Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Behind Closed Doors

Lancelot's P.O.V:

It was 11.46 am when Anaya brought her into my office. I'd been dreading this moment for a while now, but this is important.

Anaya looks a little flustered as I turn my attention towards her, she motions her in and then stands behind the set of chairs in which Ms. McKinley takes a seat, pen and paper in hand, ready for taking notes. I'll probably never admit it to her face but she's indeed a very efficient Secretary. But this meeting cannot include her.

"Ms. Johnson, you won't be required for this meeting. Please wait outside and shut the door behind you." I told her sternly.

At first, she looked stunned, but then she nodded her head and went outside the room, closing the door shut behind her. It was only then that the viper spoke.

"My, my Lancelot." Trevina angled her head to one side, blonde hair sliding over her shoulders like liquid silk. "I didn't expect you to turn out to be the rebellious one."

"How long will you take to complete the decorations?"

"What?" She looked at me startled.

"How long will you take to complete the decorations?" I repeated.

Her laughter had the power to make mortals and immortals her slave. With her head thrown back, the long slender column of her neck exposed and her long blonde curls sliding over her shoulders with a sensual caress; she lived up to her give name. Poison Aphrodite.

Her laughter irritated me further. But I said nothing; simply waited for her tricks to be over and done with.

"Oh Lance! What has happened to you?" She crossed her legs, deliberately letting the satin of her dress slide off to expose porcelain skin. "You were always the playful one. Fun, sensual and carefree."

"Irresponsible, you mean." I stared at her unflinching as those red lips curved up.

"God no!" She gasped. "You were responsible for giving me the best six years of my life! Years I haven't forgotten till date."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "Funny how I can't recall them at all." And I really didn't. She was a past I'd long forgotten and I'd very much like to keep it that way. There is a reason why I've dug up old graves, a reason which has nothing to do with dipping in that vipers pit again.

Her face paled. "You've changed Lance. I used to know you so well. And you, I."

"If you knew me as well as you claim Trevina, then you know that I hate having to repeat myself." I let my inner demon reign in my voice.

Startled, she looked at me wide eyed, and then lowered her gaze. There was no trace of seduction in her voice when she spoke next. "It'll depend on the size of the hotel you've built."

"Five storied two fifty rooms, lounge, hall, five dining rooms and pools for each floor and an underground bar." I listed.

"Three months." Was her curt reply.

"I'm paying you fifty million for a reason, Trevina. Five times the amount for a hotel this small in size. I want to open it next month." I stood up from my chair. "Wrap everything up by this weekend. We'll be staying there for the duration of the month. Everything you want for the decorations will be made available to you instantly."

"Of course. I expected no less." Trevina raised her chin. "Make sure all my expenses are covered."

With that, she stood up and marched out the door, slamming it shut on her way out. I sighed. And then called out, "If you want to eavesdrop so badly, wouldn't it have been better to stay in the room Ms. Johnson?"

She came inside the room a second later through the door that attached my cabin to hers, a guilty flush on her face. And the pure, vibrancy of her life force struck me anew.

Form the day I'd first seen her, that neatly transparent glow of her life had my palms itching. It was so pure and bright. Untouched.

"Sorry," the lush pink of her cheeks swept down her slender throat before disappearing under the collar of her cream-colored shirt. For some reason, it made me want to explore just how much further that color spread. "She's really beautiful."

That had me raising my eyebrows. She's been working for me for two whole days and yet she finds a viper beautiful? However, she has worked for Ace for nearly 3 years. Did she feel anything towards him?

"Can I get something for you, Mr. Eustis?" Her voice was strong and clear when she spoke.

"Tell Martin to prepare the car. And tell me the name of the next person on the list."

Anaya's P.O.V:

Next one on the list? Wh-oh! The red diary of entanglements list.

I went back to my cabin and brought back the diary with me. Scratching out Ms. Brook’s name, I looked up the next that I hadn't had a chance of telling him yesterday. "Alison Smith."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement and took some files in his hand before rounding the desk and coming to stand in front of me. Or should I say, tower over me. "I won't be returning today or tomorrow, so take care of the management while I'm gone and when I get back the day after, I want full details of every important call that you'll be receiving on my behalf. You may go home early today if all the files in your desk have been sorted out. And if Meli-Ms. McKinley asks for me, tell her it's none of her business."

With that, he was out the door, the elevator closing an instant later and I released the breath that I had no idea of holding.

What was I expecting from him? A 'thank you' for hiring Ms. McKinley before Bluestar? A 'well done' for all my hard work? A confirmation of permanence of my work as his Personal Secretary? Maybe even a scolding for eavesdropping?

But nooooo! Mr. Lancelot Eustis is not the complementing type. Neither is he the type to waste words on his puny little secretary. He didn't even spare Ms. McKinley and they'd been together for six fucking years! "It's like working for a damn wall....a hot, muscular wall." Hey, there's no shame in appreciating beauty, if the person you're appreciating doesn't find out about it.

I'd only just began to go through the pile of files I'd found on my desk upon my arrival when the phone began ringing. I picked it up and began noting down the call for reporting tomorrow.

*

*

Ten files and twenty-nine important calls later, I heard the familiar ring tone of my cell phone.

"Anaya speaking." I received without looking at the caller id.

"And this is Neil Armstrong's second cousin reporting from Orbit Station 9."

"Marissa."

"Hello bestie!"

"Good God, Mary!" I looked at the calendar on my desk. "Five days! I can't believe you haven't called me in five freaking days!"

"Chill Sunny!" She used her ridiculous nickname for me. "Everyone here isn't an android. Normal human beings can't handle thirty five projects at once."

"Um...that's thirty two and a half and nearly all of them were complete, just needs to be approved by legal." I corrected.

"And why are we even discussing stupid files? Tell me how's life working for the other Mr. Eustis?" Fishing for gossip, as usual.

Marissa Starley has been my best friend since college. We'd even landed our internships together at Bluestar and later on our jobs. But while I'd gotten promoted as Antony's Personal Secretary, Mary worked as a Project Instructor at HQ. And now that I'm here at Reefwood, Mary has been promoted to take my place.

"Please don't ask." I told her now. "I've started to curse my existence because of him."

"You mean he's not the lazy ass guy everyone says he is?" She asks.

"God no! I've been working my ass off since I stepped foot in this office and every time I'm in his cabin, he's always busy, either on his phone confirming deals or going through his old files, double checking for mistakes. And now he's off to God knows where and I'm in charge of administration." I complained.

"Wait a minute!" She halted me. "You mean him too?"

"Why? Has Antony disappeared as well?" I asked. Hopefully it's a family thing and not a showdown between the two.

"Yeah. He said something about a wedding." Mary said, much to my relief. "Maybe they're both going. You know what this means right?"

"Oh, come on Mary! We can't go to a bar right now." I whined. This is usually what she makes me do when we get off work early. "Besides, I have tons of paperwork to complete."

"Look, neither of our bosses are here tonight. They'll never know even if we finish it tomorrow." She tried to convince me. "Come on, please? We haven't seen each other for five whole days! It'll be fun. You can stay over at my apartment tonight."

Well...she did have a valid point. "Okay. The usual?"

"YES!" Mary almost blew out my eardrums. "Yes, Joe's in twenty. I'll see you there. Bye!"

Mary hung up and I finally saw the time. 8.49 p.m. There were only about six or seven files left on my table. I'm pretty sure I can finish those tomorrow morning.

So I shut the lights, gathered all the corrected files and put them in a basket for reprinting and handed it to the peon. Then I decided to call it a day and went off to Joe's Bar to meet Mary.