Mia had her Chromebook open on her lap as she looked through job postings. After the disaster a few hours ago, it was clear to her that she couldn’t let up on the job hunt. The Chromebook was old and didn’t stay connected to the Wi-Fi she was “borrowing” from her neighbor very well, but it was better than looking through the newspaper, which she also did on a regular basis.
She was just contemplating contacting a used car dealership, wondering if she could ever really sell cars, when her cell phone rang.
Picking it up, she studied the number. It wasn’t familiar to her, and there was no name to let her know who it might be, but she had to answer anyway. It could be one of the other places she’d recently applied to. “Hello?”
“May I speak to Mia Eaton, please?”
The voice sounded vaguely familiar. It was a middle-aged woman. “This is she.”
“Hello, Ms. Eaton. This is Veronica Smithy from Whitaker and Whitaker.”
A lump immediately formed in Mia’s throat as she considered she might’ve actually gotten the job. But then reality sunk in and she reminded herself there was no way that was the case. She shook her head and thought about how she was going to thank Ms. Smithy for her kindness in letting her know that she hadn’t been selected. It must take her days to call back everyone in that stack. “Yes?” she said, not sure what else to do to fill the silence.
“I’m calling to let you know you’ve been selected to fill the vacancy. Congratulations. Mr. Whitaker is looking forward to having you fill his secretarial needs.”
Mia wasn’t sure what to say—she truly hadn’t been expecting that at all. In fact, if someone had asked her five minutes ago what she thought her chances of getting the job where, she would’ve said one in a million. “I got… the job?”
“Yes,” Ms. Smithy said in a very matter-of-fact tone. “Now, I will forward your contract to you via courier. You will receive it in an hour or so. Look over it carefully. Read it word for word. Make sure you understand everything that it says. We would like for you to begin working on Monday, but if you need more time to have a lawyer look over the contract, then let us know, and we will give you a few extra days. Do you understand?”
“Y—yes,” Mia stammered. How odd. She hadn’t taken a lot of jobs in her time, but she’d never heard of anyone being so thoroughly warned about reading a contract. She didn’t even know a lawyer, and if she did, she wouldn’t be able to afford one.
“With your contract, Mr. Whitaker has also decided to send you a gift card in order to ensure your work wardrobe is appropriate to our expectations.”
Glancing down at her sweatpants and T-shirt, Mia thought about the outfit she’d warn earlier, the one with the safety pin holding the skirt on. Perhaps she shouldn’t feel offended by the comment, but it stung a little.
Ms. Smithy continued. “The prepaid card will be sufficient for you to buy several new outfits, shoes, bags, whatever you need, and all of the items will be yours to keep. You will not have to pay the money you spend back unless you stop working for Whitaker and Whitaker within the first six months. If you should quit early, you’ll be contractually bound to pay back every penny.”
“All right,” Mia said. That shouldn’t be a problem. She intended to stay at Whitaker and Whitaker for long term. Even if her salary was the low end of the range, she’d be making far more money than she needed to pay her bills. The idea of making that sort of money had her mind wandering momentarily. She was sitting on a couch her mother had purchased in the mid-‘80s. She’d be able to buy new furniture, even save up for a better place, an apartment closer to work.
“Your duties will require some travel as well, so keep that in mind as you make your considerations. Do you have any questions?”
Nothing popped into Mia’s mind. “No, ma’am.”
“Very well, let me confirm your address, and I’ll send this over. Should questions arise, call me anytime. Unless I hear otherwise from you, I’ll expect to you see you at the office at 9:00 on Monday. You may bring the contract and your other documentation required to begin working here.” Mia knew she meant her identification and that sort of thing.
“Okay, thank you,” Mia said, still sounding a little more shocked than she liked.
“Miss Eaton, please remember I suggested you read over the documents carefully. If you have questions, the time to ask them is before you sign. Do you understand?”
“Yes, thank you.” The warning in her voice seemed so odd, Mia wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Ms. Smithy clicked off, and Mia sat her phone down, finally letting herself smile. She couldn’t believe her luck, that she’d actually gotten the job! Not only was this potentially an opportunity for her to work her way up with a great company, but the money was unbelievable.
And then there was that guy—the one she’d literally ran into in the hallway….
Mia would be lying if she didn’t admit she’d spent most of the afternoon thinking about him. He’d had such beautiful eyes, such an easy smile. She couldn’t remember ever seeing such a sexy man in real life. She’d even caught a whiff of his cologne on her clothes when she’d come home… and spent a few minutes sniffing it before she’d remembered she wasn’t crazy and let it go.
Would this job mean she’d get to see him on a daily basis? Mia leaned her head back against the couch and thought about what that might be like. A smile came to her face, and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he would be the one she would finally give herself to… all of herself.
Mia decided to treat herself to some Chinese takeout since she’d gotten the job and could theoretically afford it. Eating out was something she rarely did since she was on a tight budget, but under the circumstances, a little fun couldn’t hurt, could it? When the doorbell rang, she assumed it was the delivery guy with her orange chicken, but when she pulled open the door, she saw a courier standing there. “Hey. You Mia Eaton?” “Yeah….” He shoved a thick manila envelope her direction and then a clipboard. “Sign here.” Pulling her eyes away from the agitated expression on his face, she scrawled her name across the line, wondering what it was about life in general that had this guy so put out. “Thanks,” she said clipping his pen back on. “Yep.” He turned and headed back toward the stairs, leaving Mia wishing she could do something to make him have a better day. It was too bad that some people were never happy when there was so m
The mirror didn’t lie. Mia checked the length of her skirt one more time and made sure the seam was where it was supposed to be. She’d bought a full-length mirror when she’d gone shopping on Saturday to make sure she fit the specifications of her contract. She was wearing a black pencil-skirt that hit just above her knee, but with the slit in the back significantly higher, she felt slightly exposed. It wasn’t obscene by any means, nothing like that woman had worn to the interview, but it wasn’t something Mia would usually wear. She also had on a white button-down shirt. The top three buttons were undone, as her contracted said they must be, which meant one could see her lacy white bra at certain angles. She wasn’t sure what to think about that. Would everyone think she was some sort of slut? Her heels weren’t that high, but they were strappy, black, sexy and shiny. Her earrings were simple, as also mandated, and she had her hair up in a bun—but not a severe on
Mia followed Veronica through the maze, trying her best to keep track of the twists and turns this time so that she didn’t get lost on her way back to her assigned area. Eventually, they reached a door with a touchpad next to it where she would enter a code. “This is your office. Your code has already been created for you. I’ll show you how to change it some other time, but for now, it’s 8236.” Veronica punched it in, and the door beeped, glowed green, and she was able to turn the knob. Mia followed her into a decent reception area. She was surprised she’d have so much room. There was a desk with a bookshelf behind it, as well as a few chairs sitting across the room against the wall. The view out the window was spectacular. A few plants and some nice paintings and other décor decorated the area. “You’ll be able to change any of this if you want to.” Veronica gestured at the paintings and other decorations. “It’s lovely,” Mia replied, taking it all i
Mr. Whitaker was the sort of man who commanded the room without saying a word. Sitting behind his desk, his face freshly shaven, his dark hair perfectly styled, he seemed to fill up every space in the large room without opening his mouth, taking all of the oxygen away from Mia as she stared at him from the entryway.She’d remembered to knock—that was something. He couldn’t be angry at her for that. So why was he staring at her with such a narrowed gaze? Mia cleared her throat and said, “You wanted to see me, sure? I’m Mia. The new secretary.” She wasn’t even sure if he had had a say in hiring her. She hoped he had. It would be odd if he didn’t even know he had a new secretary.Sam leaned back in his chair and yanked on his royal blue tie, though it didn’t seem to loosen any. “I know who you are, Mia. Come here, please.”Mia came over, not sure what she should do when she got there. Two chairs sat on the side of the table closer to where she was standing, but he hadn’t mentioned sittin
The new secretary was hot. There was no question about that. Sam sat behind his desk, breathing in the lingering scent of her perfume. When she’d bent over to pick up that pencil off of the floor, he’d envisioned all sorts of things he’d like to do to her, things a person shouldn’t be thinking about at work—unless that person had it written into the contract that the secretary had signed that said it was all acceptable.Mia wasn’t the kind of girl he would’ve normally hired. When Veronica had asked him to check in on the interview, he’d noted she was beautiful, but she’d been so unprofessionally put together at that interview, he’d told Veronica she was a pass.Until Beau came in and insisted he hire her. It was the best choice his brother had made in a long time. Sam did his best to concentrate one work, but he kept thinking about Mia, about how her bottom curved when she bent over, the way the slit in her skirt showed just a hint of what she was hiding beneath that blac
Beau wasn’t expecting Mia to be standing in Sam’s office when he opened the door. Generally speaking, when his brother hired a new secretary, he didn’t see her much at all for the first few days, certainly not more than just in the morning and maybe in the evening. Everyone in the company knew that Sam’s secretary didn’t do anything for the company itself; she was only there to entertain him throughout the day. So when he saw her standing there, poised as if she were on her way out, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He hoped that his brother hadn’t already started asking her to perform his “special assignments.” From the look on her face, it seemed as if that might’ve been the case. She looked a little flushed. But then, she was smiling at him. So maybe he had imagined that. Maybe she was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. “Hi, Mia. How’s your first day going?” Beau asked, stepping completely into the room. “Good, thank you. How are you?”
Riding in the back of a limousine was a new experience for Mia. The closest she’d ever been to an experience like this was the Lincoln Town Car she’d ridden in from the funeral home to the cemetery after her mother had died. This was different, though. She was glad there was plenty of room so she could scoot away from Mr. Whitaker. He didn’t seem to notice that she got closer to the window as he got into the car. He was distracted, his phone in his hand. He slid into the car next to her, his spicy cologne filling the space, and she realized the reason she’d gave him plenty of room had more to do with trusting herself not to touch him, than trusting him not to make any demands in the car. When she discovered that Beau and a woman she had yet to meet, Emily, were coming with them, part of her wanted to relax a bit because she assumed that meant Mr. Whitaker would behave himself. It also made her anxious in a different way. She was certainly attracted to Beau, tho
That evening, Mia had a lot on her mind as she contemplated her first day on the job. It certainly hadn’t been what she’d expected. Sam had been in meetings the entire afternoon, and she hadn’t even seen him again after lunch. She’d felt a little disappointed in that, and she wasn’t sure why. Her entire life, she’d been told she was a good girl. She’d tried her best to do what she thought was right. The last thing she would ever want to do is disappoint her mother, but now that her mom was gone, and this alternative to the way she’d always been was presented to her, she couldn’t help but think about it. A lot. Lying in her bed, wearing a black satin negligée she’d bought when she went shopping the other day, she thought about what Sam had asked her to do. Her mind wandered to what might’ve happened if he’d touched her. She thought of what it would’ve been like to have his hands on her body instead of just his eyes. Images of Sam’s muscular body removing his shi