LEMON PEELS

LEMON PEELS 3

High school was a nightmare. Even with her father's stoic matter of fact personality, she suffered. It struck her to be incredibly stupid to be so superficial. Most beautiful people she knew were imbeciles. But She quickly learned that the kind of world where what was inside mattered more than what was outside a person was a fantastical crock of sh** and to make it, the outside mattered just as much, and leaning towards more, than the inside. It was not a cruel or crude awakening really. It was more an epiphany. A moment of ringing clarity.

She decided she was going to do management and planning. This was because strangely, even with her naturally analytical personality, she quickly realized the sciences didn't agree with her at all. Physics didn't make sense and gave her headaches, biology was too messy and bloody, and chemistry was gibberish. But she had a head for languages and history and was a notorious neat freak, Bordering on OCD even. She had no intention of complicating things for herself. She ran for student council instead and played the flute in the school orchestra.

The summer before college, she worked her butt off and by the time she enrolled she was half her weight in high school. When she pledged at her mother's sorority, she had two thirds of what was left. Two semesters in she was arguably the most popular pledge in the house.

It was a shockingly easy win for her once she figured out the rules. If she had realized it sooner, high school would definitely still have been the insufferable bore it had been, but without the pointless bullying she had to deal with. But while her sisters were putting all their time an effort into snagging themselves a wealthy but not so bright beau so they never had to lift a finger for the rest of their lives, she wanted to make her own money and live her own life free of the hustle of a stupid and /or overbearing husband and in-laws.

This plan also had the added advantage of sticking the middle finger up to the establishment that had given her so much hell growing up. She would not shimmy into that neat little box they had cut out for all the girls her age, as was expected of her. Marry rich, pop 2 babies and spend the rest of her life trying to stuff them into the same box she had been unable to fit into herself. It was really an unhappy cycle she had no intention of continuing.

She would be single as long as she wanted, then marry scandalously, (for effect) if she had babies, maybe use a test tube to begin with... maybe. She was keeping an open mind. But all that after her to the illustrious career. So when her sisters were dressing up for parties and chasing flighty senator's sons across campus as they went after every other skirt that caught their fancy, she was thinking how to use them to get to their fathers and uncles without having to marry the chumps.

While her sisters were going to frat parties for the fun, she organized them for the experience. While her sisters and the fraternities they mingled with messed up (and this was often) and the cops came calling, or the university wanted to shut them down or sanction their activities, she learnt damage control without having to throw money or daddy at the problem. She was president of her sorority by the start of her third year of college, making her the youngest ever to hold the position. And it was only natural. Her mother was so proud of her. Olivia couldn't help rolling her eyes.

And that was how she ended up with an idiot like Brandon Strauss. Strauss Corp was one of the biggest mining conglomerates on the globe. The owner's son had died in a car crash along with his wife when his grandson was 10 years old. Brandon was away at boarding school when he lost his parents. He wasn't very affected. Apparently there were never around much anyway. The transition was easy he told her once. She allowed herself to sleep with him because it was the only way to keep him interested long enough to get an introduction to Markus Strauss. Fortunately for her, it did not have to get to the point of engagement. It was an impromptu dinner ball and he had to bring a date. It was not going to be anyone other than his hot as hell president of her sorority girlfriend.

Dinner with the Strauss's meant Markus Strauss, and she didn't waste her time. Markus Strauss meant a high entry internship at Strauss Corp after her final year of college. She killed it so thoroughly those 6 months, she graduated to junior PA for Markus Strauss himself. And yes, while she may have skipped a few steps in the whole process by going through his idiot grandson, she earned her post through her internship. And of course it didn't hurt that she was hot to boot. And in the interest of avoiding a conflict of interest she ended it with Brandon but made him think he was the one who dumped her. So no hard feelings from granddaddy Strauss.

Who knew old dog, Markus Strauss (honestly, it was the only similarity he shared with Brandon) would drop dead 9 months in. This was the job that was supposed to build her visibility. And worse, that dumb Brandon Strauss would sell his controlling shares to another major shareholder, just so he could start a snowboard making business. The shock of these changes happening so closely together had company stocks bobbing harder than a buoy off the coast of Australia. It was so bad that shareholder sold the stock like it was a ticking time bomb.

That's how Olivia found herself staring down the prospect of joblessness less than 2 years in. Enter the Martelles . In a tale in the fashion of a knight in shining armor, they swooped in and managed, with their enormous overseas wealth, to calm investors. It was the money really. But it saved her job. They wanted to set up overseas operations and Strauss Corp was just right. Dorian was Jorge Martelle's Second son. And he was sent to head up operations on this end.

While she developed an immediate wariness for him, through an unfortunate first encounter in a back alley, (don't even ask), and due to which he apparently found her impossibly fascinating. As such she once again found herself promoted from junior PA to his number one on speed dial.

...

She stirred awake as she heard movement in the airplane cabin. She was up in an instant. Still groggy, she checked her watch. It was 5 am. She yawned and looked to her side and almost yelped in surprise when her eyes met that piercing black gaze. He grinned slowly and she was much too disheveled in the morning to know what to do with it, so she stared dumbstruck, probably with the stupidest expression on her face.

"Morning sunshine. Did you know you murmur and snore in your sleep? You giggle too. It's the cutest thing. What were you dreaming about?" He said looking inordinately pleased with himself for having found this out about his employee. The blood must have drained from her face at this because he laughed.

"How many times do I have to tell you to relax? Nobody is 100% guarded all the time. You're only human." He gave her a side look,"It was kinda cute." That did all kinds of things to her head. She shot up the moment she her face was starting to get hot.

"Excuse me, sir." She said with as much composure as she could muster and rushed off to the bathrooms. What the hell was he doing awake at this hour? And what was he doing in the lounge area? He had a private room in the back... She huffed as she shut the door, none too gently, and forced herself to regard her reflection. Almost as red as her hair already. Pathetic!

She growled lowly at herself in the mirror and bent over the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She would not show weakness. She couldn't! It was ok. He only got to her just because she was a little frazzled from just waking up. That was it.

"3 hours." She reminded herself. "Just three hours till we land."