Faith got adjusted to her new position within two weeks. To her relief, she didn't have to interact with Anthony as much. Most of the time, their meeting lasted only ten minutes or less.
They were small tasks. The coffee here, sign documents there, nothing she couldn't handle. And the pay was good. At least enough to cover bills and medicines for her impatient father.
Things were going well until one day.
One Sunday afternoon, she heard the dreadful news about her father.
She was making coffee for Anthony as usual when the receptionist Lana entered the break room.
"Um...Faith, you have a phone call," she said.
"What's the matter?" Faith looked at Lana, whose face was pale as a ghost.
"Um...you better take this call," Lana quickly said and left.
Faith felt nauseous. She had a bad feeling about the phone call.
"Hello?" she picked up the phone and waited for the other person to speak.
"Faith, this is your uncle Rudy."
Uncle Rudy? She hadn't spoken to that guy since two years ago. So why was he calling all of a sudden?
"What's the matter?" Faith demanded to know.
"Mary called me. Your father, he...he passed away this afternoon," Rudy exhaled.
Dad died? Faith stood there dumbfounded. She didn't know what to feel. It was almost like a relief. Faith quickly shook her head as if to shoo the bad thoughts away. She should be sad, not relieved.
"Is Mary okay?" she asked her uncle.
"Yes. Just come home quick," Rudy said and hung up the phone.
Faith put the receiver down and walked to Anthony's office in a daze. But not before she finished making the coffee. It was as if nothing had changed.
She placed the coffee on his desk and just stood there.
"What is it? Do you have something to say to me?" Anthony gave her his usual cold stare.
"Is it okay if I leave early?" she whispered slowly.
Anthony wrinkled his forehead. "For what? There are plenty more to do around here."
"My father...um....he died," her voice came out hoarse and shaky.
She thought she saw a hint of warmth in Anthony DeMarco's eyes. "Is that so? I'm sorry to hear that. You may leave then. Let Ms. Nancy know, and I'm sorry again," he said.
"Thank you, sir," Faith whispered and hurried off.
It turned out her father had experienced a stroke and was taken to the hospital, but he didn't make it. He has had them before, and Faith was able to take him to the hospital immediately, but this time, he was at home alone. Mary was in school, so she wasn't there to call for help either.
Faith took off a few days of work and took care of everything. By the time the funeral was over, she had no money left in the bank.
This means she has to work an extra job to take care of Mary and the house.
The following week, she received news from the bank that her house would be taken away soon if she didn't make payments for the mortgage. She had been delaying it since most of her money went into her father's treatments. She was at a loss. She had no money and no relative who could help her. How would she feed her sisters? Where would they live if the house was gone? She had to think fast.
An idea came into her mind. She was responsible for bringing the expanse papers to Anthony and having him sign and approve them. Then she got to take the company credit card from Nancy so she could order office supplies. Anthony was a busy man, so he never looked at those papers. What if she made up a fake paper and had him sign it and keep the money to herself?
No, that would be stealing. The poverty was making her lose all sense of morality.
But desperate times call for desperate measures, so one day she did it. She took the company credit card and paid for the mortgage payment.
Another week went by, but no one said anything. So maybe no one suspected her after all.
She was in the break room preparing coffee for Anthony, then suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She was startled as Anthony stood by the door, staring at her intently.
"Faith, may I see you in the office?" he said and walked away.
Anthony never personally came in to call her in, so Faith was scared.
He knows!
She quickly went into the office.
"Close the door," he said grimly. Faith obliged.
"I want you to take a look at this expense report," Anthony said and gave her the piece of paper.
Faith took it in her trembling hands. She already knew what it was, so it was pointless to look at it now.
"I am guessing you already know what this is about. Care to explain what happened?" he retorted.
"I am sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean..."
"DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL, Faith Williams?" he roared. Faith recoiled at his sudden outburst.
"No sir, I don't, I swear!" she said and burst into tears.
"Do you realize this is stealing? Do you think this company is here to cater to your personal needs? Tell me why I shouldn't fire you and call the police to drag you into jail?" he asked.
"Please...forgive me. Just this once. Please!" Faith begged.
"Why would I do that?" his angry eyes bored into hers.
"I'll do anything. Anything you want! I have to support my sister. She has no one," she cried, but Anthony didn't say a word.
"Please...Mr. DeMarco...there must be something I can do for you to stop you from reporting this. Anything? I'll do anything you want." she whispered and impulsively grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes.
"What can you possibly do? Return the money? I highly doubt that."
"I...well...I can't return it yet but. I was thinking...maybe I could pay you back in some...uh... another way?" Faith stammered.
Anthony furrowed his brows. "Another way? In what way exactly? What are you suggesting, Faith? Are you offering to sleep with me?" his blue eyes burned into her.
Faith flinched. She didn't know what she was doing. She blurted things out without thinking about it. But would Anthony consider something like this in the form of payment?
If it came down to this, she was willing to do anything to save her family, even if it meant offering herself to her boss, as he crudely put it.
"Would you accept if I did?" she said quietly.
Anthony couldn't believe his ears. This timid, seemingly modest woman was offering her body to save herself from going to prison. He had never realized she could be this shameless. This wasn't the first time he had received an offer like this. But it was under a different circumstance by someone stark opposite of Faith. And they all seemed like women who had done something like that before to get what they wanted. Anthony never accepted their offer. He didn't have time for such a trifling matter. He didn't like to date or mess around like some spoiled billionaire playboy. Time was money, and he didn't like to waste it by chasing after women. He agreed to be engaged to his business partner's daughter, Malcolm Sevirno, simply because he wanted to strengthen their business relationship. There was no love between them, and he was okay with that. But Faith's sudden boldness piqued his interest. Anthony was seeing her in a different light. This mousy woman stood her ground and agreed to
Guilt. Anger. The emotions Anthony wasn't familiar with before. Not until tonight, anyway. But now they overwhelmed him, all thanks to Faith Williams. He was furious. Furious at himself and angry at her. He never made an impulsive decision like this, but he went through it. In the morning, he woke up feeling even worse. Why couldn't she tell him she was a virgin? He would've sent her home right away. Stupid woman. Her first time was wasted on him. He shouldn't have been so rough with her and treated her like shit, either. This was all wrong. He should've stopped as soon as he realized it was her first time. But desire overwhelmed him, and he kept going. He didn't feel like himself. He was greedy with lust. He felt a rush of electricity running through his veins as her core tightly hugged his member. He wanted to feel her more. He felt his pants tighten as he imagined being inside her again. And her scent... It was sweet, subtle, and beautiful. "Fuck!" he cursed out loud. He w
Faith lay down on the bed, feeling mentally exhausted. Diana was supposed to come back to work in the next few weeks so she wouldn't have to work for Anthony anymore. At least not as his assistant. She could go back to her old position and avoid seeing him around in the office. What a relief that would be. The house felt calm and quiet after her father died. The old man kept it lively by constantly cursing and screaming at her. Maybe she will finally be able to sleep at night. And perhaps her nightmares will stop too? Time will tell. Faith decided to get up and check on Mary. She should be home from school and doing her homework right now. She paused in front of Mary's room as she heard her talking. Was she not alone? Faith knocked on the door. "Come in!" Mary chirped from the other side. Mary was half lying on her bed with her cell phone. "What is it?" "Who are you talking to?" Faith looked at her questioningly. "No one." Faith observed Mary's face closely. Her cheeks were flus
"Sir?" Anthony looked at Faith's terrified expression and suppressed his laughter. Guess she didn't anticipate him saying yes to her spontaneous invitation. "Again, stop calling me Sir. I said I would love to come over and taste your pumpkin pie. Unless you are withdrawing your invitation?" he raised his eyebrows. "No, no, I am not. It's just that I haven't had a visitor in a while, and my house isn't in good shape," Faith said quietly. "Then, good thing I'm not interested in your house. I am interested in your dessert," he smirked. "Oh, okay," she murmured. "What are you afraid of? Are you not good at making a pie?" Anthony looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "No...I'm pretty good at it," she said quietly. "Okay, then. Well? Aren't you going to give me your address?" Anthony leaned over and whispered. Faith looked startled, but then she gathered herself and rummaged in her purse for a pen and paper. She pulled out a pen and tissue paper and quickly jotted down the address be
She had to dig in her closet to find a nice dress to wear at the Christmas party. She didn't like to buy unnecessary clothes or dress up, so she only had a few clothing items. Luckily, she still had the party dress her mom used to wear that looked flattering to her own figure.It was a white, backless midi dress that hugged her body. She didn't like to wear something that showed this much skin, but this was all she had.On the night of the party, she put the dress on. She tied her hair in an elegant bun and put on her mom's pearl necklace. She looked at the mirror and sighed. What was she doing, dressing like that and going to a party like she was a social butterfly? She hated going out and dressing up. If her father was alive, he would've scoffed at her and tell her she looked like a common prostitute.But he wasn't here anymore, so she didn't have to be subjected to his scrutiny any longer. She wondered what Anthony would think of her dress.What the he
"May I cut in?" Anthony DeMarco was standing in front of them with his hand extended."Mr. DeMarco! Yes, of course. You don't mind, do you, Faith?" Mark said quickly."No," her voice was barely a whisper.Anthony placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. She put her hands on his broad shoulders, and they slowly moved with the music. He smelled of cologne. Faith wanted to bury her face in his chest. What a crazy thought!"Look at me, Faith," Anthony said in a husky voice.She looked up."I want to apologize for what happened between us," he said.What? Did she hear him co
Anthony looked down at Faith and grinned. She was slightly trembling from the orgasm he just gave her. Gosh, what a beautiful sight that was. He loved to watch a woman come.But then, fear reflected in her eyes as if she remembered the pain he caused her, and his guilt came back.Shit, he needs to fix this immediately."Don't recoil from me like this Faith, I won't hurt you this time," He said gently. He put on the condom and spread her legs. "I'll take my time so just relax," he said and inserted the tip into her and pushed it in halfway.She groaned but not out of pain this time. She wanted him to. "It's okay. I'm okay. You can move," she whimpered.He didn't wait anymore and thrus
At the office, she couldn't look at him directly. But this time, it wasn't because he humiliated her. This time, she couldn't look at him without feeling flustered and turning beet red. Her body yearned for him. But he said it was over! She should just get over it. It's not like she can ever get a guy like that anyway."Faith, are you alright?" he asked her suddenly when she tried to leave quickly after dropping off some paperwork on his desk."Y...yes I'm okay," she said, all red-faced and shy."Come here for a second," he ordered.Faith didn't argue and walked over to him. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" he asked."N...no...just a little...nervous," she tried to control her voice from shaking.Get it together, Faith,she scolded herself in her mind.Anthony inched closer until their chests were almost touching.He moved her hair aside and slowly trailed his fingers from her neck to her arm. She shivered."Yo