Darkest Devotion

Chapter 2

Zaide's POV

I run my hand over my face, the exhaustion getting to me. Ever since my assistant left to retire, I've been picking up most of the slack since no one here is qualified enough for the workload the position requires. I hired a temp just to take a little bit off of my plate but they do jack shit. 

A sigh escapes my lips as I try to calm myself down. I'm just overworked, tired and frustrated, it's not their fault.  With that thought in mind, I straighten my spine and get back to work. 

Over the rest of the day, the piles of paperwork started to lessen, making the room feel less cluttered. 

A knock sounds at the door. 

"Come in." I call out, my tone flat. 

Timidly, the door opens and the temp assistant walks in with his head down. "Sir, it's 5 o'clock, may I clock out for the day?"

I look at my watch to see it is indeed that time. "How much paperwork is left over?" 

He worries his lip between his teeth. "One stack, sir."

I let out a long breath. "I will finish it, please bring it in here before you leave."

"Yes, sir." With that the temp walks out before returning with an astronomically large pile of paper in his arms. He sets it down gently onto my desk before looking down again, playing with his fingers. 

"Good work today, James."

He looks up at me in surprise. "Oh, um, yes, sir, you're welcome. I'll be off now, have a good weekend."

"You too." With those words, James departs, leaving me alone in my building. 

I created this building from the ground up. When I was in college, I got a degree in business and was slowly curating my company so that I could get it started up when I graduated. Thankfully I was successful with some hard work. I made some other projects along the way too so I could sell them for money in order to get the funding I needed myself to start the business. Then, after a few years, Castellan Co. was born. 

My assistant that just retired was the first person to start working for me. He knew just what needed to be done and loved the busy work in helping new companies get off the ground. He was ahead in some years when he applied to work for me which proved to be helpful since he had some years in experience with the kind of work we were doing. Finally I got him to retire, much to his dismay. He's the kind of man that doesn't like to sit around and do nothing, he loves to work. But with his wife hounding me, and my guilty conscience for trying to hold onto him for so long, I was able to get him to retire with the fund set up for all of my employees. 

A smile spreads on my face at the memory of Ambrose. Unfortunately, because of how well he worked, I'm afraid no one will live up to my expectations. 

Suddenly a ringing comes to the left side of me. I look down to see my phone lit up with a picture of a beautiful woman, arguably the most beautiful woman. 

Picking up my phone, I slide the answer button before bringing the speaker up to my ear. "Would you believe me if I said I was just thinking of you?"

She scoffs. "No, I wouldn't, I bet you're still at work, aren't you?" Her quizzical tone shoots up my spine causing me to sit up straight. 

"Um..." I try to think of something to say that isn't technically a lie, but she beats me to it. 

"That's what I thought, don't try to get out of this."

I sigh in defeat. "Mom, you know that I'm in a tight spot with the company right now. Just until I find a new assistant."

"Zaide, I get why you do this, and I respect you for caring about your company. But you have to take care of yourself." Her solemn tone carries over the line causing my heart to pang. 

"I know mama, I'm sorry. It won't last forever though and I have employees to look after. If I lose the company, they lose their jobs." She laughs softly. "What?"

"Nothing it's just that I found something on the internet earlier. Do you know what your name means in our Spanish heritage?" I hum signaling that I don't. "It means leader."

I quirk a brow. "Where are you going with this?"

"I just mean, even though I just liked the sound of the name, you've really grown into the meaning of it too. You've always been a leader, and even more so now that you have your own company. I'm just proud of the person you've become is all."

A soft smile rests gently on my face. "Thank you mama, it means a lot to hear that."

"I will always think that of you hijo, you're my baby boy. Now, try not to stay too late, okay?"

"Okay, I love you, sleep well."

"I love you too hijo, sleep well and get home safe."

With that, we end the call so that I can get back to the work I have at hand. 

After a few hours, I finally get the stacks of paper back down to a manageable load. Sitting back, a heavy sigh escapes my lips, my eyes fluttering closed. Just a few seconds. 

Right as I'm about to fall asleep, I hear a ping come from my computer. Opening my eyes, I see it's an application to my open assistant position. I quickly sit up and open the application, reading over what seems to be Elara's qualifications and cover letter. Feeling like I have a good feel for who the person is, I send them an email, signing off with a woman's name. This has been my signature name for a while so no one knows that I'm the one responding to these listings. I don't need anyone getting nervous or having ulterior motives because I'm reaching out. 

In a matter of seconds, Elara emails me back stating what days work for them. With that, I state the day, time and add the address. 

Deciding to call it a day, I gather up the things I need before turning off the lights in my office and heading to the elevator. I work on the 20th floor but the elevator hits every floor. However, every person needs to key in their employee badge and four digit passcode to get the elevator to move. It's a bit tedious, but I prioritize my employees lives more than I care about a little tedious few seconds. 

When I make it out of the building, the security guards lock it behind me. I send a farewell nod to them and head over to my car, hopping in before putting it in drive and taking off to my place. 

Not too long later, I make it to my penthouse, placing my things in their respective spots before I head up to my room, taking off my tie and unbuttoning my shirt. 

I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my brown eyes staring back at me. My brown hair sits a little disheveled on top of my head, likely from me running my fingers through it as I worked. I have a tan complexion thanks to my mom's hispanic genes. My suits are all tailored to fit me since I'm pretty built from the many hours I spend in the gym a week. Not to mention that fact that I'm 6' so I need something that fits my length. 

Turing away from the floor length mirror, I take the rest of my work attire off of me before heading over to the closet and pulling out some grey sweatpants. Deciding not to wear a shirt, I head over to my king size bed and lay down, resting my right hand behind my head. 

I hope the person that applied for the assistant position, Elara, is a good candidate. I can't keep going on like this, working with a temp and picking up their slack. Please be what this company needs, what I need, Elara.

*****

Hey! I was at B&N today so I figured I'd crank out another chapter. Since it's summer, hopefully I'm able to get chapters out much faster than I was with my other book. Let me know if you like this story so far!