Mr. Wolf's Secretary: A Sidekick Romance

She was exhausted and she felt sick but there was nothing she could do about it. The voices in her head screamed in unison and told her to find a way out of the misery she was in. She took a moment to gather her thoughts but conflicting ideas corrupted her mind. She tried to fight but she didn’t know if it’s worth fighting for! She was hopeless!

It has been an hour since she sat in front of the mirror and eyed the scissor nearby. The mean words from her late father echoed inside her head, and every second that passed she began to believe him. Blair cursed at the woman in the mirror and narrowed her eyes to check her appearance. She tied her long hair into a messy bun to check every pore on her face.

Everything went wrong in her life! She just lost her job because of a woman’s insecurity! She could probably let it slide but it didn’t happen once! Her longest tenure in a company would only be a week or less than a month. How would she keep on living without a stable income? She would starve to death!

She had no surviving family aside from the mother who abandoned her when she was only four years old, and her excuse for a father was abusive to her until the day he died. Until his last breath, he cursed at her mother and wished they didn’t look the same. As if it was her fault for inheriting her mother’s goddess-like feature!

Maybe he was right all this time!

Blair closed her eyes as her hands slowly inched their way towards the scissor and when her fingers touched the coldness of the blade, she grabbed it! Then, she untied her hair and without thinking thoroughly, she began cutting her hair. Little by little, long strands of jet black hair fell onto the floor. However, when she stared at her image in the mirror, she cringed at her appearance.

She bit her lower lip as she strode towards the door, and went outside. She recalled that her father always has an extra shaver in his bathroom, and she’s on her way to retrieve it! She decided to go hairless and damn the consequences!

The door to his father’s room creaked when she pushed it slowly. The old man has been dead for several months, but it was her first time to visit his room, and it’s creepy. It was as if his spirit remained lingering in his bedroom, and she had to sprint towards the bathroom.

The sound of her heartbeat was almost deafening as she left and returned to her room, with the shaver on her right hand. She took several deep breaths before she resumed sitting in front of the mirror, and shaved her hair!

Ten minutes later, she was torn between crying and laughing at her appearance. She’s bald and she looked like a monk! She looked horrible without a single hair on her head, and she regretted her impulsive decision to shave it. She stared at the mirror without blinking her eyes, and she almost jumped when someone knocked on her door.

It must be Tracy, her tenant. She regretted her decision when she couldn’t even show her bald head to anyone, especially to her tenant. Tracy has been renting the extra bedroom even when her father was still alive, and they have been friends since then. She searched for a hoodie in her wardrobe and wore it on top of her clothes before she went to open the door.

“Hey,” she greeted the woman who brought a bag of goodies from the bakeshop where she worked. “Is that for me?” She inquired but before Tracy could respond, she took the bag from her, and let the woman in.

“Why are you wearing a hoodie? Don’t you feel hot?” She had been wondering from the moment Blair opened the door because it was thirty-eight degrees outside! She looked around, and when her eyes got a glimpse of black hair on the floor, her eyes widen and aimed for the hoodie on Blair’s head. “Shit! What have you done?” She exclaimed upon seeing her bald head for the first time.

Blair was embarrassed when her bald head was exposed, but she couldn’t do anything about it anymore. It was done, and the only thing she could do was to wait for her hair to grow again. “I don’t want to be Blair anymore, Tracy.” She said.

When she first saw her landlord’s daughter, she envied Blair’s one of a kind beauty and wished she would look as great as her. However, Blair has a bad fortune and her father always blamed it for her looks and said that it was cursed. “What do you mean, Blair? Why would you believe your father? He didn’t do anything but tormented you!”

Blair sat down on the edge of her bed, and Tracy did the same. “What if he’s right? Ever since, I was unlucky!” She exclaimed as she recalled how much she endured while growing up.

“But your hair!” Tracy’s hand moved to touch Blair’s head, but the woman was fast enough to block her hand.

“They will grow again,” she smiled while massaging the shiny scalp and both women burst into laughter. “So, how do you like my new look?” She asked.

Tracy cringed while staring at the hairless head of her friend. “What’s your plan?” She inquired.

“Hmmm, I’m not sure, but maybe I should shop for a man’s clothes. Or maybe I should get a tattoo or a piercing to match my appearance, what do you think?” She imagined other ways inside her head on how to look manly.

Tracy pouted her lips while she squinted her eyes at Blair. Although she didn’t agree to her plans at all, she wouldn’t stop her, and the least she could do was to support her as a friend. “Oh well, your figure may be slim, but it’s the trend nowadays. It’s painful to have a tattoo, and you know, it’s permanent. Won’t you regret it later?” She asked while eyeing Blair’s blemished-free skin.

“In my current situation, regret is out of the question Tracy. I’m desperate!” She lied.

“I understand. Should I get inked as well?” Tracy suggested, and when Blair smiled, they both wrinkled their noses and grinned.

When it comes to hiring his personnel, Carmela Gordon was hands-on. She only wanted the best for her son, and no HR personnel could do better than her in hiring the best person to become Jacob’s secretary.

Out of a hundred applicants, only one person stood out, and Carmela was excited to see him again. Based on her judgment as a mother, that particular guy would be the perfect secretary for Jacob. The guy was witty and smart, and Carmela could immediately tell he wouldn’t be a headache to Jacob.

“Mom, be honest with me, who is this guy? Your boyfriend?” Jacob jested about the new secretary which his mother was talking about.

Carmela arched her perfectly shaded brows to Jacob for joking about her boyfriend. Maybe it would be fun to have a young man, but she wouldn’t do that! It would only embarrass her son who ran a bank empire. “Geez! How can you say that to me, baby?”

Jacob cringed at the endearment that his mother used when they’re alone. He’s already thirty-two but the way his mother saw him, he’s only a kindergarten. If anyone in the head office would hear them, it would be scandalous! “Perhaps you should refrain yourself from calling me that because I’m no longer a baby,” he complained but her mother only shook her head. Sometimes, she could be stubborn as a mule.

Carmela pinched the skin on Jacob’s side, and he tried to get away from her. It was common for both of them, but when someone entered the office unannounced, Carmela forced a smile on her lips. She was disgusted that someone caught her in an embarrassing position! She’s a respectable woman, but earlier, she acted differently and out of character! She shouldn’t be too personal with Jacob when they’re in the office. “Blair, right?” She asked the newcomer.

Blair was surprised at the informal tone that the woman used on her. “Yes, Ma’am,” she replied.

“You’re just in time, dear. Jacob and I are waiting for you so you can have breakfast with us,” she said, as she clutched the pursed on her side, and motioned Jacob that they should proceed to the nearby restaurant.

When she entered the office, she failed to notice the man who’s going to be her boss, but when Mrs. Gordon invited her for breakfast, she couldn’t help but stare at the man. He disliked her, and she could tell it by the way he warned her not to go with them. “I already ate, Mrs. Gordon. Thank you,” she heeded the man’s warning but Mrs. Gordon grabbed her hand, and she had no choice.

“Go ahead, Jacob. I’ll have my favorite, and this guy here will have whatever you’re having.” Carmela ordered her son to go ahead to the restaurant while she and Stefan discussed something while walking. “So, what’s your first impression on Jacob?” She asked.

Blair blinked her eyes several times when Mrs. Gordon asked her a question not relevant to her work. “Hmmm, he’s strict.” She replied.

Carmela laughed at his response because he guessed it correctly. Her son was already thirty-two years old but he’s strict most of the time and his cousins feared him at home. “Don’t you find him unusual?” She probed a little more because she’s interested to know the man’s observation on Jacob.

She assumed that it’s part of the interrogation process but she was informed last time that she was hired for the job. But why did the CEO’s mother kept on questioning her? Deep inside, Blair hoped that she wouldn’t make a mistake on her first day at the head office of Wolf Bank. It was the first company she applied for after shaving her head, and she passed the initial screening and moved on to the final interview. “I haven’t seen a single woman in the building, except for you.” She admitted.

Carmela cleared her throat when she heard Blair’s remarks. As Jacob’s mother, she had no idea what motivated Jacob to replace all the women at Wolf Bank. From the managers up to the bank tellers, there were only men. “Have you read or heard anything about us?” She questioned the man instead.

“Of course, Mrs. Gordon. The men in your family were famous playboys in their generation,” she answered.

Carmela nodded her head in agreement, but her husband was the worst of them all. At least, the elders didn’t leave their legal wives for their mistress. However, Jacob’s father was different, and he left her for another woman. “At least you have an idea of what you’re getting into, Stefan. I trust that you will help Jacob to keep his affairs discreet. I don’t want the media to find out who he is currently dating or the next woman if there’s any.” She stated.

It wasn’t her style to stick her nose into someone else’s business, and it would be a hassle if her boss got involved in a scandal. “You can trust me on that, Mrs. Gordon.”

“Thank you, Blair. The secretary before you was also trustworthy but he had to migrate to Canada for personal reasons,” she stated.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Gordon. I will do my best to assist your son!” She declared, but deep in her heart, she suspected that her boss, Jacob Gordon, was a closet queen. It’s only a hunch, but she’s positive that the man was gay, and while thinking about the possibility, she couldn’t help but stare at the man’s behind while he walked ahead of her and his mother.

“Good,” she smiled at the young man. “By the way, I like your tattoo.”

“Thank you,” she also smiled at the older woman before they entered the restaurant.

Jacob studied the menu and from the entrance, she could see how chiseled his jawline was. The few day's growths of his whiskers added some masculinity to his face, and she bit her lower lip when his Adam’s apple moved.

During the initial screening, the interviewer saw her tattoo. Well, who wouldn’t when the Chinese symbols were large enough to be seen by everyone? Tracy insisted on having it inked on her neck and the artist agreed with Tracy.

Initially, she disagreed with the idea of a neck tattoo because of its high visibility to the public, but Tracy convinced her that if she wanted to look like a badass, she should go for it. Tracy also helped her in choosing a bold, rebellious, and awesome tattoo design for her neck. She also got inked on her right arm.

“I suggest you erase the tattoo on your neck and just let me know how much,” Jacob said.

WHAT? Erased the tattoo she just recently got? Did he know how much pain she tolerated just to have it? “I was informed that having a tattoo wouldn’t be an issue in Wolf Bank, sir.” She replied.

“Of course, however, it’s an issue to me, Mr. Cuizon,” Jacob responded.