Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
ADRIANNA
Pouring the coffee into the cup, I glare at the dark liquid.
Every single time he comes through the door, he demands a new coffee. I do his bidding even though it grinds my gears. Yet every afternoon after he leaves, I find the coffee sitting on his desk in the same spot it always is. He never takes a single sip.
It’s another way he is trying to control me. I know this, and I hate it.
So today, I don’t bother adding his splash of cream and two sugars. He can get fucked.
Heading into his office, I wonder if he will even notice it’s wrong.
My question is answered as I take two steps toward the door after setting it on his desk.
“The color is wrong. Remake it,” he demands.
When I turn, he hasn’t taken his eyes from the screen.
“You don’t drink it. I’m not going to be wasteful.” I place my hands on my hips, ready for the argument.
He doesn’t disappoint. He pulls his eyes away from the computer, glaring at me.
“You will do as you are told because you are my assistant. It is of no concern to you what I do once you deliver my beverage.”
I hate how formal he sounds. He is such a pompous prick. I’ve had enough, though, so I’m willing to toe the line.
“Respectfully, I disagree.” I grit my teeth knowing I just lied about the respectfully part. “Every day you ask me to go out of my way to get you coffee without ever touching it. It is a waste of my time and the supplies it takes to make the coffee. That, in turn, is a waste of company resources.”
He stands, moving around the desk until he is standing toe-to-toe with me.
“You wanted to keep your job, so I let you. I don’t trust you, which means you are only to do menial tasks. You can quit at any time if you are no longer happy here. There is nothing stopping you. If you choose to stay, you will do my bidding like you did the last CEO.”
My rage flares up then. I said I would stay calm and collected, but this man knows how to pull the worst out of me. I can feel my blood boiling as I push closer to him so that we are chest to chest.
“You don’t intimidate me. I didn’t do Gloria’s bidding, and I won’t do yours.
What do you even know about this company?
Before you came here, you never set foot inside the doors.
Mason stopped by three times total in all the years I’ve worked here.
You might know what was reported to you, but without being here on a day-to-day basis, you have no idea what we have been up to for the past five years. ”
“I know enough. I know Gloria was doing shady shit. I know you knew about it, and I’m going to prove it.”
My heart aches in my chest. I did know that Gloria was planning something, but what was I supposed to do? Even if I had tried to reach out to Mason, he likely would have never answered my calls.
I can’t let him treat me poorly because of my guilt, though. I couldn’t control Gloria, and it was not my fault.
“Really? Do you know that Francine in accounting doesn’t work Tuesdays because it’s family day at her mother’s nursing home and she doesn’t want her to ever be alone?
That she stays late every other night or comes in early to make up the time and gets her job done?
What about Frank in marketing? He has a baby on the way.
They’ve been trying for five years. They are hoping this is the baby that sticks.
Even through his grief, he is the top marketing executive we have.
He devotes himself to his job. Yet Gloria once wanted to fire him for accidentally bumping into her in the elevator.
I saved his job. You say you know about this company, but I bet you can’t name a single thing about anyone who works here. ”
“This isn’t a popularity contest. I don’t need to know personal things about the people who work for me,” he spits out.
“Sure. You don’t need to know, but it increases productivity when the employees you lead feel like you give a fuck about their lives.
Our marketing costs have decreased sixteen percent since Frank felt heard by the company.
His latest marketing campaign increased our money intake by thirty-three percent.
That in turn meant that we were able to hand out more money to worthy charities who help communities.
Oh, and Francine? She does our billing. Since she was given permission to have Tuesdays off, her productivity increased by five percent.
She is able to not only complete her job, but she has been so happy with how we have treated her that she has started to spearhead a more efficient system when it comes to billing to help cut costs and increase the amount of money we can provide to the charities. Would you like me to go on?”
I don’t wait for him to respond. Instead, I press my nose against his, my breathing coming faster now that I’m worked up.
“I have single-handedly held this company together, so if you think you can do better, then by all means. All you have to do is say the words, and I’m gone.”
He grits his teeth. “What words would that be, Ms. Baker?”
I give him a smile. “You’re fired.”
The only noise in his office is my labored breathing as he stares me down. I really don’t want him to fire me, but if he thinks I’m so useless, then it’s for the best.
I won’t make this easy for him, though. I refuse to quit.
If he wants me gone, then he needs to find his balls and do it himself. Nothing else will get me to leave. I’ve invested far too much in this company and my coworkers to do that.
“Very well,” he huffs out, his breath on my face.
Fuck. I really am getting fired.
ELIJAH
She is a mouthy little thing. I really want to shove something in there to get her to shut her mouth.
My dick twitches at the thought.
Down, boy. She’s the enemy.
She really thinks she is so smart, doesn’t she?
She thinks that she can push me into firing her so that she can not only collect unemployment, but she can run to the media and make me look like the bad guy?
I’m onto her, though. She can stay here as long as she wants.
I’m happy to keep giving her useless tasks to keep her busy while I find the evidence I need to bury her. She practically admitted to it.
From her statement, Gloria left her in charge a lot. Gloria is a prideful woman. She would have only done that if she really trusted Adrianna. That doesn’t bode well for her. It only has me renewing my energy to find the proof I need.
“You really think you are so irreplaceable, don’t you?” I muse, making her narrow her eyes on me.
She’s so furious. I am too, but I won’t let her know it. Instead, I act like she isn’t fazing me.
“I am. You don’t know what I do for this company.”
I shrug my shoulders, leaning in until we are a breath away from one another.
“It doesn’t matter. You do not matter. Everything changes, Ms. Baker.
There would be a transition period, sure.
We might lose some employees, but we would replace them.
At the end of the day, we would be fine without you.
Maybe that’s what you’re scared of. Is that why you are still here? ”
She steps back from me, folding her arms over her chest. I do everything I can not to eye her ample cleavage.
“Then fire me.”
I tsk my tongue. “Not so fast. I still have use for you. How about a little bet?”
She raises her head. “What kind of bet?”
“You stay in your little assistant role. Get me coffee and whatever task I deem appropriate. I’ll handle the gala.”
A small crease forms between her eyebrows. “That’s what you are already doing. What’s the bet in it?”
“If I fail and the gala does poorly, I’ll step down as CEO, and I’ll recommend Mason appoint you as the new CEO.”
Her eyes light up like I thought they would. She’s a greedy little thing, isn’t she? I don’t know what she likes more, the money or the power.
Looking her up and down I smirk. The power. Definitely the power.
“What if I lose?” she asks.
Smart girl. Find out all the terms before you agree. She may be a worthy opponent after all.
“You quit and sign an NDA agreeing to never speak about your time here,” I say frankly.
She nods. “That seems fair. It also seems too easy. What’s the catch?”
“No catch. I have full confidence that I’ll put on a successful gala.”
She harrumphs. “See, I don’t doubt that it will be successful, but that doesn’t seem quite fair. Anyone can have a successful event. The point is to prove that you are better than me, is it not?”
“The point is to show you that you aren’t as irreplaceable as you believe.”
“Same difference.” She rolls her eyes, making me want to spank her ass for her insolence.
I’ve never had someone defy me the way she does. It drives me up a wall.
“How about this?” she asks. “You make more at your event than I did at last year’s event, and you win. If you don’t, I do.”
“You mean Gloria,” I correct her.
She hums. “Did I, though? Like I said, you don’t know anything about the way this company has been running.”
The smirk she has on her face makes me hate her even more. She thinks she knows more about this company than me? Game on.
I will learn everything I need to know about every single person here before I will let her win.
“Is it a deal or not?” I ask, bored with the conversation.
She holds her hand out to shake mine. I reluctantly place mine in hers and shake it.
“Deal. I cannot wait to watch you fail, Elijah.”
I quirk my eyebrow at her using my first name. Usually she calls me Mr. Samson.
“You’ll be eating your words, Adrianna. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“I guess I should go answer your phone and pick up your dry cleaning.” She turns on her heel to leave my office.
“Ms. Baker,” I call out.
She turns, facing me.
“I’d like a new coffee. The way I like it,” I demand.
She looks like she wants to argue, but she has no reason to now. I laid out my expectations if we were to do this deal. She accepted them. She now has no choice but to do my bidding.
“Of course, Mr. Samson. How could I forget?”
I watch as she walks over to my desk, picking up the cup of coffee.
“Anything else, Mr. Samson?” she asks with a sugary sweet smile on her face.
“Just the coffee. Then get back to work. I’d hate for you to be wasting company resources by arguing with the boss.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Yes, sir. As you wish.”
As she walks away, I can’t help but enjoy the way the words roll off of her lips.
I hate the woman. She is despicable, especially the way she was complicit in Gloria’s crime. That doesn’t mean the girl doesn’t have curves for days. Or that hearing her say the words that hint at her submission to me doesn’t invoke a physical response from me.
No, she might be attractive, but all the best black widows are. They blind you with their beauty before they poison you with their lies. By the time you figure it out, you are already looking up from your grave.
I won’t fall into her web.
Nope.
My dick twitches in my pants once more.
Fuck, I need to get laid, and not by my surly assistant who would slit my throat given the chance.