Chapter 4

At 4:00 AM, I am in pain.

And when I say pain, I don't mean ones that can get numb easily by painkillers or by having extra nap time. I am talking excruciating agony that knows no bounds.

The ache is like no other. It's as though a dagger is latched into my chest or my heart is caught in someone's wicked clutch. Cold sweat breaks out on my skin. I gasp for air as my breaths suddenly become short, muscles in my eyes twitching involuntarily as teeth chatter like hail against a plain glass, lips trembling.

There's a visible throb at the back of my skull, a callous squeezing on my shoulders and jaw, and I have no idea which pain to try and numb as everywhere seems to be burning.

The sheets are bunched up in my fist, my face is pressed against the pillow as I struggle to fight the ache tearing at my seams, while I try hard not to alert anyone.

"Fuck!" I hiss in agony, tears brimming at the corners of my eyes and my hands fly from my head to clutch my chest when another agonizing squeeze weaves through the nerves.

The pain presses against my skull, wearing it out until I begin to lose consciousness.

I grapple for something to hold onto, something to keep me steady but the pillows and the sheets can't come in handy, and I feel myself giving in to the darkness.

Black dots slowly creep into my line of vision until they all come together and melt into one large pool, leaving me with a huge blanket of darkness to float on.

I feel my heart still and the next thing, I am wrapped up and dispensed into a dark oblivion.

But what seems like hours later, I wake up with barely any memory of what happened to me.

How odd, I muse.

___________

"Fuck!" I shoot out of bed, muttering miscellaneous curse words as I stumble to the bathroom. I had slept off again after waking up drenched in sweat earlier. But I end up sleeping too long forgetting I have an appointment by 10:00 AM, and according to the wall clock, it's 9:30 AM.

Talk of being tardy.

I jump into the shower but skip right out after deciding against having a bath. There's no time for such luxury.

"Coffee?" Mom asks from behind the counter as soon as I stumble into the living room.

"Nope." I decline, crouching down to fix the lace of my boots that's threatening to pummel me to the floor.

"Where are you going in such a hurry anyway?" She lifts the carafe, emptying the contents into her cup, and I don't have time to ask why her eyes look so hollow and her lips slightly chapped.

Is she sick or what?

"Job interview," I reply curtly and rise, quickly running my hands through my hair to smoothen it out.

"Another magazine company?" She crosses the room and walks past me, her eyes lingering a bit on my chest, and I know she is silently disapproving of the way the cotton top makes it obvious that I am not wearing a bra.

I hate wearing bras. Seriously, I usually wear that thing like ten percent and leave my breast bare the remaining 90 percent of the time. I don't know why but I am always very uncomfortable. The materials seem to irritate my skin a lot and secondly, not wearing a bra always makes trying to get kinky easier because sometimes, pulling off that dang hook used to be a hassle.

Bra-less life is a life full of comfort and freedom.

"Nope." I shake my head, moving over to the large mirror we nail by the corridor just to give myself a final once-over. 

Lips are alluring with red matte lipstick, and lashes are shiny and luscious, thanks to the new make-up products I recently got. My boobs look perky under the white top and the multilayered necklace blends perfectly with my golden skin.

I have put my hair in bold curls earlier but looking at it right now, I am suddenly not sure it's a good idea. But I don't have time to change it so I am going to have to deal with it. 

"Where?" she asks, suspicion lacing her tone.

"I'll tell you when I get back." I flash her a smile and whisk myself out of the house.

Fifteen minutes later, I am walking through the lobby of Platinum Penny, an elegant stride to my steps because I am a woman on a mission.

"Good morning, Miss Marrow," the perky blonde behind the solid, sandstone desk flashes me a smile that can blind anyone.

"Morning, Loretta." I return what I hope is a perfect mirror of her smile and not a grimace, then walk into the elevator which fluidly whisks me to the twentieth floor. 

Mom still thinks I need a stable cash inflow. So, since I am more inclined to the fashion industry, I want to try establishing my fashion line. And she's quite happy about the idea.

I have done multiple research on it and tried to familiarize myself with the concept because I didn't study fashion design, though I know a little about sewing garments. It doesn't matter whether I can sew or not. I will have designers do that. The most important thing is to have the idea and I do.

But to venture into this new phase, I need money, and shockingly enough, I don't have millions stashed up somewhere like my mother often says. I need a stable job to get substantial capital. 

Since getting jobs in magazine companies and some other industries are starting to seem rather impossible, I have decided to go back to my vomit.

Yesterday, I overheard Romeo talking to his secretary about recruiting new workers, starting today. He hasn't been with a PA in a long while, the reason why work has been so cumbersome for him. I am sure they will try to get him another one. I just need to double-cross them because there's no better place to work than Platinum Penny.

"The applicants for my PA," Romeo's deep voice resonates through the large room at the same time I push open the oak door.

My intrusion causes him to pause, his violet eyes falling on me. And his action of glancing at his wristwatch doesn't go unnoticed by me. I know why he did that. The Addie he knows goes jogging in the morning and comes back to sleep until noon. So me being here so early is raising the alarm.

"Is there anyone that looks promising yet?" he continues, "Anyone responsible and quick-witted?

Martin's azure eyes briefly fall on me, and the young man patronizes me with a warm smile.

"There were a total of fifty applicants. At least five percent of them know what they are doing." 

"Let them screen the five percent and make sure you get me someone that wants to work." The command in his tone automatically makes heat travel to my core. 

The two men continue to engage in company talks and I just make myself comfortable on the chair at the other side of his desk, facing him.

I get myself busy flipping through my phone, pretending I am not into their discussion, and all the while feeling it every time his dark gaze will linger on me.

"Get hold of the Sterling Brothers and let me know why they haven't gotten back to me." He dismisses Martins after what feels like forever, then the man exits, throwing me another shy smile.

Such a coy one.

I hear the wheels of Romeo's swivel chair scrape against the sandstone floor, and I lift my gaze from my phone to meet him.

"Why are you here, Addie?" his back is slouched on the chair now, elbow propped up on the silver arm, his forefinger and the index one pressing against his temple. 

This is a subtle red flag. I need to play my card fast.

"Ouch, you make me feel like you don't want me anymore." I fake an agonized expression and he rolls his beautiful eyes at me with a tired sigh.

"Is that even possible?" his left brow is lazily raised and he looks partially disappointed, "To not want you anymore?"

A sultry smile dances its way to my lips and I slowly rise to my feet, the heavy platform of my boots hitting the floor as I walk around the table to him.

"But you don't look too happy to see me." I sit sideways on his lap and gently palm his cheek, my thumb caressing the bag under his left eye.

He looks so stressed.

"That's not it," the tip of his manicured finger trail lines on my exposed leg, "I'm just uncomfortable with you coming this early because I know it means trouble."

"So you're saying I'm a troublemaker?" my finger goes under his chin, forcing his eyes to connect with my heated ones.

"Well, are you saying you are not?" He challenges me, humor dancing in his dark eyes, and it gets me a little relieved. I hate it when he's all moody and you know, unaccommodating.

"Okay, maybe I am."

"It's not a maybe, Addie," he grins, "You are a certified troublemaker. You and trouble are like conjoined twins."

"Okay, enough," I playfully slap his chest, shivering a bit when his palm rests on the skin that peeks out of the open slit in my leather skirt, the heat his touch brings quickly sending jolts of electricity through me.

"So why are you here?" His tone is husky as he presses a long kiss at the base of my ear.

"I came to look for a job," I say casually, masking the nervousness, and I feel him tense a bit at my comment.

"Where?" he pulls away slightly, his brows knitting in confusion.

"Here, of course." I roll my eyes.

Please, don't make this difficult.

"You know you can't work here," he shakes his head in disapproval, "Besides, what happened to the idea of working at a fashion magazine company?"

"None seems ready to take me," I say with a scoff, "And at this stage, where I work doesn't matter to me cause I have a plan now."

"I fired you because you were incompetent, Addie," he just has to remind me. "What makes you think I'll hire you again?"

"No, you said, go and reflect on yourself." 

"Which is a subtle way to say, you are fired, for God's sake." He utters, grinding his jaws a little, his hand lifting from my thigh, leaving behind a gust of coldness there.

"Well, I didn't read it like that."

"Well, that's what it meant." He counters, not ready to cave.

"Romeo," I practically whine, bringing my face closer to his, purposely brushing my lips against his in a tease.

His eyes clench before he opens them again.

"Come on, Addie," his breath comes out a little heavy and his eyes darken with lust, "Don't manipulate me now."

"It's just for a year, Romeo," I bargain, "I just need to save up a capital."

"Capital? Capital for what?" he raises a comical brow, partially curious.

"I have decided to establish my fashion line," I confess and he looks impressed though slightly taken aback, "I can work for the year to save up a little so I can start small, then you know, spread my wings?"

"Why am I just hearing this now?" he asked, but not the least annoyed, just surprised.

"Because it just occurred to me like three days ago?" 

He looks thoughtful for a while, his hand returning to rest on my thigh again but this time, it isn't just sitting idly. It's exploring my skin, spreading warmth, and sending a blanket invitation to arousal.

"What do you want to do?" His hot breath slaps against my cheek, "I can help you do it. How much are we looking at?"

"I knew you were gonna try to charge in like some valiant knight. But I don't want your money," I raise a finger in warning, "I'm not some fucking charity case, you know? I can be productive on my own."

"Addie—"

"—you can persuade me, but trust me, you won't persuade me."

I don't even know if what I just said makes sense.

He sighs harshly, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me closer to his hard chest.

"What do you want to do here?" He buries his face into my chest, his thumb caressing the skin on my arm and I can hardly think straight again as my entire body gravitates toward his sinful touches.

"Since I'm not qualified to work in any of the departments, I was hoping I could just be your PA again, you know." I bite down on my lower lip to stifle a sound, my legs pressed together when his lips graze my neck, sucking a little on my sweet pot, while the pad of his thumb massages my nipples over the thin material. 

"But you weren't exactly experienced, Addie," He hitches up my skirt, his hand wandering in between my legs, and my pussy ached, awaiting his arrival.

"You told me to go and reflect on myself and I did- fuck," I whimper when his callous hand goes under my top and begins to knead my breast and tweak my nipple.

"Aren't I so greedy?" he whispers into my neck, his voice strained, "So fucking greedy that the thought of having you around me for a whole day is gonna make me deny the qualified applicants."

"Just slot them into another department?" I hiss and moan when his hand nears my pussy lips. 

"Addie," his husky voice is laced with dark desires.

"Fuck-yes?" I cry out in pleasure, clutching his shoulder when the pad of his finger thumps my aching clit.

"You came prepared didn't you?" He hums dangerously, pinching my clit and I shiver feverishly against him, "Such a naughty slut you are, huh? Leaving your fucking cunt bare just to trap me, isn't it?"

Oops.

"Well I'm gonna have it cause you offered it," his voice is delicious and dark as three fingers slide into my wet slit, eliciting a cry of pleasure from me, "I'm gonna bend you over this desk, you whore, and I'm gonna fuck this tight pussy until you are sore and your legs are shaking. I'm gonna take you over and over again until you pass out, Addie."

Darling, that's the plan.