CHAPTER 1

"Shit!" Mae Madison yelled as she checked the time on her phone and realized she was going to be late for work.

She quickly ran to the shower and got ready for work.

"Bye, Michael, be good to your grandma!" she told her son after which she exited the door.

She finally got to her office, but then her colleagues were just coming out of the conference room.

"Why are you late, Mae?" Mr. Andrew Anderson, her supervisor, asked.

"My apologies sir," she replied, staring at his mischievous smile.

"See me in my office immediately," he ordered, and she bit her lips in anguish as she hesitated a little.

However, he raised his bushy eyebrows at her expecting a reply.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

At first, she proceeded to keep her bag on her desk before going to his office, knowing fully well that his call wasn't about her being late.

She knocked on the door, and it took about five minutes before she heard the words,

"Come in." slowly, she opened the door and walked briskly.

Andrew was seated on his leather rotating chair, typing away on his laptop with a cup of hot coffee on his table.

"You asked me to come here," Mae repeated with unease.

"Yes, I did," he replied, standing up and walking towards her.

He kept moving closer, and Mae kept taking a step backward until she was up against the wall.

"Why were you late?" He asked with a smile she knew too well not to trust.

"It was my fault; my apologies," she replied, maintaining eye contact with his shoes.

"You haven't answered my question," he snapped, lifting her chin with his hand.

"I overslept," Mae whispered, still trying her best to avoid his gaze.

His hands caressed her face, and she tried to push them away, but he was just too determined.

"I see, well." His hands moved slowly to her chest region.

"Your breasts look so big under that white shirt," he announced, his thumb resting just above them.

Her supervisor has always harassed her sexually since she got the job, but she had always had to ignore it if she wanted to be able to feed her son and mother and if she still wanted to have a roof over her head.

Since her father passed and she parted ways with her boyfriend, She had been the one providing for the family.

"That's out of context, sir," she replied angrily.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing," she replied meekly.

He slid his right hand through her waist and pulled her closer so that her breasts were touching his chest.

He tightened his grip, and her body pressed so hard against it that she could even smell his choking cologne.

She started to push him away, but he held her tightly, and her push was to no avail. Fear and anger started to rise in her throat.

She began to feel pressured, willing to shout and yell at him, but the thoughts of her son and her mother put her back in her place.

His hands moved to her lips, and he rubbed them slowly.

"Be my mistress," he said, sounding more like a plea than an order.

"What?" she whispered.

"Be my mistress, and I promise you will have nothing to worry about. I'll make sure I take care of you, and no one will bother you in this office."

"Sir..."

"I'll make you my personal assistant, and that will earn you a higher pay."

She laughed at his hysterical madness.

"No, thank you," she replied, and he released her.

"Well, you missed the morning conference, and some new changes were made," he said, starting to walk back to his desk.

"Changes like?" she asked curiously.

"We are getting a new CEO, and the qualifications of newly hired employees will be re-evaluated."

She stared at him blankly, trying to get the point of his saying the last part.

"Well, why am I telling you this?" he started as if reading her mind, while she walked closer.

"It is because you got this job because of me, and I do not think your current qualifications are enough for you to keep it."

Upon hearing this, she felt uneasy. She couldn't afford to lose the job, and she also couldn't  be with him because she knew that was the main point of his talks, but instead of letting him see her fear, she decided to remain calm and refute it.

"I think the new CEO is being fair, unlike some people who have wild thoughts." she snarled and crossed her arms over her chest.

His raised eyebrows and numerous lines on his forehead showed how angry he became.

He quickly rushed towards her and grabbed her chin. It was like the more she made him angry, the more he wanted to dominate her.

He grabbed her and pinned her to the desk. 

"Goodness," that was the least she could say in a gasp, since shouting out wasn't an option. 

Her colleagues are fully aware of all he did to her and his intentions, but no one could intervene. And that alone, hurt her each passing day.

If she attracts more people, she will have no place. In the company, she  stayed quiet instead.

For a moment, she thought he had let go of his intentions, when all of a sudden, his lips met hers, and her anger boiled as her heart raced. He started to kiss and caress, and the more she struggled, the more he increased the pace.

Mae swallowed forcefully. From her first day in this company, Andrew kept trying to sleep with her. 

She knew it was a bad idea to stay, but what could a poor soul like herself do?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Anderson, but I can't..." She quickly said and made to get up, but his weight seemed to be more than hers. 

She could no longer hide her fears as she stared at him.

"Stop with this pretense, Mae, you know you want me just as much as I want you. Besides, I've known you for about six months and I know you don't have a boyfriend. Or do you have one, but you're ashamed to tell your colleagues about it because he's poor?" Andrew scoffed as he got out of his seat and walked towards her. 

Mae nodded vigorously. "Yes, I do have a boyfriend, but he's not as buoyant as my colleagues' boyfriends. Is that what you want to hear?"

She obviously lied, hoping that would soften him, but it was a facade. He intensified his efforts instead.

"Then aren't you tired of being tied down by him?" Andrew asked, stopping in front of her. He lowered his face towards hers and extended a finger to touch her face. 

He trailed it all the way down to her cleavage which was exposed a little. Lust filled his eyes, but he held back. 

"Tell you what, you can be my mistress and I will treat you better than my wife even. I'll get you all the things your wretched mistake of a boyfriend can't afford." He added and retrieved his hand. 

Mae swallowed forcefully again. She felt so hot despite the air conditioning in the office. But she managed to ask, "Can I think about it?" 

"You're trying to fool me, right?" his grip tightened on her hand, such that it turned red.

"Andrew, please stop," she begged with red eyes, but he ignored and went back to kissing her.

He began to lose control as his hands ran wildly under her shirt.  

On the other hand, she nervously searched the table for the coffee cup she spotted earlier, and as she was about to smash it on his head, the door swung open.

"What's going on here?" A familiar, magnetic male voice rang.