Match Made In Hell

Chapters 1-5

(the Secretary, the Criminal, the Traitor, the Lover, the Accomplice)

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Chapter 1: the Secretary

"She's 29, has been working for the company since she graduated. There's a rumour that she wasn't exactly hired for the long term because of her competence. Well, at least not the one in the domain... Cliché."

Zulema made a grimace as she blew out the cigarette smoke, and still laying on her stomach, threw a printed picture about a smiling young blonde onto a pile of documents, also laying on the bed near her, then she threw herself back onto the pillow near the man who looked at her questioningly.

"Why does she matter at all? Simon is the one who has to sign the deal, he's the big fish, why do we waste so much time studying this chick?"

"It's her we'll have to talk to..." Zulema sighed. "There is no way the big bad fish will come out himself from his aquarium to meet us, no matter how good we are. He'll send her." she rolled her eyes as she put her cigarette into an ashtray and snuggled up near the man. "Do you want to talk to her, or should I?" she asked on a bored tone.

"You can do it." the man said. "Whenever I try sewing a net around a woman for information they always get the wrong idea."

"Isn't that the whole point?" Zulema raised her head again laughing to look at him. "Making them to trust you?"

"Yeah... it is. But I am tired of seducing women and breaking their hearts while not even being interested. And I am also tired of having to push them away before things would get... steamy... Maybe you can handle it differently."

"Well then stop pushing them away if you are tired of it!" Zulema kept laughing. "We agreed that that's ok too, until it's... professionally necessary." she shrugged with a bitter smile. "And until we don't lie to each other about it. As far as we know, it hasn't yet truly come to that, but... I won't ask for details if you say it was necessary." she added placing a kiss on his jawline.

He smiled. He knew why she said that. Despite Zukema's self-confidence in every area of her life, she lacked it in one. In their relationship. She was convinced that he would get bored of her sooner or later, even if they've basically been a couple for almost ten years already. And apparently she loved him enough to not want to scare him away with being possesive. But he knew that she was not taking it as lightly as she pretended that she did.

"I am tired of even having to get to the point of having to push them away." he rephrased his sentence rolling his eyes. "As I said, I am not interested..." he said running his fingers through Zulema's shoulder-length dark hair. "...in them."

"Flattering." Zulema smirked. "And let's say if... hypothetically... I can't handle it differently... Would you mind if I end up seducing her?" she asked jokingly as her fingers were drawing circles on his chest. "It's unlikely that it will come to the extremes though..." she addeed as she suddenly lifted the picture again and looked at it. "She's not my type." she pouted with her head resting on the man's shoulder. "She looks too naive, annoyingly innocent and... she's blonde! Come on..."

"And she's a woman." the man added frowning. "Also, ten years younger than you, but I am not the right person to judge you for that. But as far as I know, you were never into women, were you?" he asked lightly.

"No." Zulema shrugged. "But who knows... you know, my future is never set in stone. There's only one stable point I see in it." she said cheerfully throwing the picture once again away.