Temptations

4. A CHILD'S PLAY

ELLIE

The first day was hell, to be very concise. I didn’t get to sit or take a break for even a minute. My feet were aching and my head was pounding but Mr. Byers looked in no hurry to go home. And being his secretary, I was supposed to stay here as long as he was.

“Are you taking notes?” He asked as he briefed the important points.

“Yes, sir.” I said, passing him a fake smile.

“You haven’t left yet. Aria must be waiting at home.” Someone said from behind me and I turned around to face the familiar person. It was a tall, blonde man with light baby blue eyes. It was the same man who had helped me get into the private lounge that night and by the look of it, he remembered me too.

“You?” He cocked his head to the side and asked. I shrugged and passed him a meek smile.

“Drake, meet Miss. Anderson, my new secretary. Miss. Anderson, this is Drake, head of finance department.” Nathan said in a formal tone.

“And this dick’s only friend.” Drake said as he sat down on the chair beside me. “Go home Nathan. I’ll close up here.”

Nathan looked at his watch and then at me. “Tomorrow, 8:30. Not a minute late.”

“As you wish.” I smiled at him, a serious, professional smile, as I watched him leave.

After he had left, my mind wandered to Drake’s previous sentence. Who was Aria and why would she wait for him? Was she his wife? Girlfriend? He didn’t look like he was engaged or married. But then again, when do playboys like him announce that they are committed.

“Miss. Anderson… Ah, fuck it. First name?” He asked, showing me his pearly white smile.

“Ellie.” I said.

“Ellie… Nice name. Go home Ellie and take a good sleep. You’ll need it today.” He said with a charming grin that was enough to make me get flustered.

“Sure, sir.” I said.

“Just call me Drake.” He replied.

He was so nice and sweet. Why couldn’t Mr. Byers be like that too?

Picking up my things, I called an Uber back to the apartment. Max was already inside the lounge, watching a movie with a guy. She passed me a wink, that was a code that she was planning to sleep with him so I needed to retreat to my room.

“Enjoy.” I mouthed and picked up a box of pizza that was ordered for me and a can of coke from the refrigerator.

Once inside my room, I changed into my pajamas and fell down on the bed lazily with the food and my laptop. I was too exhausted to even move so I gave up the plan of taking a bath. First day at work was a torture for my legs and my sole had blisters on it. But the salary in exchange for it was worth the pain so I was happy overall.

I devoured the pizza hungrily considering the last thing I ate, or refused to eat, was a frog. With that, I watched Netflix until I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open. Knowing very well tomorrow would be just as hard, I took a deep yawn and lay down to sleep.

*****

My day started with standing in a line for half an hour in front of Mr. Byer’s favourite coffee place to get a coffee and a croissant. Afterwards, I attended a meeting with him and then worked on a new project. During the lunch break, I went to the cafe downstairs where I sat down on an empty chair beside another woman and ordered a latte and a chicken sandwich.

“Hi, I am Ellie.” I introduced myself to the woman. She had flawless chocolate skin and light brown eyes, shiny curls falling over her shoulder.

“I’m Tyra. You are the new secretary, right? We met yesterday briefly.” She said.

“Sorry I didn’t know you. I'm a little disoriented these days. Mr. Byers is a little... Um... A lot to deal with.” I said embarrassingly.

“I know, relax.” She winked. “Don’t go back before lunch break is over or he’ll give you more work. And whenever you are given a task, just take a short break before turning that in instead of waiting for him to give you some time in between tasks. Just some hacks I learnt over the last six years.”

“Wow, you have been working here for six years. Wait, you don’t even look like you have graduated for that long.” I said.

“Well, I am 30. And I have a toddler. Want to see him?” She asked. I nodded and she then went on to show me the most adorable baby I have ever seen on her phone. He had a cute, chubby face with dimpled cheeks and huge, grey eyes.       

“That’s baby Nico. He got the eyes from his daddy.” She said and I fawned over the little bundle of cuteness.

Tyra and I talked until the end of lunch break, after which we made our way to the elevator. On our floor, before departing, she said, “Do come to my department whenever you’re free. We are mostly girls and we are all pretty chatty.”

“Sure, I will be looking forward to it.” I said and excitedly made my way to my office at the thought of having a friend at my new workplace.

But my happiness was short lived because as soon as I stepped into the Mr. Byer’s office, I was greeted with a strange sight. There was a little girl sitting on his chair, hardly above 5 years of age, her short blonde hair tied in two small pigtails.

“Excuse me, you can’t come here sweety.” I said and the girl stared back at me with her big, brown eyes.

“I want ice-cream.” She said. “Chocolate.”

“Uh.” I stared at her nervously. “I am sure you do. But sweetheart, I’ll be thrown out of here if my boss sees you here.” I said and gently took the files out of her hands. She had a marker in the other hand and if she lay even one spot on these files, I might get fired.

“But Daddy said you’ll bring me ice cream.” The girl said softly, blinking her eyes at me.

“Who is your Daddy and why would he said that?” I said, picking her up from the seat so I could take her out to my office and figure out what to do.

“Him.” She said, pointing at the picture of Nathan Byers, hanging above his chair. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I stared at the little girl when a voice suddenly shook me.

“Pray tell, where are you taking my daughter?” I turned around in my shocked state, only to find my boss towering over me. On seeing him, the little girl hopped out of my arms and into his large ones.

“Uh…” My eyes switched between the little girl and the tall man, both of them staring at my confused state. “I… I didn’t know... I didn't know she was your daughter.” Or that you had a daughter. What the fuck?

“Now you know.” He said and called someone on the phone. Soon, a woman stepped inside to take the girl, who appeared to be her nanny. “I have told you Nina, always keep an eye on her. What do I pay you for?”

“I want to stay with you.” The girl said with a pout.

“It’s time for your cello lessons, Aria. Besides, daddy is busy with some work.” He told her softly in a tone that I didn’t know was possible from Nathan Byer’s throat.

The girl unwillingly went with her babysitter, leaving me alone with him.

“Do you have a wife too, so I don’t try to throw her out in case she is here?” I asked curiously.

“Curiosity killed the cat, Miss. Anderson.” He said, leaning one hand against his desk, a teasing smirk on his mouth. His eyes on me made me nervous and jittery and I started rocking in my position to and fro.

“But satisfaction brought it back.” I said under my breath.

“In that case,” He took a step towards me and I shifted on my feet, feeling his scent wafting through the air around me. “No, I don’t have a wife. Is that enough or do you require my detailed sexual history too?”

“No thanks. That would be enough.” I played with the hem of my shirt, trying to keep my face straight but damn the blush.

Saying that, I slowly retreated until I was near the door. Opening the door, I dashed out of his sight before he could stop me for some other work.

***********