Chapter Four

Jasmine.

"You must be the new assistant, sorry for the rushed resumption," The red haired man talked really fast the moment his eyes landed on mine and he confirmed my identity.

Charles and my mom had made me attend a one hour lecture about everything that was to be known about his rival.

I had this tingling suspicion that Charles had a crush on his rival at this point.

"It's okay," I smiled at him, "Well I'm a bit nervous but it's okay," I admitted the truth.

He placed his hand on my shoulders and gave me the widest grin of all times.

"You'll hardly see Mr Warner, just send him emails and schedule his meetings and such. No need to worry, he's not a really bad man, he's just human," He tried to calm me down with soothing words about how the boss was one of the best employees in the world.

Mr Ambrose Warner, fifty seven years old politician with the cleanest records ever. In my stepfather's voice, no one had the right to be that clean.

Two children. Twins. A grandchild from the female twin who was currently working in the army while the other twin was a doctor. His wife, Annabel Warner was said to be one of the sweetest women in the world, she organized fundraisers for various occasions and made sure she visited orphanages and hospitals every month.

My mother lacked in that aspect. She would rather send someone than waste her time doing that. I was pretty sure she thought it was beneath her or something.

Being a personal assistant was one of the most stressful work I would ever do. Arrangements of all the calls he had to make, meetings with charity organizations and another meeting with his speech writer or whatever.

And then a lunch break with the red haired man again who proceeded to tell me all about his failed relationship with his ex girlfriends.

The next day wasn't much better. But at least I made another friend.

"Well I'm glad you're better than the last assistant," Those were her first words to me the moment she walked up to my table.

I rolled my eyes, "Words like hello and hi exists," I told her before taking a bite from my banana.

She raised her shoulders in a shrug, "Well hi there, Miss Castor," She said rather sarcastically but I took it.

"And what happened to the last one?" I asked her, curiosity getting the better part of me.

Another shrug, "Don't know and I don't care, she was such a snob because she arranged meetings for the man. I wouldn't be surprised if she fucked him."

Those words caught my ears. If he was such a flirt then surely there was no need for this. There would surely find evidence against him that they could use.

"Stop spreading false news," The red haired dude commented before taking a bite from his apple.

And because pursuing the topic might expose me, I decided to let it be for the time being. But also pretended I didn't see the wink the girl gave me.

*****

Third time's the charm right. I was supposed to meet my idol on that same day. I arranged the schedule for the only meeting my boss Mr Warner had that day.

Today happened to be the first time I would be meeting him too. I needed to make a good lasting impression.

And maybe make the same impression on the special security defense guy he was also supposed to meet today.

I wondered what made him special.

"Hey new girl," The girl from the cafeteria popped her head into my office. Her face lit up in a grin when our eyes met.

I didn't even know her name and she seemed expected to meet me. A nagging thought keep on brewing in my mind which made me instantly suspicious of her intentions and why she kept on seeking me.

Was she a spy for Charles or my mom?

"Hey," I said slowly then added a wave for added effect.

"You can come in."

She walked in with some air of confidence that made my suspicions grow stronger. Or perhaps that was just her type of person.

"Sorry but I didn't get your name or even what you do in this place" I told her abruptly without a second thought. I half expected her to become mad and storm out of the office, just like my other co-workers from my last job.

She rolled her eyes at me before setting her ass on my chair.

"I didn't expect you to know my name so soon, you only hung out with that red haired fool," She raised her shoulders up in a shrug like the issue didn't really didn't concern her.

"No offense but it's the truth," She continued then as if she just remembered something, she leaned in conspiratorially, "And while you might need people like him for a while, you need someone like me to help you in the long run."

She must have been working for my mom or something. There's no way....

"So you don't get fired or sleep with that disgusting old man or something," She blew the gum in her mouth into some sort of large bubble and popped it.

She didn't know anything then.

"I assure you I wouldn't," I tapped her finger and gave her my biggest smile. Perhaps we would get along so well even if she was loud.

"So what's your......"

The sound of my phone ringing interrupted the rest of the question and I excused myself. Mr Warner was finally calling me.

"Good morning sir," I started before he could get a word in.

"You must be the new assistant, please I need you in my office now," He said and then ended the call immediately, arresting my response.

"I'll have to continue this conversation with you later, I need to meet Mr Warner," I told her hoping she would get the hint and leave.

She did.

The office building wasn't a big building but there was a considerable amount of distance between the assistant's office and Mr Warner's office. I would have to find a way to rectify it or it would be a problem especially on days when I would be called like this.

I looked like a mess and had to spare a few seconds to look presentable.

"You can do this, you can do this," I repeated the mantra out loud, my hand on my chest as I tried to calm down the palpitations.

"Well you surely should be able to do this due to the fact that you're already working here" The baritone and authority was enough to shock me and it did.

Because I recognized that voice. It was one of the voices that had taunted me for as long as I could remember.

This wasn't like what happened at that club. I could feel in my guts that whoever made that sentence was the person I knew.

"Sometimes one has to calm her nerves before she meets her boss and the important person he's supposed to meet," I countered his words without turning back.

He chuckled, "I never knew I was such an important person Jasmine, honestly I didn't expect to see you here," He added.

I was about to say something snarky to my stepbrother when the door opened and I was standing face to face with the formidable Mr Warner.

"Good morning sir," I squeaked out the greeting like a captured rat before clearing my throat, "Good morning sir," I tried again.

He nodded at me unimpressed before moving his eyes upwards to the man behind me.

"You must be Mr Castor, the defense security CEO," His face lit up in a grin, "I didn't know you two know each other."

"We..."

"We don't,"

Seems like my stepbrother didn't care for me then.