Indebted

Mr. Jones had dismissed everyone from orientation not long after having his assistant jot down their names and what areas they wish to work on within the building. However, I was still cleaning up the mess I made, making sure to sweep and collect as much as the mug that I possibly could. I was grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter to press onto the floor to collect the possible shards that even a broom couldn’t sweep up when I realized he was still in the room.

“Mr. Jones, don’t you have any other duties for the day to occupy your time other than watching me clean up?” I stated with slight irritation. I mean how could that man introduce himself to me with his first name and expect me to not be shocked when I realized he was my boss. Such a shame, I had liked him.

“Miss Blackwood, my schedule is clear for the day, and I wish to speak with you” he said calmly as he sat in the bean bag chair. “You wish to speak to me about what, sir? I am rectifying the situation by cleaning up the mess I made, so that your janitors won’t have a hard time”. He looks at me with his arms crossed, with slight amusement. “Well I’ve never seen anyone use bread to pick up shards. I’d say it’s rather interesting”. “Then you must know common methods, I’ve been doing this since I was a child” I retorted.

“Are you going to continue to speak to me in that tone Miss Blackwood? I must say you’re the first person to ever do so”. I looked up at him then. He was looking directly at me with a smirk plastered on his face. “And what do I get for receiving the title of being the first person to ever do so?” I asked. He continued to look at me in the most peculiar way, and then began to seem lost in thought for a moment before he spoke. “Perhaps, Miss Blackwood, you’d like to spend the day with me to discuss what it is exactly you’d like to do with my lobby. I’m quite fond of how it looks. And I don’t actually like change when it comes to things I admire” he stated.

After finishing cleaning up, I threw away the squished bread. I looked at him again. “And where do you propose we take this meeting to, your office perhaps?”. He stood up from the bean bag chair then and stalked towards me. “No Allie. I suggest we go get you something more appropriate for you to wear while you are within my company. You seemed to have busted a seam when you cleaning just now, and I can see everything. And, I happen to know just the place to go to”. He said as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my waist.

I followed my boss out of the building. And let me tell you when I say that having people stare at me because I was so close to him, let alone wearing his clothing around my waist, was making me feel extremely uncomfortable. As we reached the street, a driver pulled up and Atlas opened the door for me to get in. We both sat in the back seat, next to each other, and I stared out the window. I was hoping to zone out. It was all I could do to distract myself from this hunk of a man sitting next to me. I heard him tell the driver of a business I’ve never been to, and we drove on to our first stop of many.

To say he was talking me shopping for replacement office clothes was an understatement. I ended up leaving the first store with 7 skirts, 7 blouses, 5 business dresses and 3 jackets. The second place he took me to he had purchased 4 pairs of heels. No matter how many times I told him he didn’t need to buy me anything, and that everything was too much he would just give me that commanding look, and state that it was his pleasure to assist me, I had no choice but to submit and to say my thanks. Everywhere we went we attracted attention. I mean he is one of the most eligible bachelors in the city, and here he was doing things for me, buying things for me. I couldn’t help but think to myself…but at what cost?