Chapter 8

• The moment Alexander Clay stepped into the office building, he remembered that there was a probability that he doesn't have a Secretary anymore. Up till now, he couldn't wrap his head around his conversation with Emma yesterday. The moment he stormed out of her sight and went back to his office, he had expected Emma to come crawling, begging for forgiveness, pleading with him not to fire her but that was not the case. The last time he saw her face was when he demanded that she get the hell out of his office building.
• Up till now, Alexander still refused to believe that she left just like that. It was true that he had always maltreated her but Emma was the most efficient Secretary he had ever had. That was the reason why he didn't have the mind to fire her all this while. But a small part of Alex was hoping Emma was only playing games Yesterday and that she would return to work today.
• Alex let out some air as he stepped out of the elevator into the 14th floor. With both hands in his pocket, he proceeded to his office. His heart sank the moment he saw that Emma was nowhere in sight. She was usually at her desk by this time. The regret and sadness on Alex's face changed to that of curiosity when his eyes landed on a handbag on Emma's desk. He could bet it wasn't for Emma because he had never seen her with such and it looked way too expensive for her to own.
• "Claire?!" Alexander found himself mumbling his ex-mistress's name. He sighed. "I swear I'm going to strangle her with my bare hands, " He said, then went in search of her. Alex checked for her in his office, she was nowhere in sight, then he proceeded to go check the restroom for her. The thought of her being on his premises after he had warned her to stay away was making him crazy. Alexander came to a halt when he heard some noise coming from the kitchen. Concluding that Claire Jackson was there instead of the restroom which he predicted, he dashed into the Kitchen and bumped into whoever it was and almost immediately, Alexander Clay felt a very hot liquid pour on his body.
• "WHAT THE HELL???!!!" He shrieked from pain and anger. The anger doubled when he came face to face with the individual and saw that it wasn't Claire Jackson but some stupid stranger.
• "Who the fuck are you? What are you doing on my floor?" He said with gritted teeth. Upon hearing his voice, Arianna looked away from his already half drenched shirt which was stained, and then looked up to see Alexander Clay.
• Ari's breath hitched as she took in his appearance but she still managed to compose herself. "I'm Ari Everette; Your new secretary." She said in a professional tone. Using her surname might be risky so she decided to go by Everette.
• "What nonsense, who the hell hired you?" Alex glared at her.
• "I'm Emma's replacement. She hired me." Ari said, trying her best to stay calm. She hated the tone he was talking to her with.
• "You're fired!" Alexander said, removing his suit jacket.
• "Excuse me!" Ari said immediately.
• "You poured the shitty coffee on me because you were blind. Are you also deaf? I said you're fired. Get the fuck out of here!" He instructed.
• Ari chuckled. "You are calling me blind when you're the one who bumped into me. I hope you get eyeglasses really soon."
• "How dare you challenge me? Didn't Emma teach you some manners before she hired you?" Alex said. He hated the fact that she talked back at him and was also stylishly insulting him.
• "I didn't challenge you, Sir! I was only stating the truth. You were not looking at where you were going, you bumped into me, and then the coffee spilled on you. I've done nothing wrong that warrants you to fire me."
• Alexander wanted to respond but for the first time in a very long while, he was speechless. He didn't know what to say to Ari. Perhaps her confidence put him in his place already. Alex threw her a glare, then stormed out of the kitchen.
• "Asshole!" Arianna mumbled when he was out of sight. "I would rather strangle you with my bare hands than to have you fire me." She said as she went back to the counter to clean up. Ari was grateful the coffee didn't spill on her because she had no idea how she would have coped in a stained outfit for the rest of the day. The coffee only spilled on her hands. But half of what was in the mugs poured on Alex. She was grateful she held onto the saucers firmly. It prevented the mugs from falling to the ground.
• Arianna went ahead to make another coffee. This time around she didn't bother making for herself. Once Alexander's coffee was ready, she picked it up and then exited the kitchen.
• Helping herself into Alexander's office, Ari didn't see her Boss in sight. She had no idea if he was still on the office premises or not. He looked really pissed when he stormed out of the kitchen earlier.
• Arianna placed the coffee on Alex's desk and when she was about to take her leave, she heard the sound of a door open. She looked to her right and saw Alexander Clay came out from one of the adjoined rooms in his office. He had changed his outfit to a casual shirt and matching pants.
• "What are you still doing in my office? Didn't I make it clear to you that you're fired?" Alex said the moment he came out of the changing room.
• Arianna rolled her eyes at how ridiculous he was being and for some unknown reason, Alex got a little captivated by her gesture.
• "How dare you roll your eyes at me?!" Alex stated as he took slow steps to where she stood. Ari also took a few steps backward until Alexander cornered her against his desk. Ari swallowed painfully. She didn't like the fact that he was standing this close to her. She was starting to feel uncomfortable under his stare and hostage. She looked at Alex in the eyes and found him staring at her as if she were some sort of artifacts he had never seen before.
• Alexander Clay couldn't help but shiver the moment his so-called new secretary rolled her eyes at him. For the first time since their encounter, he noticed what he failed to notice earlier. He saw that the woman before him was gorgeous as fuck. He had never seen someone so beautiful with little makeup on. She had a set of very beautiful eyes, plump lips that had some red lipstick over them, Her shirt exposed a bit of cleavage which sort of excited Alex down there, and to top it all, she was endowed with a very perfect shape and curves in the right places.
• "Why are you staring at me like that?" Ari's voice came out as a whisper. She was trying so hard to control her heartbeat back to normal.
• "Who are you and why are you here?" He asked in the same tone she spoke to him.
• "What do you mean? I already told you my name and why I'm here." Ari explained, her confidence was starting to come back.
• Alexander chuckled. "I'm not a fool, Woman! I was expecting to meet Emma here, begging me to take her back but instead, I had a surprise waiting for me. I saw you, A feisty, yet beautiful and confident woman. I had wanted to give you a response in the kitchen that would destroy your self-esteem but for the first time in years, I found myself out of words. Emma would never pour a coffee on me and go scot-free. I should have insisted that you take off my clothes and get me fresh clothes instead of sorting everything out myself."
• "You've got to be kidding me!" Arianna scoffed, unconsciously rolling her eyes.
• "I swear, you will be punished if you roll those sexy eyes of yours at me again?" Alex's husky voice came through.
• "What am I? A five year old?" She asked.
• "There's no need to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. We are both adults and I'm sure you understand me well. It will take me nothing to bend you over the desk you're leaning on and teach your booty a lesson. Or better still, for privacy, I'll take you to my suite on the 15th floor."
• "Not surprised you are saying all of these. You are Alexander Clay after all. Just so you know, rolling my eyes is an involuntary action caused by people who say or do anything that irritates me. Your arousal got nothing to do with me."
• "You're mean!" Alex said immediately, unable to hide his hurt.
• "For speaking my truth?" She asked.
• "No one has ever rejected me. No one has ever called me irritating. At least not to my face. I know people who would kill to have me do what I'm offering to do to you to them"
• "Now you know that looks aren't everything. You may appear gorgeous to some people while you appear the opposite to others."
• "Coming from the gorgeous lady whose heartbeat I could hear a while ago because of how close I was standing to her." Ari wanted to roll her eyes so bad but she was able to stop herself before it happened.
• "Gosh! You're so full of yourself." She said, looking away.
• "Don't blame me. It's because I know what I'm worth and what I can bring to the table. Anyways, you've got nothing to worry about. I don't mix business with pleasure." He said as his eyes scanned through her body one more time.
• "Since Emma recommended you, I officially welcome you to Clay International as my secretary. I don't trust your presence here but I'll take a chance on you. This is just an official warning in case you came here with some sort of motive. Do not try anything funny or else I'll ruin you." Alexander stated one by one.
• "Noted! Now can I get back to work?" She said, looking him in his eyes. Even Alex couldn't tell what was going on with him anymore. Everything she did sort of turned him on, even the way she spoke. It was as if he was under a spell.
• After a while of staring at Ari, he let out a sigh and then freed her. He stood aside and watched her make her way out of his office. His eyes met with her perfect backside which shook with every step that she took. Alex had no idea if she did that purposely or it was just a coincidence that he saw it. But the more steps Ari took, the more she shook her buttocks.
• Alexander cursed softly and before he knew it, he took very fast steps to the door. He got there on time before Ari exited his office and cornered her against his office door, with both of his hands on either side of her head.