First day at the office

Cassandra stood in front of a full-length mirror gazing at her reflection. A pretty blonde-haired young woman stared back at her, with smooth porcelain skin and icy blue eyes. A sultry cupid's bow of a mouth and a dainty button nose set in a heart-shaped face gave her an ethereal appearance like a fairy in a fantasy movie or a petite runaway bride. Cassandra knew she wasn't bad looking but she felt like the gold filigree mirror was enhancing her appearance. Her eyes traveled down her body to take in the grey blazer over a lacy collared white blouse tucked into a matching grey pencil skirt. A gold bracelet was peeking at her wrist, partially obscured by the blazer but its shine was evident nonetheless. Her feet were snug in a pair of leather heels that added an inch to her height. She looked beautiful and dignified, exactly how one would expect a personal assistant to a billionaire CEO to look.

At the thought of her new boss color rushed into her cheeks as she remembered what had transpired the day before. Her boss had driven her from the airport and she hadn't even known it was him. Why hadn't he said anything? Did he enjoy going incognito and deceiving all his new employees? She had lain awake all night trying to piece together everything she had said to him during the ride.She had been so excited about the city and had asked so many questions that she feared she might have let something damning slip. The driver had been so courteous and easy to talk to, the deceitful devil.

Even the small tour of the hotel Emily had given her after her nap hadn't settled her anxiety. Neither had the delicious 3-course meal the staff had served her, even though it was probably the most delicious food she had ever tasted. The fear that she had said something utterly stupid to her disguised boss would not let her rest. And the joke about him being late! Cassandra wished someone would break in and kidnap her, at least until her embarrassment ebbed.

"Wow, you look gorgeous," Emily said behind Cassandra, she had glided silently into the room.

"Thank you, I just wish the outfit came with a mask," Cassandra muttered, turning to look at the girl.

"Oh come on, you can't still be thinking about that," Emily laughed, her blue eyes twinkling.

"I can't think about anything else! I spent an hour with my new boss telling him about how much I love anime and asking if he knows where they sell cosplay costumes," Cassandra vented. She looked at the carpeted floor and wondered how probable it was that It would open up and just swallow her whole.

"I'm telling you not t worry about it, Mr. Drake likes practical jokes that's all. He is a bit eccentric but he is a good man," Emily assured, her eyes still dancing with mirth.

"How do you know? Is he a regular here?" Cassandra asked with a hint of suspicion.

"No silly, this hotel belongs to him so technically he is my boss too," Emily supplied.

"Of course, he is," Cassandra said, sardonically. It seemed Jason Drake was everywhere and she hadn't even started work yet.

She wasn't the least bit surprised, the man was a billionaire after all. For all she knew, he owned the airport where he had picked her up as well. Or maybe he also owned the plane that had flown her in, he might have been the one piloting it too...

"Hey Cassey, you listening?" Emily probed, patting Cassandra lightly on the shoulder.

"Um, what", She stuttered, coming back from nonsensical musings.

"I said let's hurry and get you breakfast, I'm supposed to drive you to work," Emily repeated.

"I'm not hungry, I'll eat later. You said you are driving me to work?" Casandra asked.

"Yeah, I am. Think of me as your guide for all things Goldsville," Emily replied with a smile.

"If you turn out to be another billionaire in disguise I swear I will beat you up" Cassandra snickered.

"Don't worry, I'm just poor old me.No secrets here," Emily grinned, raising her arms into the air to show she had nothing to hide.

"Good, let's go now, I don't want to be late on my first day," Cassandra announced, reaching for her handbag from the nightstand.

"Sure, ill go on ahead and start the car, "Emily asserted as she disappeared out the door.

Cassandra checked her makeup in the mirror and satisfied that everything was good, she rushed down after Emily.

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The ride to Shivers Inc wasn't very long but Emily still managed to show Cassandra a million things as they passed. The girl's bubbly energy helped alleviate Cassandra's nervousness but not completely.Se was going to be starting a new role, a role she was hardly qualified for, working for a billionaire CEO to boot. A billionaire that she had embarrassed herself in front of the day before. She wished they would take longer to get there but within minutes, Emily was pulling up in front of a glass skyscraper.

"I guess I'll see you in the evening," Emily beamed at Cassandra as she got out of the car.

"Sure, thanks so much for the ride," Cassandra responded with genuine warmth.

"You will be okay Cassey," Emily said as she backed the black SUV out of the driveway.

Cassandra watched the car drive away and suddenly felt alone and exposed. She had known the girl for just less than a day but already she felt like a friend. Maybe she should have asked Emily to go in with her. She was so nervous.You can do this Cassey, she told herself, they gave you this job because you deserve it, now act like it.

She started walking towards the building with confident strides, joining the throng of well-dressed people headed there as well. She took a deep breath and pushed through the rotating doors. The ground floor was full of people milling about while others sat impatiently on leather couches that faced the reception. Cassandra breezed past them and headed towards the elevator. She wanted to stand around and gawk at the beautiful design of the building’s interior but she had no time. She could not afford to be late. One other person took the elevator with her, a young man around her age wearing blue coveralls. He nodded at her in greeting before exiting on the 6th floor. Cassandra was now alone in the elevator and she took the time to smooth her outfit and compose herself. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, feeling some of the anxiety flow out of her. The elevator got to the 30th floor and dinged open.

Cassandra walked out into a pristine lobby, done in stark whites and dreary grays that gave the place a formal feel. There was a woman sitting behind a desk, her eyes glued to the computer in front of her. She kept typing on her keyboard as Cassandra approached, even though her footfalls were loud against the tiled floor. Cassandra decided to not interrupt the woman, opting to wait until she was done. She looked at her more closely, observing that she was probably in her late twenties or at most her early thirties. She was dressed in a crisp black suit and had a pair of wire-rimmed glasses over her eyes. The woman had exquisite cream-colored skin, sensual lips, and a slant to her eyes that hinted at an Asian heritage. She looked like someone you would expect to find on the cover of a fashion magazine, not in an office.

Suddenly the woman looked up and transfixed Cassandra with a cold gaze, her stormy black eyes boring a hole into her soul.

“Yes?” The woman inquired, one perfectly mascaraed eyebrow upturned.

“Um, my name is Cassandra Fisher,” She stammered, caught off guard.

“Oh I know who you are Miss Fisher,” The woman replied haughtily. She was making no attempt to hide her disdain.

Cassandra was confused, she hadn’t been in the building for more than a few minutes yet someone already didn’t like her. She wondered what she had done wrong but couldn’t come up with a single thing. Whatever resentment that this woman had for her couldn’t have been because of anything she had done. She probably didn’t like strangers, Cassandra reasoned, or maybe she was like that with everyone.

“Okay then, could you kindly show me where I might find Anna, she is supposed to take me through induction,” Cassandra said, infusing her voice with as much warmth as possible.

“I am Anna, and I am not supposed to do anything,” the woman said coldly, getting up from her seat.

Anna was taller than Cassandra, with a voluptuous body to match her supermodel's face. She sidled around her desk and came to stand right in front of Cassandra, invading her personal space. She glared down at Cassandra, her dark eyes brimming with barely repressed malice. She looked like she was really thinking about getting violent with her and this filled Cassandra with fear. What kind of company was this anyway? Her hostility couldn’t be part of the induction process now, could it? Her imaginative mind ran through a number of scenarios, each of them terrifying. Maybe Anna was crazy and hadn’t taken her pills or maybe she had been against hiring Cassandra but had been overruled. The latter seemed like a plausible explanation. Cassandra realized that the reason didn’t matter, Anna wanted to bully her and if there was one thing her father taught her, it was to never give a bully the satisfaction that you are afraid of them. She squared her shoulders and stared back at Anna, letting the defiance in her heart bleed into her eyes.

Anna stepped back with a small sneer, turned on her heel, and walked down the hallway, her shoes clicking on the floor. Cassandra watched her sashaying form with mounting confusion. This was not going the way she had imagined her first day would go at her dream job.

“Are you going to just stand there?” Anna spat imperiously from down the hall.

Cassandra rushed to follow, her mind swirling with confusion and anger. The warm welcome she had imagined she would get burnt to ash in her thoughts. She would have to adjust to the new reality.

Anna stood in front of a black door at the end of the hallway, her arms primly folded over her ample chest.

“This is Jay’s office,” She indicated with a nod at the black door.

Jay, not Mr. Drake, Cassandra noted. Anna and the CEO were close enough that she called him by a pet name.

“Thank you, do I just go in?” Cassandra asked.

“Yes you go in Miss Fisher, that’s what people are supposed to do when they are brought to a door,” Anna said derisively.

“There, your induction is done now,” she added and walked back up the hallway, intentionally bumping into Cassandra.

Cassandra took a few moments to try to compose herself but it was futile. Anna had rattled her, her emotions were all over the place. She had never had a stranger show her that much hostility before and it disturbed her. The realization that she would be working with someone who disliked her that much was almost enough for her to just quit then and there. But she couldn’t quit so she took a breath and knocked.

“Come in,” A familiar deep voice boomed from within.

Cassandra pushed open the door and was met with the strangest office she had ever seen. In fact, calling it an office was too generous because there was nothing in there one would expect to find in a regular office. For one there was very little furniture, no majestic desk cluttered with important paperwork, no filing cabinet or even a bookshelf. There were other things though, a grand piano sitting in the left corner, several violins strewn haphazardly on the carpeted floor, and of all things, a silver bird cage with two parakeets inside. The wall was decorated with bizarre, colorful artwork that probably cost millions. There were a few hunting trophies on the wall as well, a bear and a stag.

Cassandra’s eyes drifted to the office’s occupant who was seated behind what looked like a professional gamer’s station, complete with multiple screens and a rotating chair.

“Nice to meet you again Miss Fisher,” Jason Drake said getting up from his chair.

Jason was tall, like an NBA player with a tight muscular body that bulged in all the right places. This time he had no cap or glasses to hide his features so she could see him in his full glory. And glorious he was, his hair was long and curly styled into a lob . Cassandra had caught a glimpse of his hazel eyes but seeing them fully was an entirely different experience. She felt like a hapless victim staring into the swirling eyes of a hypnotic snake. Every cell in her body wanted her to stay right there and take in this magnificent creature. From his exquisite almond skin, his delectable lips that were twisted into a smirk, and the tiny scar below his left eye. He looked like a Greek god or a model. Heat pooled in Cassandra’s belly and she felt a blush rising into her cheeks.

She realized her lips were slightly parted and that she was staring. She quickly closed her mouth and cast her gaze away, embarrassed.

“Nice to meet you too sir,” she mumbled her eyes downcast.

“None of that here, you can call me Jason,” Jason chuckled.

“Okay, si...um Jason. In that case, call me Cassandra or Cassey,” she responded daring to steal a glance at his face. He was smiling.

“Cassey, I like that. Neither of us is even 30 yet it would get pretty boring if we went sir this, Miss that the whole time don’t you think,” Jason laughed, his eyes lighting up in a way that made Cassandra’s stomach churn.

“That’s true,” she replied.

“Excellent, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jason said, reaching for a jacket hung behind his chair.

Cassandra had been so focused on drooling over his looks she hadn’t even taken in what he was wearing. He had on a plain white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans military surplus boots. He put on his jacket, taking his time adjusting the sleeves.

“Wait, you are leaving?” Cassandra asked confused.

“Yeah,” Jason replied as if it was completely normal.

“What am I supposed to do,” She inquired her confusion mounting. Anna hadn’t told her a single thing and the CEO himself was now leaving yet it wasn’t even 8.30 am. What kind of company was this, she wondered again.

“Well you can play with the birds, they are yours by the way. That's my welcoming gift to you. Plus there are lots of games on this computer. Do you have any games on your phone?”

“Candy crush but…,” Cassandra was beginning to say before Jason interrupted.

“Wonderful, you can entertain yourself with some games and food will be brought for you anytime you want, just call on that phone there. I’ll have a desk brought in for you tomorrow, in the meantime, you can use mine,” He was already walking to the door, giving her no time to say anything.

Jason left and closed the door behind him, leaving Cassandra alone in the office. This day was not going as expected. She remembered Emily telling her that Jason was eccentric but she hadn’t expected this. Maybe that’s how all billionaires behaved, she hadn’t ever met one before so she had no frame of reference. Jason Drake was also a genius computer programmer so that could explain his behavior a little. She sighed and sat in the gaming chair her boss had vacated and found it comfortable.

The day went past quickly and she spent most of it acquainting herself with what the company did. Shivers Inc provided digital solutions like anti-viruses, computer software, operating systems, and other techy gizmos she had never heard about. It was built from the ground up by its billionaire founder and CEO, a man who just appeared from out of nowhere to be one of the greatest minds in the world. She wondered what the whole world would think if they could see his office.

Despite the weirdness of everything, Cassandra was still grateful for the opportunity to work for Jason and she found herself strangely looking forward to tomorrow.