Chapter 5

• Karen woke up in her
• dingy bedroom, and for a moment, she stared up in confusion at the ceiling, the
• events of the other day with her employers’ son; Denzel swirling up inside her.
• It seems unreal;
• fantastic but yet unreal. She shook her head. After meeting and having
• mind-blowing sex with a complete stranger, he offered me a job as his … his
• what?
• Courtesan? Call girl?
• And she accepted.
• He had told her to drop
• her contact but she couldn’t find a way to give it to him with Mr. and Mrs.
• McNeil getting to know. After he had left, she had gone to clean up his room
• and she saw his contact card on the table with a wad of dollar notes and also a
• letter.
• Denzel had in the letter
• told her to resign from her job as a maid to become his courtesan.
• Her stomach churned
• after she had read the letter. She felt like things like that don’t really
• happen to girls like her. Was he actually trying to take advantage of her or
• was he just being real with her?
• She had written a letter
• last night, resigning from her horrible job cleaning with the McNeil’s even
• though she was yet to hear from Denzel since that awkward but special night.
• She hauled herself out of bed and set about making some coffee and toast.
• “Delivery for miss
• Karen.” The intercom buzzed.
• “Just leave it in the
• pigeonhole.” She quickly buzzed back.
• “Sorry. Needs a
• signature.”
• “Okay, I’m coming down.”
• What could it be? What
• was she expecting? Was she even expecting anything? She shook her head, trying
• to think if she had perhaps ordered something on the internet and forgotten
• about it. No way! Not with her limited budget.
• The courier was
• patiently waiting in the lobby, which reeked of dampness. The walls were
• already peeling. In fact, he had two items for her, a letter and a package.
• Puzzled, she signed for them both and took them back to her apartment. Opening
• the letter first, she took a deep breath as she read the contents on CULID
• Beverage Plc letterhead.
• “Dear Miss Karen, we are pleased to inform you that your
• application for an internship with our company
• has been accepted.
• Please report to our offices …”
• She read on, catching
• her breath as her eyes glanced at the stated salary, which was much, much more than what she earned in her cleaning job.
• She did a double-check. She was instructed to report to the office the next
• morning.
• Her eyes went to the
• parcel. With slightly trembling fingers, she opened it to find a skirt and
• jacket, blouses, and a pair of shoes, all very sensible and business-like, but
• beautifully made and expensive looking. She checked the labels and took a deep
• breath. These designer brands must have cost a fortune. she would never have
• been able to buy them herself.
• She tried them on,
• smoothing down the gorgeous slinky fabric over her curves. Looking at herself
• in her cracked mirror, she had to admit it, the outfit looked great and simple
• but so damn expensive. The jacket seemed tightly tailored to her trim waist and
• large breasts. The blouse was cut just low enough to suggest cleavage without
• actually revealing anything. The shoes had just enough of a heel to show off
• her legs, and the skirt, whilst at a business-like knee-length, was cut with a
• sexy swirl at the hem.
• She really loved it.
• Obviously, it was a gift from him, but how did he know what her size was? She
• thought, and how on earth did he know her address to have them delivered? She
• wasn’t as daft as she had felt she was after she had quit her job the previous
• day. She had a big day the next day, courtesy of Mr. Denzel Hobbs.
• *
• *
• *
• Arriving at the CULID
• Beverage Plc office building, all steel and plate glass, she handed over the letter at the
• reception. The receptionist checked her name against a day book and directed
• her to the tenth floor, where she found a second reception desk, with a
• pleasant looking woman sitting behind it.
• “Hello, my name is
• Karen. I was told to report here.” She said again as she held out the letter
• “Ah, yes, Miss Karen.
• Mr. Denzel is expecting you. I’ll tell him you’re here.”
• She buzzed through on an
• intercom. “Mr. Denzel, Miss Karen is here for you.”
• “Thank you, Kim,”
• replied the voice she had come to know so well from the beach house, under the
• most unusual circumstances.
• “I’ll see her in five
• minutes. Please ask her to take a seat.”
• Kim told her to sit in a
• row of low chairs, and gesturing to a coffee thermos on a low
• table.
• “Make yourself comfortable, Miss Karen. Do
• help yourself to some
• coffee.”
• She was already feeling
• too nervous to want any coffee.
• “Kim, please show her in.” the intercom buzzed
• after a short while.
• “Come with me.” She
• smiled at her. “It’s just through here.”
• Kim led her through,
• tapping on a door, and then after a moment opens it.
• “Miss Karen for you,
• sir.” She said and took her to leave, pulling the door closed behind her.
• Denzel who was sitting
• rose, smiling. He wore a dark suit, white shirt, tie, and immaculately polished
• shoes, his slightly greying hair contrasts against deeply tanned skin and
• piercingly blue eyes. He looked so damn handsome. And that smile made her heart
• melt inside, as she remembered the same smile the night before.
• “Ah, Karen, good to see
• you again. Have a seat.” He waved her to a couch
• overlooking the amazing
• vista. “Coffee?”
• “Please, yes.” Still a
• little anxious, not knowing quite what was expected of her, perhaps some
• caffeine pumping through her bloodstream might help. We had a contract, she and
• Denzel, and so far, he was fulfilling his end of it perfectly. She wondered if
• he had wanted her to perform her on side of the bargain there in the office?
• He buzzed through the
• intercom,
• “Kim, coffee for two, please, thank you.” Then
• he looked at her, perhaps trying to calm her nerves. “Don’t worry, Karen. Here
• and now, in this place, you are a
• trainee, an intern. Your
• other duties come later.”
• She smiled nervously and
• nodded her head.
• “The suit looks good on
• you. I see I got the sizes right.”
• “It’s lovely. Thank
• you.”
• “You’re welcome, Karen,
• but it is not simply a gift. Working here, you are
• representing my
• corporation, and I cannot have my representatives looking like, forgive me, but looking like
• house cleaners. Those clothes you were wearing last time, were well-chosen I’m
• sure on your limited budget, are not the kind of clothes I want my people to be
• seen in.”
• “However,” and he smiled
• again, arching his brows, “there will be other wears. Some should be waiting
• for you when you get home. I expect you to wear them when you visit me this
• evening.”
• There came a tap at the
• door; Kim silently entered with a tray bearing a coffee pot and two cups set it
• down on the coffee table and just as silently, departs.
• She took a sip from the
• coffee, then she asked, “How did you know my address to send the things?”
• “I had to hire the
• services of some specialists who brought me the right info about you”, He
• hesitated. “That’s not a good address, Karen. Not a safe place for a
• single girl to live.” He
• paused. “I am assuming you are single? No jealous husband out there?”
• she shook her head
• negatively.
• “Boyfriend?”
• She shook her head
• negatively again.
• “I’ve been working so hard. My job and my
• studies …”
• He nodded in
• satisfaction.
• “Of course. Good. That’s one potential problem
• dealt with then. Now… and I must ask you this …” He leaned forward, closer to
• her. “Are you still happy with our arrangement? You need to tell me.”
• She affirmed, her mouth
• a little dry.
• “Yes, you’ve done
• everything you promised so far. I’ll keep my end of the bargain.”
• He nodded his head in
• approval.
• “Perfect answer, Karen. Yes, I always keep my
• promises, and I deliver my end of any agreement. It’s good to know that you see
• it that way too.”
• “Won’t people think it a
• bit odd that I suddenly appear like this? Out of the blue? Especially your mum.
• It’s not as though I had an interview or anything.”
• “I think you did rather
• well at your interview the
• last time we met, Karen. As for
• people thinking it odd,
• no, they won’t. I have a number of employees who I met outside of normal
• channels and have offered them a job.”
• He saw her expression
• and laughed.
• “No, not quite the way you and I met, and no,
• not with the same agreement. But so, don’t worry, the staff here know that I
• choose employees for my own reasons.”
• She felt more reassured.
• “So, what happens now?”
• She asked trying to know the next step.
• “Kim will take you to
• HR. They’ll take you through the usual formalities, and then
• we’ll put you through
• the usual intern routine. You will spend time in every department of the
• company: finance, procurement, marketing, everything. You will see the whole
• machine, and we can find out how much you already know and see where you can
• fit in
• best.”
• He leaned back in his
• seat, holding her with his eyes.
• “Now, about your other duties—when you finish here for the day, you
• will go home and put on the clothes you will find waiting for you. Wear your
• hair up, as you have it now. I expect to see you in my suite at eight o’clock.
• Any questions?”
• “Um,
• I’m not sure what to call you.”
• He laughed. “Here, I am
• Mr. Denzel or you could just call me sir. When I take you out to dinner, you
• could be a little informal and call me Denzel then when we are alone, you will
• call me Master. Understood?”
• “Yes, Mr. Denzel.”
• “Finish your coffee.” He
• buzzed the intercom again. “Kim, can you take Karen to
• HR,
• please?