Chapter 1

• “Another day more money to make” were the words of Nathan Cross. Those were his exact words he said as soon as his eyes could focus on the ceiling when he woke up every morning. People would say a prayer when they woke up, but how would that motivate him? Making money was his motivator and that wouldn’t stop any time soon.
• He would get up and drag his feet all the way to the bathroom. Spend six minutes on his dentition and then step into his grand bathroom to take care of his body which would take quite a while because he was thorough.
• His friends always made jokes saying that he was effeminate in some sort of way. They could make all their jokes. Truth was it took time and effort to always look good. And that is why they would go get Botox before they were fifty. When he was done in the bathroom, he would walk into his closet to get the outfit that was already picked and prepared the previous day by his dutiful workers.
• And when he was done getting dressed, he would sit before his dresser and style his hair however he liked it. Sometimes he liked it to the side, other times he wanted to be the Golden boy like Captain America, but today he wanted it to be slicked back. Then would come the accessories. He had the money, and when he was free he would shop. And he loved to shop. And they said money couldn’t solve all your problems.
• When he would get down, breakfast would already be prepared for him and he would listen to the morning news all about him. It was good as always.
• “Perfect” he would say as soon as he was done. As he made it down the steps from his house, the car would come driving by. He would be silent the entire time. His eyes would be down on the phone until they got to his place of work. Cross Limited.
• Just one of the many car companies that existed. How did he stand out though? He made his own tyres and his cars were environment friendly. No matter how much he said it, some people still wouldn’t believe him.
• Exhibit A. The environmental protestors dressed in their disgusting green every time he showed up. He had gotten tired of their nonsense and he had thought of hosing them down one time, but his publicist said that would be bad for his image. He wanted them off his property. This was private anyway. They were scaring his potential clients.
• He could have some sprinklers installed.
• As he entered he knew a lot of people would have a lot of things to say, but there was a new system now. He pressed on the button on the elevator and pressed his destination which was at the very top. The new system he dreaded seeing every day. The doors opened and he took in a deep breath of cold air. Breathing in the cold AC air was a secret comfort. As he stepped out there was the new system.
• His secretary Darlene.
• There was a time he thought he could do everything without anyone’s help. It was going entirely well until he suffered something close to a heart attack. The doctor had said it was nothing. It was just anxiety. His friends said he should get a PA or a secretary.
• He had decided to hold the interviews himself. He would not want anything but the best. But turns out he was too busy to do that. The ones that came before Darlene were…could he say fickle minded. He didn’t know how word spread that he was in need of a secretary. Did they just let anyone try out these days?
• There was one particular woman whose name was Charlie. Maybe Cherry. He had been able to see the bra she wore during her entire employment. He knew he was hot. He didn’t need to be at the top spot of eligible bachelors to know that a lot of women wanted to get into his pants. But having them just all up in front of you was something else.
• It was annoying.
• Mr Cross do you want a cup of coffee?
• Mr Cross I can do anything you want. Anything.
• It had been creepy. Yes it was appealing, but he needed actual help and work done. So one would ask when he finally got a competent secretary, why wasn’t he happy? Well that was because Darlene was the most sarcastic human being alive.
• When he showed up to work and looked into her eyes he had asked if she was. She had replied by saying she was certainly not a clown. Her eyes were sarcastic, her face was sarcastic, her whole demeanour towards him. Even when she said good morning with that fake smile of hers. That was going to happen in a few seconds.
• She would look up at him and act like she didn’t see him. Then when he had walked past her, she would sit up and say…
• “Good morning Mr Cross” she would smile so wide that her eyes would come together as if they would close.
• “Darlene” he would say back stiffly.
• “You have no calls yet for today”.
• “Thank you Darlene” and he would step into his office shielding himself for her negativity.
• The woman would look back to her laptop and groan.
• Who was she? Darlene Welch.
• Why was she a measly secretary for a boss she hated?
• Desperation.
• Her routine was simple.
• Wake up in the morning, have breakfast which was takeout sometimes. She would take care of herself in the bathroom which took six minutes. It would take thirteen if she wasn’t in a rush to go anywhere. Then she would proceed to ransack her closet for clothes that went together and didn’t need to be ironed. She’d always take the subway, but she could handle the bus when she felt daring. She would like to buy a car, but with her salary that would be too much to handle.
• She had always had a passion for singing. From singing along to the musicians she adored through the screen, to kicking it during karaoke with her friends. Then graduated to singing in bars where no one actually gave a shit. That was an eye-opener. She wished it had happened earlier than later. She had a dream that someone would recognize her talent. But nobody did. And with her dad MIA and her mum in the hospital she had to work.
• She knew Nathan Cross. Everyone knew the man who inherited everything from his dad and made it better with environment friendly cars. She wanted one of those when she had the funds. She admired the guy and also admired the fact that even though he was handed the riches, he still worked for it. When she started working for him it was quite a shocker.
• She hadn’t been expecting the proud, boastful, disrespectful and arrogant. She remembered a lot of things she had heard from his mouth. ‘Tell them to contact me when they remember who I am’. And there were rumours that he slept with his employees. She didn’t believe at first. But she tried out multiple times for the position of secretary and she had seen underneath a woman’s coat and there was just fishnets. She didn’t see bottoms. Just fishnets.
• And when she worked he did get visits. From male and female companions. They girl who she could always see a bra was a regular. And they did spend quite some time in there with him. She wondered what they were doing. And then they would leave with pleased smiles on their faces.
• So yes she didn’t like her boss.
• And she would guess that the feeling was mutual because she had already told herself that she wasn’t going to be like the rest. That she was going to stand out and not mindlessly fawn over him, and agree with whatever he said like the past secretaries had done. She would not be playful with him and worship the ground he walked on. She would never like him and sleep with him.
• A man that was used to that type of attention, when they didn’t get it they couldn’t just accept it. That was the highlight of her job.
• She perked up when an email came in.
• She picked up her phone. “Mr Cross”.
• “Yes Darlene” he always replied.
• She smiled again even if he couldn’t see her. “You have a lunch meeting scheduled by 2. With a Mr Yoshimada. At the track”.
• “Thank you” and he dropped the call.
• Nathan sighed. His secretary did her actual work and sometimes that of a PA. He didn’t see the need of hiring someone else when he didn’t see the difference of the two professions. Point was that he was going to be spending the entire afternoon with her. And that fake smile of hers. He shivered. Such joy, he thought pitifully.