Chapter three

Zina.

I wish I could go back to yesterday night. I wish I could turn back the hands of the clock, then I wouldn’t have drank that strong drink, and I wouldn’t have had the courage to fuck my soon-to-be boss, because everything presently looked awkward.

As the receptionist of Neil Incorporated shoved me inside the office, I didn’t think for a second that the man I pulled to my bed was the owner of a big, established company. I probably would have noticed him if I weren’t drunk, I mean, his faces were in magazines like Timeless and Vogue> America's hottest billionaires. I might just melt.

The CV I held with my handbag nearly fell off from the shock. It took a whole deal of willpower to stop myself from falling, too.

I closed the door of the office and stood, waiting for his message or directions. From people, I heard he was strict and formal with whatever he did. I wondered how I was courageous to talk to him like that. My knees were weak at this moment.

What a small world.

His deadly smile didn’t leave his face. “We meet again, You. It is a small world.” Exactly what I said.

I sat in my chair and tried to hide the embarrassment from evading my face. I smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Honduras.” Shit, that felt so weird.

He smiled. “So, are we going to pretend that nothing happened at all? I love this game. What’s your name?”

Words left my mouth. Literally. “Zina.”

“Just Zina?” he reclined into his floppy seat and gave out a hard, belly laugh. “Just Zina.”

I could see he basked in my frustration. With the littlest courage I could muster, I replied, “Zina Payton.”

I waited for him to ask me a series of questions, but he didn’t, instead, he looked at me with interest. I wished to be anywhere else.

He arched his eyebrow and then clapped his hands together. “I see what you did.”

I was baffled by this rich, handsome man. “What did I do?”

“You’re so smart. I’ll give you that. It was all planned, huh? You knew I’d come to that bar, you were stalking me, and then, you knew how to make your shots. You drank so that you could lure me to your house, and in the end, so I can give you a job. Well, Zina, I give you credit for your smartness. You’re trying to buy me, huh?”

My eyes stung with tears. I’d give that one to alcohol for bringing me this far. I did all of those without even thinking, and Mr. Honduras thought I did all that planned. My voice cracked in tears. “I didn’t know about you two days ago. I didn’t plan for all these to happen.”

He chuckled. “Hmm… you’re an interesting character. I gave you that and you gave it all away. So, tell me, did I satisfy you enough?”

His face made my heart swell. Through his Armani suit, I could see his bulging biceps. He moved it on purpose, laughing even. He knew what his body could do to me.

I cowered and shifted my gaze in another direction. “Mr. Honduras, can we not talk about what happened yesterday? It was all a mistake. I was drunk and lost control of myself…” shame didn’t allow me to complete what I was saying.

“You didn’t answer my question.” All of a sudden, he wasn’t smiling. Or smirking. His voice burned like brimstone, melting up my blood, and making me pale. “Did I satisfy you enough? Yes or No?”

He did satisfy me, yes, but I couldn’t tell him that. I couldn’t face him. He was drop-dead handsome. He was rude. He was intimidating. He was good in bed.

“I’m waiting.”

My silence meant I was calculating the odds. I didn’t want to be stuck up with a narcissist, but the pay was tempting.

“Mr. Honduras, I can’t answer your question.”

He smiled. “You have to. Remember, I am the boss here. You have to do what I tell you.”

Yes, I needed money, but I couldn’t be used as a ragdoll. I gathered my CV together and tucked it in my bag. “Then, I’m leaving. I quit. I’m no longer applying. Suit yourself. Find someone that will answer all your questions. I am out of here.” I didn’t even listen to myself any longer, but I knew I was blurting out the rubbish.   

I didn’t even get the time to look at his face, but my reaction took him aback. He was silent, looking at me packed up. If there was one thing I accomplished here, it was the fact I made a proud man silent.

 I swerved around and headed for the door, raising my head high. I walked out of the hallway and Margaret looked at me with apologetic eyes. “Did he say anything?”

I shook my head. "I didn't get the job."

She gave a sad smile. "It's no problem. Mr. Honduras is very picky about what he wants. That's just him."

I didn't reply, I only nodded. "Yeah, I better be heading out."

As I walked out of this great empire, I wondered if I should have let my emotions get the best of me. I should have waited and answered his dumb question.  Maybe I would have gotten the job. 

I sighed and walked out, going down to meet the Uber I had called for. I keyed in my address and cried all the way home, using the CV as my toilet paper. I was grateful the Uber driver didn't make any comment or facial gestures toward my attitude. 

I got home and slapped the thick door, crying up to the kitchen, and up to the fridge. I dug out a bucket of ice cream from the freezer and a big spoon. I needed to eat sadly. 

I scooped a big, frozen vanilla into my mouth and felt the chill that hit my teeth, my brain also froze. 

I cried as I spilled ice cream all over, licking the ones that flew around the corners of my mouth. My sniffles were real and painful. 

I needed to call my friends.

I dialed all three of them that took me to the bar and they promised to come to my house as soon as they could. I waited, using ice cream as my companion. 

When they knocked, I opened the door for them and let them in, crying into their shoulders. 

They were perplexed and looked at me with pity. "What's wrong? Did Gabriel do something?"

I sniffed. Jasmine took the ice cream away from me and dabbed away ice cream from the top of my mouth. Three pairs of eyes were fixed on my mouth, waiting for what I'd say. 

"You know everything that happened yesterday. The club and how you guys didn't find me again…?"

They nodded like robots. "Yes."

I cleared my throat. "I went to the bartender and took shots. Lots of shots. And then I became very drunk."

They all gasped. It was unlike me to drink in public places. I was a lightweight drinker, so I avoided alcohol in public.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for that." Still Jasmine. The rest were dumbstruck to talk.

"Yap. So, there was this guy that helped me out. He took me home in his Tesla, I think. He brought me down to my bedroom and shoved me in bed."

"That's adorable…" I didn't know who made the statement, but I replied. 

"It was adorable until it wasn't. Maybe because I was under the influence of alcohol or I was trying to get over Gabriel, I was pushed by him. I mean, he was handsome in the dark, with muscles and…"

"We get it, Zina." 

I nodded. "So, I made love to him. It was intense. He was better than Gabriel at handling me."

"Wicked." Kathy hollered. 

"That wasn't the bad thing there. The thing is…" I took a deep breath, trying to know how to voice this out. 

"The man I slept with is Neil Honduras." What I said dropped like a bombshell to all their ears. 

Jasmine tried to recollect herself.  

"Neil Honduras? The man that has been in the magazine for a long time? The man has been said to be America's hottest billionaire. Neil Honduras? Fuck." 

"Wicked." Kathy fussed.

"This is good, isn't it?" Bella finally spoke up. 

We all laughed. Even in my silence and ice cream drowning, I laughed loud. "It was. Until it wasn't."

"You know I told you I was scouting for a job, and I happened to get a vacancy as a secretary at Neil Incorporated."

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

"That's the word for it," I answered. 

"That must have been cool. Walking up to his office only to find out that this was the man you fucked with." 

I retorted. "It wasn't cool at all."

"What do you mean? You got out a piece of a rich, hot, rich again, billionaire, and you're saying it wasn't cool? Girl!" 

I rolled my eyes. "I wish to undo it. He kept asking me questions, tormenting me with yesterday's actions. He's bloody wicked. He's a narcissist and he's wicked. I hate him. I hate him a lot, so I had to leave without going through the interview. I told him I didn't want to work for him."

Three of my friends were silent, trying to take in all that I'd said. Jasmine started. "Who cares if you hate him or not? You need this job! A secretary for Neil Honduras?! What an honor that will be. His fucking secretary, Zina. You can't be serious."

I turned to my ice cream. "I know. After I left the office, I had this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that all I did was wrong. I shouldn't have left. I made the wrong decision, didn't I?"

They all nodded. "A big one."

They rubbed my shoulders. "Well, I guess it's over now. There were lots of ladies seated there, waiting for the spot in the secretarial position. He must have picked someone by now."

We all sighed heavily, watching ourselves in anguish. Suddenly, my phone's beep brought us back to reality. I picked it up from my sofa and without checking the caller, I put it up to my ears. 

It could be Gabriel. 

"Hello," it was a female voice. "Is this Zina Payton?" I was perplexed, but I answered. 

"Yes, I am."

"Good." The caller said. "I am Margaret from Neil Incorporation, and I've called you to inform you that you got the job of being Mr. Honduras's secretary."

My jaws dropped. "But, I didn't continue my application."

"It doesn’t matter. He wants you for the job. He requested you be here first thing tomorrow morning. He has a lot of things listed out for you."

My friend's eyes lit up. I shooed them so I could talk back to Margaret. "Okay. Noted."

The call went off and screams erupted from the throats of my three crazy friends. 

"Well, I guess, you've gotten yourself a hot boss. Hope you don't fall too hard."

I blushed. And then, I screamed.