. Today won’t make any difference, after all. Right?...  Richard, her boss, was such a darling and everyone loved him.  She took a shower in a flash. There was no time to deliberate on what to wear, so she settled for a blue silk shirt tucked into black palazzo trousers.  Isabella complimented the outfit with a pair of silhouette pumps. She knew it would go a long way in changing her brief narrative. She was petite and heels were her only saving grace.  She styled her long brown hair in a side-parted ponytail, which always defined her round, pretty face.  She stood before the vanity mirror, taking herself in. Everything stood out. Isabella knew she had a rare beauty. She relished how her sparkling green eyes matched her top.  She smiled. Isabella loved what she saw in the mirror.  Her phone beeped on the table, and a text from Kate popped up.  Isabella opened it and frowned.   “Where the f**k are you? Get here now or the devil will be let loose!”  She dreaded why her friend was fretting so much. She knew Kate could be dramatic most of the time, but deep down, it bothered her.  Kate was a Hispanic, big-sized colleague whose desk was right next to hers at the office. Kate was not the type to be friendly, or rather nosy. She had short, red curly hair, which made her head look too small for her plump body. Kate was an early bird. She always arrived at work before everyone else, and could sit at her desk till work-over if no one ever beckoned her. But then, right there on her table, she knew everything that was going on in the office.  Kate was like a treasure trove of office gossip, from the least to the most juicy.  It was creepy, Isabella thought.  Kate had never texted Isabella, at least not because of being late. Something was off. Isabella felt it.  She knew she needed to get going, and she was about doing that when she remembered her bare face.  Isabella palmed herself at the thought of not touching her face.  She went nowhere without, at least, lipstick on.  It was worse today. Everything was just going wrong.  Grabbing her purse, she packed her lipstick, grabbed her keys, and headed for the door.  “There you are, champ. Come here, cute thing.”  Billy wiggled and jumped on her, licking her face.  “Okay, okay. You’re excited. I know.”  She carried him, separated him from her face, and ran her fingers over his fur. She was smiling hard.  “Good boy… But you badly need a bath, don’t you? Why don’t we fix that when I get back?”  She dropped him and poured some food on his plate.  “I gotta run, Billy. I’m late. Be a good boy”  Billy sat on his tail and stuck out his tongue. Staring at her adorably.  “Cute thing.” She voiced, grabbing the doorknob.  Checking her wristwatch, she was still late. She hastened her steps. She had to be at her desk any minute now.   * Isabella walked into the office, aiming for her desk with fast strides. She hoped she wouldn’t meet her boss on the way or that he wouldn’t decide to glance at her desk through the adjacent window of his large office.  “Morning, Kate, traffic was terrible,” she said, panting.  “You should save your excuse for the boss. But I think he wouldn’t want to hear it.”  “Mr. Richard? What wouldn’t he?”  Five seconds had passed and Isabella hadn’t gotten a reply from her co-worker. None seemed to be forthcoming.  She c****d her head to the side and tried again. “I got your text earlier. I was wondering—”  “Isabella Campbell, report to my office, please?“  An attractive voice from behind interrupted, startling her.  She turned to see the owner of the husky deep voice that had pierced right through her and sent a warm pulsing straight between her legs.  “Damn.” She mouthed, agape.  Isabella thought she was staring at a god at present. The man before her looked impossibly perfect. She accessed him unabashedly with her, noticing every detail of his elegance.  The six-two god had wavy brown hair, the kind she suspected fell over his eyes often. The well-cut grey suit he wore defined his muscular arms, and it had made her mouth water. For a second, she imagined running her hand over his biceps, down his chest. She wanted to feel the rock hard abs she knew were hiding underneath his clothes.  She looked back at his face, but all she could see were those kissable lips and intense, sparkling blue eyes. Isabella was melting underneath his gaze.  But who the heck was he? She wondered. What was he doing ordering her to Mr. Richard’s office?  “Now!” He said again, and the sound of his command caused her to jerk away from her wild thoughts.  Isabella turned to Kate, wide-eyed, after he had disappeared through his office door.  She pressed her forehead with fingers and gritted. “Don’t you think you should have given me a heads up?“  “Hey, don’t pin this on me. I gave all the help I could.” Kate ignored her and continued working on her computer. She didn’t like Kate most of the time. It was as if she secretly enjoyed seeing people get into trouble in the office. Isabella drew in a long breath. She arranged her shirt, trying to calm her bubbling nerves. She was late today. Richard was nowhere to be seen, and she had just been summoned.  Shit! s**t! s**t!  Holding a neutral face, she approached his office. Isabella paused, then knocked on the glass door.  “Enter,” the husky voice said.  She walked into the familiar office with her thoughts racing. She couldn’t understand why this stranger was seated there, behind the oak desk, like he was the boss.  “Hold on a sec.” He raised a finger when she was about to speak, gesturing for her to take a seat in front of him. “Oh okay” Isabella voiced with a tight smile.  The man placed his phone to his ear and turned to the screen of his computer. The caller dropped instructions for him. Isabella had noticed that.   The seat was one foot away from her reach. She aimed at it by pulling it backwards. With her face still lit up with a fake smile, she made to sit. “Ouch! Arrhg!” Isabella groaned at her landing.  “Are you alright, Ms. Campbell?” The man looked up from his computer to her groan. “Ms. Campbell?” He glanced around, since she wasn’t seated before him yet.  Isabella’s fingers appeared first on the desk, then he could sight her head coming up.  “What the_" the man began, but was cut short by the sight before him. This is insane…