Nathan:“Fuck! My head!”I sat up and looked around. The lights were off, and the evening breeze tickled my toes. Everything was fuzzy for a moment, but soon, the images began to sharpen. The light from the window illuminated the room faintly, and I could see my shoes neatly arranged on the edge of the bed.Where was I? I was certain that this wasn’t my room. How did I even get here?Fuck! I stank!Slowly, it all began to become clearer. I had told Bridget that I was going to get some work done at the office but in truth, I went to a bar. I couldn’t stop thinking about her.After what she said when I came to talk to her in her room, I felt her words hit me deeply. They… moved something inside. I just couldn’t control it and decided to go down the path of whiskey.I groaned as I got out of the bed. I had been down that route before when Bridget’s mother died. I didn’t want to go down there again.The light flicked on and for a second, my irises were bleached and I could see nothing. I
Enora:My face filled with blood and it hurt trying to keep up this faux smile. Why the hell was he looking at me like that? Why was he being creepy?I tried to pull my hand away politely but his grip was strong. It was hard not to crinkle my nose or cough. His cologne smelt so strong and not in the most alluring way, and his veneers… not to be rude but why were they so white? They could reflect light. He should be in a toothpaste commercial.“Anthony, I will need you to run some numbers for me,” Mr. Wright interjected, finally causing Anthony to let go of my hands and turn his attention elsewhere. Urghhh… Why the hell were my palms wet? I wiped them subtly on my skirt and listened to the conversation, It was my first day here and despite everything that had happened last night, I was hell-bent on not letting today be another downhill spiral.“...She will be acting Secretary for the moment. She is on a probationary period. If she performs well, she will be given the job permanently, a
Enora:“Anthony?!”He flashed another smile from me and I involuntarily squinted. Fuck! Why did he have to be here? No, no, no, no.He slipped into the empty seat in front of me and I felt all alarms go off in my head. Why was he even here? Did he follow me because I was very sure that he wasn’t in the restaurant when I first walked in?I smiled warmly at him, praying that this was just a brief greeting and that he was going to leave me alone to eat in peace.“I never knew that you also knew this place,” he said casually, looking around, seemingly lost in its small wonder.“Yeah. My parents used to bring me here when I was little,” I answered, twisting my fingers nervously, praying that he was going to leave any second from now.“That’s sweet. I am sure that they are so proud that you scored such a well-paying job. The hiring process here is very tedious. It took me months of applying before I got my job.”My faux smile faded and I distracted myself with my glass of water. An uncomfor
Enora:I swallowed and took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to let him make a fool out of me in this place. My day was going so well. Why didn’t he have to come and spoil everything?“Mr. Wright, good afternoon. It is nice to have you here.”He glared from Anthony to me and as though they had some kind of telepathic connection, Anthony called for the waiter to pack his noodles to go and in a few minutes, I was alone at my table.He took Anthony’s seat and as I looked out of the window, Anthony was already outside. He flagged a taxi and soon, he disappeared. Deep calming breaths, Enora. I was furious but being angry at him wasn’t going to solve much. He was just being a relentless mosquito.I prodded my rice. I wasn’t hungry anymore and we all knew whose fault that was.“I thought you said that you weren’t flirting,” he inquired, glaring at me, his jaw clenched and his eyes not leaving me for a second.I shot daggers at him. My lunch break was going so well and now he had to come and r
Enora:I was stunned. How did he even get to know about the party? You know what? I wasn’t even going to overreact about this. He had crossed the line.I took a deep breath and continued to type away at my laptop. I didn’t bother to look at him.“Didn’t you hear what I said?” he questioned, his voice stern and demanding.“I’ll get off when I am ready to leave. I still have unfinished work.”Through the corner of my eye, I could still see him glaring at me. My heart skipped a beat but I was determined to end this bullshit. I had had enough. He said he didn’t want yet he kept butting into my life at every little opportunity. It was… suffocating.“If you are thinking that you can wait back and head to that party, you have it all wrong, Miss Lopez.”He folded his arms, his gaze still so heavy on my shoulders. No. I wasn’t going to give in.“That party, and whether or not I go to it, is none of your business. You are my boss, not my dad.”“You… Aren’t… Going.”The finality in his voice was
Nathan:She left and I was alone in her office. I could still smell her scent. It clung to the room and invaded my nostrils. My head was filled with thoughts of her. I couldn’t get her out of my head. Nothing I tried ever worked. I had never had any woman the way I had her.I wasn’t a saint. After the death of my wife, Rose, I had dabbled in a few affairs here and there. I had been with women, I had made them feel things and they always came back, wet, soaking and begging for more.That’s what I felt for Enora in the beginning. Her innocence drew me to her and I was like a moth flying close to a flame. Getting to know her, having her beneath me, moaning and screaming, knowing that I was her first and I was the only one that had ever made her feel this was, it was… it was addictive. I wanted more. I wanted more of her.Now, I was so deep in that I had no idea how to pull away from her. I thought telling her that I didn’t love her would sever whatever ties I had with her, would make me
Enora:Anthony looped his arm through mine and pulled me through the sweaty crowd. I had never been in a place like this and it freaked me out how the men looked at me so hungrily. A few touched my arm, but I pulled away and tucked closer to Anthony.We reached the bar and there was a loud cheer.“Tony!”He smiled and I stood shyly by his side. I had seen all these faces at work before but I didn’t really get the chance to talk to them. I had spent the day fuming in my office because of Mr. Wright.“Yo, Tony, that’s the new girl? Right?”I waved. My hands shook as I held on tighter to my drink. Why did I feel so awkward?“Everyone, this is Enora, our new secretary. Enora, that’s Jay, from finance, Emily, from marketing, Luke, from Advertising, Gina, from the Legal team and Nicky, from tech and security.I waved at everyone. Nicky raised her glass to me and I did the same. Her appearance was… peculiar, almost goth-like. Did she come to work like that?“Yo, Nora,” Nicky called out, from
Enora:I grabbed my clothes and scrambled to the corner. Anthony was in the bathroom, standing face-to-face with the men. The one he kicked got off the ground and wiped his face with the back of his hand, his eyes widening with fury as he looked at the blood smear.“You bastard! You are going to pay for that!”I screamed and huddled closer under the sink. Anthony was kicked in the stomach and he reeled backwards, crashing against the wall and grunting.“Tony, what out!” I screamed and he raised his head just in time to see one of the men unfurl a right hook. He dodged it and the fist slammed right into the wall, where his head was formerly.My heart was pounding in my chest, my hands flew to my face. I could barely watch but at the same time, I was peeking through my fingers.Anthony was cornered. The men chuckled and closed in on him like lions cornering their prey.“You slippery little bastard. What’s the matter? Nowhere to run?”I felt faint. I could barely breathe. There I was, cr
Enora:I watched Anthony and Emily leave and just as they drove out of the gates, the rain began to fall. Not a soft drizzle but a torrential downpour with blustering winds that blew the plants and hedges strongly to the side.Without wasting time, I dashed inside and closed the door behind me before rain could invade the living room.Fiona was already working to get all the windows closed and I joined her.“Miss Lopez, don't worry yourself. You just got here and you need some rest. How about you get yourself settled in while I make dinner for you? I am sure you must be famished.”I really wanted to help but I knew that arguing with her wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I knew that she was just trying to do her job. And come to think of it, I was really tired.With nothing else to do and I load of things scattered in the living room, I guess my best option was to get it all sorted out as soon as possible. I grabbed the lightest thing and hoisted it up the stairs to my room.Each step f
Enora:I continued to cough and Bridget rushed to my side patting my back and getting on her knees.“Enora, are you all right? What is going on? Why are you coughing?”I lifted my head and I was in all of my own acting skills. I have no idea how I was able to get tears to come out of my eyes.I had Elliot where I wanted him to be. All I needed to do was to tell Bridget that her boyfriend was trying to get with me again just like you did those years ago and she would break off with the asshole. I didn't understand what she saw in him anyway and he had proven more than once that he didn't deserve her and I was not going to let her sit back and make the same mistake over again.I'm fine, it's just that...Was I really going to do this? What if I told Bridget about her boyfriend and she didn't believe me just the way she didn't believe me when the incident first occurred? Was I really willing to take that risk?"...Got a face load of dust bunnies and they are making me cough. I must be al
Enora“Anthony! Emily!”They came up the stairs and greeted me with a big smile. Emily was in a good mood today. She was jumpy every day but today was a little different. I guess she and Luke had a great time last night.“Oh my goodness! Good evening Sir. It is a pleasure to meet you.”Mr. Wright offered Emily his hand she shook it eagerly. My heart was racing. He smiled politely but I knew he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were slightly above her head was were locked in a gaze with Anthony, who stared back unafraid.Yeah, I couldn’t take this anymore. Things were getting too dicey for comfort.“Okay, let’s get this packing started,” I blurted out, breaking the eye contact between Mr. Wright and Anthony before the room spontaneously combusted. “We still have to meet Bridget to get the rest of my things from there.”Emily hurried into my room and squealed.“Oh my god! You have Harry Potter!”I smiled nervously, grabbed Anthony and pulled him away from Mr. Wright. Well, I knew one thin
EnoraI hurried up to my room, slammed the door behind me and threw myself onto my bed. Tears streamed down my face and my heart felt like it was shattering.What did Mr. Wright just say to me? What was he even talking about? I didn’t… I didn’t want to be just his employee.What was I even saying?I buried my face deeper into the pillow and cried even harder. Who was I to suddenly want to change a decision I had already chosen to make? I was the one that told him that I wanted space and now that he had given it to me, I was now whining and complaining about it.Fuck! I didn’t even have a reason to cry about this. This was all my fault, all my decision. I wanted this and I didn’t dare have the right to feel bad.I was the one who was complaining about Bridget knowing and how I wanted more. I said that he wasn’t going to be able to give me more. I was the one that said that he didn’t love me and now that he was cutting me loose, I was actually being a bitch about it.I took a deep brea
Nathan:"Come back and sit, Enora."I had been watching her the entire time, at breakfast. I didn't need to look at her to know that she was squirming like a little caterpillar.She turned to look at me, her eyes moist, itching to burst out into tears.I took a deep breath. I didn't see why she was looking like that.She sat down slowly on the chair that faced me. Her fingers knitted into each other, restless and unable to find a position to confirm to while they were on her lap."What is on your mind? You've been jumpy all day."She was silent. Her face was lowered as she stared at the floor, at the feet and her nervously curled toes."I... I... I'm sorry."I closed my laptop and put it aside, giving her my undivided attention even though she evaded my gaze."What are you sorry for, Enora?"Her mouth opened and then shut almost immediately as no words came out. Her fingers knitted themselves even faster and her toes curled even more."I am waiting," I added calmly, easing into my sea
EnoraIt was Saturday and I lay in bed and looked up at the ceiling. I was up later than I usually would be.As silent as I was, my mind was working overtime. The events of yesterday still haunted me and whenever they took centre stage in my mind's eye, my heart skipped a beat.I was also supposed to move to my condo today. Emily and Anthony were supposed to help me but now, I was considering changing plans. I wasn't sure I could face Anthony after what almost happened.Urghh!I knew he liked me. He told me clearly and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew he was going to try to kiss me and even with everything spelled out for me in black and white, I still chickened out.Something just clicked for me in that moment. I had had a great time with him but when he came to kiss me, something felt odd.He felt strange and those butterflies flew away. It was like they were never there to begin with.My phone was stuffed in my bag and on silent mode. He had probably sent me dozens of texts
Enora:The party continued and there was wild dancing. The music was loud and fun. Anthony did some sick break dancing and took everyone by surprise. I was so excited that I was hopping on one foot and clapping like an excited little toddler. This was so amazing.Time flew by so fast that I didn’t even know that it was already past midnight until Bridget tapped me on the shoulder and told me that it was time we headed back.I pouted and took a sip of my drink. I was tipsy and the floor seemed to be moving beneath my feet.“Do we have to?” I groaned. I was just starting to enjoy myself and Anthony said he was going to show me his head spiny thing.“Come on Enny. We have to go. We didn’t make provisions to stay over and I have some work I need to get done at home. Eliot is going to drop us off.”My lips turned down at the corners, almost instantly, at the mention of his name. My emotions were on the surface.“Does he really have to take us home? What about an Uber?”“It’s too late for a
Enora:“In last place we have…”My fingers were crossed. I had never felt this pressure before, except when I was writing my finals.“...Luke and Emily.”A sigh of relief escaped my lips and I could feel my heart beating normally. I don’t know why I was so anxious. It wasn’t like I was drunk and I was an adult with much more experience. If it was something I was uncomfortable with, I could have easily said ‘no’.Anthony and I were after Luke and Emily, placing us third and just a point higher than Emily and Luke. Bridget and Eliot were second and Gina and Nicky won the game.Soon the room was chanting and everyone circled a flustered Emily and an anxious Luke. What was the dare going to be?Gina gave Nicky a nasty smile and immediately, Nicky disappeared inside and emerged a few minutes later with a small box.“Here you go, Emily. Enjoy. And make sure you put in on.”Emily’s eyes widened and she shook her head slowly as she smiled. My heart was racing. What was in the box? Curiosity w
Enora:I gulped hard. Why did my stomach pick this time to tie itself up in knots? I was hopeless. I thought I was trying to be normal but I was acting so weird. How many minutes had even passed by and I had still not said anything to him?This was so awkward.“Enora? Are you okay?”My heart skipped another beat. He had said something else and I was still mute. How bad could something like this get?“Uhm.. Yeah, I’m alright. I just… I’m just a little nervous. This is my first party in years. The last one I went to was a bit of a disaster.He grinned and my stomach did another flip. It had to be the alcohol in the drink. Why was he looking so hot all of a sudden?“Uhmm.. the drink? What sort of alcohol is it?”He looked at me with a raised brow and my heart plummeted again. What did I say this time?“It's… not alcohol. It is just a fruit punch. The alcohol is for… well… later,” he said with a wink.My face burned a bright red and my ears felt hot. I was so nervous that my tongue wasn’t