He advanced towards her and touched her face as he bent his head and whispered, “Quite the audacious move; never let me see you anywhere around me ever, or you won't like what I'll do to you,” the handsome stranger said to her. Ellen watched him walk away, wishing the ground would open and swallow her.
*******
“Have you seen her?” Alex Gilbert asked Mary, the caretaker of Mrs. Warner, wife of the late Paul Warner, founder of Warner Haven Corporation.
Yes, I have; she is in her room now; a young lady assisted her,” Mary informed Alex.
“Come with me; Mr. Warner is at the club; he’d like to hear it from you himself,” Alex said to her as they walked towards the club.
*******
Leo Warner is the CEO of Warner Haven Corporation, the fastest-growing hotel chain in the country.
He was the only grandchild of the Warner family, and at thirty years old, he was in charge of the company.
Today was a memorable day for him as he was finally made CEO and was now in total charge of the company. He has finally taken over the family company that his father and uncle founded.
“It’s one of those days, Mr. Warner; should I bring her over?” Mary had told him when she called to inform him about his grandma's episode.
Okay, Mary, bring her,” Leo instructed her.
He had instructed his assistant, Alex Gilbert, to get her room ready and ensure she was monitored.
When she arrived, he had met her at the lobby.
Hello, grandma,” Leo said to his grandmother, smiling at her affectionately.
“Leo, what are you doing here? Don’t go running around the lobby,” she said, patting him on the head.
“I won't, gran; I’m here to see you,” he told her, holding her hands with affection as he walked her to the elevator.
Oh, my little Leo, run along; you should be in bed,” she said, shooing him away.
“I’m going to wait for your grandpa, okay? Mrs. Warner told him.
Okay, gran, I’ll see you in the morning,” Leo told her, leaving her in the care of Mary.
Leo was informed later that his grandmother had gone up alone and had told Mary to come up later.
Leo looked up from his inspection of the club below him as Alex walked in with Mary.
“Where did you find her?” he asked them.
“She is in the room and sleeping now,” Mary responded.
“Where were you? Why weren’t you with her?” Leo was glaring at her.
He had a reputation for not entertaining excuses, and the authority with which he spoke had Mary choosing her words carefully.
“She insisted on going up alone and asked me to go get her purse from the car,” Mary explained. “When I got up, the door was still locked, and I came back down to check for her,” Mary continued.
“When I got back to the room the second time she was inside, a young lady had assisted her,” she concluded.
“Make sure you keep an eye on her and ensure she gets back home safely in the morning.”
“Yes, Mr. Warner, it won’t happen again.”
As Mary turned to leave, she saw the lady who had assisted Leo’s grandmother.
Oh, that’s the lady who assisted Mrs. Warner,” Mary said, pointing at a lady who was at the bar.
Leo turned to look in the direction Mary pointed. Her back was to him, and her curly brunette hair cascaded down her back.
“You can go, Mary,” Leo said in that hard voice of his.
“Mr. Warner,the documents are ready,” Alex reminded him.
Leo’s attention was fixed on the lady; they were standing on the upper level of the club. It was the last part of the hotel he was inspecting today.
“Okay, I hope you’ve gone through them before bringing them to me, and you’ve included the clauses I asked you to,” Leo emphasized as he moved to remove his suit and roll up the sleeves of his shirt.
Yes, they’ve been included, Mr. Warner." Alex, who was aware that his boss didn’t like excuses, nodded as he assured him.
Leo took the documents and went through them; he was acquiring a smaller hotel in the city as part of his plan to expand Warner Haven Corporation.
By the time Leo was done with the papers and looked down to the club below, he saw the lady moving from the dance floor back to the bar.
“She is drunk and should be on her way home,” Leo said as he stood up.
“Who? Mr. Warner, I can have a bodyguard see her out,” Alex replied.
He had gone around the hotel and was done. I might as well see her out,” he said as he went down the stairs.
Despite his skeptical view of women, he decides to return the favor to the strange lady and help her out of the club before she drinks herself into a stupor.
He came down the stairs, not bothering to put his suit back on. Alex followed him with the suit.
As Leo walked up to her, she was about to fall, so he reached out and held her waist.
"oh…boy…wheew… That was close,” she said, and she giggled as she raised her eye to Leo.
“Oh, man, you look so good,” she said again, obviously drunk.
“I’ll escort you to the door,” Leo told her. The fact that she had rendered help to his grandmother was the only privilege she was enjoying right now. He was weary of women, as they used every means to get close to him.
“Oh, I could follow you anywhere, handsome,” she said as she kept giggling.
Leo took her purse and gave it to Alex as he assisted her out of the club. He handed her to a bodyguard to help her get a cab.
“Thank you,” the lady said, despite her drunken state.
Leaving them at the door, Leo walked to the reception with Alex right behind him.
“Ensure you get the documents across to them,” Leo said to Alex.
Yes, Mr. Warner, I’ll ensure the deal is completed over the weekend,” Alex replied.
Leo took his suite from his assistant and dismissed him. As he turned to head up to his penthouse, he felt someone tap his shoulders.
Turning back, he saw the lady he had assisted earlier. She had a determined expression on her face as she said, “Help me one last time, will you?”
Without waiting for a response, she moved closer to him and kissed him!
Leo went rigid; no lady had ever gotten this close to him without his permission. His mind went blank as he felt his heart race.
A few minutes later, the kiss ended, and the lady stepped back from him.
Regaining his composure, he hardened his face as he raised his right hand to touch her face.
He stepped close to her and whispered in her ears “Quite the audacious move; never let me see you anywhere around me ever, or you won't like what I'll do to you”.
He turned and walked to the elevator, leaving her standing there. She was lucky she’d helped his grandmother earlier; that was her saving grace, Leo thought. Various women had devised means to get close to him, but this was by far the closest.
The next morning, Ellen had a hangover as she rolled out of bed. “Oh my god! Fuck,” she cursed under her breath.Ellen could hear the hustle and bustle of the city below; her apartment was situated on the third floor of the building. The sound of cars from the street below flowed in easily with the wind through her open window. She held her head with both hands as she stood to go use the restroom.Her phone vibrated on the bedside table, and without looking at the screen, she picked it up.Ellen, what was that about last night?” Luke said as soon as she picked up the call.“Why in hell are you calling me?” Ellen groaned, holding her head as she made her way to the bathroom.“You barged into a party you were not invited to and embarrassed me,” Luke said almost in anger.“You should have thought of that in the first place; you’re the one who broke up with me and proposed to my best friend,” Ellen told him.“This is probably why you have always wanted to keep our relationship secret,” El
Looking through her email for the hundredth time, Ellen sighed and flung herself onto the bed.“One, two, three,” Ellen murmured as she mentally counted the number of applications she had submitted. Staring at the ceiling of her apartment, she screamed, raising both hands and legs in the air to let out her frustration.“I need a job, anything,” she screamed into her pillow.Most of the applications she’d submitted were long overdue and had received no response. Her rent was almost due, and to top it off, her mom had another therapy session coming up.Ellen had worked at the Titan Consult in Manhattan for three years; that was where she had met Luke.“The one you had least expected had resulted in an interview,” her mom told her at dinner later that day. The last application she had made was for the position of secretary; at least she’d had a virtual interview for that already.“I know, mom, I just wish others would move as fast as that was,” Ellen said to her mom, frustration etched o
Oh my God! Ellen hissed under her breath, bowing her head and trying to shield her face."My new secretary?" Leo asked Alex to be sure he had heard him right. His voice resonated with anger mixed with amazement."Yes, Mr. Warner," Alex stuttered as he answered. He wondered what was going on.Ellen stared at her feet. She had no idea what she was supposed to do or say."You mean her?" Leo asked, pointing at her, "You’re joking, right?" Leo said he was facing Alex."There seems to be a little confusion, sir. If you could tell me what's wrong..." Alex trailed off, not sure how he was supposed to phrase his confusion about what was going on.Ellen raised her head to look at him. He stared straight at her, and his deep blue eyes had her transfixed. He looked really pissed.Leo stood up from his desk and walked to stand right in front of it, his hands in his pockets. Turning deep blue, angry eyes at her, he silently, under his breath, said, "Get out!"Ellen panicked. Glancing between Alex a
The universe was at a standstill as Ellen watched Leo, holding her breath as she listened. The table had turned in a way she had not expected. How was he even the CEO of the only company that had called her back and offered her employment? "Very well then, the first would be..." Leo said, trailing off at the last word. He smiled and stopped mid sentence, making her nervous as to what exactly he had in mind. "I can’t really read them off to you now; you are going to wait outside while I have it drawn up." Leo said, taunting her. He knew she would never agree to sign what he had in mind, and he was ready to watch her give up. "Okay sir." Ellen agreed; her earlier confidence not so evident now. "Yes, and be ready to sign whatever it is; as you said, you’ll do anything," Leo reminded her. She looked determined to see this through. She must really need the job; we’ll see about that, Leo thought. "If you’ll excuse me," Leo said, pointing towards the door. "Yes, of course, thank you, M
Her hands clenched in fists, her brow raised, and her voice seethed with anger as she said "Get out!". Too angry to move from the door of the bathroom, water dripped from her skin and pooled on the floor. Standing at her door was Emily, the betrayer and backstabbing friend. "I won’t repeat myself," Ellen said again, struggling to calm herself. "I would gladly do that, Ellen, except your mom asked me to drop by," Emily said, not the least bothered. Taking a deep breath, Ellen moved towards her wardrobe, not facing Emily. She said "Then you should have told her we weren't friends anymore". Emily turned towards the door and placed a hand on the handle as she said, "I guess you haven’t told her." "Leave Emily and never come back here, ever," Ellen replied with a hard voice, her shoulders rigid as she tried to control herself. The silent click of her bedroom door closing was the response she got. Later that night, Ellen barely ate her food; she had lost her appetite. The visit from E
"Ellen, come to my office now!" came Leo’s voice from the other end. His hard tone didn’t help. She could feel her heart about to burst out of her chest. On trembling legs, Ellen walked into Leo’s office. Alex was seated with Leo at the lounge on the left side of the office. "Ms. Grater, come sit here," came Alex’s voice, shaking Ellen out of her frozen state. Oh no, what am I going to say? I totally forgot to go through the document yesterday, Ellen thought to herself as she sat beside Alex. Leo turned to her, his face rigid and void of emotion as he said, "Ellen, we will be making some important changes to the plan for the forth coming meeting with the board." With a trembling voice, Ellen managed to answer, Okay, sir." Glancing in Alex's direction, she saw he was not paying them any attention but was instead engrossed with something on his laptop. "The meeting has been moved; it would be taking place here on Monday, so I need you to make arrangements with other departments,"
Leo had gotten into the elevator before he remembered what he was putting on. "It’s not like anyone would come into my office at this time." He said to himself as he shook his head and added, "Why do I have to always forget that damn phone anyway?" The elevator door opened, and he stepped into his office. He had grown so familiar with the office that he didn’t bother to turn on the lights. "It’s not on the tables, nor is it in the drawers; where else could I have dropped it?" He muttered as he searched. Leo stood for a second and mentally replayed the day's activities in his mind to pinpoint the last place he had used the phone. A broad smile took over his face as he snapped his finger. "Bingo, the lounge; it should be on one of those seats, he muttered as he moved to check. As he bent to check the chair he had sat on, he heard his office door open. "Who’s there?" he heard Ellen’s voice say. Why was she still around? He thought. Just as he tried to call her attention, she turn
As Leo got to Ellen’s desk, he placed both hands on his waist, and with a hardened voice, he calmly said to Ellen, "Why did you omit the last document?"Ellen looked from him to Alex; she had no idea what document he spoke of.Choosing her words carefully, Ellen stuttered, "Mr. Warner, I packed all the documents you asked of me."Leo took a deep breath and combed his right hand through his hair, trying to calm himself as he asked her again. "The document about the presentation you were supposed to give?""Oh my god! Mr. Warner, I didn’t know you asked me to include that," Ellen replied, trying to salvage an already complicated situation."The first thing you should learn, Ellen, is that I hate excuses!" Leo said it with the coldest voice Ellen had ever heard as he went to his office.Alex turned to Ellen and asked her, his concern evident on his face, "Are you sure he didn’t ask you for it? Mr. Warner hardly forgets what documents he asks for."Confused and not knowing what to say, El