Romance: Working for the Billionaire's Pleasure (5 page)

Chapter 10

I am shattered.

For the first time in my life, I had the chance to stand up for myself.

And I did.  I quit this job.

I stood in front of the most beautiful man I have ever met and told him that I couldn’t work for him.  It took every ounce of my courage to do that, but I couldn’t resist his control.

I crumbled under the pressure of his dominance. 

After crying in the loneliness of a locked toilet cubicle, I return to my desk with smudged make-up.

What a horrible day.

I sit at my desk, fuming about Mitchell’s complete disregard for me and for the future of the music industry.  A week ago, this company would have falling over itself trying to hold onto that band.  Joel would have jumped at the chance to develop this band.  Joel wouldn’t have cared that they wouldn’t make money because it was never about the money. 

Large bands signed with our record label because we had the reputation of looking after the future of the music industry, but not anymore.

Not now.

Now we are all about the money, nothing else. 

We might as well be a bank.

If it doesn’t have the potential to make a lot of money, then Mitchell will shut it down.  That’s all he cares about.

Money.

Those dirty, seductive, evil green notes.

It's not what I’m about and that’s not what this company is about.  How could I possibly convince Mitchell that this is not the way to go?  

Maybe I shouldn’t convince him? 

I sit at my desk, thinking about my options.

I slept with him.

I slept with my boss.

I don’t feel great about that. 

I don’t feel good about that at all.

Can I swallow my pride and keep working for him?

I don’t know if I can.

As I ponder that thought, another email comes through from Mitchell.

It is just one word.

The email does not begin with hello and there is no goodbye.  There is no thank you or any other statement.

It merely says,

Coffee.

That’s it.

A directive for me to follow. 

And that is all I am now to this company – I am just another employee to make the boss feel good about himself.

That is not good enough for me.

I can’t take that.

I won’t take that.

I am worth more than that.  I am a valuable member of society.

I am a woman.

I storm into Mitchell’s office, and this time, he looks up at me.

His eyebrows rise when he doesn’t see a coffee in my hands.

“Where’s my coffee?”

“I quit.”

I state the words firmly.

“Go and get my coffee first.”

“What?”

Is he serious? 

“You can’t leave this business, Chloe.  This business is as much a part of your personality as your sexiness is.”

“No it’s not.  I am more than this business.”

“You are not.  This business is all you know.  You can’t leave that.  You would be nothing without this business.”

He sets down the statement as a challenge.  Do I know anything other than this business?

Am I brave enough to accept his challenge?

I stare at his face.

His beautiful, rugged face.

And all I can think is one word –
bastard
.

“Stuff your business.”

With huff, I storm out of his office to pack my desk.

Chapter 11

Eva is quick to join me for a debrief chat in my apartment.

“You walked out the door?” she asks.

I nod, still with tears in my eyes, “It feels like I’ve lost a part of my soul.  That business is all I have known as an adult.  I have known nothing different.  From the moment I started to become an adult, it is all I have I have done.  It’s taken up my days, my nights and my weekends.  I don’t know who I am without the business.”

“You’re more than just the job, Chloe.  You are so much more than that, you said so yourself.  You are a smart, successful, funny, sexy woman.  You are not that job.  You are your own woman.”

“But I feel like a part of me has died, Eva.  I feel like I have thrown away the best relationship I have ever had.  The job was my boyfriend.  It was always there when I needed it.”

“Then maybe it is a good thing that you have quit.  Maybe it is the best thing to ever happen for you.  Everything happens for a reason, right?”

“I don’t know…”

Eva is trying her best to be supportive, but even she knows how much the business meant to me.  Most of our conversations have been about work and most of my thoughts were about my job.  I don’t know who I am without it.

What will Eva and I talk about without the business?

What will I fill my time with?

“The more I think about it,” Eva continues, “The more I know that it is the right thing for you to do.  The job was an obsession for you.  That’s not healthy.  You need to discover who you are without the job.  You need to find out what is important to you without business.”

“What am I going to do?” I whisper to myself.

“Maybe start your own business?” Eva smiles.

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Eva pours another glass of wine and hands it to me.

“And I still have bills to pay,” I sigh.

“You could always pick up a job at a bar.  You’re pretty and funny – that’s all that is required for a job behind a bar.”

“But I don’t want to work behind a bar,” I slump to the couch, “I want my old job back.  I want my old life back.  Why can’t everything just be the same as it was two weeks ago?”

“Because that’s not life, Chloe.”

Eva sits quietly next on the couch and stares at me.

“Stop looking at me,” I say to her.

The longer she looks at me, the more I can feel the tears building. 

Damn.

For so long, I have been trying to be a strong, confident woman, but right now, I can feel the tears welling up from deep within me.

“Let it out,” Eva says calmly.

I avoid eye contact.

“It’s ok,” she reassures me.

I look at her.

Damn.

My face tries to fight back the tears but it is no use.

Once the first tear comes out, the rest pour out in a flood.  I collapse into Eva’s arms and let the tears flow.

They don’t stop.

I want to stop crying but I can’t.

Eva holds me in a reassuring hug, letting me know that she is there to support me.

“This is not the end,” she says after a while, “This is the beginning.  It’s the beginning of a new adventure for you.  This is the start of something big.”

I wish I believed her.

“I’ll never have another job as good as that one,” I mumble into her jumper.

“Don’t talk like that,” Eva pulls away from the hug and stares me in the eyes, “You have a lot of skills and you could land another job in the industry tomorrow.  Your name is respected by the people that matter.”

“But my name is unknown by the people that hire people.”

“They don’t matter.  It’s the people in the industry that matter.”

I shake my head and Eva pulls me back to the hug.

“I wouldn’t even know who to call,” I whisper.

“Start with everyone you know whose name starts with the letter and A, and work your way through.  You’re bound to find someone who can help you.”

I shake my head.

“Oh come one.  Where is that famed Chloe drive?”

“It died with the job,” I turn back to the wine.

“Oh no, it didn’t,” Eva is strong, “You don’t give up just because you got a bad break.  You love this industry and you love what you do.  You need to chase what’s important.”

“Maybe you’re right…”

“Maybe?  No.  I am right.  You are going to get back on your feet quicker than you imagine.  Your drive is going to land you another get job.”

I really hope she’s right…

Chapter 12

One month later…

I open another email and it is another rejection.

I brush the rejection off.  It’s not like I wanted that job anyway.

I’ve gotten used to rejection over the past month.  I started out by only applying for jobs I really wanted, but I didn’t even land an interview.  Those rejection letters hurt the most.

After two weeks of rejection after rejection, I realized I needed to start applying for jobs that may not be exactly what I’m after but would be good for now.  Those rejections hurt too.

Then I starting applying for anything that I could possibly do.

But I still can’t land a job.

Not even an interview.

I have even received the same rejection letter numerous times.  It starts with:

‘Dear Candidate,

We thank you for your application for the advertised position.  At this time, we did not find you to be a suitable applicant.  We will blah, blah, blah….’

It seems my previous job title of ‘Personal Assistant’ doesn’t command a lot of respect.  Joel offered to change my job title to ‘Business Manager’ or ‘Client Manager’, but I never saw the point of it.  I never thought I would be looking for another job.

I thought I had that job for life.

When the potential new employers see ‘Personal Assistant’, they dismiss me as a bimbo straight away. 

I have even thought about lying on the application, but I wouldn’t do that - it wouldn’t feel right. 

I have called all my old contacts, but none of them have been able to help me.  I guess that what’s the music industry is like.  When you’re somebody, everyone wants to know you but when you’re nobody, nobody even wants to answer your call.

And my old boss Joel has been no help at all.

I can’t even get a hold of him.  I found out that he is currently in the Bahamas living a very relaxing life, but he has never returned my calls. 

Prick.

Looking back, I know how much I meant to him now. 

I was an employee and nothing more.  A good employee, but nothing more than that. 

Although it was a hard lesson, it was a good lesson to learn.  I learnt that my employer is nothing more than an employer.  They are running a business and I was only a part of that business. 

I’m sure I’ll take that knowledge with me for the rest of my life. 

Luckily, I was working so hard over my adult life that I didn’t have time to spend much of my earnings.  I had been putting an amount away each month and forgetting about it. 

I was working so much that I didn’t have time to think about money or about future planning.  I never took holidays, I never bought fancy clothes, and I never really bought anything that wasn't needed. 

When I quit, I thought I would find it quite hard financially, but I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the savings account. 

It was a very healthy balance, which was lovely.  It’s not often that you walk out of a bank with a smile on your face.

It wasn’t the best time for me to step away from my job but it was the right choice.  I would have punched Mitchell if I stayed much longer.

It took me a few weeks to understand why he made me so angry.  Yes, there was the fact that he was changing the direction of the company that I loved, but it was more than that.

There was something deep inside me that was burning with Mitchell.

It was lust.

I don’t think it was love, but then again, I have never been lucky enough to experience real love, so I wouldn’t know.  All I know is that there was a deep burning desire within me to ravish him.

A burning desire to put my hands on his body.

I still think about that night often.

Although he was drunk, it was still the best sex of my life.

Actually, it was one of the greatest moments of my life.

I couldn’t get enough of him.

Before I go to sleep, I think about him and when I have nothing to fill my day, I dream of him.

“Can lust ever grow into love?” I ask Eva as she sips her coffee.

“You’re not still thinking about him, are you?” she asks.

I shrug my shoulders.

“You hated him while you were there.  You despised every part of him – but now, you can’t think about anything else.  It’s been over a month, Chloe.  You need to move on from that.”

“I think it was because I didn’t want to feel like that.  I didn’t want to fall for him because he was destroying everything I held dear.  But now… now, I feel different.”

“You only want him for his body.”

“Is that such a bad thing?  I could think of worse reasons to want someone.”

Eva smiles, “His treats his new assistant poorly too, if that helps.”

“How’s the company going?”

“It’s falling apart.  Profits have dropped and no new bands want to sign with us because of the new direction for the company.  A couple of colleagues have even mentioned that they need you back.  Actually, one band wouldn’t sign with anyone but you.”

“Really?” I ask in surprise.

“I think Mitchell is starting to understand that you were more than a personal assistant.  I think he is starting to understand you were a strategic director more than a coffee maker.  Your drive and knowledge is what kept the company going.  And I think Mitchell is starting to realize that it was your strategies that made the business money.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

I didn't really believe what she was telling me.

“It’s true.  The rest of the company wants you back too.  The place isn’t the same without you.  We need your enthusiasm back in the building.”

“I wish the rest of the industry would realize that.  I am finding it really hard to land a new job.”

“Another rejection?”

“Just this morning.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m starting to doubt at all whether I will find another job in the industry.  It’s hard, you know.  My job title was ‘Personal Assistant’, and I’m trying to convince people that I was much more than that.  And the fact that nobody can reach Joel doesn’t help.”

“What will you do?”

“I think I have exhausted every connection I have in the country.  I think I just have to keep applying for every position that is suitable.”

“Would you come back?” Eva asks inquisitively.

“To work for Mitchell?”

“Not for Mitchell… but for the company.”

“No way.  I couldn’t be Mitchell’s Personal Assistant again.  That would feel like a step backwards in life.  I couldn’t subject myself to that pain again.”

“What about another role?” she asks.

“Maybe,” I shrug my shoulders, “but he would have to apologize first.”

Eva smiles.

“What?” I ask her.

“Nothing,” she grins and walks away.

I have a feeling that she is plotting something…