6. Eyes on me

HAZEL:

"Alright, sir." I nodded. I watched dignitaries that I've seen only on TV walk into the conference room. Minutes later, it was filled up and a person stood on the stage, making sure to welcome every one of us. It happened to be that my boss was the highest shareholder in the College of Education. Julliard School was the most expensive, well and standardized-equipped school in the whole of California.

It was Zayn's dream school and he once applied for the scholarship but he didn't get in. Although I was busy taking notes of what the speakers were saying, I felt eyes on me. But I didn't read too much meaning into it.

As soon as the meeting came to an end, my boss stood up and walked away, alerting me that he'd be back shortly. He walked across the room to meet an older man who was about to leave.

As I stood up and pushed the chair aside to turn, I bumped into a body. The shock I felt made me pull away from the person immediately.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." The man said.

"I see you're Luca's new secretary. I wonder why he changes his secretary like he changes his women. Such a casanova." He clicked his tongue as he shook his head, his left hand stuck in his pocket. He stretched his right hand for a shake but I ignored him.

"Excuse me," I packed my stationery and tried to leave but his hand blocked me. It was placed on the table and to my right was a chair which prevented me from walking out on him. I was trapped between him and the large oval table.

"What is your name?" He asked, a smirk forming on his lips. I knew better than to speak to him. I valued my job.

"None of your business. Let's go." I heard my boss's voice from behind the strange man. Finally, saving grace.

"Yes sir." My eyes lit up. The man retreated by removing his hand, allowing me to pass by him.

"Never, Bryan, never should you speak to my secretary or stare at her inappropriately. You might not like the outcome of it." The two men stared coldly at each other.

"Too bad, Luca, I like this one and you know I always get what I want."

"I'd like to see you try." He began to walk away and I followed after him.

"You can't hide her forever, man." The strange man yelled after us. I rolled my eyes and checked what was next on our agenda.

"Sir, we have another meeting with Lit oil company by----" I stopped in my tracks when I bumped into him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized as I rubbed my forehead. He had such a hard body.

He turned to me with a smile. He raised his hands to my collar and began to fix it. I didn't know it was undone all these while. My face was flushed with sudden embarrassment. Why was he doing this when he could just tell me to fix it?

"You're a hot woman, Hazel. And of course, any man would want to have you. Do you have any idea how many eyes were on you in there?"

"N---- no" I stuttered. "But I could feel eyes on me." My eyes were down, staring at his chest. I couldn't look at his face.

"Exactly. Everyone ignored their women and was staring at mine. Such disrespect. I didn't employ you because of your body, Hazel. I chose you because I know what you're capable of. Even you don't know what you can do. I won't blame you for attracting such men to yourself. You have a banging body,"

Okay, where was he going with all of this? Why is he suddenly complimenting my body?

His fingers trailed down my shirt. It was then I noticed that the two first buttons were open. A little bit of my cleavage was on display. I nearly smacked my head for being so careless with my dressing.

For a second, his fingers brushed against my skin, almost causing my body to vibrate.

He buttoned my shirt and straightened the shoulder pad.

"Don't let that get into your head. If it does and it causes you to change, I will make sure to ruin you. We work together and we both get what we want. Got it?"

I lifted my head to look at his face. He was already looking down on me. How could he threaten to ruin me? What was this man up to?

He turned and began walking away. What was even wrong with Luca? One moment, he was complimenting me. And the next moment, he's threatening me.

After the day job, I finally got back to the house. As I plonked to the couch, I began to reminisce on how I got myself in this mess all because I was looking for a job.

Why was his full identity not publicly known? And why did he pretend like he didn't know who I was when he first entered the office? He told me he employed me specifically.

So many mysteries. I heard chattering from upstairs and almost smacked my head for forgetting I had siblings. As I tried to stand up, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

"Oh no, cramps!"

Why was I forgetting too many things in my life these days?

My phone suddenly rang. It was Liya. I hissed from the pain I felt before picking up the call.

"Hey, girl," I called out first.

"Hey, love. Okay, what the hell did you text me this morning?" She screamed the question in my ear. I had to move the phone from my ear for some seconds before placing it back.

"Your boss is your ex-husband?!!" She yelled again.

"Pipe down, Liya. The kids might hear you. They'll never approve of this." I said frantically. I kept checking the stairs to see if any of them were coming down.

"I need this job, okay? I need money."

She sighed.

"Can you manage?"

"Of course, why not? Besides, he has a girlfriend now. I know very well how to respect my boundaries. I'm just here to live a good life." I shrugged.

"Okay, girl. You be good, okay? If there's trouble, call me right away. I love you, bye." Before I could reply, she hung up.

I chuckled a bit. Liya was worried about my moves.

Though my ex-husband was my boss, I had nothing to worry about.

What could possibly go wrong?