Dominance

Chapter 1: Josh

Year- 2012

December

My blissful sleep is interrupted by a loud annoying whaling sound. Aaaannnddd.... It's my alarm clock. Sigh.

I slam my fist down on the off button and moan. Even though it's off, the sound still rings in my ears. I sit up and run a hand through my dishevled hair and groan, rubbing a hand down my face.

I get out of bed, well... More like fall out, but anyways. I shuffle to my bathroom and turn on the shower. When it adjusts, I slip in and stand under the water. As the hot liquid slips down my back and the steam sends beads of sweat down neck, I think about the deep thoughts of life. None of them get answered though. I quickly wash my hair and body and hop out, wrapping a towel around my waist.

I grab another towel and rub it over my head, drying my hair. My hair is longish. Like long for a guy, I guess. It's low on my forehead. Some would describe it as a Beiber bob, but you know what?! I had it first! So he can fall in a hole for all I care! Stupid Canadian little girl, can't sing like a man, annoying girl magnet, boy!

I go through my morning ritual.

Brush my teeth.

Wash my face.

Attempt to dress myself.

Get irritated and throw closest object.

Attempt to dress myself. Again.

Realize that it's the best ill look.

Feel like curling up and crying like a small girl.

Manage to get outside and start my 'journey' to work.

Ah the 'Big Apple'. NYC. The place I live. Don't really know how I got here. Just ended up here somehow and decided to settle down. The first few months. Terrible. Now, well now that I've lived here, I'm used to the attitudes of the New Yorkers.

I stand on the curb with other poor suckers like me. We're all unfortunate enough to not own a vehicle. All our hands are up, trying to hail a taxi. When one does stop, well you just have to hope you're the fastest.

Eventually, I get a cab. I had to yell at an old lady, but I got it! Just as the driver's about to take off, the door across from me opens and a girl slips in. She has long dark brown hair and ray bans on.

Her head turns to me and her mouth curves into a smirk,

"well crap. This one's taken too."

I sigh,"Where are you headed?..." I'm going to punch myself later for doing this.

She slips a paper out of her coat pocket,"Uhm... Skyland offices. I have a new job there..."

Relief floods through me,"that's where I work." I turn to the driver,"Skyland offices please."

The whole car ride was silent. I sat there awkwardly and stared straight ahead. There was something about her that made my stomach twist. Maybe it was her dark clothing choice. Maybe it was the fact that I'm socially awkward when it comes to the female species. Who knows? All I know is, I'll never be doing this again.

When the driver stopped, she started digging for her wallet. I hand my guy the card and say,

"No need. I got this."

She smiles politely,"Thank you very much."

There is was again. A twist in my abdomen. As soon as she smiled it sent pain shooting through me. Her smile, even though it was gorgeous, was dark and mischievous.

I exited the vehicle and was pelt with a downpour of snow. I pulled my beanie farther down on my ears and ran around the car, opening the door for her. She stepped out in one swift, graceful motion and gave me that cheeky smile again,

"Thanks. Again."

I walk behind her a few people. Walking beside her, I just... I can't. She makes me feel uncomfortable, yet comfortable. Trust me, it doesn't make sense to me either. I've never felt this way before.

Then, as if to make things more awkward, I get squished up next to her in the elevator. The silence in the elevator doesn't help either. As if my life was some cheesy romance novel, we exit on the same floor AND walk to the same office spaces.

We finally depart ways when I turn to my desk and she turns to my boss' office. She disappears through the door and my tenseness disappears. I sit on the most uncomfortable chair in the world and slide my legs under my desk.

My job basically... Well it sucks. I put numbers into the computer all day. That's it. That's all I do. No purpose. No point, but I still get paid. Not all its cracked up to be though. The boredom is so bad that we, we being all the employes, have created the office Olympics.

The office Olympics usually consist of random games we can play with office supplies. We usually play when "the boss" takes the day off. The winner receives the "golden paper clip" , which a basically a large paper clip with a gold tint that was purchased at the local dollar store.

Sometimes we have what the boss calls "Fun Days!" They're basically excuses to wear costumes to work. The only one I participate in is casual Fridays. We have "Thrift Shop" coming up though and I'm thinking about it. I'm gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket....

No just kidding. I don't have $20.

I realize I've been sitting at my desk, staring at my blank computer screen for about 5 minutes. Wow. This job has taken a lot out of me.

I open up my excel program and grab the first file in my inbox tray. I open the Manila folder and look at what I'm working with. More account statistics. Just what I wanted. I label the columns and put the equations in. Then I simply start entering the numbers. That's it. The program does the math for me.

I hear someone clear their throat behind me and a shiver runs down my spine. I spin around in my chair and see her. The girl from the taxi. That mischievous smirk is still on her face. But that's not what makes me take in my breath. It's her eyes. Her ray bans are no longer covering them and they're are absolutely stunning.

She has deep blue eyes that are so pure and light that I feel as if she's staring into my soul. My eyes are locked with hers as I start to shake uncontrollably. She clears her throat again and I manage to look away.

"Mr. Stevens said you would help me...", she says with a smooth voice

I swallow and clear my throat,"uhm... W-what's your job?"

She gives me a thoughtful look,"I'm the new secretary."

My stomach lurches. If she's the new secretary... That means... Her desk is right across from mine...

I motion my hand to the desk infront of mine,"you sit here..."

She sits gracefully onto the chair and crosses one of her legs over the other. She looks up a me for more instruction.

I point to the headset on the desk,"you put that on and answer calls for Mr. Stevens and that planner right there is where you'll write down his appointments and such. When you're not doing that, you'll most likely be sending emails to people either in different branches of the company or in other companies we collaborate with."

She slides the headset on without even moving a single piece of hair on her head. How is that even possible. Her eyes leave mine and she starts looking through her desk. I go back to work but can't help glancing over at her every few minutes.

At the end of the day everyone shuffles lifelessly to the elevators. Well, except for the girl from the taxi. She doesn't even look tired. That will change soon enough. Several days here and she'll turn into a mindless zombie like the rest of us.

As I walk up to the curb to wait for a taxi, I see her start walking away. That's really odd. Where could she be going?

After 2 hours of trying to hail a taxi and being stuck in traffic, I finally make it home. Then to make things worse, my keys won't open my stupid apartment door. I have to get my manager to open it. He blames me for it being broken. Really?!

When I get inside, I don't eat, I run right back to my room. I kick off my shoes and fall onto my bed. Within 5 minutes I'm asleep.