Chapter 4
Valencia
My heart stopped beating for a second.
Almost.
Then it wanted to jump out of my mouth and onto the floor.
I had never spoken to anyone like that. Never flirted like this.
I barely got any sleep last night.
And I was ashamed of how many times I had zoomed in on the picture to get a good look at those abs.
He was well built, no doubts about that, but damn, how could someone be so perfect? I had not really gotten to the point of imagining him shirtless because I had been too busy staring at his face.
But the surprise image left me feeling utterly stunned.
That body…that man…was he really mine?
Technically, I owned him, so why did my heart palpitate wildly upon seeing him call me a good girl?
I was melting already, and he had not even touched me yet.
There had been no further messages from him, but boy was I already looking forward to our next meeting.
My alarm went off at that exact moment, bringing me back to the present.
I had an office to go to, files to read.
Suddenly, the only thing filling me with excitement in the morning seemed dull.
‘Get a grip on yourself, Val’ I reminded myself sternly and got up from the bed.
After brushing my teeth and showering, I was in my office at 9.30 am.
And the moment I pushed the glass door aside to let the cool air of the AC blast upon me, I heard a voice.
“You are late”
I directed my attention to the owner of the voice. It was a woman, in her early thirties with bushy hair, and was wearing a pale pink dress.
A hideous pink colored brooch sat on her chest.
I glanced at the wall clock on the wall opposite me and replied,
“Only by thirty minutes”
The woman wasn’t impressed.
“Is that what you tell to your client who lost a case because you were late to file the case papers? Will that be your justification
1/4
Haus
Was this woman mental?
“I am the new head of this office and I want everybody to respect time and work hard.”
“But, I have never been late in my life…” I began.
“Silence!!” She thundered and narrowed her eyes at me.
“You not only have to learn to respect time, but also your seniors. And I will be the one to teach you manners.”
She glowered and snapped at me when I tried to open my mouth again.
“Filing section. Now!! There are hundreds of files in disarray. Sort, tag and declutter it.”
What?
The filing section was in the basement, and it was overflowing with files. It would take me ages to get that done.
“But, we have started digitizing most of-”
“If you dare go against my orders one more time, you will be liable for disciplinary action. So tread carefully.”
The hell?
Who was this woman to show up out of nowhere and bully me? I was annoyed and frustrated, but when I saw other employees gathering, I only nodded and began walking towards the basement.
The woman grabbed me by the elbow and added, “You are going to address me as Ms Briggs or mam, understood?”
I tried not to punch her face and kept my calm before answering, “Sure, mam”
She was the fifth head of the office in the past two months. I wondered why they could not keep a person at the job even with such lucrative pay and perks.
I hoped she would be fired soon too.
Stomping my feet on my way down the stairs, I looked at the space gloomily.
I was the best goddamn associate in the bureau, and nobody had ever had a reason to point fingers at me.
I was late for the first time in my life after sitting for several nights in a row, helping my seniors get the papers sorted or researching to find some legal loophole.
And this is how I get rewarded for my hard work and dedication?
I placed my bag on the side, tied my hair in a bun, and rolled up my sleeves.
This was going to take forever.
I spent all of my work hours doing the highly boring and sleep inducing task of sorting out files. There were too many of them.
It would take me weeks to get everything done.
2/4
And there was nobody downstairs to even talk to. My back hurt from lifting the boxes and placing them in their assigned sections.
It was getting claustrophobic here, so I looked around to find the AC remote when I knocked off a box of files.
They were old, some had caught mold and their pages had yellowed.
I groaned at the thought of having to xerox them all and file them neatly again.
Cursing my fate, I flipped open the files and began to carefully print the xerox copies.
A paper fluttered down, and I bent down to grab it.
It was then that the writing caught my attention.
It was an old, classified paper. Its edges had crumpled, and the writing had grown very faint, too.
But there was a black and white grainy photo on it.
The blurred image was the side profile of a tall man. I couldn’t really make out anything else about him. There was also something scribbled in an ancient language I could not decipher completely.
But even through the smudged words, I read two words. Exiled Heir.
Heir to what? And why was he exiled?
Before I could read any further, I heard an angry hiss from behind me.
“How dare you look at classified files?” Ms Briggs shouted, her nostrils flaring.
My throat dried up. “It-it fell out of a box. I was just sorting-”
She walked over, snatched the file from my hands, and tucked it beneath her arm.
“This file doesn’t exist,” she said quietly. “If anyone asks, you didn’t see it.”
She turned and walked away like nothing had happened.
Leaving me there, stunned.
She had barely climbed back to the first floor when my phone buzzed.
There was a text message from my purchased doll.
I had still not saved his number. But I knew it was him.
Unknown number: Good morning, owner. What would you like me to do today?
Owner?
My cheeks flushed at that word, and I was glad he was not around to see it.
Me: Not disappearing in the middle of the conversation would be nice for starters.
I typed with a frown.
3/4
I saw the three dots appear on my screen. He was typing already.
Unknown number: I thought I apologized for that last night.
Yeah, by sending me a raunchy pic?
Me: If you think sending me an almost nude pic of yourself is all it takes to please me, you are wrong.
A pause.
My eyes were glued to the screen, and I thought he wouldn’t reply. But after several seconds, he shot me a reply.
Unknown number: I apologize for leaving without a word, my lady. Let me know how I should make up for the grave error.
I almost chuckled at the way he was talking to me. Like I was some princess, and he was my servant.
I had not paid him a dime yet, and I still didn’t know his name.
Me: I think I was too hasty in my decision. Now, you are on probation. And only if you perform well in your duties will you have truly passed the test.
I typed with a frown. And the reply was instant.
Unknown number: My lady is angry with me and she has every right to feel so. With your permission, I would like to allow a chance to perform my duties well.
No hesitation, no tantrums, no alpha shit.
He just accepted his fate readily.
I had expected him to just call quits and block me, but here he was still trying to appease me.
Me: That’s much better. I expect you at my doorstep when I’m home.
Giggling to myself, I saved his number as ‘The intern’ and received his reply shortly.
The Intern: I’ll be there, my lady.
