Office Gossips

"So how does it feel working for Mr. Hot and Yummy himself?"

"You lucky bitch, you get to spend time with him."

"Does he really have tight security in his office so he can fuck people there?" 

"Has he made a move on you yet? Like dragged you into his office and demanded you take all your clothes off?"

As Clara sat listening to her friends, her face a mask of happiness, she admitted to herself that they were definitely crazier than she had thought.

She didn't have the heart to trample on their fantastical imaginations, to tell them that the Cinderella fairytale in their minds was never going to happen.

Not only because Andre was an asshole, douchebag and a jerk; a total son of a bitch, but because she hadn't found life any better since the promotion. If anything, she had jumped from a frying pot of Karen's bitchiness to Andre Quinn's burning fiery flames.

First was that she was terrible at the job of supervision, and for the past four days, the urge to ask Mr. Quinn for that transfer had nudged at her each time she had a meeting with them.

None of them respected her; they undermined her authority and ended up making her do their work all over again. To make things worse, Karen who was now under her had quickly spread a rumour that she, Clara had secured the position by banging the boss.

Everyone pointed at her and made comments about her fucking her way to the top; it was torture having them stare at her with judgemental eyes while Karen sat, smiling inwardly.

Each time she gathered them for meeting, she found her fingers shaking and her voice stuttering. The other assistants discussed amongst themselves whenever she spoke, and ended up not following her instructions. They all thought she was inconsequential. 

It irked her that she was unable to stand up to them, and she felt as though accepting that position were a curse instead, because her duty had only doubled.

Working overtime was a given to catch up with the duties she had delegated to the assistants which had been neglected again, and keeping up with Andre's incessant demands was beginning to take its toll on her.

Within four days, she had lost weight as well as her glow, looking like a shadow of herself. 

"Clara?"

"Huh?" She pulled herself away from her thoughts, rubbing her itching eyes. They had been acting up of late, but she hadn't found the time to go to the hospital.

"Look who's calling you... If it isn't the hottest boss?" It of course had to be Brenda whose voice would go all high to say those words.

Between her and Sophie, her craziness wasundescribable; her unnatural red hair and heavy make-up did give that away.

They had been her friends since high school and were aware of her horrible break-up with Dane; it pained her that she couldn't explain how she had come to get the promotion since she discussed virtually everything with them.

They continued to believe that her hard work had simply been discovered by the boss and she had consequently been rewarded.

Her heart skipped as it always did whenever she received Andre's call. Being in close proximity with him hadn't done away with that nervousness. If anything, she was always scared that he was calling to show dissatisfaction with her work and request that she leaves the company.

"Sorry, I have to take this." She barely finished addressing to her friends who were screaming in excitement before grabbing the phone and pushing the seat backwards.

Her lunch lay in front of her barely touched, just like the other foods she had discarded within the past few days due to lack of appetite.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Quinn. Ho...do you need anything?" She immediately hated herself for stammering as soon as those words were out. Why couldn't she be cool and act normal?

"I want to see you in my office."

Her heart started to pound harder, and she tightened her hold on the phone, willing it not to fall. "It's erhm, lunch break, sir." 

Again, she had spoken before giving it a thought. Since when had it mattered to him that she was supposed to be resting or catching up with her friends for a few minutes? He probably believed she was a robot programmed to work without ever getting tired. 

"Now." It wasn't a command; he hadn't used a demanding tone or anything like it. It was calm, neither giving nor asking for anything. Yet it couldn't be disobeyed.

If she were to be asked about Andre's superpower, the first she would mention had to be hypnosis. He simply drew you into his circle, that labyrinth which weaved an endless network around you.

"Okay sir, I'm on my way." 

The receiver ended with a beep.

She hadn't experienced the sexual tension again since she hadn't been close enough to exchange physical contact with him, yet she had been effortlessly pulled to him...

Clara knew she had to stop reading those fantasy and sci-fi novels.

"Sorry guys, I have to go see my boss. He called for me." She felt bad cutting the little time she got to spend with her friends again.

She had blown them off on her birthday night with the excuse of wanting to be alone, and hadn't had time for all the make up parties they had suggested for the horrible birthday night. 

Sophie smiled, flipping her shoulder length bouncy hair, her brown eyes shutting completely in her failed attempt at a wink. "Oh we understand. If Mr. Delectable Hunk were to summon me, I would totally leave y'all for him." 

Brenda snorted in response, moving her plump shapely body sideways in mockery. "Like he could ever notice you when his eyes are on Ms. Sweet and Blonde here. I bet he misses her already..."

"Okay that's it. I repeat, it's just professional okay? There's nothing going on between me and Mr. Quinn."

Brenda definitely wasn't the type to back down. "Oww, even the way you say his name must have him wanting to rip your clothes off."

Clara stood, spreading her arms in mock surrender and giving them the middle finger as she picked her purse. Walking away from the presence of her crazy bitches of best friends, she suppressed a smile, her mood improving a lot from what it had been all week.

With Brenda and Sophie, she didn't find it difficult expressing herself as she did when she was in the presence of other people. 

However, her happiness was brief, as she soon started to worry about why her boss would want to see her on a Thursday afternoon.

She had ordered his lunch and cancelled the excessive order that one of the departments had mistakenly placed. Had she miscalculated the arrangement of the catalogues? Had she placed his rolling pen in the cabinet for the ball pens? 

Different scenario danced and played around in her head, fear consuming her, keeping the little lunch she'd had from digesting.

He hadn't sounded mad over the phone, but he was rarely the type to express his displeasure over words. Oh fuck, was he going to demote her or worse, fire her because of an error he may have discovered?

She forced herself to take calming breaths as the Golden doors of the elevator slid open, the unwelcoming sound ushering her into the top floor...

Where Quinn Andre reigned and controlled numerous branches and companies under the Quinn Corporation.

The hallway suddenly seemed too intimidating, stares of her colleagues too glaring. Even the security system seemed to announce her presence with a harsher tone, as though it were angry at her.

She read the signs although she wasn't superstitious, but held on to a thin thread of hope that she wasn't getting fired. 

Her feet were wobbly beneath her sandals heels and her palms were too sweaty to control.

By the time she stepped into the large office which had the best view of the landscape and buildings of Manhattan from a perspective that made the huge city seem tiny, under his control, she felt small as well. He was powerful enough to do anything he wanted with her, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

He turned his rocking seat around to face her, his gaze impenetrable, his expression unreadable. He was like a closed system, unreachable and inflexible.

"Have a seat." He gestured to the visitor's cushion as soon as those piercing eyes had assessed her in one swift motion.

She swallowed a lump of nervousness, almost slumping into the seat. The softness of the cushion relaxed her ass, calming her nerves a little.

Well, that lasted only a few seconds, because he was quick to speak.

"So Ms. Lynn, someone's spreading rumours that I fucked you to give you this position, you mind enlightening me?"

If embarrassment were a person, it would have as well slit her throat and left her for good.

What in the name of all that was screwed was she supposed to reply to... That?