Chapter Two

Raven couldn't figure out why they'd only selected her when there were supposed to induct three interns. However, she didn't have the courage to ask Anthony Baker anything else. She quietly looked out of the window to where they were headed. In ten minutes they reached the huge fifteen-storied building spanning three wings on Wigmore Street. Raven's eyes widened at the magnificent office building where she would be working for the next five years. Baker drove straight into the basement parking area. They alighted from the car and walked straight towards the elevators.

"The Production Department is on this wing along with the Corporate Production Head Office, hosting sir's office on the 14th floor. The other wing hosts the teams across PR, Marketing as well as HR departments. There's another wing that has the Finance, IT among other departments," informed Anthony Baker.

"Oh, would I be working here at the Production Department?" Asked an eager Raven, hoping that she could be as far away from Ralph Van Halen as possible.

"I'm not sure Ms. Porterfield. That's for sir to decide," he told her. They reached the fourteenth floor and the elevator stopped. Mr. Baker strode out and Raven followed him, looking around at the tastefully done up office. He made her wait at the huge sprawling reception area where a serious-looking young man was furiously typing away at a desktop as well as expertly handling the numerous phones on his desk. Seeing him Raven had the feeling that Ralph Van Halen might be a very strict taskmaster. No wonder the man didn't have any time to breathe! Anthony Baker came out of a room at the far end of the corridor and strode to where she was seated, waiting patiently to be summoned.

"Ms. Porterfield, go inside. Sir's waiting for you," he informed her, going towards the elevators. Raven nervously got up and walked towards the room indicated. She had expected Anthony Baker to be present with her at the meeting but with him gone, she didn't know how to face Ralph Van Halen all on her own. She stood before the door, saying a silent prayer, and then looked at the elevator. Could she run away and not join the company at all?

"Ms. Porterfield, please come in," ordered a husky voice through the speakers near her head. She jumped up with a fright and looked around. Where did his voice come from? Was he watching her pray for her own safety? God! This was so embarrassing!

She took a deep breath and opened the door and peeped inside. Thankfully he was sitting far away at his huge desk. She went inside and closed the door after her. Her heart thundered inside her chest with apprehension. Would he now scold her for kissing him? Or maybe he would punish her? She took baby steps towards his desk. He was engrossed in some work thankfully and didn't look up at her. She stood in front of him holding onto the desk for support.

"Sit down," he ordered, still not looking up. Raven quietly sat down. She could see from the close confines of the office that he was extremely good-looking.  In fact, he was too gorgeous for his own good. He looked like he was in his late twenties, maybe twenty-eight or so. That would make him eight years older than her! Damn! Why was she measuring his age against hers?

"You have a boyfriend for God's sake, Raven, " she mentally reminded herself.

"If you're done with staring, we can get some work done?" he told her still looking at the papers in his hand.

"I wasn't staring, I was lost in my own thoughts," she corrected him with flushed red cheeks.

"Really? Here's the agreement that you need to sign before you start working with us," he said, pushing the papers he was working on towards her. She picked up the documents and looked at them. They looked like legal papers of contract.  "Read it very well before signing, " said Ralph Van Halen, at last looking straight into her eyes. She nodded and immediately lowered her eyes so that he didn't get any wrong signal. She quietly read the documents acutely aware of his intense gaze upon her but she didn't look up even once. The documents stated everything that was discussed at the time of the interview. She couldn't leave the company before the expiry of five years. She picked up a pen nearest to her and signed and looked up when she felt a presence beside her chair.

To her surprise, Ralph Van Halen was standing next to her, looking down at the document that she had signed. When did he get up from his seat? She paled at his nearness and stood up, handing him the documents that she had signed. He took them slowly from her trembling hands and kept them on his desk, his eyes not leaving hers. Raven tried to compose her nerves and looked at her feet with nervousness.

"Why did you kiss me?" He asked huskily, looking at her flushed face, her quivering lips, her wide, innocent eyes as she stood shocked by the suddenness of his question.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled in almost an inaudible whisper, looking down here and there, trying to avoid his gaze. He removed the chair that was in front of her in a swift motion and came forward, resting his arms on the desk on either side of her. She was trapped between the desk and his hot body, brushing against hers.

"Why did you kiss me, Raven?" He asked almost in desperation. Raven looked up at him. Her name felt so exotic when he spoke in his husky tone.

"I-I actually lost a bet. So my friends forced me to kiss..." before she could finish the sentence, he interfered.

"Are you in the habit of kissing random strangers because of your friends?" He asked furiously.

"No, I never kissed anyone before..." she started but he didn't hear a word she uttered.

"Cut the crap Ms. Porterfield. You kissed me to get this internship. I know the likes of you," he told her harshly. Raven gaped at him with her jaws dropped to the floor. She felt very insulted at his words. She didn't need to stoop so low to achieve her dreams. She topped her class and was good at her work.

"I don't need to stoop so low to achieve my dreams, sir. I didn't know you when I agreed to commit the biggest mistake of my life. You can take back your internship, sir. I have the capability to get myself a good internship on the basis of my hard work and my intelligence," she said, trying to push him away to leave. Tears pricked her eyes at his hurtful words. She didn't want to work at his company. However, he didn't budge an inch but stood observing her minutely.

"Am I your biggest mistake, Raven?" He asked her as she uselessly tried to escape him.

"Yes. I'm already in a relationship and I'm sorry about everything that has happened. I have no wish to take up this internship anymore," she said but he didn't seem to hear anything she said. He didn't move an inch as he kept staring at her with a brooding look on his face.

"You have a boyfriend?" He asked her solemnly.

"Yes sir. I will be married to him next year," she announced. "I only agreed to the bet because that café is frequented by students only and no one ever wore a suit there. If you wouldn't have arrived wearing a suit, I wouldn't have had to kiss you. It's our misfortune really. I'm really sorry," she said again. "Please, let me go."

"You can't, " he told her quietly.

She looked up at him with confusion. "I can't?" She repeated.

He composed himself and released the desk and stood straight suddenly. "You cannot leave the company before five years, Ms. Porterfield. You've signed a contract with us," he told her in a professional tone, striding back to his chair. Raven stood like a statue. The contract! She had forgotten about it altogether.

He spoke on the intercom impatiently and after a few minutes, a short man wearing spectacles came into the room. "Yes sir, did you need me?" He asked Ralph Van Halen, courteously.

"Yes, Kendrick. This is Raven Porterfield, our new intern for the Production Department. She's your responsibility now. Show her to her workstation and inform her what needs to be done," said Ralph Van Halen, impatiently. 

"Please come with me, Ms. Porterfield. I'm Kendrick Rogers, Assistant Manager, Production, " said the man with a smile. Raven looked at Ralph Van Halen but he had already dismissed her. Seeing him busy with his work, she quietly followed Mr. Rogers out of the lion's den. She was grateful to be able to escape. It seemed that she would be working on a different floor altogether with a nice and kind boss.

She reached the tenth floor where she would be working for the next five years. Mr. Rogers led her to her cubicle. "Settle down, Ms. Porterfield. I'll send someone to explain everything to you. Okay?" He said and Raven nodded. She felt much relaxed in the happy environment of the entire floor.