Chapter 2

    SLOWLY AND AGONIZINGLY, Erin peeled her eyes open.

"Ugghh" She groaned weakly. It was like every bones in her body had been hit by a sledge hammer.

  "Damn, I feel so tired." She yawned.

After some good 10 minutes, she was finally able to drag herself out of bed and into the bathroom.

She took a quick shower before picking out her dress, a simple shirt and a Jean trouser. She tied her brown hair into an unflattering bun and made her way to the kitchen.

  That was when she noticed that the front door was slightly opened. Erin's heart dropped in fear. Had the weird guy gotten a way in last night? Had he seen Jake as well? Jake!

Erin ran into her brother's room and met an empty, unkempt bed. God. Where had he gone to???

"Jake?? Jake!!" No answer.

"Jake!" She called again. No answer. "Oh my God!"

Erin was about to storm out of the house when the front door opened to reveal her brother. Covered in sweat.

"SERIOUSLY?! You went jogging?! And you didn't think to inform me first?!" Erin blew up. She was so angry at him.

  "Good morning, Erin. I wasn't gone for long. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't just want to disturb your beauty sleep." He replied with a smirk. It was an attempt to make a joke and it usually worked with her, this time it did not. 

"Don't you ever try that with me again, Jake Dexter. This is not your former country home where you can just walk off and not expect to be kidnapped or killed!" Erin spread her arms out in explanation.

  "I was just across the street! Chill out!" Jake yelled at her.

"Don't yell at me. I'm your senior sister and I am responsible for you so I'm going to give you your last warning. Don't do anything without taking permission from me. Now.. Get into the shower and start preparing for school." Erin stated sternly.

Without another word, Jake stormed out the room. Erin let out a shaky breath and placed her hand on her forehead which was already pounding steadily.

                                ***************

"Hello, good morning. I'm Erin Dexter, and I'm supposed to begin my intern at the Ferrari Corp." Erin introduced politely to the receptionist.

The lady was a very beautiful middle aged woman, she looked like she was married, but then Erin wouldn't know.

"Oh, Hi, Erin Dexter. You are the new office assistant to Mrs Suriya. Welcome! I'll let her know you've arrived." The woman proceeded to speak into the intercom.

After some moments, the woman turned back to Erin with a bright smile.

  "Her secretary just picked the call. Apparently, Mrs Suriya is not around yet, but you have been assigned some paperwork to do."

  "Oh...." Erin nodded confusingly.

"Don't worry, Mrs Suriya's secretary will put you through. The elevator is down there, and your station is located at the third floor. On the left wing. By the way, my name is Claire Swan. It's good to meet you."

  "And you too. Thank you, Claire." Erin replied. She walked to the elevator and took a lift to the third floor. The company was so huge, it was a skyscraper. Erin grinned excitedly as she visualized working here permanently. That would be a blessing, and she was sure her pay would be higher.

Erin got out of the elevator and shortly located Mrs Suriya's Office area. In front of the big office, was a Chinese woman seated with a table in front of her. That was probably her secretary.

  "Hi, I'm Erin Dexter. I'm.. Supposed to work for uh.. Mrs Suriya Raj." Erin introduced with a small smile.

The woman spared her a nonchalant glance and returned her attention to her laptop.

"Welcome to Ferrari Corp, Erin. Mrs Suriya hasn't arrived yet but she told me to inform the person that would be taking on the role of her assistant to get ready for a meeting with the executives in an hour's time."

  Erin's eyes widened. A meeting??  "Oh.. I.."

"And while you get prepared, below are the paperwork for her weekly reports. You are to arrange and sort out every dates and location accordingly. If you feel lost and need to find your way through the job, there's a manual waiting for you in your office over there," Erin turned to the small corner where her office was at. "And, meanwhile, you get only a one hour break through out your work period, and you must be ready to commit some of your time, as there will be future projects to work on. That means, late night work, coming in on weekends and sometimes traveling. You must sign in every day with your thumb print and sign out the same way. Your personal gadgets are in your office already, your own laptop, iPhone and multipurpose pen. Now, if there will be nothing else.. I'd like to get back to work."

  Erin raised a tiny finger up. "Um... Well... I.."

"My name is Lee Ann, nice to meet you. We're not going to be working together. You're in this on your own. I'm a secretary to Mrs Suriya, but you're her assistant. You're like her cooperate maid." She said, glaring at Erin through her tiny eyelids.

Erin smiled and exhaled. "Oh-Kay. So..."

"Miss Dexter, go to your office now and begin your work. The earlier you finish the better for you." Lee Ann glared at her. Harder this time.

Erin zipped her mouth shut and went straight to her office, carrying the heavy bag of paper in her hands.

She shut the door behind her and set the paper down.

"Here goes nothing." she muttered as she started to work.

   ERIN WAS ALMOST DONE WITH THE PAPERWORK WHEN THE DOOR WAS OPENED.

"Dexter. Mrs Suriya has just arrived. She's asking to see you." Lee Ann said before shutting the door back.

  "She's so rude!" Erin fumed. She straightened her shirt and smoothened her hair before walking out.

She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She waited a second before walking in.

A young, beautiful woman was seated behind the desk. Her blonde her had a very unnatural shine to it, and her skin was very bright. She looked so flashy and expensive that Erin almost cowered into herself just by the sheer intimidation of being in front of someone she could never be as pretty as.

Not that Erin wasn't good looking herself, hell, she'd had plenty admirers back at home and she liked to think of her self as attractive. Her brown hair was naturally wavy, no matter how much she straightened it. Her skin was also bright and clear, not as bright as her boss's. And she'd had compliments from men about her having a great body, but that was just it. Nothing special.

  "Erin Dexter." The woman stated. She looked to be in her late 20s. Maybe younger.

"Hello, Ma'am," Erin replied nervously.

"I have a minute in the next 5 minutes, with the executives. I want you to go now and secure my seat, preferably close to the Chairman's seat, then drop my bag. You will contact me once the other directors start coming in. Alright?"

"Alright, Mrs Suriya. Is there anything else I need to know?" Erin asked as she tried to grab everything the woman had just said.

"What you need to know is to not fuck up. At any point as you work for me. If you do, you will be fired on the spot. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am" Erin replied with a tight smile. Mrs Suriya was a very strict woman.

Erin left and picked up her pen and jotter, then went to the elevator. She climbed into the elevator and clicked on the button for the last floor.

  She waited till the elevator landed on the last floor, the door opened slowly and she walked out. The computer sign on the wall displayed: Julian Ferrari. The CEO. The owner of the company.

  Erin entered and walked slowly through the hallway. It was quiet. Very quiet that it was making the hair on her neck stand with nervousness. It seemed no one was on the floor.

Erin heard a sound. A faint sound from the far end of the hallway. It was like a growl from an animal.

The pen on Erin's hand was vibrating. She recalled what had happened last night. Erin was scared and there was no way to calm down her nerves.

  Erin approached the room. It was a private restroom. The door was slightly ajar. Ever so slowly, Erin stretched her hand to the handle of the door. She put her hand on the handle, ready to open the door and reveal who or what was inside, when the door was pulled open from inside.

  Erin let out a loud gasp as the person ran into her, knocking her books and pen out of her hands.

   "Oh!" Erin exclaimed surprisingly.

"Forgive me, I wasn't looking." A deep, attractively steady voice replied.

Erin found herself looking up at the stranger. Her mouth hung open in shock as she stared at the startlingly handsome man in front of her. She looked into his eyes, an impossible color of Gold. The edge sparked some red. It was beautiful.

Erin was stating unashamedly at his perfect, chiseled face. He looked too good looking to be true. His eyes, were mesmerizing, his nose had a straight plane to it, and his lips. Oh, his lips.

  The man was beautiful. She noted how breathtaking he looked in the three-piece fitted suit. It clung to his strong features like a second skin. His hair, which was shorter on the sides and longer in the middle was slicked to perfection. And it make Erin wonder what it might feel like to run her hands through the silky strands.

  "Um.. Uh.. Hi.. I'm.. Erin.."

Erin trailed off as she stared at his beautiful face. She couldn't bring herself to look away. It was like she was entranced.

       

     

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