Chapter 2
Itruly wondered just how much more of this shit I could take. It had been three freaking months now since I had been working for this bastard, and he hadn’t hesitated at every point in time to throw me to his clients in one way or the other. At first, I was sure I was mistaken, and he just hadn’t seen how some of them, especially the old geezers, tried to flirt with me, get close to me, or touch me inappropriately. In fact, he had almost encouraged it, almost as though I was some prize that they had access to taste and could get a full feel later on after whatever business deal was concluded.
I truly would have quit a long time ago, but there was something he always did, which was look the other way right until the contract was won over or the deal was concluded, and only then would he even put up a fight whatsoever for me. And since I was his only secretary, I had no choice but to be in on all these freaking meetings. It was upsetting every single day, but in all other areas, he was pretty kind and fair, except in this. And the salary, so far, was the highest I had ever gotten through the agency, and I wanted to move out of my trashy Brooklyn apartment to get a much better one with views and floors that weren’t being devoured by ants and termites. Also, hallways that didn’t smell like rat piss or Chinese food that didn”t waft up to my bedroom at 1 am. All these were the dreams I held in mind, and so far, only the salary that this man paid me was enough to even allow me the hope to entertain any of these. It didn’t mean that I wasn”t still furious and growing even more miserable by the day, but I couldn’t quit, not yet.
After a particularly discouraging encounter, I had a talk with myself, questioning if I could go on. I ultimately made the agreement to endure and save up for a year. Just one year, and with the experience on my resume from this top marketing agency, I could move on to the next stage. Just one year, I admonished myself, even as we were shown to our table, and I immediately hurried to try to get a seat next to the boss. However, he noted this and went immediately to the bathroom, leaving me to fend off the old shit by myself. So even when I tried to sit opposite him, he caught my hand and pulled me into the seat beside him in the booth. As soon as my butt connected to the seat, I couldn’t get up, and right at that moment, I wanted to shoot him. However, all I could do was smile and pretend not to notice his arm brushing against me, and basically his entire side rubbing against me. There was more than enough space on the booth, but here he was, glued to me like Velcro, smiling and bathing me with his disgusting breath that stunk of garlic.
His lunch was still stuck in his teeth, his hair thinning, and his supposed-to-be white eyes so dull that it all made me physically sick. I brought out my phone and pretended to be busy as I replied very seriously to the text messages I was receiving from the other secretaries at the agency; there was a plan to meet up later on. Something about a fired squad, all from the same boss, and hence it was supposed to be juicy. I usually didn’t attend these gatherings, but at that moment, I would have given anything whatsoever to be out of this freaking overpriced restaurant and be on my way over, or perhaps on my way home. Sighing, I replied and confirmed my attendance, and then I put the phone aside and picked up the menu again.
“What do you usually like to eat?” the man said, reaching out to brush my hair over my shoulders, and at that moment, I had truly had enough.
“Please don’t touch me,” I said, and the bite to my tone was unmistakable. He seemed startled, the smile on his face immediately dissipating, and then he slightly moved away. I had gotten what I wanted, but I couldn’t help but feel as though it would cost me my job instead. So, before my boss returned, I added, “It’s been so hot lately, and I am yet to cool down from all the heat outside. Don’t you feel hot as well?”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Keep me company till your boss returns,” he said, reaching out to catch my hand. “I’d like to hear some of your ideas on the strategy we presented back at your office. You look like someone who would have a lot of wonderful and fresh ideas.”
He wasn’t wrong because currently I truly had some red-hot ideas, like pouring a pot of boiling water over his head and watching him melt like a candle as a result. Instead, I smiled, wrenching my arm from his.
It took him a little while to warm back up to me but eventually, he did, and thankfully, it was just as my boss returned.
“Let’s order some refreshing cold cocktails for you,” he said, but I immediately refused.
“Mocktail,” I replied. “I can’t drink alcohol.”
“You can’t? Why?” he asked, and I was tempted to say that I was pregnant. I didn’t, however, see how this could possibly end well for me, so I simply smiled and used that excuse to rise to my feet.
On the way, I looked at my boss and couldn’t help the look of hatred I gave him. He wasn’t even the least bit startled and tried to talk to me, but I ignored him without any remorse and continued on my way. As usual, I knew that he wouldn’t care because when I had brought up my dissatisfaction in the past with how he handled this matter, one of his many useless, disappointing, and downright aggravating answers was that it didn’t just hurt me to be a secretary and that my looks played a big part of it. I was like honey, and I had to do my own part in catching the flies for the rest of the company.
“You understand what I mean, right?” he’d ask then. “I won’t let them into the pot; that”s crossing the line. But at least let them hover. You have to be a team player.”
What the fuck could I have possibly said after that?
Sighing, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and wondered what they saw in me. I usually dressed femininely before I came to work for this bastard, but lately, I found myself covering up more and more. The only thing left for me now was to constantly wear a necktie to cover up my chest completely, and even that didn’t seem useful.
“Fucking dogs,” I cursed as I turned on the faucet, and the woman beside me gave me a sympathetic look through our reflection in the mirror. I smiled back, and somehow this seemed to calm me down. I didn’t want to use the toilet, so I particularly took my time washing my hands until I had no choice but to shut the tap off and take another ten or so minutes to dry my hands.
I had purposely left my phone on the table so there was no urgency to return, even though I knew the boss needed me there, but that was the price I had to pay for being fed to the wolves. I regretted it, though, as I got out of the bathroom and stood in a corner, dreading returning. This was the perfect time now to call Mandy to catch up on some chatting. We had been so busy the past week preparing this proposal that I had all but ignored all my personal contacts, and so now was the perfect time to hit her up to while away time. Since there was no way, I leaned against a console containing the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers and lost myself gazing at it. Therefore, when my distracted self was finally able to note the presence looming over me, my heart nearly stopped in my chest. I was so startled and scared that I had to crouch down to endure the blow of fear, and by the time I straightened once again to see who had suddenly approached, I was ready to scream their freaking ears off. However, after I saw just how handsome the man standing by my side was, my tongue was instantly tied. It was almost embarrassing, to be honest, but after I took in his gorgeous face and tousled dark hair, I gave myself an immense amount of understanding. Now if this was the geezer that was trying to touch and feel me up at every point in time during the meetings, I didn’t think I would have any problem with it whatsoever.
“Did I startle you?” he asked, and I had a very long and nasty response to this question because how would it feel to suddenly be walked up on and startled to within an inch of your life?
However, I reminded myself of just how attractive he was, and it didn’t take long for me to lose my annoyance just from staring up into his gorgeous blue eyes and slightly tinted pink lips. It had to be from the wine, I was sure because there was no way in hell those were their natural flush. I mean, he would just be too freaking unreal.
“No,” I shook my head, barely audible, and he glanced back toward the restaurant; that move made his scent all of a sudden even more pronounced, and after smelling nothing but tobacco and garlic for the past several hours, he almost damn near brought tears to my eyes. He smelled like vanilla and lime, and sweetness, and sex, and cleanliness, and sex, and I wanted to sniff him in like drugs.
“I couldn’t help but notice your distress,” he said, and my fantasizing brain came to a screeching halt.
“What?” I asked, and he smiled slightly compassionately.
“Do you want me to take a recording?” he asked. “I’m witnessing a good distance from your table, or maybe my partner could do it? This way, you’ll have evidence if you ever want to file a lawsuit?”
There was a lot of information coming at me all at once, and I truly did not know how to process it.
“Uh... “ I began as he reached into his wallet and produced a business card. I looked at it but couldn’t really process anything beyond the fact that it said law firm. I looked up once again at him, and he smiled.
“Should I go ahead? Then you can bring it to the office whenever you want, and I’ll get someone to work on it for you.”
“No,” I immediately refused and handed the card back to him. However, he didn’t accept it.
“Why?” he asked, and the truth almost spilled out. This was New York, and I could barely afford food and rent already, not to mention a freaking law firm. I wasn”t about to bankrupt myself and get blacklisted from ever being able to work as a secretary or personal assistant of any kind, thank you very much.
“No,” I smiled, bringing out the most sweetest and polite smile I could muster. “No thank you. Everything is fine. Thanks. Thank you.”
He stared at me, and for the first time in so long, I felt such shame that I was denying my pain. However, as I noted the wealth he radiated, that pain and shame instantly disappeared because I understood that someone like him could never understand the pain of being born by someone like me. He probably came here to eat every day and thought nothing of it. He was physically allergic to suits that cost less than five thousand dollars in his closet, and he had a personal driver, while I had to constantly endure the dangers and disgust of the train.
“No,” I replied, even more firmly, straightening my back and lifting my chin. “I’m fine.”
To my surprise, he didn’t push or even argue.
“Okay,” he said. “Do you want to keep the card, regardless?”
Simply because he wanted to see some sort of further reaction from me, I rejected the offer again.
“No thank you.”
“Alright,” he said and continued on his way.
He didn’t try to convince me; he didn’t try to use this as a segue into asking me out. He offered his help simply, and when rejected, continued on with his life as though absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I didn’t quite know how to feel, so all I could do was watch him as he returned to his seat, and then I met the gaze of the woman seated by him. She gave me a sympathetic look that definitely made me feel ashamed from all the way across the room, and so I lowered my head and, for no reason whatsoever, returned to the bathroom.