“Put your best foot forward and be sure to make this company a great working environment. I’m still in the process of laying off employees so I implore you to act in a certain manner. I know management around here had some loose ends but I can assure you that I’m perfectly fine with cutting loose ends. Return to work. You all are dismissed.” Michael’s words cut like a knife as his voice was cold and sharp.
“Damn, your ex is intense,” Yasmeen muttered and I nodded.“He was always serious about his work. He takes it to heart and he’s very hardworking even though he had everything handed to him.”“Miss Sterling, have you already responded to the foreign investors? How is my schedule looking for the day?” His voice snapped me out of my conversation.“Sir, I didn’t have time to look at it,” I confessed.“Your position is not permanent so I suggest you get on board quickly. Your desk has been relocated to my office. Get to work.” He snapped and I flinched. Why was he talking to me like that? Some part of me was hurt by it.I immediately set out to work. Going through documents and handling phone calls.“Miss Sterling, I need a coffee and for you to pick up my suit at the cleaners,” Michael called from his desk.“Excuse me? You’ve gotta be joking.”“I can’t remember telling a joke. I’m pretty sure that was an order.”I refrained from getting upset but he was pushing my buttons.With a deep sigh, I turned to face him, “And I’m pretty sure that what you’re saying doesn’t fall within my pay grade. I’m not your slave or your dog. I won’t be getting you coffee and I’m not picking up your suit.”“I didn’t say you were my slave or my dog. Neither am I treating you like one. I wanted you to be my personal assistant that means you have to assist me.”“I’m assisting you within this jurisdiction. I’m not running errands or grabbing you a snack. Your hands and feet aren’t broken. I didn’t study so many years to run around the city picking up clothes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a client on the line.”The nerve of that man! Michael didn’t say another word after that. He just continued typing away on the computer.A few hours later, I decided to go for lunch. I grabbed my purse to head down to a restaurant nearby. It was almost 2 o’clock. I had to skip my lunch at 12 to get through the calls and papers.“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked.“No.”“Okay, I’ll be back in a bit,” I said as I left the room.I met up with Yasmeen and Clarissa. She would hang with us sometimes. Specifically when her boyfriend wasn’t around. It’s like she wasn’t her own person without him. I guess that’s love.“So how’s the new boss? What is he like?” Yasmeen asked.“A pain. Get this, he wanted me to fetch him coffee and collect his suit today.” I sighed.“What? That’s crazy. That’s not even your job,” Yasmeen rolled her eyes.“Exactly that’s kind of ridiculous. Did you do it though?” Clarissa asked.“Nope! Of course I didn’t do it. That’s not my job and Michael literally has people that are waiting on his calls to carry out his orders.”“You made the right choice. Was he furious?” Yasmeen asked.“No not really. He just listened to what I had to say and left me alone.”“Some men are so weird but Josh would never.” Clarissa smiled. Yup! There it was. I get that she’s in love but does she really have to bring up Josh at every given moment. It’s really annoying.Or maybe I was jealous? Jealous that her relationship was so perfect and smooth and that she has a man that loves her unconditionally. Something that I could never have.After we had lunch, I was about to leave when I thought about Michael. He hadn’t eaten all day. I knew he was starving and he was also stubborn so I knew he wasn’t going to just leave or even order food.So I did what I had to do. I bought food for him.“Are you trying to get on his good side?” Yasmeen chuckled.“I’m not. He’s just really stubborn sometimes and I know he won’t eat so I’m doing him a favor.”“That’s really sweet of you considering how much of a dick he can be.”When I returned to the office, Michael was in the same position typing on the computer. He looked laser focused.I placed the food on his table. “I know you didn’t go for lunch so I brought you something to eat.”Michael didn’t respond nor did he look at me. He just continued typing.“You can eat it Michael. You haven’t eaten all day.”“Miss Sterling please do what your job requires you to do. Remove your food from my desk and continue with your work for the evening. That is all.”I groaned as I rolled off the bed; my stomach hurt so badly that I didn't even feel like moving. Fuck! My period was here. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this, but to be fair, I don't think I'd ever be in the mood to deal with this, I quickly hopped into the shower and ran myself a warm bath. It felt good and relaxing, and I wished I could stay here all day, but I had a job. After I got dressed and made my way to work, I took a few pain relief tablets. They never worked, but I still took them, hoping that they would magically work at some point. By the time I arrived, I felt like the pain was radiating from my body. The only thing I didn't do was cry. I trudged up to the office and began doing my work for the day. We had such a busy schedule today especially since we had a meeting with the shareholders. I hadn’t seen Michael all morning. That’s good because I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit. Before lunch time I was already doubled over from the pain. I knew it was usuall
I felt a warmth on my stomach, which caused me to wake up. Looking around, I saw that I wasn’t at my home. I remembered Michael carrying me to the car but everything went blank after that. There was a heating pad on my stomach and I was wearing an oversized jersey and my underwear. “I see you’ve woken up,” Michael said as he entered the room. He was still in his work clothes but his sleeves were rolled up. He had a tray in his hand with food on it. My mouth watered instantly. I didn’t even know I was so hungry. “I could really go for some food right now,” I said and he chuckled. “Yes that’s the plan. I made you some chicken teriyaki and noodles.” “Yum, bring it over here.” I immediately dug into the food and began scoffing it down. It was really delicious. If it’s one thing about Michael, he could cook really well. “You were really hungry I see,” he said and I nodded. “Yeah I didn’t really eat today.” “That’s not good Arya. You have to do better.”“My period is so bad sometim
“Lana! What a surprise?” I faked smiled as I steadied myself. “It is a surprise. What are you doing here?” She asked. She looked like she had seen a ghost.“Just had a meeting with Michael, that’s all.” Her eyes bore into the bag I had in my hand. The bag that Michael gave me with all the chocolates and snacks. “I can see that,” she managed through gritted teeth. As I was about to step inside, she blocked my path. “After all these years, you can’t come crawling back to Michael and acting like nothing happened. There’s a reason he’s with me and not you. If I were you I’d back off.” She whispered in my ear.“If he’s with you, then why are you threatened?” I smirked and she scoffed. “We both know—“ she started but I cut her off. “Both know what? That he’s a two timer? That he’s a cheater? That he could leave you at any moment without an explanation? Yes we both know that but one of us is smarter here. If I were you I’d keep my head low and mind my business.” I smiled and her eyes
"This is really nice." I smiled as Yasmeen and I walked into the cinema. It was Friday evening"Girl, you needed it. We both did." Our popcorn was stacked in our hands, along with sodas and nachos. This was our girl's night, which we would have every now and then. As we waited for the movie to start, Yasmeen's phone rang, and she stepped outside to take the call. My mind wondered back to Michael and the way he treated me so coldly when we were together. He just ignored me. Quite frankly, I didn't care, but the thing is, it still made me feel a certain way. I texted Damon, and he told me that he couldn't hook up this weekend, much to my surprise. Well, that's a good reason to go clubbing. Yasmeen reentered the room with a sullen look on her face. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. "Yas, what's going on?" I asked, and tears began rolling down her eyes. "It's Raine; there's been an accident. She is hurt. I'm not sure what happened, but it doesn't sound good." She sobbed, and
“What am I doing here? That’s a bold question to ask, considering what you just said. So let’s try again, what the fuck are you doing here?” I retorted and he released a frustrated sigh. He turned away from me and I quickly put on voice recording on my phone. I needed to record this for proof. “Look, it’s not what it sounds like.” “Okay well what does it sound like? What is it? Because I’ll be damned if you think that I’m just going to stand here and let you spit bullshit to me.” “Look Arya, you’re a nice girl and I really don’t want you to take this the wrong way but you should really mind your own business.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean? Is that a threat?” I raised a brow and he smirked.“It means that you shouldn’t be in things that don’t involve you. It could get really bad for you.” His smirk widened. “Is that a threat Troy. Just because your parents have government influence and power because they’re politicians doesn’t mean I have to be af
Yasmeen's face was twisted in disbelief. "What? That's... that's insane. He was my boyfriend, and he proposed to me. How on earth is this even possible?" She staggered back. I nodded solemnly. "I know it sounds crazy, but Troy admitted it to me just now. He tried to brush it off as if it were nothing, but it's clear he's been involved with her. It is clear that something happened." Helen's hand flew to her mouth in shock. "But why would he... Why would he do something like this? Raine is only a child. She's my sweet, precious baby." Her lips quivered. "Because he's twisted," Yasmeen said, her voice trembling with anger. "He's always had this weird obsession with Raine, but I've never seen it like that. I figured they were getting along. He would just always talk to her and try to include her in our activities. I figured he was trying to be a part of the family. I just never thought... I never thought he'd go this far." "We have to do something," Helen said, her eyes darting toward
After Yas disappeared in the room, the severity of the situation collapsed on me, and I had to excuse myself to the restroom to try to get some sort of composure. Checking my phone, there was a text from an unknown number. 'If I were you, I'd mind my pretty little mouth.' That's all it said. I chose to ignore it and decided to text someone else. My hands were shaking as I sent a text. I was worried now. This wouldn't usually get to me, but it did. Hearing about what Raine went through really hurt. My phone buzzed as Michael's ID popped up.Here I was, having a low moment, and my ex was the one to bail me out. I didn't want anything to do with Michael, but I wasn't sure who else to call. "Hey Arya," Michael's voice came through the line, soft and concerned. "I saw your text. Are you okay?" I hesitated for a moment, feeling a lump form in my throat. "Not really. It's been a rough day. " "Do you want me to come over to the hospital?" His offer was tentative, but genuine. I pau
Damon and I had a wild night and a memorable one too. I was beyond exhausted and so was he. But I had a job to do so I snuck out of bed while he was sleeping and got ready for work. After taking a cold shower and brushing my teeth, I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and got dressed. Thank goodness I left spare clothes here because of Damon’s and I little moments that usually spill over into the morning. “Sneaking out on me Arya?” Damon’s raspy voice penetrated my ear. “Well I didn’t want to interrupt your beauty sleep.” “If it’s to see you before you go, you can interrupt me all day princess.” His finger glided against my lips. “As much as I would love a round two, I’m satisfied as fuck. I’m going to be walking side to side all day.” I said and he smirked. “I fucked you pretty good, didn’t I?”“Don’t flatter yourself.” Damon smacked my ass causing me to yelp as I walked out of the door. He had that smirk on his face as he winked. I arrived at work on time and went to the o