Damn it!She felt like she was going to cry.Anna walked over to the secretary’s desk she had seen before. This time, there was no longer the excitement of being the secretary to the CEO of the Hayes Company. This time, what Anna felt was a huge pit in her stomach and an overwhelming need for a cry.All his words that had been said to her in his office made her rest her head in her hands. This was turning out to be the worst start to her first day.“I should have just stayed in the UK.” She mumbled, trying to think of anything other than the father of her children… who now turned out to be her boss.Anna’s mind worked furiously as she rifled through the drawers of the desk, replaying the encounter she had with him at the restaurant and also here at the company.Why did it seem to her that he didn’t even recognize her?It was as if she was no one to him, which of course she didn’t blame him for.After all, it had been over five
“Mommy, I want to see Andrea!”Anna winced as the sound of her son’s voice somehow was louder than that of the other children in the company’s daycare. Even the lady at the front desk gave her a pitying look which made her feel all the more uncomfortable.Kneeling down to pick up her unruly, stubborn genius of a son, she smiled down at Andrew as he screwed up his face. He didn’t like being picked up in public.“We can go to pick her up when I close from work, okay?” She said to her son, whose face screwed up in discomfort even more. “Come on, don’t give me that face. Aren’t you happy that I came to see you on my break?”“I thought you came to see me because you forgot to drop off my lunchbox.” Her son’s British-accented voice was somehow chastising.Anna wondered briefly if she should be worried about his cognitive development being at a much faster rate than most other children she had seen his age, but let that thought go. She had to fi
“So,” Sophie’s voice pierced the fog of Anna’s thoughts. The dining table was otherwise quiet, except for the children who played with their meals. “How did you come by these little bundles of yours?”Anna had been expecting a lot out of her sister, but that question still stumped her a little.“Sophie.” Their father warned her, but she didn’t pay him any attention. Or maybe, she just felt emboldened by the little sips of wine from her glass.“Oh, come on, dad. I’m sure you want to know as well.”Anna watched as her sister exchanged glances with their mother who seemed willing to let their daughter continue with the impromptu interrogation.“Not in front of the children.” Her father spoke again, this time with a little hesitancy in his voice.“I’m sure everyone here is curious as to who you spent the night with to conceive them,” Sophie stated with no hint of remorse, her voice lower in volume than before. The children continued
“I’ll pay you, I promise.” She was pleading with him now and even though her voice was as low as she could make it, it was the desperation in her tone that spoke volumes. “Just a little more time, I promise you. Just give me another week, or… or two weeks. I can get the minimum amount.”“You’ve had way too many chances, girl.” The man on the other end of the phone call didn’t sound happy at all. In fact, he was pissed. “I spoke to the boss on your behalf more than two times already. You have no right to demand more time from anyone. Pay what you fucking owe, Sophie!”The call ended and she let out a guttural, pissed scream, flinging her phone to the other side of the office bathroom.“Damn it!”Her voice bounced off the walls and echoed back to her.Why did things have to get this bad? She tried to calm herself but all she could feel was panic.How was she going to get the money to pay off Victor and his goons?The door to the bat
Sophie smirked as soon as the man finished counting the entire wad of bills.“As I said, right?” She proudly grinned. “Five thousand dollars as promised.”The man - laden with neck tattoos and wearing a black wifebeater - raised his hand to scratch his beard lightly, with his pocket knife.“Five thousand is the minimum payment, not what you fucking owe us, Clandestine.” He pointed the pocket knife at her, and she pursed her lips in a pout.“I don’t have any more money.” She argued. It had taken her a lot to get this cash out of Anna, including lying about paying a payday loan she had taken out. It was impossible to get twenty thousand dollars more now. “Look, I promised you the minimum payment, not that I would pay off everything at once. Please do me this solid. I’ll make sure I pay off the remaining 20k.”“Actually,” the man corrected, “It’s closer to thirty now. You haven’t forgotten the interest rates, have you, mija?”Oh no.Sophie felt her resolve to pay back her debt dwindling
He watched her calmly as she walked into the office. William kept his emerald eyes on the sashay of her hips.God, she was so fucking beautiful.His right hand tensely gripped the gold plated fountain pen he had been writing with.As Anna approached him, she tried to appear as calm as possible as she reached his desk, before dropping the files before him. Not an emotion was betrayed by her face.“Here are the files, sir.” She murmured. “If there’s nothing else-““-Actually, there is.” He cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “Bring me a cup of coffee. Black, two sugars.” He ordered her, and then reached for the topmost file to examine.“Yes sir.” She swallowed all the comments she wanted to make, and her eyes fell on the coffee machine at the rightmost corner of the office.As soon as she turned away from him, his gaze went right back to her, ogling every inch of her.If only he could have her…Maybe this thirst for this woman would decrease.Focus, William, he cautioned h
They were at a standstill now. Even now, Anna was questioning her own sanity. What was she hoping to gain from refusing to just leave his office?She squared her shoulders and raised her chin up at him in defiance, even with those doubts running through her head.If she lost this job, how would she be able to save face? How would she take care of her children?To Anna’s surprise, William didn’t move one inch nor did he open his mouth to immediately call for security to force her out of his office and escort her out of the company premises.No. Instead, he regarded her silently. She met his eyes, unable to ignore the magnetic way they arrested her. She could sink into the depths of those glowing emerald orbs if she had the chance…“You are a stubborn woman,” William sounded calmer than she expected even though his voice was brusque.“I try.” She muttered under her breath but she heard him chuckle. Had he heard her?“Clearly you are smart, capable…” he took a step toward her. Anna insti
“What do you mean by that? Huh? You can’t be fucking serious right now.” Her voice was raised and she appeared to be appalled.The man seated across from her inwardly rolled his eyes. He had dealt with clients such as this woman before - quick to spend and slow to pay back.“Miss Clandestine, it says here you owe over $30,000 to another loan firm, and that’s excluding the interest you have accrued on that loan.”He flipped a page, continuing his speech in the bland manner.“Also, you previously defaulted on paying the last two loans of a combined fifty thousand interest by the deadline. It took two more months before you began paying that one off according to your records.”“But I paid them off.” She argued. “I paid off the interest too in the end. I can’t believe you would say I’m not eligible for a loan. Can you check again?”The man sighed, shaking his head at her. “There isn’t way we can grant you a loan, Miss Clandestine. In fact, I doubt any other loan company would give you a l