“Yoohoo!” She squealed with delight, “I have gotten the job, Keanu. I love you.” She kept laughing and kept jumping in delight.
“That’s great. Now listen to me very carefully.” Keanu didn’t want her to get in trouble. They were childhood friends, “From now on just forget that you are a girl!”
“What?”
“Yes! Don’t think of yourself as River Brown. From now onwards you are River Brower. Start walking, talking, and thinking like a boy. Keep your body tied under that shirt with that gauze to hide your curves, Love.” She nodded and sat on a bench on the busy sidewalk.
“I know Keanu,” she rubbed her hand over her body which was taut due to the gauze underneath the shirt. Thankfully it was cold in Sycamore City otherwise the hot summers would have given her rashes under the bandage cloth.
“Will you still spend the night at the train station?” he asked her softly and she smiled sadly looking around at the passersby.
Did she have a choice?
“So you will keep living on Metro stations and bus stands?”“This is just till the month ends, Kean!” she tried to console her friend who was concerned for her safety.
“I can transfer you some amount and you can…”
“No way!” she declined immediately. She knew Keanu was sick and needed lots of finances to get treated.
He not only gave her this idea to get into Garner Industries but also, he was working on her exit plan from the country.
She needed to go to Turkey and claim her mom’s property. In this way, she could get enough money for Keanu’s treatment.
Working in Garner Industries could never give her enough amount to survive and get him treated. Plus, the people who were after her might find out that she was in Sycamore City.
By working in Garner’s head office, she was buying time until Keanu could work on her documentation.
***
“Marwick! How can you hire such an incompetent boy? He doesn’t have enough qualifications!” Chad asked him angrily.How dare that boy sent away the candidates? Those girls could sue them.
“He is confident and intelligent. He will be an asset for our office … that I am sure of.” Marwick said and got engrossed in his work.
The board members did not like that Marwick Garner was not considering their opinion. But Marwick didn’t want anyone’s approval.
As a basic rule, all board members were supposed to be present during hiring. The last verdict would always be from Marwick Garner.
But this time he didn’t take anyone’s suggestions. The cute, dimpled boy seemed intelligent enough to get through the workload.
Marwick was willing not only to teach him about work but also, could offer the boy a scholarship to the university where his sister was a trustee.
In the evening, he held his laptop bag and left the office.
“Sir. It seems it might rain.” Garrison said while climbing the limited edition of Bugatti Royale- Veyron.
“Hmm.” He was in no mood to talk, nor he opened his laptop in the car as usual. It was a bench on the footpath where he thought he saw that intelligent boy. The same one he hired this morning.
River Brower!What was he doing here?
“Stop! Reverse the car, Garrison.” Several creases appeared on Marwick’s forehead. He was sure he saw River eating something on the bench. What bothered him more, there was a big backpack he had beside him.
Was he homeless?
River discarded the sandwich wrapper in a bin and got up to her feet. Strapping the huge backpack behind her, she started walking to the Metro station where she could charge her phone and stay at night.She also needed to shampoo her hair in the bathroom basin. She was so much lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize when her shoulder bumped into someone.
“Watch out you little piece of…” The man who was busy on the phone got irritated and resumed walking, “Yeah. This boy was blind. Sorry for the interruption. Now tomorrow is the bid. I have solid news that Marwick Garner had prepared the bid in eight seventy-five million. We need to go below it.”
River who was following the man for teaching him a lesson, all her insides turned their focus on the conversation when she heard the name of her boss and her supposedly ex-husband. She kept walking behind him to keep track of the discussion.
“I know. I know. Seven hundred is lesser but we need to go lower. In case someone tells him about our low costs. We need to play safe.”
Hmm. Seven hundred million! The man is planning to grab the bid from my so-called husband. I mean ex-husband. Let me teach you a lesson.
I will talk to Mr. Marwick Garner about it.
She mingled in the crowd without realizing that a few feet away Marwick Garner was there, looking for her in the crowd somewhere close by.
The next morning, she so wanted to apply a bold lip color but then controlled the urge. This was the first day of her job and she really wanted to look presentable.And wanted to dress like a girl.“Anyways. Someday… soon… very soon, I hope.”She quickly washed her hair in the men’s bathroom and took a shower in a cubicle.“I know I have made it wet. Please can you clean it?”She quickly slipped a ten-dollar bill into the male cleaner’s hand and left the bathroom. Once she reached the office, she excitedly got rid of her hooded coat and took the elevator to the seventieth floor of Garner Towers.The cute receptionist hadn’t arrived yet. What was her good name?Yes! Aniya!River looked around and nodded at the cleaner woman nearby. She nodded back and got busy with her job.She sat on Aniya’s seat and started observing her place. It was neat and organized and there was a picture frame where she was smiling with two other attractive girls.They didn’t seem to be her sisters. Maybe frien
Focus, River. Focus. You haven’t gotten a p*enis. But you certainly have a brain. Focus, love.She kept telling herself.Chad seemed shocked when he saw a smile forming on River’s lips.“What? What is it?” he got confused because he was here to scare off the boy and to feed his l*ust.“Oh, Chad. How do you know I love doing it in the bathroom?” River placed her delicate hands on his chest and flipped the positions with a little struggle. Now he was standing against the wall, and she was near the door.Chad was looking at her, open mouthed and River was enjoying his discomfort.“Turn to the wall and tell me all about your wild imaginations. Zip that down, my boy.” She fumbled with his zipper and turned the man towards the wall.Her one hand was stroking his behind while the other hand crawled behind her to unlock the door. To slide back the latch.“Why didn’t you tell me that you like it? Hmm? You have come to the right person, Chady. My love. What a man you are!” She kept sliding her
“Listen, ma’am. Please stop.” She heard his desperate voice behind her. Ha-ha. Is Marwick Garner saying please to a common girl? He was following her. She was feeling like Cinderella followed by a prince. “Get aside.” She heard him behind her getting irritated with random people blocking his way. River's heart raced as she continued sprinting towards the exit door. She needed to reach her room, but it was a risk to take the indoor elevators. She had seen another elevator near the pool. Determined to escape the impending encounter with Marwick Garner, she could hear his voice behind her, filled with urgency and desperation. "Hey, wait!" Marwick called out again, his voice echoing through the crowded hallway. But nobody seemed to find it odd. Except, women were giving him attention for his looks. Not because he was running after a girl. River's instincts screamed at her to keep jogging, to ignore his pleas and save herself from any further complications. By this minute she had no
The next morning, she was getting ready in a gloomy mood. There were five missed calls from Marwick last night, but she would come up with any excuse. She couldn’t admit that his number was already saved in her phone.Thanks to Keanu. He saved it for her.She carefully attached her artificial nose and started tapping it. Everything was easier except this task. After getting done with her grey lenses she pasted her brows.Later she wore her glasses and gave a once-over to her image in the mirror.Keanu had asked her to hide in a building if there was any danger of Marwick calling the police on her. Her friends could go to any length to keep her safe.Keanu could do anything to get her out of the city. But she wanted to stay near Marwick Garner until and unless her papers were processed.Once she will be on Turkish land, she would no more be a boy. She would get her identity back. She would never like to be called River.Though this name was very close to her heart.Stepping on the seve
Aniya glanced up from her desk as River approached the reception area, looking slightly overwhelmed by the bustling office environment on the lower floors. Today Marwick Garner’s secretary Theodore Panks took her for introducing to other employees. He told her about the different floors Garner offices occupied. "Hey there! How's your second day treating you?" Aniya asked her with a friendly smile. River sighed, running a hand through her shoulder-length hair, "It's been quite a ride. Trying to wrap my head around everything and to remember everyone's names." Aniya chuckled, understanding her confusion all too well, "Oh, I know that feeling. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. You will find everyone around here quite friendly." Yeah. Everyone except, Chad. River thought and leaned against the reception desk, grateful for a momentary break, "These different software systems are like a maze. It's like learning a whole new language." Aniya nodded sympathetically, "Te
All she remembered was her boss who could know her reality. But the leech who was sitting confidently near her, was giving her dirty looks. “So how about we become friends and forget what happened yesterday.” He offered with a friendly smile, but that only made her nauseated. She felt disgusted by his presence. His closeness was giving her the creeps. Chad, with a smug look on his face, slid closer to River, invading her personal space. River's heart raced, and she instinctively shifted away from him. "So, River,” Chad leaned closer to her, “Do you like my suggestion? Let’s forget what happened yesterday. Hmm?" River's stomach churned at the deviousness in his voice, and she fought back the urge to gag. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to keep her guard up. She managed a weak smile, her voice strained, "I think it's best if we maintain a professional distance, Chad. I am not here to create problems for anyone. Let me work in peace." Chad's friendly smile faltered a littl
“You wanted to discuss something?” Chad asked his boss with a pleasant smile but inside he was fuming. Mr. Garner snatched the golden chance to get to know the timid boy. Marwick Garner had a shrewd look in his eyes when he gestured for Chad to take a seat, "Yes, Chad. I've been observing a few things in the office, and I wanted to discuss them with you." Chad's smile grew wider, masking his frustration. He tried to show himself as an attentive employee, eager to give the impression that he respected his boss and his perspective. "Of course, Mr. Garner. I'm all ears." Marwick Garner leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable, "As a director, I expect you not to go to the subordinates, looking for work. You arrange files, sitting on the floor with River. We get VIP visitors on our floor. What type of message are you conveying to them?” Marwick kept his gaze fixed on his face, “River is merely a boy and still in the learning phase. Aniya and Theodore are there to help him. W
River was applying the solution to get rid of her brows when the door of her hotel room got knocked. “Hell.” She muttered under her breath when the solution bottle dropped from her hand. Though she was quick to pick that up there was a little mess on the carpet now. She did remember to put a DO NOT DISTURB sign outside on the doorknob. Weren’t the waiters of this hotel trained enough? Applying the solution on her eyebrow she slowly peeled it off her face. Just then the door got knocked again. “What?” she shouted in frustration and scurried to the door. Thankfully she remembered to look through the peephole. Shoot! It was her cold-hearted CEO. What was Marwick Garner doing here? “River?” Marwick knocked again. At the same time, her phone started ringing. He was calling her. “H…hello?” she spoke in her phone, “Mr. Garner?” “River. I am outside your room. Are you in there?” he asked her, and she was flattered. She wished she was a girl. No, she was already a girl. She wished she