My slumber was interrupted by the alarm clock ringing in my ear instantly making me groan. I pull the covers over my head. Please shut up, I don't want to leave my bed today, Monday mornings are really the worse especially in the winters I just don't ever want to leave the comfort of my warm bed. I just want to go back to sleep.
My alarm kept going off agitating me. Can you tell I'm not a morning person? I couldn't afford to be late on a Monday so I slowly roll out of bed and turn the alarm off. It was 7:39 am yet It was still pretty dark out. I decided against taking a warm shower as that would probably make me even lazier instead I pour myself a glass of juice before picking out an outfit.
I put on a pair of black leg warmers then a pair of thick winter stockings. On top of that I wore a maroon high neck sweater dress that covered my calves a fell a few inches above my ankles and topped it with my favorite black coat and of course can't survive without my signature black wedge heels. I put my brown curly locks in a bun, a few strands of my hair covering my face casually. I put on my usual work makeup look which consisted of BB cream, some concealer to mask the dark circles, mascara, minuscule amount of blush on my nose and cheeks to give my face a little color so I don't look pale followed by my favorite nude lipstick.
Luckily, my office is only a 10-minute walk from my apartment. I need to be there by 9 and It's almost 8:30. I also need to stop at Dunkin Donuts beforehand to get coffee for myself and my boss.
Stepping into the building I greet my fellow colleagues checking the time on my phone, it's 8:58. The line at Dunkin really held me back. Hope I make it into his office before 9. C'mon can these elevators move any slower, I tap my feet in annoyance. I make it to my floor and quickly set my bag down on my desk along with my coat. I knock on the door and hear a come-in before stepping inside my boss's office.
Mr. Nayel was standing by the window looking outside when I walked in, he probably saw me sprinting into the building like a loser and laughing to himself. He's a total sadist, he lives off people's misery especially mine.
"Good morning Mr. Nayel, your coffee," I said causing him to turn around.
Nayel Jefferson was quite a catch on paper. He was a 36-year-old self-made millionaire, a kickass lawyer who hasn't lost a case in 10 years and he wasn't bad to look at either. With piercing brown eyes and black hair and tan skin alongside an impressive lean muscular physique, by societal standards, he was the ideal man.
I walk over to him and hand him his cup of coffee, he is 6'4 and practically towers over me at my 5'6 frame. Nayel takes a sip and forthwith a scowl plastered across his face, "It's cold Maria, if I wanted cold coffee I would've asked you to get me cold coffee" he snaps harshly.
"I'm sorry sir," I say biting my lower lip not wanting to fight back. I have been working as his assistant for a year and a half and to say I abhor working for him would be an understatement. He is so difficult and rude, he's a jerk. I can't stand him and I know he's not my biggest fan either but we both know we depend on each other.
I actually enjoy working at Jefferson Legal Co, I'm learning plenty about the legal sector, the work is honestly so fulfilling, it's what I've wanted to do since high school, and working here is very impressive for my resume. Not to mention the I'm paid very generously and living in central New York what could be better? I like my job and if it weren't for my boss being an entitled asshole this would be my dream job. Nayel on the other hand has never had an assistant last as long as me it's because I tolerate his attitude and not to toot my own horn but I'm a very good worker. I'm hardworking and devoted, I never miss deadlines and he knows he cannot afford to lose me but he doesn't like my personality for some unearthly reason. Maybe because I'm not ill-mannered like him, I'm not saying I'm perfect but I have done nothing but be nice to him but whatever. We are like water and oil we simply don't mix.
"Print out the documents for the Evans case, I need them on my desk in 30 minutes" Nayel practically barks.
"I already printed them out before leaving on Friday, they are in your second drawer sir" I flash a fake smile at him.
"Okay, you can leave now," He says and I fight the urge to roll my eyes and walk out of his office.
....
It was sometime after lunch, I was replying to some emails when a man approached my desk. I looked up from my computer to see a man who looked to be in his early 30's, blonde hair, emerald eyes, friendly face. Dressed in a navy blue suit.
"Hello" He flashes me a broad smile.
"Hi, how can I help you?" I smile back.
"I'm here to see Mr. Nayel Jefferson," The man says.
"Do you have an appointment Mr..?" I trail off not knowing his name.
"Winston, Winston Scott, and no I don't but I spoke to Mr. Nayel yesterday, he called me here" Winston's emerald eyes sparkling as he smiles at me. He seems like such a pleasant cordial guy, he radiates warm energy if that makes sense.
"Oh, why don't you take a seat over there and I'll get right back to you" I point to the waiting area and he nods.
I get up from my desk and knock on Nayel's door and step inside after a come-in.
"What is it?" He snaps not even looking at me, would it kill him to be a little nice. I roll my eyes.
"There is a man here to see you, Mr. Winston Scott. He doesn't have an appointment but he says he-"
I was cut off mid-sentence by Nayel, "Yeah yeah send him in" He waves his hand in the air, sitting up straight and buttoning his black coat.
I nod and head back out, "Mr. Nayel will see you now" I smile at Winston taking my seat again.
He smiles fixing his coat, "wish me luck" He says running a hand through his hair.
"What for?" I raise an eyebrow.
Winston shakes his head and shrugs, "This might or might not be a job interview."
"Oh, Good luck" I smile at him, "unless you're trying to take my job then not good luck?" I joke and he chuckles.
"Thank you" He smiles at me one last time before disappearing into Nayel's office.
About 30 minutes later Nayel and Winston walk out laughing like old buddies. Nayel extends his hand, "I'm glad to have you onboard" he smiles. I genuinely don't remember the last time he was this nice to anyone.
"It's an honor sir" Winston extends his hand.
"Winston, this is my assistant Maria. You need any assistance or guidance you can approach her anytime during the day" Nayel says, "Maria, Winston is our new senior associate attorney"
I smile ear to ear looking at Winston, "Oh congratulations" and Nayel glares at me. See, he can't handle that I like to be nice to people.
"Thank you." Winston smiles at me sheepishly.
"I'll see you tomorrow at 9," Nayel says to Winston.
"Yes sir," Winston says and then looks to me, "Lovely meeting you Maria" He smiles at me.
"Likewise" I smile back as he moves towards the elevator.
"He seems nice" I turn over to Nayel who simply huffs and walks back into his office. Why do I even bother with him, he's an ass.
Less than 5 minutes later the phone on my desk rings, I put the phone to my ear, "Jefferson Legal, how can I be of assistance?" I ask politely.
"Come in here for a minute will you darling" I sigh in frustration and roll my eyes. Looks like he's back to the pet names knowing how angry it makes me.
I walk inside his office without knocking, he was leaning against his desk smirking as if he was anticipating my displeasure, which he probably was.
"Mr. Nayel, I think Holly from HR made it very clear that you are not allowed to call me these pet names anymore" I use air quotes emphasizing pet names.
"Oh did she sweetheart?" his smirk gets bigger.
"Do I need to file another complaint or will you stop acting like a child?"
"I don't think that is the proper tone when speaking to your boss" Nayel grins showing off his white perfect teeth.
"You're unbelievable" I mumble flickers of amusement light up in his eyes at my irritated huff.
"Do me a favor and call Ryan and tell him to clean out the office for Winston tomorrow," Nayel says taking off his coat. His extravagant muscles tightly press against his button-down shirt. There was no denying he was hot. I remember blushing profusely the first time I met him, he seemed so charming and is so obviously attractive. I was thrilled that my interview went so well, I was over the moon when the job was offered to me. Little did I know, the minute I start working here he was going to turn into an evil tyrant making his mission make me miserable.
"The empty office on this floor?" I ask.
"No the one on the first," He narrows his eyes at me clearly annoyed, "yes of course this floor. He's a senior attorney Maria, he will obviously be this floor with the other senior attorneys" Nayel spats.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"No just make sure you show him around tomorrow." His tone was flat.
"Alright," I say turning around and walking out of his office.
Winston seemed nice enough maybe I could finally have someone on this floor who I could befriend? Someone with who I could share the burden of Nayel's attitude with maybe?
I swing my purse back and forth when the elevator door opens, inside were John and Blake two of the accountants and behind them was Winston. A smile appears on his face as our eyes meet."Hi, Maria" Blake smiles at me, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners."Hey, you guys good?" I look at the two of them stepping inside the elevator."Yeah, how big boss man doing?" John flashes me a cheeky grin."Oh, you know the same as always" I shrug moving behind them."His usual dick head self you mean?" Blake says and we all laugh."Yeah basically," I say standing next to Winston."Hi", He says in a warm tone."Hey, happy first day""Good to see a familiar face" Winston flashes a toothy grin at me showing off his perfect Harry Styles dipples."Do you not drive here?" Winston asks referring to why I got on the elevator from the first floor instead of the basement which was the parking lot."Oh I live 10 minutes from
Tonight was girls' night and by that, I mean me and my 4 best friends were hanging out in my apartment. Drinking cheap wine, baking, and cooking, and just chilling really. Because of our jobs, we aren't able to see each other as much as we used to back in college so we try to squeeze in time every other weekend to hang out.Right now Caroline and Heidi were in the kitchen icing the cupcakes we just made. Quinn, Willow, and I were in the living room watching sex in the city, the show not the pathetic movies."Maria, your phone keeps going off," Caro walks over to me handing me my phone.I furrow my eyebrows and stare at my screen, "Everything alright?" Willow raises an eyebrow at me."Yeah, I just have 8 missed calls from Mr. Nayel" Why is he calling me at 8 pm on a Saturday?"Your hot boss is calling you on a Saturday night, could only mean one thing" Heidi smirks shoving popcorn in her mouth. The other girls oo collectively at her comment.
After my blazing hot shower, I dried then straightened my hair. I did my usual minimal makeup but instead of lipstick, I put on some gloss. I decided to wear a beige oversized sweater, which had lantern sleeves with blue and white stripes on the sleeves. I put on my favorite pair of blue jeans and accessorized a bit with a necklace and gold earrings. It was 10:40, I just put my uggs on when my phone started ringing.I pick it up and see it's Nayel, "Hello?" I answer."I'm downstairs, please tell me you're awake" insincerity ringing in Nayel's voice."Yes, I'm ready, I'll be there in a minute," I say and hang up. I pick up my purse and check myself out once in the mirror. He said causual so I shrug to myself.He was right outside my building in his white Benz. A douchebag car for a douchebag, I smile at my own joke. I walked over to him and knock on the window, he looks up at me and unlocks the car.The car smelt like it was drenched in the David Be
I got home at 11 last night due to all the stupid traffic and all I wanted to do was take a day off today so badly but I can't on a Monday. I didn't even bother with my appearance today, I just put on whatever I could find that didn't need ironing and headed out of my apartment.I reach our floor to see that Nayel is not in yet so I leave his coffee at his desk and come back and sit down on mine. I didn't get much sleep last night, I kept tossing and turning in bed.I sigh as I rest my elbows on my desk and run my hands through my hair. I rub my face in exhaustion."We do not come to work to sleep Ms. Reynolds" I hear Nayel say in a stern voice as he approaches my desk.I flash him a forced smile which was basically my version of fuck you which I think he recognizes so he simply scowls and walks into his office.....I don't know if this is a good thing or bad but today was a very slow lazy day. On one hand, I could relax since I barely had
I tighten my seatbelt as the air hostess walks down the aisles to see if everyone is buckled in. We are currently on a plane heading to San Diego for a conference, we fly back later tonight.I was sitting in the middle seat with Winston on the aisle side and Nayel on the window seat. Three of our other colleagues, David, Jenna, and Haris were behind us. I was not looking forward to a 5-hour flight then straight to the conference and then back to another 5-hour flight. Luckily tomorrow is Saturday so at least we didn't have to worry about coming to work at 9 tomorrow.Not to mention flying while in full business attire, such a hassle. Everyone knows flying is only meant to be done in casual clothes and it's frustrating that we won't get time to change so we have to dress accordingly.I was wearing a black pantsuit with a white turtle neck top crop top underneath with high-waisted pants so it barely showed 2 inches off my stomach. Nayel was looking dashing as alwa
I was finishing up with the dishes when I heard my phone going off. I wipe my hands with a washcloth and pick it up. My brother Jared was calling me. I smile to myself as I press answer, "Hi loser, what did I do to receive a call from you?""Maria" Jared's tone instantly made me concerned. It was shaky."What happened? Are you okay? Are you in trouble?" I ask as the anxiety started rushing through me."It's dad," Jared's tone sounded uncertain, I wasn't able to get a grasp on how he was feeling.My heart dropped, "What happened? Is he okay?""He had a heart attack, he's fine he's alright. We're in the hospital" Jared fills me in.Tears started welling up in my eyes, "What happened?" I rush to my room pulling out a bag and hurriedly throwing some clothes along with some essential items in it."He was not taking his HCM pills regularly or consistently and then stress from work possibly that's what the doctors saying," Jared says.
"Yeah they delayed my flight by another hour, Mr. Nayel is going to kill me," I shudder a sigh as I tell my dad on the phone."I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble for your old man," Dad's voice laced with remorse."No dad it's nothing, It's going to be alright do not worry about a thing""You take care of yourself, sweetheart," Dad tells me."You take care of yourself please, I'm going to be calling you twice a day to make sure you take your medication okay?" I say sternly.Dad laughs loudly, "Alright sweetie"."I think we're about to take off, I'll call you later okay?""Okay sweetheart""Bye dad," I say."I love you, Maria," Dad says.I smile, "I love you too dad" and I hang up.I quickly text Nayel saying I had a family emergency and will be taking half the day off, we have 2 important clients coming in today which wasn't something out of the ordinary but Nayel had trusted me with the task of
We were in the conference room, the clients were settling in. I was sitting next to Nayel, just taking notes. Winston and John from IT were put in charge of presenting this one for the Johnson Centre clients.Winston walks into the room greeting everyone, our eyes meet and he flashes me a warm smile, I smile back as he proceeds to the front.40 minutes into the meeting I feel my phone vibrate on my lap. I carefully pick it up looking to see if anyone is looking at me, it was a text from Jared. I was about to open it when I saw Nayel scowling at me. I gulp and mouth a quick sorry and put the phone back on my desk.Less than 5 minutes later, my phone started vibrating yet again and it was Jared. I started to freak out, what if something happened to dad? What if something happened to him? I look over to see Nayel already looking over at me grimacing.I move my seat closer to him, "It's an emergency can I please take it?" I ask.Nayel huffs in frustrat