2

Theodore 

My heart beats into my throat as I have my stomach churning repeatedly. 

The petite woman at the reception glances over to me from time to time and I always manage to catch myself and flash her a smile. 

At least I hope so. 

And I hope I don’t look like a creep. 

A man in an elegant suit shows up, reaching me with a kind smile and I get up, shaking his hand. “Mr. Baxter, welcome to the Hel Company. We are pleased to have you here.” 

I just can’t wrap my mind around how fitting the company name is after what the regular customer told me. 

“Thank you for having me,” I answer, pulling at my tie to make sure it didn’t shift as I follow him.

But how many times have I heard that sentence before, and how many times they were, indeed, not pleased to have me in their offices? 

I still wonder what gets them to invite me. 

At least, I know that in this case, it was a recommendation. 

He leads me into the meeting room, and I keep myself from staring in awe as I look around, admiring the artwork hanging in the luxurious room. 

“Please, feel free to take whatever seat you’d like to,” he offers, gesturing with his arm. 

I clear my throat as I take my seat, repositioning my tie. “Thank you.” 

“So,” he starts, filling two glasses with water. “Why don’t we start with you telling me about yourself?” 

Clearing my throat again, I start reciting my usual presentation, where I come from and all the places I worked with. For this job specifically, I thought about what I could say to cover my missing experience in tech and found a few points with which I can enhance my ability to learn fast and shows an affinity for the job. 

The interviewer smiles the entire time and after having asked a few innocuous questions, he pulls out the heavy ammunition. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, still in a polite tone. “But even if we were impressed by your CV, we really want to know why you want to work in tech support as you have never worked in it. We are not quite sure if you could live up to our expectations.” 

Why did you fucking summon me then?

My heart gets pierced by a stinging pain, and I shift in my seat to cover my fear of failing once again. “Well, I’m ready for a new challenge. When I heard about your job offer, I knew that I could do it, otherwise I would never have applied. I know that I might miss some kind of expertise, but I’m a hard-working guy. Ready to go the extra mile to succeed in my job.” 

He nods, his sympathetic smile motivating me as I reposition in my seat. “If you hire me, you can be sure that you have a dedicated worker as a part of your team. I heard that this job requires a lot of dedication, and I don’t need much sleep.” 

Grinning, I roll back my shoulders, playing the ace up my sleeve. 

“That sounds fantastic. But we are still a bit doubtful about your tech knowledge and the ability to support the CEO from day one,” he says, and at this point, I just want to wipe his stupid smile off his face. 

Sadistic little asshole.

Renewing my smile, I acknowledge that at this point, I just have to make it through this horrific interview and I can get drunk at Alex’s bar. 

Maybe that’s my sign to get laid and I’ll finally make it into a gay bar. 

I figure that he is pissed because he had to interview me. After all, I got recommended by a co-worker, so I just push my pride down. “I understand your concern, but I’m motivated to go to courses and do some self-studying on the matter while starting out here. With my knowledge of mechanics, I’m sure that I will get into–” 

The door opens, making my heart drop to my stomach and I swallow the words I was just planning to say. 

The interviewer looks at me with furrowed brows before turning around and flicking his fingers. “Ah, great timing, Mr. Helades.” 

He stands up, gesturing towards the armoire of a man who just walked in. I do the same, my jaw still on the floor as I skyrocket out of my seat, hitting myself against the table. 

“Ni– Nice to meet you,” I stutter awkwardly as I hold my hand out to him. “A– And thank you for this opportunity.” 

He looks at my hand with a disgusted expression before opening the lower button of his jacket to sit down. 

Wiping my sweaty palm against my pants, I sit down feeling like the biggest idiot ever. 

As he studies my file while the interviewer chatters along, I get to observe him closer. 

I must be damned and out of my mind but I’m a hundred percent sure that it’s him. 

He clenches his jaw as he studies my certificates with an unimpressed expression and the fantastic flashback of those juicy lips wrapped around my cock resurfaces in my mind. 

My heart flips in my chest as the voice of the interviewer fades into the background, my mind getting more and more sure about the fact that it is him. 

The man from the shadows. 

The man who has been haunting my dreams for weeks and months is now sitting in front of me. 

The man who hasn’t left my thoughts even for a second, fueling all my desires. 

He is the CEO I would be supposed to work for, giving my soul for an insane pay. 

And God, if you ever get to do something for me, I beg you, please! 

Let me be his little bitch. 

I am just about to say something to him, my mind racing as I’m sure of the thought that he did recognize me on the CV and wanted to see me. 

That it wasn’t because the regular had told HR. 

“Why did we invite this one, Brad?” he asks in an annoyed tone, shattering my stupid hopes in one blow. 

His deep voice makes me shudder pleasantly, causing him to look at me with a raised brow. 

Can it even get more embarrassing? 

His voice is exactly how it sounded in my dreams. Deep, raucous, domineering.  

“His CV was sent to me by Helga from HR. She thought he would make a good match,” Brad, the idiot interviewer answers. 

Mr. Helades turns his head to me, sneering. “You haven't got a single bit of experience!” 

I wet my lips with my tongue, feeling like the air has been pushed out of me with a punch into my stomach. 

“Yes, but as I was saying–” I start but he interrupts me right away. 

Pushing himself off the table to stand up, he glares down at me while closing his button back up again. “I’m not wasting my time here.” 

He leaves the room, leaving me behind to stare after him agape. 

“Well, I guess you will hear from us,” Brad says in a good mood, and I flash him a sarcastic smile. 

“Thank you.” 

Asshole.