ELLEN
The reception was large and there were many people walking around, paying no attention to who came in or went out. Security cameras were mounted at different angles. Lily explained everything about the office to me. She didn't want anyone to know we knew each other until I got the job. I took the elevator by the right which she had told me led to Oliver's cubicle.Once the elevator chimed, I stepped out into another reception. Four other women sat on a bench looking tensed. A young, handsome man approached me."Are you here for the interview?" I nodded, suddenly losing my voice. He looked at his wristwatch. "You are ten minutes late."They were time conscious. "I am sorry.""What's your name?""Ellen Knight."He glanced through the paper, pronouncing my name as he looked through. I stood there looking all firm, but I was crawling on my hands and knees inside. He looked up and smiled."It's your lucky day, Ellen Knight. You are next. Have a seat.""Thank you," I breathed and walked over to a tiny space left on the bench and puffed out a deep breath.I was lucky indeed. If I had wasted more time outside this office, I wouldn't have gotten a chance for the interview. I fanned myself with my hands, hoping my makeup was not cloggy. The room was suddenly so hot."Ellen, you are up next," the young man announced and my heart sank into my abdomen. I looked at the woman leaving the office where DIRECTOR was boldly inscribed in a golden plaque on the top frame of the door, she looked flustered.I walked up to the door, knocked once, and went in. Oliver Monero was sitting behind his desk, looking ruggedly handsome in a white button-up shirt with the first few buttons open, he had no tie on. He was looking at some documents and didn't bother to look up when I came in. I stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do or say. I didn't know if I should speak first or not. After a while of silence, I thought he had forgotten that I was standing there and decided to introduce myself."Hi, I am Ellen Knight and I am here for the—""What's your name?" his cold, curt voice cut me off. He still didn't bother to look up at me.I blinked twice and swallowed the blow before replying."Ellen Knight.""Are you single?"My brows furrowed slightly at the personal question, but I answered anyway. "Yes." My voice came out hoarse."Do you live alone?""No." He was still looking at the documents in his hands."Do you eat shrimp?""No." This man was weirder than I thought. I don't eat shrimp or anything about it because Sophie was allergic to shrimp."Do you believe in love?"I paused. Love. What kind of love? I loved Sophie, my family, and my friends, but I don't think I believed in romance or romantic love since it has messed up my life in more ways than I could imagine."I— I don't believe in love.""You don't easily for in love, do you?""No," I replied briskly. I can never fall in love again, not after it took me to the back room and beat me black and blue.His eyes left the papers and focused on me. I saw them squint at me in a bit of confusion and recognition. My eyes fluttered and dropped on the dark spruce desk."Do I know you from somewhere?""Not...not…really," I stuttered. My heart hammered so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. Part of me was relieved that he didn't recognize me as that would have cost me this job. But the other part of me; a subtle part that wanted to matter to him was disappointed that he didn't remember me, even after the bar experience, and my resentment for him doubled.He waved it off. "It's not important anyway. The important thing is that you landed yourself this job. You will meet Dante for the job description and if you are not comfortable with it, you can say, I will let you go."Before I had the time to digest the news and rejoice, he was already speaking on the intercom."Dante, I think I found the right person for the job. You can dismiss the rest." He turned to me. "Miss Knight, your work starts at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow at my place. I want my coffee creamy with a lot of sugar and I want it ready before I wake. Drop your address with Dante before you leave, someone would pick you up by 6:15."He was so much like Sophie. She loves sugar a lot and wanted her hot chocolate creamy. I guess that was a trait they had in common. This would be tough on Sophie and me as I won't see her as often as I wanted anymore. Lily recommended an older woman who worked as a nanny a few blocks away from us, just like mom did before she died. I will drop her off with the woman as I go out in the morning."Are there any questions?" his gruff voice brought me back. His dark, brown brooding eyes were fixed on me.I was so confused and overwhelmed that I couldn't think of anything at the moment. I had a lot of questions to ask but I will remember them later."Can I think about the questions and ask them later?""As you wish. You can go get your description from Dante, the man you met outside." I nodded and turned to leave. "One more thing." I halted. "Don't ever call me by my name, even if it's by mistake. We shall remain formal and don't try to touch me."I was never planning to become informal with him anyway."Yes, sir," I said and left the office.The other ladies were all gone before I came out and I somehow felt sad for them. The man called Dante walked up to me with a broad smile."Congratulations, Miss Knight, you got yourself a job."My face widened in a smile. I think I like Dante. "Thank you.""I told you it's your lucky day and you are just as lucky." I kept grinning from ear to ear as he shook my hand. I was indeed lucky. "Now, follow me, let me teach you all you need to know about this job. The dos and don'ts."I trailed behind him feeling like I just won the prize in a big contest.ELLEN I jerked up at the sound of the alarm, stretched, and yawned. It was still dark, but if I wanted to keep this job, I would have to sacrifice my time. Sophie was still asleep when I checked on her and it broke my heart to wake her up so early in the morning. I did not want to bother Lily with my responsibilities, so I did not bother to ask her for help in getting Sophie ready for the day. Sophie whined when I shook her and went back to sleep. She was still enjoying her sleep, and I did not want to disturb her. So, I let her sleep while I prepared breakfast and packed her lunch. It was the mistake I made because when I was done with finally getting Sophie ready, it was 6:30 a.m. on the dot. The driver was already there since 6:00 a.m. and I was not done by 6:30 am. I dragged a half-awake Sophie across the lawn to the waiting driver. "I am so sorry," I apologized without looking at the person. I got into the backseat and placed Sophie beside me, her head fell on
ELLEN The first day in the office was pretty hectic but I was not permitted to complain. Oliver had me everywhere and I could hear the whispers from the other staff members in his cubicle sympathizing with me, but I was not bothered because I was there for a purpose. My desk was directly opposite Oliver's office, and he had floor-to-ceiling glass walls, so he could see me through his office— that meant I was not allowed to have useless chatters when he was around. Nothing much happened on the first day. Oliver did not yell at me, nor give me much attention, he only acted like I was not there. The next day, I woke up earlier than usual and got Sophie ready for school. I am not sure she will ever get used to being awake so early and my heart broke each time she whined and sobbed, but I had a goal I wanted to achieve. It was for her medicine, and I needed health insurance for her. Lily offered to take Sophie to Ms. Maggie, her guardian. I got to Oliver's place at exactly 6:00
ELLEN "Eight, nine, ten, eleven..." I heard Sophie's voice as I walked into Ms. Maggie's apartment to pick her up. I was knackered from work. I worked tirelessly today, as I was also supposed to run some errands for the HRM department. An important event was coming up next week, and we needed to prepare for it. I did not know what it entailed, but the day was hectic for me. "Mommy!" Sophie squealed and ran to me. I quickly squatted and spread my arms and she flew into them in a fit of giggles. "You are late," she announced. "I am so sorry, baby. How was your day?" "I became the queen of our dance today." "Oh, that's superb." Sophie had always liked dancing and had said she would become a ballet dancer when she grew up. She won the queen of her ballet class back in New York and led the dance. Now, she was pulling weight here in her new school in California too. I have never been happier. "Our annual ballet dance is coming up next week," s
ELLEN That day after work, another man home drove me. This man was stone-faced, just like Oliver, and never spoke to me on our drive back home. For the next couple of days, he picked me up and dropped me back. Sophie's annual ballet dance was fast approaching, and I was getting worried as the day went by. I was scared I would not be able to make it and I did not know how I would her in the eyes and explain that I had to work and forfeit her dance. I do not want to be a terrible mom at all. The intercom rang, jerking me out of my thoughts. I looked through Oliver's office, he was looking down at a file. I stood and went over to the door, knocked, and went in. He did not look up when I got in. I was used to him not giving me attention. I do not feel anything else for him now except resentment and I kept wondering what I saw in him. He was not wearing a tie as usual, and his first two buttons were left unbuttoned. I do not know why he always dressed like that. He did not
OLIIVER I walked out of my office, it was late and every person had left including my assistant. I stood in front of her desk for a while with my hands stucked into my pockets, watching her desk. So far, she had been the only asistant that had survived me since I came. The first two girls were colossial disappointments. The first one kept making passes at me, hinting that she wanted me to fuck her and had grabbed my erection one day in my office. I had to expose her in the office and she packed up and quitted the next day. The second always ogled at me, although she did not make passes at me. She alsways made mistakes and expected me to rub her furs. But I did not add anyone to my payroll to pet them, they worked for me and should know what they should do. She packed up and left too and I found Miss Knight. When I called for an interview, I made sure to know the women's perspectives about falling helplessly in love and her answer impressed me the most. While other women fant
ELLEN I stood there helplessly with my cell phone in my ear. How was I going to tell Kennedy that I needed to go to work? Everything Oliver Monero said replayed in my head. Kennedy had flown in from New York to visit Sophie and me for the weekend and we decided to have the best weekend of our lives. Kennedy was a lover of steak and I decided to treat him to it that night. Sophie and Lily were on their own little date, and we were all having fun on that Friday night until my phone went off and Oliver flashed on it. I was surprised at first and stared at my phone like it was something foreign to me, wondering why Oliver Monero was calling my line. He has never called my phone and always reached me through Dante. It was that curiosity that made me answer the phone and I regretted it immediately. The first thing he asked was where I was, I told him I went out and was not in the house, but that did not stop his wicked heart from requesting my presence. "I need you at
ELLEN My heart hammered against my chest. I was so engrossed in the thought of Oliver's death that I forgot the symptoms of an asthma attack. My mother had asthma and Sophie has it too, but at that moment, I forgot the severe shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing, and wheezing. Tears were now streaming down my eyes as I was oblivious about what to do. I had to gently stand and search for his phone to look for help, but it was locked and there were no numbers in his emergency contact except for one saved with a heart emoji. I was not interested in what it meant at that moment, so I dialed it. It rang and I heard the sound upstairs. I looked up toward the stairs and looked at the man wheezing on the floor and that was when it hit me. He was asthmatic. With the phone still in my hand, I ran back to him and searched his pockets, but his reliever inhaler was not there. I quickly dropped the phone on the table and went to help him sit up. He was a heavy man, but I tried to
ELLEN I went down the stairs, grabbed my purse from the kitchen, and stomped away from the mansion. I refused to let the tears that stung my eyes fall. I would not cry for whatever he did. I should know by now that he was a bloody, God-forsaken ingrate. I bumped into someone by the living room door because I did not pay attention to where I was going. Looking up, I saw Dante looking at me with a slight frown. I blinked and made to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and drew me back. "Hey, Ellen, are you alright? " "Yeah, I am fine. I need to go." "I can drop you. Oliver asked me to pick some files and I will be heading to the office from here." "I am not going to the office," I said in a hoarse voice. I did not want to speak to anyone at that moment and wished Dante would understand, but he was not giving up. "Did you not come to make coffee for Oliver? I did not see your driver around." "Dante, I did not come from home, I slept