Brandon spluttered with indignation. Ethan had forgotten about him? But before he could say anything, the dickhead continued.
“Considering your condition, you really needed this job. Sabotaging the only shot you had at getting it and antagonizing a major company is beyond stupid. I’m surprised by your lack of foresight.”
Brandon’s chest tightened. He had known that instigating the protest was a little risky if he wanted to secure this job. But he never knew that the jerk he had been raw to was in charge of giving him that opportunity, or even an opportunity at all. He just messed it up.
“Or was it supposed to be your strategy for getting my attention?” Ethan said, his voice dry and sarcastic. “Then I’ll have to say that you did a terrible job. I won't have street and untrained employees.”
Brandon raged. He had prepared so hard in hopes of getting the job. Now that this douchebag was stating it clearly, Brandon realized the number of things the mouthwatering salary could have done for him and his sister. First, he had her college bill, the house bill, his mother's loan, and upkeep. Where was he going to get the money from? Giving himself the encouragement and assurance of getting this job, he had quit the smaller company he was working for as a chef. He wanted to go big and, for once, have fewer responsibilities on his shoulder.
Fuck this! Brandon was going to get this job, no matter what it took, just to prove to this asshole that not everyone who didn't go to Harvard or have a fancy upbringing was irresponsible and dumb. He was going to work here, not for the money or incentives, but just to prove a point to Ethan. He burned to prove him wrong. At this moment, looking at Ethan’s condescending expression, he didn’t give a damn about anything besides proving him wrong and then rubbing it in his arrogant face. The asshole thought his company was too good for Brandon?
“You know what?” he said, lifting his chin. “Let’s make it a job application. This hooligan can function well in the administrative and management department better than the incompetents who work here," Brandon let out.
Ethan laughed. Somehow, even his laugh was dismissive and condescending. Brandon balled his hands into fists.
“Something funny?” Brandon angrily asked.“Your ambition would be… admirable if you knew how to behave with your superiors.” Ethan’s lips curled. “It’s not even the fact that you have little experience in working in larger firms. It is your myopic attributes that make you unsuitable for my company. You don’t have what it takes to work at a big company like this.”
Brandon got to his feet, his lips trembling with rage. “Then let’s make a bet, shall we? You assign me any position in your company, and if I do my job competently for—for half a year, you admit that you were wrong, hold a press conference apologizing to me and those individuals you kept waiting, and give me a glowing recommendation letter when the six months are up.”
The black eyes stared at him, unreadable. “Why should I make a business decision based on some stupid bet?”
Brandon smiled. “What’s the matter? Are you scared of losing the bet, Sir?”
“I don’t make bets I know I will win,” Ethan said. “Nothing is interesting about it.”
Brandon smiled wider. “I think you just know you’ll lose it—that I’ll prove you wrong.”
Although Ethan’s face remained inscrutable, Brandon could tell he had managed to get under his skin. He was good at making proposals. This was a man who wasn’t used to people talking back to him. A man who likely burned to put him in his place.
Ethan leaned back and regarded him for a long moment, a glint appearing in his eyes. “This bet of yours is very one-sided. What’s in it for me? I prefer a give-and-take situation.”
“If I fail, I’ll—I’ll do whatever you want me to do and publicly apologize to you, accepting that I'm a hooligan.”
“You think too highly of yourself if you think your opinion matters to me. It doesn’t. I can have anyone at my beck and call for whatever purpose. People are lined up to take care of my needs, irrespective of how I treat them. So, you trying to look like a saint is useless.”
Brandon’s fingernails dug into his palms. God, he had never wanted to punch anyone more. But he couldn’t. Brandon racked his brain, trying to think of something that would seem like an adequate prize for a powerful, rich man who likely had everything he wanted. There was only one thing he could offer.
“A big company like yours can't handle a scandal from a secretary fired unjustly,” Brandon said. “You know that the CEO title is plastered on every paper that cares to publish about the bad treatment of Wings towards its employees, right?”
Although Ethan didn’t acknowledge it, from the way his expression tightened a little, Brandon knew he was aware of the issue.
“I happen to know a few people who can hold an anti-protest addressing the situation,” Brandon said. “If I lose the bet, I promise that I’ll talk the community into staging a protest to give nothing but good reviews about your company.” The mere idea made him want to puke, but it was the only thing of genuine value that he could offer to this man. Clearly, a good image—money—was all the asshole cared about, and it was undeniable that bad reviews affected the company's image. Besides, Brandon had no intention of losing the bet, so eventually, it didn’t matter.
Ethan was silent for a while, just studying Brandon in a way that made him uneasy. “Fine,” he said at last. “As it happens, I am in need of a Personal Assistant, which is a pressing need. The old one was fired a few hours ago.”
Brandon opened his mouth and then closed it without saying anything.
Ethan smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “You did say you were competent. Second thoughts?”
Brandon put on his most nonchalant look. “No. Why would there be?”
Being a PA couldn’t be that hard. Right? It was just a fancier term for the word secretary.
Brandon left Ethan’s office, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Getting a job at Wings Group had really become a dream come true. He had never intended to stage a protest or force that jerk to acknowledge him, but the situation had turned in his favor. His simple goal was to go there, apply, interview, and maybe get rejected. But now, he was a personal assistant to the CEO of Wings Group, Ethan Asher—the exact opposite of what he’d wanted. Yet here he was, a PA to Ethan Asher, CEO of Wings Group.The trip to Human Resources turned out to be surprisingly welcoming. Brenda, a nice young woman with a lovely smile and curves, greeted him warmly. Somehow, in the short time between Brandon leaving Ethan’s office and finding the HR department, she already had the contract ready. In any other circumstances, Brandon would have flirted with her, but he was too frustrated now.“Wow, you got it done within a short time?” Brandon said, skimming over the contract.Brenda laughed a little. “When you w
Brenda grimaced a little. “He’s… a complicated one.” She smiled at him. “I see something different in you. This time around, this PA is going to get through and finish his contract. I believe in you. But a word of advice: make sure to stay almost invisible around him and don’t expect him to be different towards you or to tolerate mistakes just because you’re new. He doesn’t tolerate excuses.”“That’s very reassuring,” Brandon said with a chuckle. “But thanks for the warning. I appreciate it, really. You just saved me from getting fired. With all these heads up, I’m sure to do better.”Blushing, she smiled, looking slightly confused. “I’m not even sure why I told you all of that. I could lose my job.”Brandon grinned. “Who’s snitching among us? No one. He would never find out. Besides, I have a rare condition which doesn’t allow me to betray people who trust me.”“Really? And what’s the name?”“It doesn’t have a name yet.”“What a joker,” she chuckled.He really had never told on peop
Annoyed, Ethan said nothing, just laid a heavy hand on Brandon’s nape, and directed him towards the door unceremoniously, his touch like a burning iron.Suppressing the urge to snap that he was perfectly capable of walking by himself, Brandon took a deep breath, in and out. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t this easily annoyed guy. He had his cool.He was better than that. He should take the high ground and not let Ethan get to him. He could handle some attitude. He could handle being bossed around. He could even handle being treated like his opinion on his own clothes didn’t matter. He could suck it up and deal with it. After all, employees got this frequently. The difference was that he was a dick's employee. One who would make him cry wolf for humiliating him.As rough as this gets, he needed the money to take care of his needs, and it was a great employment opportunity that would change his life forever once he gets through it.Besides, it was not as if he had a lifelong stay here. He w
Brandon never knew that Satan had a sibling living on Earth until he met Ethan. He realized that Ethan was either ruling Hell with his brother or was totally in charge. Most times, he wished that Ethan would meet a terrible end and justice would be served in his afterlife. But, that would be a waste of energy because Ethan might be a reincarnation of someone from the afterlife. How could a human being with a conscience be so cruel? Or maybe it was just him. This one was soulless. No heart. No soul. Just a handsome, tall billionaire occupying a body. It was so hilarious when many people spoke kindly of him, talking about how he had helped them in life because he was involved in so many charity events and really did give back to society. Was he trying to maintain a good image while being a terrible human being? How pathetic! He should be proud of nature to the core. However, who would believe a servant over such an adorable master? People would see it as Brandon trying to make him l
“Did you give Brenda the job to finish?” Ethan asked as soon as Brandon walked into the office.Brandon replied, “No. I thought I should go ahead and finish it up since I already swiftly ran your other errands.”“Is that thick head of yours filled with disobeying instructions? Fucking give Brenda the job to do!” Ethan lashed out at Brandon.For the first time, Brandon felt like a success, having had the capacity to get under Ethan’s skin. He decided to continue pushing his buttons. “Sorry, Brenda that works at HR, right?”“Why would you ask me such a silly question?”“It gets confusing. Becky and Brenda.”Ethan retorted, “After months of working here, you are just unbelievable. Brenda works at HR and Becky is my receptionist. Have you gotten that into your thick skull now?”“Yes sir,” Brandon said, scowling. “I booked you the most luxurious hotel this time. I thought you need a change of atmosphere. I know it is not my place to object, but how could you finish the numerous condoms I g
Brandon stared at Ethan, unsure how to feel about it. He actually didn’t know how to help and wouldn’t be pleased to be transferred to someone else like a hand-me-down document. Looking at the bright side, the person might be nicer than Ethan. He definitely wouldn’t mind working for whoever it was. But on the other hand, it would feel like he had suffered for nothing all these months if he switched to another job now. There were just roughly four months to go until he won the bet. Not to mention that he had no intention of making a career as a PA just as he didn’t have the intention to remain a chef. He was a manager and administrator, and a pretty damn good one. He was a PA now only because he was Ethan’s. He had a point to make, a bet to win. The most painful thing for him was watching Ethan get stripped of his hard work.“Thanks for asking my opinion,” Brandon muttered under his breath. Turning to the door, Ethan stopped him.“Go get more condoms. The ones you got won’t be enough
Brandon still didn't understand why Ethan needed to change his shirts in-between meetings. Becky had mentioned that their boss was very sensitive to smells and didn't like even a hint of sweat on his clothes—which was why Brandon also kept a change of clothes at work—but it still seemed ridiculous to him.He picked up the discarded shirt and sniffed it. It smelled perfectly nice: of skin and Ethan's subtle cologne or aftershave—Brandon still wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled really good. "It smells fine," he said.Ethan ignored him.A ringtone broke the silence. Brandon twitched before realizing it was Ethan's personal phone. Answering it, he said something in Italian.Brandon handed him the fresh shirt, trying not to eye his boss's muscular torso enviously. Man, it just wasn't fair. He wished he had a body that good. Not that Brandon didn't have some decent muscles, but Ethan's muscle definition was just… yeah. Brandon glanced enviously at those broad shoulders, thick biceps,
“Uhm,” Brandon said, hesitantly. “I’ll go—I’m going home—Done with today’s work.”“You aren’t going anywhere yet,” Ethan said, looking at him with those black, creepy eyes.What?Brandon watched, frozen, as Ethan started unbuckling his belt before unzipping his suit pants. Oh, fuck. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be fucking happening. But it was happening. Ethan was pulling his cock out. His half-hard cock.Staring at it, Brandon had a sudden, frantic thought that the asshole wasn’t lying about the condom size.“Get me a condom,” Ethan said in a low voice.Right. A condom. Of course, that was why Ethan wanted him to stay. But wasn’t this asshole concerned about what Brandon thought? What if he leaked this to everyone else? Well, as far as Ethan was concerned, he was a ‘you can go fuck yourself, man.’His relief nearly making him dizzy, Brandon reached into the desk drawer where he’d put the condoms and retrieved one, hating himself a little for how well Ethan had him traine