Job well-done

By Aren Lan's order, Mr. Errington organized a room for me... and a group of babysitters in the form of IT specialists who were supposed to check if I wasn't a secret spy who merely pretended to help. I expected that to happen. After all, I was given access to their sensitive information, like their tenders and bidding offers. Aren Lan didn't engage in the process. He only instructed Mr. Errington to inform him of the results. I took it as a good thing. I didn't think I could stand him as one of my babysitters, leaning over my head and constantly looking at the screen.

I quickly established that the infection hadn't missed a single computer in their company. It couldn't be a coincidence. It looked like a planned, precise attack aimed at stealing intel, and the bug must have infected their system no more than a few days ago.

Supervised by steadily frowning IT specialists, I called Alan and Norton and told them about the problem. Fortunately, we had already found the best way to fight the pesky worm when we treated our client's computer a month ago. We had even written a simple program to delete each infectious part of the worm.

The IT specialists stood in disbelief while I eliminated the plague spreading across their system. I grinned inwardly, watching how they were ineptly trying to register my moves, but I was too fast for them. I was too good for them; I was way better than most of the specialists hired by big companies. Norton once said that I was a "computer fairy" because I had a sixth sense, getting to the problem faster than anyone else could. Of course, I laughed at the name he had given me, but I was never going to deny my worth. I was confident about my abilities. Period.

It took me six hours to clean up the entire system, and, thank God, I wasn't dealing with the entire Lan Diamond Corporation network. My babysitters decreased hour after hour, and by the time I finished, there was only one of them, sitting next to me. He was looking at the screen with his sleepy eyes. Well, he was forced to take a lot of overtime since it was 2 AM when I could finally say that my work there was done.

"Finally..." he mumbled, struggling to get up from his seat.

I smiled wryly, looking at him. "Thanks for your support... I guess." I was unable to stop the sarcastic tone from surfacing, but he seemed to be too tired to notice.

"Yeah, whatever," he tossed my way before pulling out his phone and sending someone a message.

"So... what now?" I asked, slightly nervously. I did my part of the deal, and I wasn't leaving without a sign of proof that we could stay in our workshop even if I had to chain myself to the desk in this office.

"The security will tell you," he said faintly, walking out of the door and leaving me there.

"Jerk," I muttered under my breath.

He should be thanking me. If that infection worked as it was meant to, he would most likely lose his job... he and the entire department! It pissed me off that I saved their sorry asses and didn't even hear a thank you. Moreover, they all dared to look down on me, first only because I was a woman, and then even more, after I had to give my personal data for the contract, and they had found out that I didn't have a diploma... Surely, I had long acknowledged the fact that this freaking piece of paper could change everything in my life. Nonetheless, I still couldn't stand assholes who felt superior because they had something I didn't.

I grabbed my jacket and purse and left the office soon after. As soon as I walked out into the corridor, I saw two security guards dressed in black suits that made them look like they were Secret Service agents. Both of them stood firm with their chins slightly lifted. Their faces were expressionless to the point where if one of them didn't move, I would take them as wax figures.

"Hello," I greeted them with an awkward smile.

"Mr. Lan told us to take you to him," one of the guards said, gesturing at me to follow them.

"Mr. Lan did..." I mumbled, instantly becoming restless.

Was he really still at work at 2 AM? I wished he wasn't. I would rather not stand before him right now. I had no strength to deal with arrogant guys. Not to mention that after six hours of staring at the computer screen, I probably looked like shit. The guard led me to the elevator and stepped inside it with me. Once the door closed and we moved up, I took a glimpse at the elevator mirror.

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. I actually looked worse than shit, with most of my makeup gone and my hair completely flat and ruffled. I ignored my company and started combing the messy strands with my fingers and wiping the panda circles below my eyes. It didn't help much, but I tried.

Of course, my inner feminist immediately raised an argument that I wasn't going there to impress him with my looks. I did an awesome job of saving his company. Why should I care how I looked after several hours of work?!

With that in mind, I walked out of that elevator and confidently strode through the empty, dimly lit top-floor corridor. There was only one intense source of light, and it was coming through the opaque windows surrounding the CEO's office. Once we got there, one of the guards knocked on the smart-glass door.

"Come in." Lan's voice sounded.

The guard opened the door, allowing me to enter, and then closed the door, leaving me alone with his boss. Aren Lan was sitting behind his massive desk made of dark wood, working on his laptop. The few seconds of silence that surrounded us doubled my anxiety in an instant. I wasn't even sure why I was always so nervous in front of him. I did my job well, and he could only thank me for dealing with their security breach. Still, shivers ran down my spine when his gaze shifted from the computer screen to me.

He smirked and crooked his finger, gesturing for me to come closer. I breathed in and took a few steps towards the desk, still leaving comfortable space between us. A single chuckle escaped his throat, and he crooked his four fingers, making his gesture more decisive. I let out a soaked with irritation sigh and took another step forward.

His lips curved, forming a mischievous grin. "You don't like me, do you?"

"No, I don't," I replied, too tired to think about the consequences.

The smile stayed on his lips, but his eyes became darker. "Interesting," he commented before pulling some documents from his drawer. "This is your new contract with Golden Estate Investments." He pointed at a few pages.

I looked at him, surprised, as he handed me the document. I might have said that it was my condition for taking care of their computer problem, but somehow I didn't think that they would truly respect it.

I went through the paragraphs, and my jaw almost dropped. Not only did the contract say that we could keep renting our place for five hundred dollars a month, but after the company committed to settling us in a different location with the same amount of monthly rent.

"Where's the catch?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at him.

"There is no catch," he answered in an indifferent tone. "You kept your part of the deal. You did your job exquisitely... This is the company's way of saying thank you." He shrugged.

"The company's way..." I mumbled under my breath, forming a wry smile. I couldn't tell why I felt a little prick in my chest. Was I counting on his motives to be more... private?

"Would you like to change the conditions in the contract?" The firm tone of his voice sobered me in an instant.

"No!" I called out nervously. "T-thank you." I reached into my purse and pulled out a pen to sign before he changed his mind.

Without thinking, I placed the contract on his desktop and leaned over. It wasn't until I saw his eyes flicker in amusement did I realize I exposed every ounce of my cleavage wrapped in a tight white shirt top. I pulled myself up with an audible gasp and glared at him in silent accusation. He raised his hands in surrender.

"You cannot blame a man for appreciating something you lushly present right in front of him," he claimed nonchalantly, leaning back in his perfectly ergonomic office chair.

I clenched my teeth, struggling to keep my composure, yet I couldn't stop the heat that flooded my cheeks. I was visibly blushing while standing in front of him, but the thing that annoyed me the most was the fact that it took him less than a second to look absolutely unmoved, as if he didn't consider me attractive! Well, fine! I wasn't ideally presentable at that moment, but my boobs were as fine as always! How could he just ignore them so quickly?! Most importantly, why did I get so worked up about whether he thinks I'm attractive?! God!

I took a deep breath. Then I turned my back to him and walked over to his coffee table to finish signing the contract. I ignored the fact that I might have exposed my other set of curves this time, deciding to let him briefly enjoy my ass. Screw that, and screw him! I just needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

Once I put my last signature, I walked back to his desk, handing him the documents. He accepted them with a quick nod and placed his signature. My eyes caught on each second of his long fingers handling his silver Cross pen and the way he placed smooth, decisive lines on the paper. There was something mesmerizing in the way he did it.

"Here." He handed me my copy of the contract, looking into my eyes.

"Thank you." I took the documents from him and smiled nervously.

His face became unreadable again. Somehow, I ended up staring at him as if I was awaiting some human-like reaction.

"Is there anything else?" he asked curtly.

"No!" I shook my head violently.

"Then, good night, Ms. Bell. I'd love to walk you out, but I still have work to do."

I couldn't tell why his words felt like a slap. Was it because he didn't call me by my first name? Or was it because he wanted me out of his office? What the hell was I hoping for anyway?!

"Goodnight, Mr. Lan," I tossed, turning back on my heels and leaving his office in a rush.

I basically ran to the elevators. My heart was racing. My breath quickened and my muscles were tense with restless pacing.

"It's all good, Cora. You got the contract. You did your job perfectly, and you will never get to see this arrogant Lan-asshole ever again!" I told myself while going down the elevator.

I forced myself to smile, but the way I felt seemed far from satisfied. What I felt resembled a peculiar kind of sadness, one I was unable to name...