The Beginning of chains

Chapter 5

Ameera’s POV

I stood outside the towering glass building.

“Blackwood Corp,” I muttered under my breath.

It was so unique; it stood out from all the buildings beside it. The security officer kept looking at me as if I was losing it. I’m pretty sure he wanted to ask what I was doing there, but he didn’t. I stopped gawking at the really fascinating building and stepped inside.

It felt like stepping into another world—bright, clean, intimidating. I clutched my purse a little tighter. The only sounds were the click and clack of shoes against the pristine floor. Everyone was in their own world—no one seemed to care who came in. Well, except the two security men at the door.

I quickly walked in and went straight to the receptionist.

“Hey, I’m Ameera Parker. I was asked to be here by Mrs. Loretta.”

“Ohh, you’re the girl I spoke to yesterday. I’m Lily,” she said, smiling, showing off a beautiful set of sparkling white teeth.

I smiled back. She was beautiful. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she wore a green dress that hugged her upper body nicely—though the massive reception desk obstructed the rest of her.

“Take this,” she said, handing me a card she had quickly scribbled something on. “Go there, and good luck,” she said, immediately turning back to her laptop screen.

I muttered a thank you, because I doubted she was even listening anymore. I left the table and read the card:

Third floor. HR’s office. Mr. Smith.

That was all that was written.

I quickly headed in that direction before a call stopped me in my tracks.

“Hello? Who’s this?” I asked, squinting at the unknown number.

“It’s Dr. Melvin,” a stern voice answered.

“Ohh, yes. How may I help you?” I asked, pretending like I didn’t already know what the call was about.

“It’s your mum,” he said. I knew it.

“You said you were going to stop by with some money for her drugs.”

“Yes, I did. I’m going to do that… just give me some time. I’m busy at the moment,” I said.

“Well, she isn’t getting any better. I suggest you do something about it as soon as possible.”

Like I didn’t already know that.

“Of course, Dr. Melvin. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” I said, then hung up.

I was about to continue my journey when I realized the card wasn’t with me anymore. It must have fallen when I was trying to bring out my phone from my purse.

I retraced my steps a little and sighted it from a distance—lying right in front of two men. One looked elderly, the other was pretty young.

The older man had a white beard. The younger one had his head bent, absorbed in his phone. He was tall—so tall he made the old guy look really short. The older man picked up my card.

“Shit…” I muttered to myself.

I quickly walked up to him.

“Mr. Smith,” he read out. “Who on earth was looking for me?”

“Good morning, sir. It’s for me—I dropped it by mistake.”

“Are you looking for Mr. Smith?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, lucky you. I’m Mr. Smith,” he replied with a smile.

The taller guy didn’t even care to glance at me.

“I’ll be at my office,” he said, walking toward the elevator, completely ignoring my presence.

Why do they always have to be so mannerless?

“Come on, let’s go to my office,” the old man said, leading me away.

---

“So, you’re from Mrs. Loretta?” he asked once we were inside.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“You should have been here sooner, right?” he said, going through some files.

“Yes, sir, but I was busy.”

“Hmm.” He finally looked up at me. “Well, you’re lucky. We were just about to assign the position to someone else.”

He shuffled through his files again.

“Mrs. Loretta said good things about you—and how you’d make a good personal secretary for the CEO.”

“Personal secretary?!” I asked, shocked.

“What?” he asked, looking a bit surprised at my reaction. “Didn’t she tell you about it?”

“Emm… yeah, she did,” I lied.

No, she didn’t. I’d been planning on working as a clerk or something—printing files, filing papers. I was freaking out internally, but I didn’t show it.

“Well, Mr. Blackwood should be expecting us right now.”

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Your boss,” he said without looking up from the files on his desk.

“Right now?” I asked.

“Yes, right now,” he said, still looking at the files.

“Where are your files? Hand them over to me,” he said. I handed everything to him.

“So… does that mean I’m hired?” I asked, already scared as shit.

“Absolutely. You’re hired,” he said, finally looking at me.

Wow. Well, that was the fastest interview I’ve ever done.

“Don’t we need to discuss other things, like my pay?” I asked cautiously.

“You’ll be well-compensated, Miss…?”

“Miss Parker,” I said quickly, helping him out.

“Yes, Miss Parker,” he repeated, eyes back on the files.

“Well, can I know the range?”

He chuckled at my question.

“Well, since you’re so interested in knowing, we’ll be starting you off with $5k.”

“What?!” I shouted.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Is it too little?” He raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Blackwood might increase it if you don’t stress him. But if you do… he loves to put people in their place. And by that, I mean sending you home—or your early grave.” He laughed.

I couldn’t tell if he was being honest or sarcastic.

“Uh… no,” I lied, swallowing the urge to scream in relief. I couldn’t let him see how much that number meant to me.

“Come on, Miss Parker. Let’s go meet your boss,” he said, standing up. I followed him.

We took the elevator. It was a silent ride.

The elevator dinged, and it was our cue to step out. A massive black mahogany door stood before us—the CEO’s office. The rest of the area was tiled white and neat.

We passed by a receptionist table—probably where I would be kept. We turned to the right and approached his office. Mr. Smith pressed a button.

We waited a little while before the door opened.

“Don’t say anything, don’t ask anything—just smile,” he quickly said while we waited outside the door.

It opened.

Seated across from us at the other side of the room was my supposed boss. His head was still buried in paperwork.

Wait a minute. It was the guy standing with Mr. Smith earlier.

“Well, this is going to be interesting,” I muttered under my breath.

“Mr. Blackwood, she’s here,” Mr. Smith said, causing him to look up. He then sat up straight. I was immediately captured by his eyes.

Those eyes… Where have I seen them before?

I kept on staring without realizing it until Mr. Smith nudged me.

“Emm… hello, sir. I’m Ameera Parker,” I said, putting on a smile, my face burning with embarrassment. Great, now he thinks I’m weird.

He didn’t say anything.

“You know we were just about to call the other lady,” Mr. Smith said. “Thank goodness she came just in time. Mrs. Loretta had assigned her to come.”

“Why didn’t she come earlier?” His voice was low, smooth, and deadly. My body reacted instantly.

“According to her, she was held up with some… things,” Mr. Smith explained, glancing at me and then back at Mr. Bad Attitude.

He looked at me again. Those eyes… I’d seen them before. His face was familiar, haunting even.

He got up and slid his hands into his pockets. I didn’t even notice when he started walking directly toward me. Now we were pretty close.

“Now… why the fuck do you keep staring at me like that?” His voice was calm, yet dangerous.

I swallowed hard. Memories hit me all at once:

The club.

The fight.

The shot.

Those eyes.

It was him.