Million Dollar Devil

4.

Kyle reaches in front of me, moving the handle swiftly. As the door gently opens, he gestures for me to enter.

I peel my eyes off the ground to take in the giant room in front of me. The back wall is made of windows, and in front of it sits a large black wood desk. Leaning on the edge is who I assume to be Mr. Leo Hayes. His eyes are hyper-focused, diligently scanning the paper in his hands. I take in his figure: a black suit elegantly paired with a stark black collared shirt, his dark hair cleanly slicked back. His jaw is clenched, revealing a jawline so defined he could cut glass with it. His clothes perfectly fit his solid form. I internally thank his tailor for doing God's work.

His green eyes peer at me in his peripheral before he smoothly stands up from his leaning position, resting the papers on his desk. His eyes scan my figure slowly, his dark lashes like curtains to a Broadway show. He stands silently, in no rush to acknowledge my or Kyle's presence, just taking in the scene in front of him. I stand there anxiously, my heels tapping together ever so lightly. He gently rubs his stubble with his olive-tanned skin, looking like the cover of GQ Magazine.

He glances at Kyle, "Is this her?" he asks, his Adam's apple prominent as he speaks. His monotone voice shows no glimpse into his internal thoughts.

Kyle nods, gesturing to me, "Yes, this is Lillian Wright, your new assistant." He then turns to me, "Lillian, meet Mr. Hayes."

I awkwardly give a half-wave, which I immediately regret, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hayes, and thank you for this opportunity. I'm looking forward to starting tomorrow."

His eyes narrow and his deep stare remains fixed on me. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Wright—"

"Lillian," I interrupt, "You can call me Lillian, or Lily. Most people call me Lily." I mumble on for longer than I should have. I shut up and bite my lip nervously.

"Nice to meet you, Lillian," his eyes drop to my lip, my front teeth still sunken into my bottom lip nervously. I try to compose myself under his stare. His eyes shift to the door on the right of the room, and he nods in that direction. "Your office is over there. Kyle will give you a key."

Kyle nods at him, gently touching the small of my back for a split second as he leads me toward my office. The room is small but beautiful: a large white leather chair sits behind a glass desk. Hanging above my desk is a beautiful glass dry-erase calendar with AKMO elegantly engraved in silver lettering across the top. I look down and notice the MacBook Air and iPhone 13 on my desk.

My mouth drops as I turn to Kyle. "Are these for me?"

A barely noticeable chuckle escapes his mouth. "Yes, Mr. Hayes needs to be able to reach you, so please keep your work phone on you at all times." He gestures to the laptop. "This is your work laptop, though we encourage assistants to bring it home with them and check their email frequently. As I mention in the interview, you sometimes have timely tasks that need to be completed outside of your normal hours, which means you should always have your laptop with you in addition to the phone."

I nod intently. "Of course."

Kyle's phone buzzes. He pulls it out of his pocket and begins to read his messages as I do another lap around the room, admiring my new office. I run my hands over the cold glass desk, admiring the sleek look.

"Lillian, I have to get to a meeting now. I'll walk you back down to the lobby. Your onboarding forms should all be processed by this afternoon. Be prepared to start at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. I believe Mr. Hayes will meet with you briefly to go over expectations. I'll give you a card key which will bring you up to Mr. Hayes' office and let you into your office."

"Sounds great, thank you for everything, Kyle."

Mr. Hayes stands in the same spot we left him, his eyes once again glued to the papers in his large hands. He glances up as we walk past his desk toward the door.

"See you tomorrow, sir," I say politely. His eyes shoot up to meet mine but are glued back to the paper so quickly I almost think I dreamt it. I exit the room with Kyle, taking a deep breath in and exhaling for what feels like the first time since I entered Mr. Hayes' office.

Kyle walks me to the lobby and leaves me with a firm handshake before returning to his office. As soon as I get home, I eagerly set up my new laptop and phone. Staring at my MacBook, I almost laugh at how out of place it looks in my shitty apartment. The juxtaposition of my two jobs is comical, even I can acknowledge that.

Around 8 p.m., I begin to get ready for Lilacs. I slip into a sequin bikini top and shiny bottoms, grabbing a pair of heels and dabbing on some lipstick before hopping in the car. I tell Lilacs I will work limited short shifts during the week, maxing out at 9 hours a week in order to keep my sleep schedule in order. 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. three days a week, that's the deal, and I am content with it. Some extra cash on the side which I can put aside to save for a new apartment down payment.

When I arrive at Lilacs, I see Dominique doing her makeup in the back room. She looks at me through the mirror as she applies a generous amount of red lipstick.

"Hey mama, how are you?" she says in a sweet tone. Dominique has been my favorite coworker since the moment I started at Lilacs. She is one of the few who actually acknowledges my presence. The environment tends to be competitive; Alex prefers it that way, in fact he encourages it. He has control over who gets to entertain private parties, which are incredibly lucrative. He often pits us against one another, using private parties as incentives. He says it keeps us 'working hard'. I think it just keeps us unhappy. Dominique never plays into Alex's games, though. She is the only one willing to show me the ropes and give me a tip or two when I first start.

"It's okay. I get a day job today," I tell her, surprised by my openness but also knowing I need to rant to someone.

"Què?" She turns to me with excitement. "I didn't know you were taking on a second gig. Good for you!" She smiles at me, a genuine smile. She can tell since my first day here that this isn't where I want to be. She doesn't take offense to that; I appreciate her for it.

"Thank you," I smile back. "I'm a personal assistant to an executive."

"Ooh, sounds like fun," she says in an amused tone. "Playing businesswoman with rich men. Count me in," she laughs.

"No, Dom, you don't understand. He's like a very serious man. He's got stone-cold eyes and I don't know if I'll be able to form a coherent thought in his presence," I explain.

"Mama, do you hear yourself?" she laughs. "Sounds like you just think he's hot. Is he hot?"

"Ugh," I throw my head back and grunt in response. "Yes, so hot." We both laugh for a minute.

"So you're cutting your hours here?" she asks.

"Yes, I tell Alex a maximum of twelve hours a week. He reluctantly agrees," I say as I fix my hair in the mirror, adding a little more volume to my high ponytail.

"I'm sure he is secretly pissed," she says with a smirk. "He's losing his best seller," she laughs.

"Are you kidding me? That's definitely not the case. I don't know what I'm doing up there half the time."

"Babe, have you noticed how many private parties you book this last month?" she turns to face me. "Christina hasn't booked one in three months."

I think for a minute. She's right. I have done five private parties in the last month alone, maybe even more in the month prior. I am completely unaware other girls aren't getting the same type of stage time.

"Honey, you've got something no one else here has, and that's your superpower... or should I say your stripper power?" she laughs sweetly.

I tilt my head in response. "I'm not sure what you are talking about..."

"Innocence, baby. You've got that angel-eyed innocence," she smirks at me as the words roll off her tongue.

Author's Note: Hello! Thank you so much for choosing to give my story a read. If you like it, it would mean the world if you click on that star button!

All my love,
Alexandra