Chapter 4: First Day of Bullying

~Isabel~

"Mr. Sterling is my father," William replied, leaning forward. Then he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, "You can call me William. After all, we are family now, right?"

He let that threat hang in the air for a second. Then his eyes flicked down to my dress one last time, and his lip curled like he smelled something sour.

"And Isabel, do me a favor. Don’t wear anything floral in my office or in this house. It looks cheap, and I won’t stand for it."

Heat crawled all the way up my neck to my ears. I shoved my chair back so hard the wood screeched loud against the floor.

"I don’t wear cheap things, William," I shot back, my voice shook a little but I didn’t back down. "I wear what I worked hard to get."

I didn’t wait for anyone to say another word. I turned and walked out, but I could feel his eyes burning into my back every single step.

I didn’t slow down until I was inside my room and the door closed behind me. I leaned back on the wood finally letting out the breath I felt like I’d been holding forever.

My hands were shaking so bad I could barely feel my fingers.

After a few minutes I started pacing back and forth across the floor, like the walls were squeezing in around me. How am I supposed to deal with this?

I needed to calm down. I thought a glass of water might help, or maybe a time machine to send me back to New York.

Since water was the only thing I could actually get, I slipped out of my room and walked quiet down the stairs.

The estate felt even bigger and scarier at night. I wandered through the halls until I found the kitchen. It was huge, all shiny steel and stone counters. I grabbed a glass, filled it up, and pressed the cold rim to my forehead to try and stop my head from spinning.

"Planning your escape?"

I jumped so fast water sloshed over the edge and onto the floor.

William stood right in the doorway. He had on a plain white t-shirt and dark sweatpants, but even without the fancy suit he was just as intimidating. If anything, he looked too cool, more unguarded and dangerous.

"Just getting water," I managed to say setting the glass down slow.

He walked into the kitchen, his steps making no sound at all. The only light came from the small lamps over the island, throwing shadows on his arms and chest. He moved slowly circling around until he was standing right next to me.

"My father is easy to fool," William said. "He sees a sad story and a pretty face, and he pulls out his wallet. But I don’t have those soft spots he does."

I gripped the edge of the counter behind me so tight my knuckles turned white.

"I don’t want his money. And I definitely don’t want anything from you."

"Right. That’s what everyone says." He took one step closer. Then another.

All at once he was so close I had to tilt my head back just to look him in the eye. He slammed one hand down on the counter right beside my hip, trapping me between his body and the edge.

"You just happen to move into a mansion worth millions, and get a job you didn’t earn. Pure luck, I suppose?"

His words were cold quite alright, but I could feel the heat coming off his body...up close he looked tired, like he had a hard day and i hated that i noticed... i hated that my heart was now beating so hard I was sure he could hear it.

"I might not have the usual experience," I snapped refusing to look away. "But I worked for every grade I got. I earned my spot at university. And I will earn this job too, whether you like it or not."

His gaze dropped to my mouth for just a second the air between us felt thick I could barely breathe well.

"You play the part perfectly," he murmured leaning in closer. "The hardworking girl who has it so all tough."

He lifted his hand and for a second I thought he was going to touch my face. Instead his fingers caught the collar of my dress, while his knuckles brushed my skin, it felt like a jolt running right through me.

"I meant what I said at dinner, Isabel," he whispered, brushing the material. "Get rid of this. You’re in a whole different world now. If you want to last in my office, stop acting like you need saving."

I knocked his hand away fast in the process our skin touched for just a second and that spark came back again.

"I will wear whatever I want," I told him though my voice came out softer and shakier than I meant it to.

William’s eyes went dark. He stared at me for what felt like forever with a look like he wanted to tear into me, and the scary thing was, I wasn’t sure I wanted him to stop.

Finally he stepped back carrying that burning with him.

"Monday morning. Seven sharp," he said.

He turned to leave, but paused right at the edge of the shadows then looked back over his shoulder with a cruel smile.

"Don’t be late, sister..."

He let that word hang there, before he walked away into the dark, leaving me shaking all alone in the quiet kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~

5:45 AM.

My alarm rang off blaring like a siren, jolting me awake. I sat up fast heart racing as my eyes adjusted to the dim room. The sheets felt too soft, almost like they were laughing at me for having something I hadn’t earned yet.

I stood in the middle of a walk-in closet bigger than my whole old apartment. My eyes landed right on my floral dress hanging near the front and I heard William’s voice clear as day, "Take this off and burn it."

Who did he think he was to tell me what to wear?

That thought just made me burn with anger. I pushed the dress aside grabbed a plain charcoal blazer and white shirt from my suitcase, and tossed them on the bed.

After I showered and dressed up, I looked in the full-length mirror... the girl staring back at me looked like she was borrowing someone else’s life.

My mom may have thought that marrying rich meant I could finally breathe easy, but I knew better. I still needed money for textbooks, transportation, and anything else so I never had to ask Arthur for a single thing more.

This internship wasn’t just something to put on a resume... It was the one thing keeping my future alive. I will put up with William because he stood between me and the paycheck I needed and also the future I’m fight for...

By 6:55 AM I was waiting in the hallway... The floors looked so bright I could see my own nervous face on them. I checked my watch. 6:58 AM.

"Right on time. That’s new for your family."

William leaned on the doorway, coffee in one hand, briefcase in the other. He wore a navy suit that fit him perfectly like he’d been born looking that good.

"I told you I work," I replied. "I don’t need a lecture about being on time."

He walked toward me slowly, stopping just inches away... that familiar scent of his cologne wrapped around me like cool air. He looked me up and down his eyes stopped right at my plain white collar.

"Better," he murmured. "But those shoes are terrible. We’ll fix that."

"My shoes are fine."

"Those are waitress shoes, Isabel. You work at Sterling Global now. Try to keep up."

I followed him out to a black Bentley.

The ride to the office was dead quiet. He spent the whole twenty minutes staring at his tablet focused like nothing else existed. When we pulled up to Sterling Global headquarters, a tall glass tower reaching way up my stomach twisted tight.

He didn’t bother showing me around. He just moved like he was in his own world.

"Follow me. And keep quiet until I say otherwise," William said.

The elevator opened on the fiftieth floor. A woman with her hair pulled back so tight her forehead looked smooth stood at a desk... she looked up, glanced from William to me and I saw the dislike hit her face right away.

"Sophia," William said. "This is Isabel Mayfield, the new intern. Give her the backlog from the Manchester merger. I want all audits checked by end of day."

Sophia’s lips curled into a smile. "Of course, Mr. Sterling."

And just like that, he was gone into his office. Sophia turned to me her face hard then dragged a stack of cardboard boxes and slammed them onto a cramped desk in the corner.

"These hold paper invoices going back three years," she hissed. "Most of it’s already in the system, but William wants a manual check. Around a thousand pages. Get it done by tonight."

"By the end of the day?" I asked confused.

"Yes, you're an intern. You should learn how things work here. We don’t ask for extra time, Miss Mayfield. Now get to work."

I sat down on the chair with a mountain of paper that looked like it could swallow me whole. I swallowed the lump in my throat... i couldn’t quit. I needed this money, so I picked up the first page and started reading....

Five hours later, my eyes burned and my throat felt dry.... I hadn’t had a sip of water since morning.... Every time I looked up, I saw William through his glass office, but he never looked my way once.

By six PM the lights dimmed on their own. My fingers were smudged with ink...then a shadow fell over my desk.

"You’re still here," William commented.

"I’m not finished," I said with a dry voice.

He stepped closer then picked up one of the ledgers. "Sophia gave you this to break you," he said. "It’s old useless data. None of it matters."

Anger bloomed in my chest. "Then why did you let her give it to me?"

William leaned over putting both hands on the desk so his face was level with mine. "Because I wanted to see if you’d quit," he whispered. "I wanted to see if you’d run crying to your mother."

"I don’t quit," I snapped back leaning in until our faces were almost touching. "You just want to prove I’m no good so you can feel better about being cruel. But it’s not going to happen."

His eyes dropped to my lips and this time he didn’t look away. He lifted his hand cleaning off a smudge of ink on my cheek.... he didn’t wipe it off instead, he just dragged it over my cheeks...his skin felt warm on mine.

"You’re a mess, Isabel," he said mockingly. "Ink on your face. Cheap clothes. Tired eyes. Why not walk away from all this and go back home?"

"Never. For your information, stepbrother, I’m just getting started," I replied staring hard at him.

He pulled back fast like my eyes had burned him.

"Go home. The car is waiting downstairs. And Isabel?"

I looked up my chest still tight with frustration.

"Expect a lot more work tomorrow," he added with a wicked glint in his eyes. "We’ll see if you can really stay."

He walked away without another word... the elevator doors closed behind him leaving me alone with ink all over my hands.

His attitude was the most infuriating thing about him. I grabbed my bag glancing at the empty office one last time.

"Give me real work tomorrow," I whispered to room. "Not garbage."

Downstairs the Bentley was waiting. But my blood was still hot. Tomorrow I’d show him I wasn’t here to play games. I was here to work...