5

Aurora

I groaned as a beeping sound cut into my sweet dream. It was about me, and that man. He had been effectively thrusting into me making my insides shiver with pleasure.

Too bad I couldn't meet up with him in person.

My core was dripping wet by the time I got out of my bed. After the exciting night I'd had, I simply slumped into bed without the slightest regard for anything or anyone. I'd never felt so high in weeks.

Still though, no matter what I did, my chat partner just seemed content enough to watch me pleasure myself.

A chime led me to check my phone. $1500 dollars. I smiled to myself. He even threw in extra; our agreement had been $1000 dollars for each call. He had probably been extra pleased with me last night.

I considered staying back home today, because whatever the CEO would deduct from my payment, I'd already gotten it back and even more from just one night of fun. I pressed my phone to my chest and giggled.

Mr. King could go to hell for all I care. Soon, I'd be done with him and his arrogant ass. For now though, let me keep accumulating money from all my sources because good things seldom last forever.

I took a bath, dressed up, and even managed to wolf down an apple from my fridge all in the space of 30 minutes. This left me with just another 30 minutes to get to work, and a bus would typically take 15-20 minutes.

No, I was in a good mood today and a bus would ruin that. I found it shocking that people didn't like to pay attention to hygiene in the morning, because the buses were always so smelly and uncomfortable.

I took my phone and called a cab-hailing agency. The agent responded quickly, and after relaying my location and my destination to him, he told me that a cab would be at my place in less than five minutes.

I thanked him and cut the call, then got all my things together and left my apartment.

—

"Can't you do anything right, you idiot?" Mr. King said in a low tone. Just when I thought he couldn’t ruin my day.

I bent over to pick up the papers I'd accidentally dropped on the floor, biting my lower lip to keep myself from saying anything.

'Endure just a little longer,' I told myself, putting all the papers into one stack and placing it back on his desk. I look at him from underneath my lashes, hoping that he can't see what's going through my mind. In my head, I've already murdered him in five different ways.

He smirked. He actually had the audacity to smirk. "You look like you've got something to say to me. That little twitch your eye is doing," he pointed at my face, "it can't be anger, can it?"

I closed my eyes, trying to still the pounding in my chest. If I didn't get myself in check, I might have ended up doing something that I would have regretted later. I let my auburn hair fall over my face, acting as a curtain to my facial expression.

"Have you somehow lost the ability to speak, hmm? Answer me when I ask you a question," he prodded. This was what he loved to do, he'd pick me apart piece by piece and then put me back together in a disorganised manner. I hated that he could still do that to me, even after I'd come to believe that my skin had thickened over the few years I'd been working with him.

Still, I didn't open my mouth to speak. Let him for once understand how it felt to not have things go your way.

I raised my head, and folded my arms across my chest, staring at him directly in the eyes.

"Are you . . . giving me an attitude?" He scoffs. "I can't believe this. It seems like you need a reminder of who owns this place and who should be running around in circles to ensure that they don't lose their job."

Something in me snapped. My tongue moved before I could even think. "And what's your job, Mr. King, apart from being a bully?"

He was stunned into silence, staring at me with a surprised look in his eyes. He tilted his head to one side, so silent that I could only hear the sound of his breathing.

Laughter filled the air. It took me a moment to realise that it was his.

He clapped once, smiling freakishly. The stark handsomeness of his face when he was smiling caught me off guard. If he didn’t spend all his time scowling and barking orders at me, I'd no doubt be nursing a crush on him.

"So you do have some fire in you, four-eyes. I thought you had turned into a mute." He got up from his seat and made his way over to me, staring down at me with a strange look in his eyes. Even his choice of words didn't seem as harsh this time.

"Now, I'll let that slide just this once," his smile slid off his face like hot oil out of a pan, "but the next time you run your mouth like that again, I will have you out of here faster than you can say 'sorry'."

I pressed my lips together to stop them from trembling. What had I been thinking talking back to this man? What ever gave me the galls to even think that for once, he'd see that I wasn't some doormat and would actually treat me with some respect?

"Are we clear?"

I stared at his chest, stiff with anger at him, at myself, and at my parents. Did this man even have a heart beating within his chest? I blinked furiously to keep back my tears. The last thing I needed right now was to give him another reason to make fun of me. He already saw me as a weak person, he didn't need to think I was a crybaby as well.

I gasped when his hand nudged my chin upwards so that our eyes could connect. A shaky breath left my lungs, and I was left breathless at the simple act.

Now that I thought about it, he'd never been so close to me before, and he definitely didn't touch me unless in cases where it was absolutely unavoidable.

So why was he touching me now?

I jerked my face away from his touch, and stepped back from him. "Crystal," I said, and left his office, making sure to not slam the door shut with the amount of anger coursing through my veins.

When I stepped out of the office, other coworkers immediately started working back at their stations, trying to cover up the fact that they were eavesdropping and spying on Mr. King and I. After all this time, I wondered how they weren't tired of watching the same old, same old. Didn't they get tired? I wanted to scream in their faces and curse at them for being so nosy, but I swallowed down my anger the best I could. I stormed out, headed for the restrooms where I could hopefully get a good cry without drawing any attention.

"Aurora," It was Harriet, the HR manager of the company. She gently held on to my arm and tried to pull me to her side.

I shook my head and cut away her grip. "No. Leave me alone, just," my shaky breath came out hoarse and thick with tears, "leave me alone."

She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she just clamped her mouth shut, nodded sadly, and stepped to the side so I could pass.

I rushed into the restroom and closed the door behind me, before stepping into a stall and locking myself in. I take a seat on the pristine toilet, and shove my head into my hands.

And cry silently.

I'd grown well-versed in the art of silent crying. Since the day my parents left me all alone, whenever I cried I would muffle the sounds of my sobbing, especially since the walls of the apartment were so thin that anyone on the other side could hear if they listened closely enough.

I stayed there for so long that my legs started to become numb, but by then I was done letting all my tears out. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I unlocked the screen.

'Would you available tonight at 10pm?'

My eyes widened. It was my chat partner from the app. Even though there was no one else in the cubicle with me, I still looked around before looking back at the screen.

I took note of his immaculate grammar, a plus in my books. My heart did a little flip as I took in the message over and over again.

Finally, I summed up the courage to finally type back a response.

'Yeah, if my boss lets me get off early.'

Three dots popped up, undulating as he typed a response.

'You have another job?'

'Yes. Did you think all I did was pose in front of a camera for a living? *winking emoji*'

'Versatility. Sexy. I would like to see some of that tonight.'

'If you're lucky, you might.'

The main door to the restroom opened, and heels clacked as someone stepped in, followed by another person. One gave an exaggerated sigh as she walked over to a point, before turning on a tap.

I stiffened, and quickly put my phone on silent mode. I looked down at the screen, and a litte pang of disappointment ran through me when I noticed that he didn't give another reply. He, just like me, probably just needed a way to escape from hellish reality.

"Good God, could he just fire her already if he hates her so much?" The voice belonged to none other than Belle Gorgio, one of my coworkers who seemed to have a bone to pick with me ever since the day Mr. King picked me as his personal secretary instead of her.

I could only see their legs, but somehow, I could tell that the other person there was likely Freda Vaughn, the woman that somehow followed her around everywhere like they were still high-school kids. I heard that Freda had been a friend-slash-slave to Belle since they were in middle school, and somehow even made it so that they could be together at the company.

"I mean, he's been on her case since she got here, and somehow he still decides to keep her. What does he see in her?" Belle ranted. The faucet turned off moments later.

"I don't know, could they probably be in a relationship?" asked Freda. The question came off as uncertain, something meant to gain Belle's approval.

"Yes, you nitwit. They probably are, and that's why he's fucking screaming in her face every single day." She scoffed. "Do you even think sometimes?"

"I-I'm sorry. Um . . ." Freda tried to salvage the conversation, but it was obviously down the pipe drain.

"Um-um-um what?" Belle mocked. "Just keep quiet, nothing sensible ever comes out of that mouth of yours. Now get out of my fucking way."

Belle walked off, Freda following closely behind. The restroom door groaned as they opened it, and closed softly.

I shook my head, before stepping out of the cubicle. Just as I was walking over to the sink, someone stepped back into the restroom, and I stiffened, looking over my shoulder.

It was Freda. She'd forgotten her purse, or maybe Belle's, and came to pick it up.

She looked at me for one long moment, looking confused. "Did you just come in?  I didn't see anyone enter."

I wanted to say something sarcastic, but it didn’t seem right. Instead, I just nodded and turned on the tap before me. Water gushed down into the sink, and I placed my hands underneath it.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Freda looking at me for a couple of more moments, looking on the verge of speaking, until Belle called her name from outside.

"Freda!"

Just like that, she left, scurrying out like Belle had the keys to her life and would throw it away at any moment.

When I was done pretending, I left the restroom, mind already far away in the privacy of my apartment and within my room.

I couldn't wait to see what the night would bring.