Dieforme,Mr.Hall

June

“Morning sir.” I say, holding the elevator doors open for Mr. Smith who makes his way in after me.

“Miss Selwyn. How was your first day with us?” He asks as the elevators make their way up.

“Honestly, it couldn’t have gone worse. Mr. Hall sent me home in a rage.” I reply and he turns to me with a highly quizzical brow.

“No way.”

“I’m serious.” I reply.

“Pardon his manners, he has so much to take care of in a day and doesn’t handle any hitch to his schedule well.” Mr. Smith says. Why couldn’t my so-called boss be as reasonable and approachable as this man?

“I was trying to help! I was taking coffee to his client when he suddenly went ballistic.” I say with a sigh of exasperation.

“Umm, that doesn’t sound right.” He says, scratching his brow lightly.

“It’s what happened. Mr. Phineas was nowhere to be found so I was taking the refreshment tray to Mr. Ramsay, what else was I to do?”

“Oh.” Mr. Smith says with a frown. “You don’t interrupt his meetings with Mr. Ramsay, ever. Did I not include that in your guide?”

“No.” I deadpan. How am I supposed to keep up when there are so many rules and they keep adding new secret ones?

“An oversight on my part. I’ll speak to him on your behalf.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I reply with a smile. The smile dies when we get off the elevator and I remember the real reason I’m here. Will he become jobless once I kill his boss? I quickly shove the thoughts into a box and slam it shut. I’ll cross that bridge later.

Fortunately for me, I don’t have time to wallow in my dark thoughts because once again, I find myself simmering in anger.

Mr. Hall hasn’t picked a single call of mine, Mr. Phineas is taking the refreshment trays in instead of me, and twice now my “boss” has called to request for coffee but he called Mr. Phineas’s desk! I sit at my desk, my foot tapping impatiently as I glare daggers at his cool profile through the glass walls. I might as well be a little invisible girl.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore.

“Umm Blondie..?” Mr. Phineas asks as I storm towards his door once the next client is out. “I wouldn’t advice-“

I don’t wait to hear what a terrible idea this is as I throw his door open and he looks up from his computer with that superior glare.

“May I help you, Miss Selwyn?” He asks cooly.

“Aa a matter of fact, yes.” I reply, taking a deep breath and getting it off my chest. “I understand you don’t like me, I’m a new face, there’s some bad history between us but Mr. Hall, I’m here to work and you need to let me work.”

“What else do you think you are doing here?”

“I don’t know!” I say, throwing my hands in the air, irritated by his stupid perfect face. “I’ve sat on that desk all morning idle and useless while you field away all my calls. If this is about yesterday, I’m sorry! I was just trying to help.”

“I don’t care about your intentions, Miss Selwyn.” He says, rising to his full impressive height. He didn’t raise his voice but he doesn’t need to. “I care about your actions, their consequences. You want to work for me?” He slowly strides towards me, a hand in his pocket, a dangerous predator stalking prey. “I demand efficiency, perfection. Can you give it to me?”

“Yes!” I emphasize. “But you need to let me do my work!”

“You want to work so badly?” He asks and the smile on his face sends a warning tingle down my spine.

“Yes…?”

He grabs a tall sheaf of papers from the desk behind him and dumps it on my arm, making me stagger with the weight.

“Then work.” He replies and I stare at him in disbelief. “Everything here needs to be logged in in… three hours.”

“What?!” I gape at the enormous stack that should take a full day to log.

“What? Is the work too much for you-“

“No.” I cut him off, gripping the stack protectively as I bare my teeth in a smile. “I’ll have them logged in record time.”

“Three hours.” He replies, baring his teeth in response.

“Yes sir.” I say and turn to leave.

“You know what happens if you fail right?” He asks and I pause. He has a shit-eating smile on his face, and he would have been heart-stoppingly handsome if he wasn’t radiating pure evil. “You’re fired.”

There it goes- the catch. I presented the opportunity and he found a way to get rid of me. The devil. Another woman would fall into despair but not even heavenly forces could ruin this job for me.

I bare my teeth in reply. “Noted sir.”

Mr. Phineas tuts in disapproval as I come back out.

“Are you trying to find the fastest route to unemployment?” He asks as I sit at my desk and crack my fingers.

“On the contrary, I’m trying to keep this job.” I say and grab the first folder.

“Are you supposed to log all of that in today?” He asks, coming over and flipping through them with obvious distaste.

“In three hours.” I reply and he exclaims.

“What?!”

I stretch my wrists, then set my timer.

“Do you need help?” He asks, grabbing the next folder and I stop him with an arm.

“I’ve got this.” I tell him.

Then I set my fingers on the keyboard and let them fly.

Time passes but I’m not fully aware of it. It’s just me and the tall sheaf of papers that I burn through with inhuman speed. Mr. Phineas sets coffee down on my table a few times and I chug them down each time. Clients go in and out, my fingers start to strain and my neck feels like it has acquired a permanent crick and yet, on I work. At a point, my neck prickles and I glance up to find Mr. Hall staring at me through the glass doors. My heart leaps into my throat and I check the time- one more hour left. It’s been two hours and I’ve logged more than half of the stack— to Mr. Phineas’ ongoing disbelief. I meet my evil boss’s eyes and smile, wiggle my fingers at him and just barely resist blowing him a kiss before I set my jaw and get back to work. He thought he found an easy way to get rid of me? As if. I’m a girl that has pulled a hundred odd jobs to get my sister the medicine she needs, I became a walking typewriter a few years back when I pulled two jobs as a daytime secretary and a nighttime bartender.

Finally, I punch in the last word and Mr. Phineas explodes into applause behind me, startling me out of my reverie.

“You did it!” He exclaims excitedly. “You actually did it!”

I grin and stand, my bones groaning appreciatively with the change in position as I stretch. Three minutes on the clock.

“I’m sure I just set a new record.” I say appreciatively.

“Girl! You are fucking awesome.” He gives me a resounding high-five and the tingling at my neck lets me know Mr. Hall’s eyes are on me. I smile as I make my way back into his office where he folds his arms and watches me.

“It’s done.” I say, setting the pile of papers back on his desk, to a highly quizzical brow.

“All fifteen of the folders?” He asks.

“Every last one.” I reply, a little too smugly.

“Without mistakes?”

“Why don’t you open your computer and find out yourself?” I ask, placing a hand on my hip and staring him down with a triumphant smile on my lips. Silence stretches between us and my smile grows wider. He would never admit underestimating me.

“Discard the papers.” He says finally and my smile dims. I’m not sure what I was expecting but the dismissal is not it. I grab them anyway and leave.

“And Miss Selwyn?” He asks when I’m at the door.

“Yes?!” I answer a little too enthusiastically.

“Send the next client in… with refreshments.” He says and I break into a big grin.

“Yes sir.” I reply.

“I brought you lunch.” Mr. Phineas says an hour later.

He was all too happy to hand over my duties and go for his lunch break while I was here with my boss who I’m realizing misses lunch more often than he doesn’t.

“I could kiss you.” I reply, pulling the bag closer.

“Careful, lest I feel motivated to deliver your breakfast, lunch and dinner.” He replies and I laugh. I’ve confirmed he swings for the opposite gender so it’s nothing more than harmless flirting.

My phone rings suddenly and I pick it up and glance at Mr. Hall.

“Get me a cup of coffee.” He orders into the phone and I nearly trip over myself hurrying to do his bidding.

“Yes sir!”

He is thumbing through a folder and doesn’t look up when I put it down.

“Thank you.” He says absently and picks it up.

I take a slow bow, a quick scan of the document in front of him shows it’s not the folder I’m to retrieve. I’m just turning to leave when he hisses and stares at the cup in his hand like it offended him.

“Take it back.” He orders, setting it down. “And get my coffee right.”

“Of course!” I say, realizing I added two cubes of sugar instead of one.

“What’s wrong?” Mr. Phineas asks as he checks out. He always leaves after lunch and I wish Mr. Hall would do that too so I’ll be able to search for the document I need before it’s too late.

“Nothing.” I reply as I brew another one and grab a cup. “I added two cubes of sugar.”

“An honest mistake, I personally have no idea how anyone takes coffee with less than six cubes.” He’s trying to make me feel better so I smile.

The elevator doors open and I escort the next client in— a huge Darnish man with thick red hair and beard. I pretend I don’t see him leering at my ass.

“Ambrose! Look at you, you look even more arrogant than I remember.” The man exclaims in a boisterous voice and Mr. Hall cracks a smile as he pumps the man’s enthusiastic fist.

“Freight, you look even uglier than I remember.” Mr. Hall replies and while the man guffaws, I sneak a glance at the two of them. The ease between them suggests they are friends. “Take a seat.”

Gingerly, I step forward to set the cup of coffee down when I see the Darnish man’s hand move in my periphery. I react instinctively, the tray of coffee crashing down from my fingers as I spin around and grip the hand that was aimed to grope my ass, twisting it and forcing the bigger man to cry out in shock…