Business First

I did up the buttons to my white blouse and adjusted my black pencil skirt before putting on my blazer and my 3-inch matte heels and grabbing my black handbag, putting my files and resume in it.

Today, I had an interview to at King's Corporate. I didn't know what position it was for yet, but any position is a good position at King's Corp. The company had specified they would give the position best for me based on my interview, rather than me coming in with a position I wanted already.

I walked out the apartment that I shared with my best friend, Jasmine, who wasn't home since she had a job. She worked at a bank as an accountant. Even though she had a boring job, she was the craziest and most fun person I knew.

Walking into my favourite coffee shop Bean near my apartment, I enjoyed the rare New York sunshine. I decided to treat myself to an iced coffee and a cupcake for managing to secure an interview with one of the best companies in the world.

As I was about to slide my card on the reader to pay the barista, I felt something warm drip down my back, making its way from my shoulders down to my lower back and dripping off of the edge of my blazer. My eyes widened and my face blushed out of embarrassment. Every eye in the cafe was glued on me, and I was frozen in my spot.

I eventually managed to turn myself around to see a gorgeous man who had an empty cup of coffee in his hand and a glint of mischief in his eyes. He was tall, and he had dark skin, chocolate eyes, and the sharpest jawline I'd ever seen.

"Are you crazy?" I yelled, but not too loud.

"Crazy? Me?" He laughed. "Darling, this is your fault," he said as he pointed at the situation; there was coffee on the floor and on the back of my blazer, and he smiled.

A devilish smile.

"What? How?" I asked, dumbfounded by his stupidity.

"Think about it." He shrugged carelessly.

At this point, I couldn't control my anger. I didn't care whether it was an accident or not, but the fact that he didn't even apologetic or even have a drop of regret on his face burned me. I mentally tried to calm myself down, muttering encouraging and soothing words to myself.

Then, I slapped him across the face.

My fingers instantly started buzzing with pain at the amount of force I had used to hit his face with, but I tried to cover up every trace of pain on my face.

"Think about that," I mimicked him. His relaxed and nonchalant expression turned into an angry one as soon as he registered what had just happened, and his hands balled into fists.

"You will regret this," he growled at me, pointing an accusatory finger at me, as if I had done anything other than stand my own ground.

"Oh, I'm so scared," I said sarcastically as he walked out of the cafe. I gave him two middle fingers and made sure he saw them through the window.

I gained some confidence as I realized my slap probably took the attention away from the fact that I was covered in warm coffee. Luckily, the coffee hadn't touched my skirt or shirt, and luckily, it was only warm and not hot. I take my blazer off and asked the cashier for a plastic bag to put it in before putting it in my handbag.

I walked to the bus stop, which was only a few steps away from the café, and got onto the bus I needed, sitting there and eating my cupcake. By the time my food was finished, the bus had arrived at the stop I needed, and I arrived at the King's Corp. building.

It stood tall, dominating all the buildings surrounding it. Its exterior was made completely of glass and metal, giving it a clean and modern look compared to the rest of the brick buildings on the street. Above the huge revolving door, 'KINGS CORP.' was written in bold white letters.

I took a deep breath and walked in, and the receptionist greeted me.

"Name please," she said, pushing her blonde hair behind her ear.

"Amelia Davis."

"Floor 16. Wait in the waiting room, and someone will call you," she said with a kind smile.

"Alright, thanks." I smiled back. I made my way to the elevator and looked up to see that the entire interior of the building was made of glass as well. I quickly popped a piece of gum in my mouth to avoid having cupcake breath when my interview started.

While I waited in the waiting room, I got lost in my thoughts about my own dreams of being the CEO of my own company one day. This job was only the beginning of my future. I needed business experience to start my own company. To train myself. And where was a better place to do that than one of the best companies in the world?

"Amelia Davis?" a feminine voice called out.

I sneakily threw my gum into a bin that was in the waiting room and walked into the office where the interviews were taking place.

"How are you today?" the interviewer asked. She was a lady who looked like she was in her mid-forties and was wearing a brown skirt-suit. Her hair was brown and in a sleek bun, and she had a few specks of grey hair. She wore thin, wire-rimmed glasses, and her nails had a coat of clear polish on them.

"I'm good. How about you?" I replied, trying to sound confident but not overconfident.

"What makes you think you’re good enough to work at King's Corporate?" she asked, looking at me intently and completely ignoring my question.

"I was not notified of what the position is exactly," I said and saw the interviewer's facial expression turn sour. "But I have many qualities that I think would help this company. I'm determined, hard-headed, a good team player, and focused, and I have good listening and communication skills. I'm an on-the-spot thinker," I said, trying to make up for my mistake at the start of the interview and praying to Jesus Christ that I hadn’t said anything wrong.

The lady had a small smile on her face, and she asked to see my papers. I handed her my folder, which had all my college grades and past jobs.

I let out a breath of air I didn't know I was holding when she smiled at what she saw.

"Thank you, Miss Davis. We'll keep in touch, and I will call you to notify you of anything. We'll discuss pay if you get the job.”

I smiled, nodded, and left her office. I gave the receptionist my contact information before exiting the building.

I took the bus back home and changed into a black tank top and fluffy pink cotton shorts. I was binge-watching episodes of Gossip Girl when Jasmine came home. She was wearing a tight yet sophisticated royal blue dress and nude pumps. She went into her room and changed into something comfortable.

Jasmine was beautiful with long curly hair, caramel skin, big brown eyes, long legs, and a curvy figure. She would often attract male attention when we went out. I, on the other hand, was mixed race, so I had lighter skin, curly hair, and green eyes. I was much shorter, though, at 5 feet while Jasmine was like a model, almost 6 feet tall.

"I had the worst day ever!" she groaned and jumped onto the couch next to me. "I'm so tired." She looked like she was about to cry.

"Pizza and Netflix it is, then." I sighed as I picked up the phone to call the local pizzeria.

I lay down on the couch, and we continued watching TV until the doorbell rang. I jumped off the couch and went to get our pizza, paid the delivery guy, and placed the pizza, fries, and milkshakes on the coffee table. We were eating and talking when my phone rang.

No Caller ID.

I walked into the kitchen, just in case it was a genuinely important call and not a random prank call, and picked up the phone. "Hello, is this Miss Amelia Davis?" said a female voice. I recognized that voice from somewhere. It was the receptionist.

"This is she," I replied.

"Congratulations, Ms Davis, you have got the job."

"Really? Thank you for choosing me!" I gushed.

"It's our pleasure. You really impressed us during your interview," she said.

"I hate to ask, but what's my position?" I asked, still having no idea what I was going to do.

"You will be the personal assistant to Mr King," she said politely.

"Mr. King? As in, Mr. Xavier King?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. Come to the receptionist desk at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning when you start. You will need to take a photo for your ID card," she said and ended the call.

After she ended the call, I realized what had just happened. I had just gotten a job in one of the best companies ever. I was so overwhelmed that I just screamed.

"What happened?" Jasmine looked so worried as she burst into the kitchen.

"I got the job!" I screamed and started jumping up and down. I was so happy.

"You donkey! Do you know how worried you got me? I thought you got hurt or something." she scolded me. "But…congratulations!" she said as she pulled me into a big bear hug.

"I'll be Xavier King's personal assistant," I breathed out.

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Mel, you know he's known for being harsh. I heard he once fired an employee for not making his coffee correctly," she said cautiously. "He's the devil in human form."

"Well, I just can't mess up then," I said, determined.

I went back and sat down in the living room and was about to wonder where Jasmine was when I saw her stroll in with a bottle of champagne, a coffee mug, and a measuring cup.

I just looked at her weirdly.

"Sorry, but the wine glasses are in the dishwasher." She shrugged, apologetic. "So, what happened at your interview?" Jasmine asked as she sipped her champagne from the mug.

"Where do I begin…" I said as I told her what happened at the café.

"What's this guy's name?" she asked as she had a disgusted look on her face.

"Just some ignorant asshole." I sighed, picking up a slice of pizza and telling her about the guy at the coffee shop.

***

My weekend flew by, and the next thing I knew, it was Monday morning, and I was getting ready for my new job. I put on a black dress and faux snake-skin heels. The weather was quite nice, so I didn't wear a blazer.

I applied light makeup, just mascara and lip gloss, before putting my hair up in a neat ponytail and calling a taxi. When I sat down in the car, the driver greeted me.

"Where to, Miss?" he asked kindly.

"Kings Corp. building, please," I replied.

"Oh, fancy!" he said. "You work there?"

"Today's my first day." I smiled.

"What’re you working as?"

"Mr. King's assistant," I said as we arrived at the building.

He laughed. "Good luck with that, Miss." After I paid him, he drove off. It was a relatively quick drive from my place to Kings Corp. while using public service took ages, and I didn't want to risk being late on my very first day and getting on Mr. King's bad side.

Was he really that bad?

I got to the Kings Corporate building and went to the receptionist.

"Amelia Davis." I smiled.

"Right this way," she said as she led me to wherever we were going.

First, she led me to a small room where a camera was set up. "We need to take your picture for your ID card."

"Okay," I said as I stood in front of the camera and smiled slightly. The machine immediately printed out a small plastic card with my name, position, and face.

"You'll need this to open your office door and enter the building. You can add money on it to buy anything in the cafe." She paused. "My name's Jodie, by the way," she added when we stopped by an elevator. "If you ever want to eat lunch together."

"Thanks." I nodded, and she handed me a coffee.

"Give this to Mr. King," she instructed. "His office is on the top floor."

I went into the elevator and pressed the button for the highest floor, floor number 64.

I took a deep breath and knocked the door. "Come in," an authoritative voice commanded.

"Good morning, Mr. King I am your new personal assis—"

I looked at 'Mr. King.'

It was the guy from the coffee shop…

"You?" I gasped.

"You," he snarled.

"You're Xavier King?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Is that a problem?" He had the same devilish smile as before on his face.

I wanted to beg him not to fire me, but instead, I said this: "If I knew you were a billionaire, I would've made you buy me a new coffee." I smiled innocently.

His smile vanished and was replaced with a surprised expression. No one had probably ever talked back to him before.

"So, you are my assistant now?" he groaned, more to himself than to me.

"Unfortunately…" I mumbled.

"What was that?" he said, pretending not to hear me while reading through a file.

"Nothing," I said, hoping he hadn’t heard what I said.

"I know that we have met through unfavourable circumstances, but we must be strictly professional. What happened outside the workplace wasn't the best way to be acquainted with you, but I trust my hiring team, and you must not mix your personal emotions with your duties here," he said, not even looking up at me.

"Of course, Mr. King." I smiled.

"Now go get me a black coffee," he ordered.

"Already did," I said as I handed him the coffee that Jodie had given me and smiled. I had to get into his good books now that he was my boss. He looked impressed but quickly concealed it with his usual emotionless face.

"Right, I need you to make 20 copies of these files and give one to every office on this floor, and then go to your office and file the documents on your desk," he ordered as he pushed a pile of files that were on his desk toward me. This man was so bossy.

"Yes, sir," was all I could say.

I made the copies of the file and handed them to all the offices. I got to my office and filed some papers and typed up some letters before printing them out. I went to his office and knocked the door.

No answer.

I knocked again.

No answer.

After waiting a couple more minutes, I decided to open the door just to put the files on his desk and found him working.

He looked up in anger. "Why didn't you knock?" he seethed.

"I did, but you didn't open the door," I said confidently. His look got angrier.

He walked up to me, so close that he was face to face with me. Slowly, I backed up but pressed against the doorframe. He walked up to me until he was centimetre away. He looked at me—looked down at me. As if I were a piece of rubbish.

I tried to slide out of his gaze, but he slammed his hands onto the door and on both sides of my head, boxing me in between him and the door. My breathing got quicker due to the shock from the impact of his hands on the door, and I was getting nervous.

"I am Xavier King," he announced. "You will respect and obey me. Otherwise, I have enough power to fire you and make sure you don't get hired anywhere else," he said as I looked up at him.

"Y-yes, sir," I said. He moved away from me and then gestured for me to follow him.

"Put the files on my desk, and you can go to lunch," he said without looking at me. I dropped the files onto the desk and ran out.

I went to the office canteen and looked for Jodie. I found her sitting by herself, eating a sandwich, so I went and sat with her.

"Where's your food, hun?" she asked. I realized she had a slight Australian accent.

"I'm not really that hungry," I lied.

"Liar." She laughed and gave me half her sandwich.

"Thanks." I smiled and took a bite.

"Why are you sitting alone? I mean, no offence, but there are loads of people to talk to," I asked curiously.

"I've tried hanging out with most of the girls here, but all they talk about is Xavier, how hot he is, or what they can do to attract his attention," she complained as she rolled her eyes. "Most of them wear the tiniest skirts, and their tops are so low-cut, you can basically see everything."

I looked around, and everything she said was pretty much true. The girls wore bright red lipstick, tiny clothing, and towering heels.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm all about girl power and wearing whatever you want, but they're just embarrassing themselves at this point. Mr King doesn't even bat an eyelash."

After we ate, we talked for a bit, and then lunch ended, and I had to go back to Xavier's office.

This time, I knocked. Hard.

"Come in," a stern voice commanded.

"Is there anything you need me to do, sir?" I asked, looking at the floor.

"Do you know what our company is?" he asked. He took my ID card out of my lanyard to see my name. "Amelia."

"Um, shipping and supplying services for other companies and brands," I answered surely.

He gave me a nod, signalling that I was correct. "Your task today is to supervise the fashion show held by King's Corporate that is happening at the Rose Garden."

"Yes, sir," I said, just wanting to leave.

"Make sure all the events take place smoothly. This is a representation of my company. I will come to watch the show," he said.

No pressure.

I nodded and walked out of the office. I left the building and called a Buber to take me to the Rose Garden. From the gates, I could see all the preparations for the runway event taking place. I was about to walk in when I was stopped by a security guard.

"ID please, miss," he said. He was tall and buff. He had a dark scruffy beard, and you could tell he hated his job.

"Shit. I forgot it at the office." On Xavier's desk.

"No ID, no entry," he grumbled.

"What if I were to show you a photo of my ID card instead?"

"I suppose that's okay."

Ugh, I didn't even have Jodie's number. But I did have Xavier's. He put it in my phone so that he could check up on me while I was preparing the show. I rang his phone, hoping that he would pick, and he did.

"Why are you calling me?" he growled into the phone.

"Can you send me a picture of my ID card? I left it on your desk."

"No," he said bluntly.

"What? Why? You're the reason I don't have it. You took it from me," I asked. He was being such a bitch.

"You should have been more responsible," he deadpanned. I could hear his voice getting angrier.

"You should be nicer," I said back, almost like a kid. "Please just send me the picture. I need it to get into the garden," I said.

He hung up.

I waited for a few minutes, hoping there was one good bone in his body and that he would send me the photo.

I groaned as I realized that I would have to go all the way back get my ID card, which was on Mr King's desk, and come back.

I booked a Buber back and asked the driver to wait while I just grabbed my ID card. As I walked past Xavier’s office, I saw that the door was unlocked, and he wasn’t inside. Sneakily, I walked in, took my ID card, and walked back to my Buber.

This time, I proudly showed my ID card to the grumpy security guard, and he grunted before opening the gate to let me in.

Let's get this fashion show started.