PEARL
“I quit,” I announced as soon as Luke walked into the receptionist’s office on the second floor.
“Are you playing with words?” He asked, changing his direction and stopping right in front of me. He was close, too close that I could smell his after-shaving cream.“No, Lucas. I quit,”
Lucas placed his hand below my chin. “It’s Mr. Anderson for you, you work under me now. Have some respect,”I gritted my teeth. “Are you deaf? Because if you’re not, you would’ve heard what I just said. I quit, I don’t want to work here or anywhere that have you attached to it,”
Lucas nodded, staring into my eyes. “Very well, Miss Pearl Augustus. You can leave as you want,”I picked up my bag from the chair behind me and began walking away. I wouldn’t make the mistake of getting involved with the devil twice.
“It’ll be a shame if your father’s company gets bankrupt because of someone who could have averted the disaster,”
I stopped in my tracks. “What?” I turned to face him. My body collided with his and I realized he had been following me closely behind. He snaked his hand around my waist and I held it, not giving him the pleasure of touching me.“Haven’t you seen the news?” He asked, his lips a few inches away from mine.
I clicked my tongue as my grip on his hand tightened, trying to pull his hand from my waist. “What stupid news?”Lucas suddenly let go of my body and I found myself tripping backward. He caught my hand, stopping the embarrassing fall, and suddenly let go.
“Shit” My butt landed on the marble floor and I almost screamed in pain. I tried standing up but Lucas bent to my level, stopping me.
“I invested 80 million dollars in your father’s company last week and that had called for more investors just because of my influence, Sil. If you walk out of this door, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull out my investment and watch your father’s company crumble under my feet. We both know how shaky the company had been,” He whispered into my ear.My father’s company had been through a bad year. It wasn’t making as much as it usually did and even though, father never confided in us whenever it comes to business, we could sense that something had gone wrong.
“So, what do you say, Sil? Stay or leave? It’s your fucking choice,”
I stared at the devil in front of me and I saw he was smirking. I wish I could slap that smirk off his face. I bite my lips as tears filled my eyes. “Stay!” I whispered with wobbling lips.“Good girl,” He ran his hand through my hair and I slapped his hand away.
“Don’t fucking touch me, you monster,” I spat.He touched my face.
“This is a work environment, you should refrain from swearing and using the ‘f’ word. I might end up bending you against my desk and spanking you,” His mouth was close to my ear. His hot breath fanned my face as he said those useless words out. How can he say words like that and still be so calm about it?“Get a life, Lucas,”
He chuckled. Lucas stood up and stretched his hand out at me. Knowing I couldn’t trust him again, I stood up by myself. “Like I said, Sil. It’s Mr. Anderson for you,”“I’m not Sil. Whoever Sil was is dead,”
“Are you sure about that?” He raised an eyebrow.The clicking sound of stiletto heels echoes their presence on the hard stone floor. I turned to see a beautiful woman make her easy towards us. She was wearing a short brown pencil gown that suited her brunette hair. Her hair cascaded down to her waist.
“Good morning, Mr. Anderson,”
“Charlotte, Get Miss Adams to her newly furnished office and make sure she signs her contract before she steps out of here today. Also, try as much as possible to see to it that I don’t get to see her for the rest of the day,” Luke instructed and my mouth fell open.“What? I don’t want to see your face either, Luke. I’m staying because you didn’t give me the choi….” He cut me off before I could continue by placing a finger on my lips.
“Another word from you and I’ll be backing out of our agreement,” He threatened.I sealed my lips, not giving him the opportunity to mock me or disgrace me with everyone here. I swallowed hard, wishing I could smack the back of his head as he walked away.
“Miss Augustus, this way please,” Charlotte asked me to follow her as she also began walking away.
“Call me Pearl,” I asked, trying to not be too formal with the lady.“I’m afraid I can’t call you that. This is a formal setting and things should be done formally,” She replied. I scoffed at her attitude.We got to the front of a door and she instructed me to enter my desired passcode which I did and only God knows what she pressed after. She told me to enter the passcode once more ad after I did, the door unlocked. I turned the knob and we both entered together.
The office was the usual private enclosed space. There was a black-brown corner desk with metal legs in the middle of the room and a black leather chair behind it. There were also empty bookshelves. There was nothing special about it and if anyone had heard Lucas bluff about the newly decorated office, they would think it was something special.
“Lunch is by noon and you can only go out for lunch with the permission of your boss. You answer to him always and sometimes, you answer to me,”
I blinked, not believing what I just heard. “Wait! What exactly is my position in this office? Personal assistance to an asshole and his cohort," I asked.“I’ll advise you to watch your words,” She snapped.
I shrugged, waiting for her to give an answer rather than a piece of advice. “Mr. Anderson hasn’t thought of any position that would suit you but for now, you have to do anything that he wants, I’m afraid,”“More like a slavery modernized work,”
“You can put it any way you want, Miss Augustus. Anyway, I’m Miss Charlotte, Mr. Anderson’s personal assistant and the only person who has direct contact to him. If you want to inform him about anything, you have to go through me first,” I folded my hands against my chest as I listen to her annoying words.“Okay! I can’t blame anyone for my misfortune,”
“That’s right. Also, welcome to our company and please, avoid Mr. Anderson for the rest of the day as he wanted. He’s a devil in a black suit,”I smirked. “Honey, you don’t know him better than I do,”
The smile on her face was soon replaced with a frown as she stared at me hard. I don’t know why but I already feel like I was in a competition with her for something.Charlotte was the last of my problems. I paced the office room as I wondered what I was supposed to say at home and how long I would keep up the act until my father finds out.
PearlIf my father ever finds out that I’m outside of school waiting for the school’s bad boy, I might get killed or sent to an asylum. Maybe if I tell him he was Anderson’s only son, I would be punished and grounded till my grandchildren graduate college, right?“Right?” I asked Lyla who was beside me. I knew I was thinking out loud with the dreadful look on her face.“You need to calm down Pearl. I can’t calm down if you don’t calm down and the way you’ve been imagining all sort of horrible things is scaring me, alright?” Lyla asked, her voice shaking already.I nodded, swallowing hard.&ldquo
PEARL “You didn’t pick up your phone when I called you last night, Pearl,” Lyla complained as she sat opposite me in the cafeteria. It was lunchtime and I arrived earlier than any of us. I wanted to avoid meeting Lucas in the hallways. “I was too tired to do anything, I practically slept like a log of wood after I got home last night,” I yawned, placed my head on the desk, and groaned, “I still feel sleepy,” I told her. “Why? What happened with Lucas?” At the mention of Lucas’s name by Lyla, I lifted up my head, brought out my phone, and show her the text I received from the unknown number yesterday. “Do you know this number? Can you check on your phone if it’s for Lucas?” I requested. I had that on my mind throughout this morning and I made the conclusion that it was Lucas because of the initial he used. Lyla wiggled her eyebrow. “Why are you acting surprised? You know I know you both know someone mutual called Henry and from the way you both acted yesterday, it is crystal clear
Author's Note: I'll be giving little reminders at every switch in time and period so you readers won't get confused. Please, ask questions if this book gets confusing at any point. Reminder: This chapter picks up from the last scene where Pearl had her first day at work. Pearl's POV My day was not only dramatic but also hectic. I had to do all Charlotte wanted because the boss wanted it as well, which were all according to her. I feel she has something deep against me and the best part was, I didn’t see Lucas again for the rest of the day. I was a few feet away from my father’s mansion, staring at it as I sat on the road’s placement, my bag in between my legs. The lights were still on, meaning the workers were still up and so were my parents. When I was able to finally pick up my phone and check the time was when I discovered how dead I might actually be. My phone suddenly began ringing once more, I removed it from my bag and panicked as I realized it was my father. Quickly, I pi
Pearl's POV “Good morning, Mother,” I greeted as I walked past her into the kitchen, the walk was at a quick pace as I was getting late for work. I needed to get to work by seven-thirty instead of eight which was the normal resumption time because bitchy charlotte said so. I picked up an apple from the bowl of fruits sitting on the kitchen table, I took a bite as I saw my mother glaring at me. I swear, I almost choked. “Good morning, Miss” She quoted and I rolled my eyes. I dropped the apple back into the bowl and that earned me a smack on the back of my head. “What the heck, mother? Why did you do that?” I yelled. Instead of responding she ignored me, removed the apple from the bowl, and tossed it into the dustbin. She turned to look at me while a hand was against her waist. “Why are you up so early? Is your work related to slavery?” I shook my head, not as a response to her answer but as a way of saying I was tired of listening to her constant sarcastic way of speaking. “Not
Pearl's POV “Do you want me to repeat myself, Pearl?” He demanded. I was still standing fixated at a spot. I tried finding words to say but I couldn’t. All I could think of was how he laid claim on me just as he did years back. “Yes,” I swallowed hard. He stood close to his desk, leaning a little bit against it for support as he stared at me. We both kept on looking at each other for what appeared to be a few seconds. “We have a meeting to attend, get ready,” He finally repeated and I heaved a deep sign of relief. I stood my ground and I won this time. “Yes sir,” I answered. “Meet me outside in five minutes,”“Okay, sir,” He suddenly glared at me and instead of wondering about what I’d done wrong, I walked out of the office, closing the door firmly. As I walked into my office, bitchy Charlotte was sitting on my desk, hands folded against her chest. “How was your little charade of disgrace?” She grinned widely. I cocked an eyebrow, trying to understand what she mean, and then
Reminder: This chapter picks up from where Lucas attacked Jeremy because he found out what exactly happened.PEARL'S POV“Jeremy is mad at you, you know,” Aurora whispered to my ear during physics class. I turned to look at her strangely.“Why? I have done anything,” I whispered back.She lifted up her textbook before she brought out her phone to text me. I watched as the words she was secretly typing formed into something. “He’s been mad at you since yesterday. You saw how he ignored you this morning, I asked him and he told me it’s because you told Lucas Anderson about what he did,” My eyes went wide as everything made sense to me. Still, I was confused.I took her phone from her and typed. “I didn’t tell Lucas anything, I swear,”“Then, how did he know it was Jeremy who pushed you?” I was
Pearl's POV The next morning, I went to school alone for the first time without my twin sister. I’d insisted on staying back with her at home but my mom successfully chased me out of the house with a mop stick. Aurora had woken up with a bad fever and she was throwing up, I had to reluctantly leave her side to take my bath. My mom decided to stay back and take her to the hospital for a checkup. Aurora while on her sickbed promised to meet me in school after if she gets better and I made her give me a pinky swear on that. As I got off the bus and the school building came into sight, I sighed and tears threatened to spill but I held it in as I held on to the strap of my school bag and walked in. all eyes were on me and as I walked past them, they were saying something with their eyes and their lips were moving as well. I didn’t care because they were probably saying something about Aurora being absent and suddenly, I got really angry. I got to my locker and opened it, dropping some
Pearl's POV Did I forget to mention that I slapped my boss after he asked me to sleep with him? Actually, I did and I don’t regret it. The following day at work, I was expecting a sack letter or an appeal for me to submit my resignation letter from the HR department. “Good morning. Pearl,” Rose smiled at me as I got to the reception. “You look amazing today, I love your dress” She complimented and I blushed. “Thank you, it’s just a simple outfit,” To be sincere, it wasn’t a simple outfit like I’d mentioned. I was putting on a black bodycon dress with a red blazer. I adorned the outfit with some flashy Tiffany and co earrings and red heels. I wanted to look my best as I finally leave Luke’s company successfully. “You look amazing as well,” I complimented, “What? Don’t try to scam me, girl. I look like this always,” We both smiled. “Let’s have lunch together today,” she suggested and I nodded. “Cool, let’s hope I last longer than that period today,” “What do you mean?” She ask