Chapter 5

I walked out of his office hurriedly and shut the door quietly behind me. I made my way to a secluded part of the restroom and checked to make sure no one was there before I pulled out my phone.

My hand was shaking as I paced around the restroom and my chest tightened with disbelief. This couldn’t be real. It had to be some cosmic joke, I was both disheveled and horny at the same time and it was so crazy.

I pushed my thoughts away and looked for Jay’s number before dialing it, waiting for him to pick up the damn phone.

“This is not the time to be unavailable, Jay,” I muttered under my breathe while looking at the door nervously and praying no one would come in. I could hear people talking but it was faraway and I realized no one was close enough and I let out a sigh of relief.

Finally, the line clicked. “Emma?” Jay’s groggy voice was a balm and an irritant all at once.

“Amanda,” I corrected instinctively. He still had that bad habit of calling me by my former name and I wasn’t going to risk someone overhearing us.

“Right, Amanda,” he said mockingly and I felt like biting his head but that was not the time to be arguing about it, I had bigger problems at hand. “What’s wrong?. Have you screwed up? It’s not even been 30 minutes.”

“I’m in trouble, Jay. Big trouble.”

“Okay…” he drawled, clearly unimpressed. “What kind of trouble?”

I took a deep breath, leaning against the cold tiles. “Remember that night? The night I told you I wanted to forget?”

There was a pause. Then a groan. “Oh no. You didn’t.”

“I didn’t mean to!” My voice was a hissed whisper. “It just… happened. And now he’s my boss.”

“Your boss?” Jay sounded incredulous. “You mean the boss? The guy you had hot, mind blowing and unspeakable sex with last week?”

“Yes,” I hissed again, panic flaring anew. “Damien Caldwell. The Damien Caldwell I sold my company to years ago.”

Jay laughed. Actually laughed. “Emma, this sounds too good to be true. This is gold.”

“It’s not funny!” I yelled but quickly lowered my voice when it echoed through the restroom. “I have no idea on what to do, Jay.”

“It’s pretty simple,” he started and I was confused by what he meant but he continued, clearing up my confusion. “Use the situation to your advantage.”

The way he said it was funny because he made it sound like it was easy as just choosing a meal to eat.

“Use it to my-“ I stopped myself, fuming. “Jay, he is trouble. The kind I’ve been staying away from, protecting myself from for years. I hate the way he made me feel, the way I because so… I don’t want to have to deal with him. I can’t let him have that type of power over me again.”

“Calm down, Emma. You’re just overthinking it,” he said trying ti reassure me but I just couldn’t calm down. “If he remembers you and that night or tries to talk about it, act like you don’t care and change the subject.”

“He remembers me and it way more complicated than you’re thinking not,” I replied him, frustration evident in my voice. “I don’t know if I can do this. And he- he’s so…”

“Hot?” Jay interjected, a teasing edge in his voice.

“Intimidating,” I corrected, though heat crept up my neck. “He’s the kind of man who takes what he wants. And I won’t let him think I’m just another thing to claim.”

There was a beat of silence before Jay spoke again, his tone more serious this time. “Then don’t. Stand your ground. You’re Amanda now, remember? You’re untouchable.”

I nodded and I realized he couldn’t see me so I spoke up. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. Now stop freaking out and go do whatever it is assistants do. File papers or fetch coffee or something.”

“Thank you for nothing,” I said to him dryly and said my goodbyes before ending the call. I took a deep breathe, trying to steady myself and let out all my frustration out. I shook my hands, straightened my clothes and walked out of the bathroom. Jay was right. I wasn’t the same person I was years ago. I wasn’t going to let something so small distract me from my mission.

Immediately I walked out of the restroom, I saw a woman shouting at a man that looked like he was a staff at the company. He had the same id card hanging from his neck just like everyone else. Even if it was none of my business, I wasn’t going to standby and watch someone who thought she was higher than others come in here and act like she wants

“I don’t care if you’re busy!” The woman yelled. “When I ask you to do something, you do it immediately I ask you to. I don’t care if someone else asked you to before me.”

The man she was yelling at stared at her blankly but I could tell her words were getting to him. The scene was enough to anger me. Without thinking, I walked to where they were both standing.

“Okay, that’s enough,” I said, stepping in between them.

The woman looked taken aback by my interruption and she stared me down, looking at me with disgust. “Excuse you? Who the hell do you think you are and what right do you have to be taking to me without me summoning you.”

“You want to know who I am right? I am someone who doesn’t appreciate bullying in the workplace no matter who you are,” I replied her in a calm yet firm voice. “Andrew here clearly apologized to you and yet you were still shouting at him. If you have any issues with him, you’re to report to HR not disgrace him.”

The woman narrowed her eyes at me and a dark expression crossed her face. “And who are you to tell me how to act or talk to people?”

I didn’t mind her harsh tone, I liked her dead in the eye and replied her. “I’m the CEO’s assistant.”

She went silent, her body becoming tense and the weight of my words hung in the air. The woman stared at me, her confidence faltering.

“Oh,” she said finally, her tone low as she sobered up at me. “I didn’t realize…”

“Well, now you do,” I said, crossing my arms. “So I suggest you think twice before speaking to anyone like that again.”

The woman muttered something under her breath, shooting me a glare before turning on her heel and stalking away.