At the O.S. Publishing Headquarters
The President's Office
Noah Creed sat down with his cold coffee, ready to pounce on Bastad, daring to disturb his quiet time. Luckily, no one dared come in. He felt upset after dealing with his mother, who always left him feeling terrible—that vicious, hungry money serpent.
Like forcing him to get married and produce offspring wasn’t enough.
Now he is being forced to marry into the Keyes family of models; their last child, Jesse something, Keyes, who, by the way, is not even up to twenty, given the circumstances, will be old enough to be his daughter.
He already has a lot on his plate to deal with; being transferred here without his consent was already a big problem for him. He wants no more painful trouble but his mother will not let him be. Engaging the young model was the only thing he could do to keep her at bay.
"Oh, damn! My head hurts again." That familiar pain hit him. Since he was a kid, he had these terrible headaches, like someone banging a metal rod on his head. It hurt so much that he often ended up in the hospital. He'd been taking medications for ages, and because of that damn woman, he forgot to take them this time.
Scanning the room, Noah wondered where his darn secretary was when needed. James, his personal secretary, was supposed to be around. "He always acts on his own, that jerk, just because we grew up together."
Grabbing the phone, it rang, and the voice on the other end started, "Hello, you are speaking to the..."
"Shut the fuck up and get me, Secretary James, now." Damn, those voices always got on his nerves.
There was a gasp and a pause on the other end before the response, "Oh, yes, sir, just a second." After what felt like an eternity, "he is on his way, sir," the voice replied.
Eventually, James walked—no, more like strolled in. "Sir, you sent for me?"
"Yes, James! Seriously, do I have to call on you all the time before you do your job? Would it kill you to have a sense of responsibility, huh?"
"Huh..." James stammered, confused. "My apologies, sir. If you could tell me where I've gone wrong, I'd appreciate it." James inquired, puzzled.
What an asshole! 'You were supposed to follow me into the office,'" he said calmly, trying not to trigger his throbbing headache, which seemed to have gone down a notch. "But for some reason, you chose to ignore me. May I remind you, James, that your office is next to mine and not the receptionist?"
"Of course, sir," James replied distantly, then added, "but YOU told me to help out with the new intake. I was just following YOUR orders, sir."
He looked at his secretary confusedly, then sighed hard, realizing, "Oh!" he said with his head down. "I did say that, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did, sir, and here are the names." James handed over a sheet of paper.
As he examined the names, something clicked in his head. Just as he was about to take the papers containing the names, he added, "That ogling lady, please remove her name from the retained intake. There's a lot on my mind right now, and I cannot be worrying about some perverted staff."
And here we go again, pretending to be ignorant of his boss's disdain for that sort of thing. "Oh, there was someone like that? I didn't know," James replied with a smile.
"What? You were right beside me, James. How could you not notice her? Anyway, find out who she is and take her name off. I don't want to have such issues here," he said, eyes fixed on James, daring him to argue.
"Sure," James replied, not bothering to look at what his boss said, and walked out. Outside the boss's office, James stood, watching the swarm of staff going back and forth. Noah Creed, a man who despises flirtatious women, especially when they work for him.
This would be the twenty-fourth female staff he dismissed since they transferred here. "If you don't like being ogled at, how about burning your face; handsome bastard," James cursed silently. He's blessed with such handsomeness yet hates being stared at, "while others like us are dying for such attention. God can be so cruel at times." With a devilish smile, he added, "Hmm! I think I'm gonna turn a blind eye to this one. Who knows, this might just be the break I need." He proceeded with the names, just as they were.
***
Grace felt uncomfortable as she sat in one place, then stood and paced from one spot to another, deep in thought. A man wearing a black and white suit came out and spoke to them.
"Listen up! We've concluded only twenty intakes will be fully retained, so please, when you hear your name, wait behind."
There was tension in the air as he called out the names. She could hear many mutters as the man continued calling names. Grace held her breath, waiting to hear her name. But when it seemed like nothing of that sort was happening, he called the last name.
"Grace Bush?" But no one responded. James turned his head around, calling out the name more aggressively, "Grace Bush?" Still, no response. "Is there no one with such a name?" he asked.
"Hey! Isn't that your name?" Susan said as she stood up from her desk and walked over to Grace, whose head was bent down, lost in thought.
"What?" Grace heard the name again. "Oh! Yes, yes, sir, that's me," she said as she looked at him while murmuring to herself, "I've never been so nervous in my life."
James took a long look at her, examining her. "The daydreaming girl, hmmm, not bad looking," he muttered, smiling. Then she added, "That's all; the rest of you can be on your way. Thank you for your time."
Just like that, she was retained. "Oh, yes!" she shrieked in excitement.
While the intakes who were not retained left, they were assigned to various departments. Grace remained in this particular one, and mentors were assigned to them.
She sat on a wooden chair close to the photocopier. "This is unbelievable. I can't wait to inform Mr. Bert and Mrs. Hail of the good news," she said excitedly as she brought out her phone. A voice called out from behind her—one she didn't need a soothsayer to know whose it was.
Susan! What does she want? Way to spoil the mood. Grace then smiled and turned her head. "Oh! Hi," she said, trying her best to remain collected.
Susan laughed, probably noticing her struggle to stay composed. "Congratulations," she said with her hands stretched out.
Well, Grace thought since she was congratulating her, there was no reason she shouldn't accept. So she took Susan's hands and said, "Thanks."
"You are most welcome. Now follow me," Susan said, then turned and walked away.
"Okay," Grace answered, trying not to sound annoyed, and followed behind her.
Susan stopped in front of a cabinet with a big wooden desk and a brand new computer. She turned to Grace. "This..." she said, pointing at the desk, "from now on, will be your office. Mine is over there," pointing at a more polished and presentable desk with a laptop and a computer. Wondering why she wasn't given something like that, Susan continued, "You'll sign in by the front desk as early as 7:30 am, but office activities resume by 8:00 am, shape and..."
Grace stared at the desk, unfocused. While Susan continued speaking, her voice started to fade. Grace was deep in thought, with a lot of questions popping into her head. Like, why was Susan the one directing her? it's supposed to be her mentor, right?
By the time Grace came around, Susan had stopped talking and was now glaring at her. "What?"
"Back from the land of dreams?" Susan asked dryly. "Do you do that often?"
"What?" Grace asked, pretending.
"That annoying thing you do when others are talking to you—your mind suddenly just travels. Seriously, since you keep visiting that dreamland of yours, even when you are working, it must be interesting." Susan, now folding her hands across her enormous round chest, stared hard at Grace.
‘Why don’t you try it? she almost blurted out and choked. She couldn't possibly let them know about that other side of her, the crazy side, at least not now. While she continued glaring at her, Grace kept quiet and just stared back; she was not easily intimidated, sorry.
After a while, Susan sighed out of frustration and said, "Look, Grace; whether you listen to me or not is up to you. Even though we're retaining you now, you can still get kicked out later if you mess up. So I suggest you get your head back to reality before you piss off someone higher in power than me with your constant daydreaming, even if I am your mentor. When that happens, I can't help you, so you need"
"Wait," Grace suddenly said, cutting her off. "You are my mentor?" she asked, shocked.
"Yes, I am. Wasn't that obvious? Anyway, that's enough lecture for one day. Here, take this." Susan handed her an envelope.
Seriously, why would they choose Susan to be her mentor? They don't even agree—no, not they—but she doesn't agree with her. Yet she took the envelope from Susan and opened it. Inside were money and a key. Grace looked at her again, confused. "What is this?"
"Your down payment. One rule of the establishment is that every new employee gets a down payment as soon as he or she is employed. So, even if you are from one of our branches, you are still new here. Tomorrow, you will have to fill out some forms with your bank details and all, in order for the company to pay your salaries through the bank. For the key, it's to your new apartment; every staff is entitled to an apartment as well, and depending on how well you perform, you might even get a car."
Oh! Mr. Bert did mention something like that. But she wasn't expecting it. "Thank you," Grace said, puzzled.
"Not me; thank the company. Come, let's go; I will drop you off at your new place. Oh, and don't worry about your things from the hotel; they're being taken care of."
"Well, hurry for me. Thanks again." This time, she grinned wildly and followed Susan out.
They arrived at an old four-story building; from the look of it, you could tell it has history, and Grace's apartment was the last if you count from the bottom. Ah, there was her arch-enemy—stairs.
There were a lot of stairs. Why can't she just get a normal building? is that too much to ask? She then turned to Susan with the look she was giving her. Maybe she should just stay quiet.
Susan smiled at her. "Go on, and please remember, as early as 7:00 am, to be there. I hate people who don't keep to time." She added, and drove off.
Grace just stood and stared after her for a while, then said, "I hate people who don't keep to time," mimicking her. "Well, I hate you too, bitch," she muttered, and she went upstairs to check out her new apartment.
Her room was number 245. Ironically, it was just a four-story. It was big, with a wide glass window through which you could see the amazing night view. New York sure is beautiful at night, and thank God for the balcony. "I'm glad I didn't ask for a change."
The sitting room was spacious, and the kitchen already had a refrigerator stocked with all you could eat. It seemed like a one-room apartment but with a three-room space. The bedroom was huge and had 'the closet,' a cool one painted with silver and black, and her clothes were already there. Good, because she was too exhausted to lift a finger.
Without wasting time, she took her bath, not bothering herself with food, set the alarm, and jumped on the spacious, inviting bed. "Tomorrow is going to be a busy day," she muttered to herself as she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
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***If only it would rain. Not that there was a chance in hell it would, Noah admitted to himself as he scanned the three heavy clocks in his room. It's 6:00 a.m., the start of a new day. The sky has not even cleared yet he is this tired.Just when he gathered enough strength to stand up, the crazy yet, at 50, drop-dead gorgeous mother of his, Mrs. Vera Creed, yanked his heavy golden metal door open.With a pissed look on her face, she probably found out about the change he had made to his arranged marriage with the upcoming model Jesse Keyes. Pretending not to notice it, he said, "Mother, isn't it too early to look pissed; you will destroy your makeup?" he said, smirking as he went toward the bathroom. He could hear his mother groaning angrily."Don't piss me off, Noah," she said."Mom, you're already pissed; I don't need to do anything," Noah replied, turning to her."Why did you ask the Keyes to hold off the wedding date? Did you not hear me when I said…""Mother, I did, loud and c
**** "London at last," Grace muttered; they had barely made it to the airport on time, thanks to Diana, who overslept. "Alright, ladies, come this way," Secretary James said, addressing them. "Instead of the hotel, we will be using one of Mr. Creed’s villas; after all, it's going to be a three-week trip; so please behave yourselves and remember the rewards and promotions you will get after this business trip; it will depend on how well you perform. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, sir," they all chorused. Before dark, they arrived at the villa, and oh, what a villa! It was huge, with a grand fountain in the middle of the field and a swimming pool at the side of it—one they were told not to enter, by the way. Each of them was given a room, and Grace found herself close to the master bedroom. "Okay, here we are; take your time, rest, and prepare what needs to be prepared by morning; the real work starts," Mr. James said and left. Diana turned to Grace and said, "Is it just me or did
***Grace stormed angrily into the large dining hall, slamming the box onto the table with a loud thud. "Who the hell does he think he is? He's just my boss and nothing else—the nerve of that bastard."Observing her fury, Diana cautiously approached, continuing to distribute the contents of the box to the others. "What happened? You look mad.""Oh, I am beyond mad and furious. I could kill someone right now." She spat."Ah, do you mind holding that thought? We only have like half an hour to get the dining hall ready, after which you can kill anyone you want. What do you say?" Diana said, grinning, likely suppressing her curiosity."Fine, but I'll take two heads." Grace replied with a faded smile."Sure, I can't wait to see who." They hurriedly continued with their work.Meanwhile,Inside the master bedroom, Noah was fuming. "How dare she speak to me like that? I am Noah Creed. Nobody talks to me like that; nobody." He muttered angrily, throwing the suit on the bed.Yet, he couldn't he
** Grace found a perfect place behind the main bedroom to take a breather. With a chair, a bottle of wine, and some delicious dessert; she sat down. What a magnificent, well-built balcony. Appreciating the view, Grace muttered, “It must be nice to be rich,” “You think so?” Noah emerged from the side of his room, which, by the way, was closer to the balcony. As he watched her jump, almost knocking down the table, he chuckled and held onto it. "Wow... calms down; I'm not going to eat you. Well, not like this." He said, almost to himself. Grace cursed with a low voice as she felt her heart racing. It hadn't even been a day since that stupid incident, and now he thought sneaking up on her was okay. Forgetting that this place was close to the main bedroom, she asked in a not-so-respectful way, "Why are you here, sir? This is my place of tranquility, boss or no boss; I'm not leaving." Noah stared at the lady with pink lips. "What do you mean? This is my room's balcony," he replied. "W
Grace placed the last file in the cabinet, returning to her seat with a heavy sigh. The past few months have taken a toll on both her mind and body.Despite returning from Paris, she'd hoped for a break since they had been working tirelessly. However, there was no such thing as soon as she came in; that round breast frog had a lot of work on the ground for her, so the workload remained overwhelming, leaving her and even Dian, her colleague, stressed out. Dian had been in tears the night before.Since the incident with Noah, Grace has done everything to avoid him. A week ago, though, he asked her to stay after closing.She expected a meaningful conversation with him, but it turned out he only wanted her body; seeing how he was in a hurry, he put it in her. Who would believe her first time was going to be in an office? It’s a good thing she came to her senses when she did, or only God knows what would have happened.Why her? Grace wondered. Yes, Noah was handsome, with a great figure, a
**** Grace scolded herself silently, "Great, Grace, now you've done it. How could you do something like that?" she muttered, hitting the toilet seat in frustration. Stepping out of the stall, panic washed over her. "Oh no, what if I lose my job? Mrs. Hail did say my rage could land me in trouble if I don’t control it. Ah, ah, ah," she screamed, pulling at her hair in despair. "You are going to pull out your hair if you don’t stop doing that," James said behind her. "I don’t want to believe we employed a madwoman," he added, shaking his head in disbelief. Grace gasped and quickly composed herself, forcing a smile. "Oh, ah, good morning, sir," she said, trying to sound normal. She glanced around. "This is the female's toilet," she added, her voice rising in defense. Sighing, James replied, "And you think I don’t know that? I saw the sigh. Thank you,” He spat out and sighed “Anyway, the President wants to see you." He reported. Did he just say president? Panic gripped her once more.
*** Susan was seething with anger, kicking anything and everything in her path as she stormed into the modeling department's head office. "That Bitch! How dare she talk to me like that? And in front of everyone?" she fumed, her voice sharp with frustration. Her steps were determined as she barged into Lora's office. Lora, the managing director of the modeling department at O.S. Publishing, looked up from her iPod, her expression a mix of annoyance and weariness. "Seriously, Susan, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop barging into my office like it's yours." Ignoring her, Susan took a seat, her eyes blazing with intensity. "That's why I told you, make me your assistant. Then I won't have to work with that asshole." Her voice crackled with irritation; he had the audacity to scold her, all because of that manipulative gold digger. Lora fixed Susan with a stern gaze. She knew that unless she gave her cousin the attention she craved, Susan wouldn't calm down. Putting down her iP
Chapter 14 ****Staring at James with a deep frown, Noah asked from the heap of files on his desk, "Who was that?""It was Miss. Lora, sir," James replied."What did she want?" Noah questioned him again."I don’t know, sir. I didn’t ask her; she only said you should call her back. There were some important issues she would like to discuss with you," James explained.Noah fell silent, focusing on his work. Perhaps it was about Susan, given their cousin's like relationship. She might have informed Lora about what happened, but he wondered if that constituted an important issue worth discussing."Seriously, those idiots are beginning to piss me off," he murmured aloud.*****Grace sat down at her desk with a heavy thud. She couldn't shake off the happy faces that greeted her after leaving the boss's office. It seemed she wasn't the only one growing tired of Susan's attitude, and a fellow staff member walked over to her.“That was amazing! I never knew there was someone who could talk do