Chapter 3 : Built on blood.

Chapter 3 : Built on blood .

I arrived at the office a few minutes before 8am.  A grumpy faced woman sat across from me clacking away on her keys.

I presumed that she must be Damian's secretary.

“ Good morning ma'am. I'm here to see the CEO, I have an appointment with him by 8am”.

“ He's in a meeting”, she replied coldly and returned to whatever she was typing.

I took a seat on the sofa opposite her desk in the waiting area , trying not to fidget.

I watched as Executives trooped in and out of the office with gloom looks on their faces.

Of course he was so cruel that literally everyone was afraid of him. It could probably be about what I found yesterday.

My watch beeped and I looked at the time. 8:45. I frowned, was this some kind of power play or what?

The office door opened and three men walked past me, all of them in tailored black suits. They looked shaken and pale.

What had happened there?

I glanced at Vivian who was peering at her screen. I wondered how long she'd worked here, probably long enough to have gotten the attitude she had. Which meant she knew more than most people in the company.

“Miss Quinn, you can go in now”

I stood to my feet and glanced at my wristwatch.

How very convenient, 9:15am.

I walked into the office and stood before him, looking as composed as I could.

He didn't look up, had his eyes trained on his tablet's screen.

“ Sit down, Miss Quinn”

I sat in the chair across from him and waited. He was silent for a couple of minutes. I remained composed, I wasn't going to give him the benefit of having me squirm.

“ Miss Quinn, you have a choice to make”, he began, looking up at me and his gaze pinning me.

“ I'm sorry sir, what choice?”

“ Normally we'd give any employee who discovered what you discovered a raise but I have a different proposition this time”

He pushed a notepad towards me and I stared at the documents clipped to it.

“ My personal assistant is leaving. The position is now open”.

“ But I've only been here for a day…

“ And you saw what others couldn't see. You've proven that you're sharper than my executive team, to think I had dimwits on my payroll”, he said, his brows furrowing into a frown.

He leaned back in his chair, assessing me.

“ It is demanding, Miss Quinn. It requires long hours, discretion, and loyalty. One more thing, it's a live-in position. I need my assistant to be around at all times but as you can see, the pay is worth it”

I almost chuckled, my heart racing. First the job, then the live-in position. He'd placed everything in my hands, everything I needed to gut him down 

“ You have ten seconds to decide”

“ Ten seconds”?

“Five”

I stared down at the document, Aurora this was it.

“Three”

Fuck!

I picked up the pen and signed the papers.

Something flashed on his face momentarily. Satisfaction, doubt … I couldn't place it.

“ Great, my driver would pick you up by 6pm. Welcome home Miss Quinn”

...

“ This is the lounge area Miss, although I doubt you'd find the time to use it”, she said with a chuckle as we continued on the tour of the house.

She was Damian's housekeeper. Josie, a plump sized woman with a tired yet cheerful face. She looked like she was in her mid-fifties.

“ Please call me Elara”

She chuckled and coughed. “ We'd normally call the previous assistants by their surnames Miss. Damian wouldn't tolerate using their first names”

Well that confirmed it, this was just a usual job position. Damian didn't know who I was.

“ But I insist”

“ I'll keep that to mind, Miss…Elara. Let me show you to your quarters”

I nodded and followed her. The hallway was bare, no hanging photographs or art.

Only a small sculpture of a dove hung on the wall just opposite the door we stopped in front of.

“ This is your room. If you ever need anything, just press the button on the nightstand beside your bed, someone will come to you”.

I nodded and she opened the door. I held my breath. The room was large and beautiful. I walked in and began to admire it.

“ It's beautiful”

Josie smiled as she watched me.

“ Oh one more thing, Miss Elara”

I turned to face her. Her warm smile was gone and her expression was suddenly unreadable.

My heart skipped a beat.

“ The house has rules, rules you should follow strictly. The second floor is off limits for you unless you're invited. He values his privacy”.

“ Alright I understand Josie”.

Her warm smile returned immediately and she headed for the door.

“ Welcome Miss Quinn. Stay safe, the house has its ghosts. If you don't follow them, you'd probably not disappear like the other assistants did”.

And she left, leaving me shaken. I took a deep breath and scanned the room.

I noticed two cameras, at strategic positions in my room.

He was watching me.

I searched the entire room and found nothing worth of interest or suspicion.

I slipped a burner phone discreetly into my pocket and slipped into the bathroom, the only safe space in the room.

I dialled a number and listened as it rang.

“ Simone”

“ Aurora”

“ I got the job and I got a raise”

There was a pause on the other end of the line and I knew he was trying to process it all. He was the only one who knew about my real identity and my plans and had also produced my new passport and identity.

“ But you just got the job”?

“ I got lucky, Simone. I'm his PA now”.

“ Aurora, don't you think you should slow down. You're letting your desire for revenge cloud your mind”

“ He killed my father! Simone and yet he couldn't pay for that crime and you want me to sit back and just watch”

“ Aurora, his world is dangerous and you're alone. Just drop this, karma would…

“ I'm done waiting for karma Simone! I'd die trying to get justice for my father”

There was a pause and then a sigh.

“ Simone I have to do this, you know”

“ I won't be able to dissuade you even if I tried, give me a rundown”.

I told him about everything, the offer, the job, the mysterious text message. His breath caught on my last words.

“ They called you Aurora”?

“ Yes. I was scared though. I had no idea where it came from”. I heard the clanging of keys from his end.

“ Fuck! There's something important you need to know about Volkov, Aurora”.

My heart skipped a beat.