Chapter 2
1152 Words
" How was your day?", Melissa asked, sitting at the edge of the bed with her legs crossed.
She was Jane 's childhood friend. They both shared an apartment located at the centre of the town.
" You won't believe, I bumped into the CEO", Jane replied, throwing her handbag on the only chair in the room.
" What do you mean? How could you be so callous? I'm sure you know how those rich people behave", Melissa said, sounding more like a mother cautioning her child.
" Melissa! Could you stop overreacting? I was only looking around for the elevator, I didn't see him coming", Jane rolled her eyes.
" I'm only looking out for you", she got up from the bed and headed for the kitchen.
Melissa was slim and petite. Her skin was pale, with a few faint scars and calluses on her hands and feet, a testament to her hard life. She was an orphan who had gone through thick and thin in life.
Her lips were thin and often pressed into a serious line, betraying little emotion.
She worked as a salesperson at a local mall, and as a part-time bar attendant at a renown bar at the heart of the town.
" What's for dinner?", Jane walked into the kitchen.
Melissa dried her hands with the towel and hung it on the window. " Cornbread with chicken nuggets".
Jane sat on the kitchen stool.
" Melissa", she took a deep breath. " I think you should give Andy a try. He doesn't mean any harm".
" I won't have you bring up this discussion, please", she walked out of the kitchen.
?️
" Jayden, you need to take a look at this", Alex rushed into the study room with the phone in his hand.
" I'm busy right now", Jayden replied, his concentration on the computer.
" It's about you. The heading says, 'Billionaire CEO in love with his new employee'. People are talking about it all over the net".
" Have them take the news down, immediately", he commanded, his eyes still fixed on the computer.
" Jay", Alex pulled a seat closer. " Is it true? I mean, the news?"
Jayden's eyes shot up in surprise. " I'm sure you know how much I hate women".
Alex was Jayden's junior brother. Their mother left them with their father to get married to someone else. Jayden grew up to hate women. He believed they were all like his mother.
" You have to loosen up a bit. Not all women are like mum after all", he scrunched his nose.
" Alex, do as I said", he turned back to the computer.
?️
" Melissa, I'm off to work. I'll see you later ", Jane rushed out of the room.
She had to climb down two fleet of stairs to get to the compound of the building. She looked at her wristwatch, she was seventeen minutes late for work.
" Marcello Group of Companies", she hurriedly flagged down a cab.
She got in immediately. She kept looking at her wristwatch intermittently till the driver arrived at the company.
" Good morning, Genevieve", she greeted the receptionist.
" Jane, you're late. The CEO asked to see you immediately", Genevieve said calmly.
" The CEO?!", she cried out. " What's he like? Is he mean?".
Genevieve laughed so loud that she felt ashamed. " He's cold, everything about him speaks only business. Just do what he says, you'll enjoy working with him".
Jane felt at peace with the last statement. She held her bag tight, moving towards the elevator. The elevator came to a halt on the fifth floor where the CEO's office was.
She dragged her feet to the door. She knocked once, there was no response. Twice, yet no response. Suddenly, the door opened.
Jayden sat at the table, his back towards the door. He was going through some documents when Jane walked in.
" Good morning sir", she greeted, her face down.
" Why are you late?", He asked authoritatively.
She heard that cold voice again. " I'm sorry sir, I got up late".
" What a silly excuse". He turned the swivel chair around and looked up at her. " I don't see any reason why I should get to the office before my assistant".
" I'm sorry sir, it will never happen again", she pleaded, her face still to the ground.
" That", he pointed at a paper with some things written on it. " That's the list of your official duties".
He turned back to the table.
Jane hurriedly put her bag down and collected the paper. She carefully read in between lines. As soon as she was done, she folded it and placed it neatly in her bag.
She walked to what looked like an abandoned table. It was very dusty, and the papers stuck to each other. There were cleaners employed in the company, she didn't understand why the CEO never instructed them to clean it.
?️
" Hey pretty", Alex winked at her, stretching to touch her.
It was against the ethics of the club; the workers were not allowed to have anything to do with the customers during work hours.
Melissa drew back. Dressed in a blue, long sleeve shirt and a knee-length ash skirt, she looked more unprofessional.
" How much for a night?", he whispered to her as she placed the tray of Brandy on the table.
" I'm not a prostitute sir", she looked at him disgustingly.
" How about a thousand dollars? Two thousand? Even five thousand?", he said to her.
" I'm not interested, thank you", she walked out.
Alex was shocked. No lady had ever rejected his advances, yet a common bartender did.
Melissa hurried about her duties and changed into casual clothes. It was really cold outside. She looked at her phone, it was past ten. Jane had called her severally.
Only the sound of cars on the streets could be heard. Taxi drivers had retired for the night, leaving people on the road to trek.
She walked down the street shivering in cold. The walk from the bar to her apartment wasn't so long, and she was happy about it.
Soon enough, the clouds emptied their contents heavily. Melissa felt lost. She didn't know whether to run forward or just find a place to wait.
Luckily, a car stopped by. The man came down with an umbrella and walked briskly to her. She thought for a while, then accepted to follow him.
" I think I'll drop here", she said when he arrived near her apartment.
" Should I walk you in?", He asked her.
" No, thank you", she opened the door and ran out.
Alex recognized her, she was the lady from the bar. He was glad she didn't recognize him. After all, he was just her helper.
- Writer
