Page 1 of His Obsession
“Lucy, we are going to be late!” I hollered up the stairs.
Lucy, my best friend since we were five, had never been on time a day in her life. She liked to joke that she was late for her own birth. You would think, in our twenty-four years of life, she’d have learned, but it’d been a struggle.
I walked to the end table by the door and picked up her keys. Lucy let me borrow her car for a job interview today, but that meant I had to drop her at work beforehand. I knew I should have told her my interview was an hour earlier.
I glanced at myself in the mirror, making sure my long blonde hair was curled to perfection, and my emerald-green eyes stood out.
I stood impatiently and groaned. “Hurry!”
“All right, all right. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I needed more mascara,” Lucy said as she walked out of the bathroom. Lucy put an earring in her lobe as she strolled carefully down the steps. I picked up her purse and threw it at her, hitting her in the stomach.
Oof.“Oh, damn, I think you hit an ovary!” She feigned puking as she picked it up from the floor. Lucy was a beautiful brown-haired, olive-skinned bartender that just spewed whatever she thought. You know that thing in your head that keeps you from saying stuff you know you shouldn’t? Yeah, it’s busted.
“I’m off early tonight, come hang out after your interview. It’ll be fun, and you need some in your life right now,” Lucy suggested.
She was always ready to party, and I regularly wondered how she could work and party every night. I preferred to stay at home, read a good book, or watch TV.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll think about it,” I mumbled.
Opening the door to our tiny townhouse, I walked to the car park while Lucy hopped, trying to put her boots on.
“Slow down!” she yelled.
“You know, if you set your alarm, you wouldn’t have these issues, Lucy!” I pulled open the door to her old ‘01 Toyota Corolla and jammed the keys into the ignition.
“Jesus Christ, when did my mother take possession of your body, Liz? I had a late-night. If God wanted me to be on time, he would have given me an internal clock!” Lucy shouted at me through the window—her shoe still not on. How she had a job, I’ll never know.
She plopped into the passenger seat and finished her make-up and hair while I pulled out into bumper-to-bumper traffic. Dammit.
“That’s it, God hates me,” I complained.
Lucy giggled from the passenger seat. “Well, if he hates you, I’d hate to see how he feels about me.”
I ran my hands through my hair and grumbled and slapped the steering wheel. I would not be making it to this interview on time. I gave the side-eye to Lucy as she pretended not to notice my grim mood. Traffic was everyone’s nemesis. They would understand, right?
“So, I heard that thebosswould be in today,” Lucy said, breaking the awkward silence.
Herbosswas the owner that no one seemed to know.He came in on the rarest of occasions but always stayed in his private area, entertaining God knows who. In the last three years, he’d only been there once when I was, and all the girls would show off to get his attention. It would never work out for them.
I nodded as she droned uninterrupted about her boss and all the rumors she had heard recently.
Weaving in and out of traffic, I was finally so close I could see the gigantic neon sign that said “Adrestia.” I pulled around back to the employee entrance and skid to a stop, exhaling the breath I had held. I would be ten minutes late, and an excellent first impression went out of the window.
Lucy grabbed her purse and stepped out. Turning around, she tipped her head back in. “Good luck, Liz. Grab them by the balls, and don’t let them say no.” I rolled my eyes at her. “It was metaphorical, Liz, unless he’s smoking hot. Then, by all means.” She jested, showing her perfect white teeth.
“Send me a text when you are on your way back,” she requested, making a silly face before slamming the door shut. I shook my head and giggled. What would I do without her? I pulled back ontoHell, I mean, Main Street, and I made my way agonizingly slow to the tall office building of Blackstone Tech.
I had been filling out applications all week after quitting my previous job. My last boss Toby was a predator in every sense of the word. He would make your life a living hell with sexual advances and then get the complaints swept under the rug. I finally had enough when he passed me up for the manager position to give it to Dorothy. I knew that girl swallowed everything he’d given her, so she got the job over me. I threw my keyboard at his nasty ass and walked out. Two days later, I had a call from Rebecca at Blackstone Tech asking me to schedule an interview for the Personal Assistant position that had just opened.
I pulled up to the valet booth, took a deep breath, and got out. Giving my keys to a tall blond man with the name tag, David, I thanked him and seized my ticket. I smoothed my slate gray dress pants, straightened my matching jacket’s collar, and went inside. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I just hoped I didn’t trip in Lucy’s black heels. I never felt comfortable putting my entire body weight on two small sticks and tiptoes. It was just so unnatural.
Moving my way inside the elevator, I found in bold letters, Blackstone Tech, floor twenty-five. Pressing the button, I stepped to the back of the elevator and said a silent prayer. It felt like an eternity for the double doors to open to an office. It filled the entire level. There were bright colored potted flowers against the floor-to-ceiling windows, whitewashed walls, and minimal decor. As I stood gawking at the bright, wide-open area, I heard a man speak, pulling me out of my daze.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.
“Do you have an appointment?” asked an aged man with gray streaks running through his hair, wearing a crisp black suit and a matching tie.
“Um, yes, sorry. I have an interview scheduled for five-thirty. I’m a little late, but traffic was crazy,” I rambled.