Find me to breathe

Part 4 - Missing

With a serious look on his face, Alex said, "As long as you can prove your value, I won't mistreat you. I'll pay double your old salary and give you the standard workplace benefits. You can report to the June corporation headquarters tomorrow. Anything else that you need?"

Seeing his expression, I wasn't sure if I should make the next statement. I wasn't looking for a job, I had a stable job working as a junior staff for a Fortune 500 company. My real goal was to be near him so that I had a restful sleep at night. Biting my lip and leveling my tone, I tried to make my strange request sound reasonable, "Can I also live with you?"

Raising an eyebrow, Alex immediately inferred that I was interested in sleeping with him. I won't be surprised if this was not the first time a girl had made this request given his handsome face. I held my breath waiting for his response. To my immediate disappointment, he said, "I don't have relationships with my employees. Anything else?"

At this point, I knew that I had to be firm. I didn't make myself seem like a psychopath to get rejected. Trying to mimic one of my former stern managers and I countered and said, "That's my only condition."

Alex was silent for 30 seconds. It appeared as if he was weighing whether I was worth the hassle and in the end, I got what I wanted.

He said, "Fine, follow me into the car. You're starting your secretarial duties immediately."

Without giving me an opportunity to wrap my head around this scenario or letting me appreciate how comfortable spacious and luxurious these car leather seats. Alex said, "If what you're saying is true and Michael is next to you, I should have no worries. Michael, give her a debrief of the Star corporation deal." I looked at Alex in shock and screamed internally, "what a callous boss!!!"

Michael started his debrief immediately, "We are meeting the Star CEO, Bobby. He's known to have a charming personality, but on the inside, he's a snake. Star corporation controls 60% of all water fleets within our countries. Bobby has ties to both the underworld and the police as he is known to smuggle, not only firearms but also humans. Be careful when you're in front of him and make sure to not catch his eye. A few of his weaker competitors have vanished from disagreements on large deals. On the bright side, you're near our boss. There's a certain level of respect between the two since our boss controls most of the ground transportation within this country. It's hard to only control the sea in a world that's reliant on ground transportation.

Our boss just entered a deal with Star to help them smuggle firearms into the country worth $60MM dollars. It's a significant deal as both the police and the underworld are reliant on these firearms. Since we try to be neutral, it's extremely important to deliver this deal to both parties without any hiccups. We're meeting with the Star CEO today to discuss the status of this deal. Our men should have just delivered the second batch of goods today. Your role is to take notes and observe the team behind Bobby. They're known to play tricks on the goods since Star corporation is known to take bribes from the underworld. Remember these few words that I share with all new staff, otherwise, this deal will be your last: be silent, observant, and never succumb under pressure."

After Michael said those words, I see the large logo of Star corporation glowing in the darkness. Despite the dark surroundings, the office was still extremely bright. There was a security guard manning the entrance. We had to show our IDs and take a picture at the entrance prior to getting a single day pass into the building. Taking the escalator up, I saw an empty lobby situated with couches and a Starbucks in the corner. The lounge looked newly furnished and the lounge itself could fill 100 employees. I can tell that this building employed at least tens of thousands of employees. Walking past the lobby, we took the elevator up to the 50th or executive floor and was greeted by a secretary of the CEO, who took us into his office.

Bobby, the CEO of Star corporation, had an office that was significantly larger than most offices that I encountered. It was able to fit two couches, a countertop, and a wide desk. At night, I saw a nice view of the Jersey skyline. In the same room, there were two men already sitting on the couches. They were inspecting firearms. I am not sure if Michael thoroughly scared me during our car ride, but I suddenly felt a shiver run down my spine when the men made eye contact with me. I wished Alex brought more than a new secretary and ghost along to this meeting.

Glancing at me, Bobby said, "Is June Corp running low on cash, you replaced Michael with someone from the streets?" Remembering that I haven't changed my outfit all day, I almost wanted to nod and agree that I was picked up from the streets.

Ignoring Bobby, Alex made himself comfortable on the couch and asked, "did we successfully deliver the second batch of goods?" Bobby, who was sitting at his desk, acted like a stereotypical CEO and stayed where he sat behind his desk. He chose not to sit by Alex on the couch as a power play to show his lack of respect, even to Alex, the CEO of June Corporation. He raised one eyebrow and he slowly asked, "Where's Michael?"

On the side, I noticed that Bobby's men were moving towards the doors and blocking the exits. To my surprise, Alex said, "Michael is missing."

Bobby suddenly lost his temper and screamed, "Don't lie. You F*****! Your man, Michael stole the goods." He crossed his arms and said, "Either send me Michael, the goods or compensate me with 10x of our contract to $600MM for lost damages. You have one week to clean up your mess." He glanced at me, then said, "else don't blame me for being disrespectful."

I felt shivers go down my spine. At this very moment, I knew that I was in over my head. 

Author's note:

Dun dun dun - What do you think our main character will do next? 

Happy new year! I posted an extra long chapter to commemorate. :)