Over the weekend, I had finished moving and relocating my precious things. I'd celebrated by taking Kylie to Pizza Hut, finally eating food to my heart's content. When Kylie asked me if I was good to allow her to order a second serving of garlic bread, I nodded enthusiastically, making her suspicious. She asked me a little about my sugar daddy, and even though I had to tell her multiple times that Aiden was not my sugar daddy, she refused to call him anything else.

"Like, I get it you're a dropout from a B-school and whatever but, how good of an intern do you need to be to earn all of this?" she said, vaguely pointing at my freshly colored hair and new dress. It had been a casual dress, but I wondered now if I should have worn something like a sweatshirt and jeans. Kylie was wearing a scarf modeled into a shirt, learning this hack from some youtuber that she followed like religion. Her fashion sense was a little out there, and honestly not for me, but she was killing it and I was amazed by her ability to make clothes work no matter how tacky the concept was.

We parted ways after taking ice cream for dessert, promising to continue texting and meeting as much as our schedules allowed. She invited herself to my job sometime in the week so she could see me more frequently, but I suspected it was just the free food. I didn't mind. Our bill tonight hadn't made me cringe and panic. None of our bills would.

I liked this life.

I woke up extra early the next morning. I had willed myself to sleep early, keeping away all distractions till my boredom took over. I had to be perfect on my first day. While the added pressure was insane, there was a stronger current of excitement pouring over me, reflecting in my eyes. With Kylie's added help I'd purchased some preliminary make up, happy that my rusty eyeliner skills weren't half as bad. I liked lipsticks the most, they were the easiest and made an instant difference to one's appearance.

I was still in the robe after taking a shower when Josie let herself in, hauling in a large bag of groceries. I requested something light, the excitement too much to stomach more.

"How does toast and fruits sound?"

I nodded, letting her do her thing, rushing back to my room to get ready. I'd picked a black shirt and checkered pants for today, with some basic black heels, trying to keep myself comfortable and yet making a good impression.

Josie popped in to see how I liked my coffee just when I was done getting ready.

"You look good, Ms. Scott. I think you'll fit perfectly with Mr. Steele's employees." She complimented, and my confidence shot up 100 points.

"Does he have employees at his home all the time?"

"Very rarely. Mr. Steele prefers keeping his employees out of his personal life. I think only Mr. Emerson has permission to move freely at his home."

"That must be incredibly lonely," I noted, sitting on the new table, still getting used to the lovely marble countertop.

"I assume so. Mr. Steele has a very close circle and he doesn't branch out a lot. I was very surprised to see you at his place." She put down a tray with my breakfast, two slices of toast with butter and a bowl of fruits and a coffee. I dug into the meal, taking care not to let anything touch my clothes.

"I'll be at Mr. Steele's home if you need anything. I've packed rice and vegetables for your lunch here." She pointed to the Tupperware box. I didn't even know I had Tupperware. "Would you be okay with chicken pot pie for dinner?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Great, I'll leave it in the oven to keep it warm. Have a good day at work Ms. Scott."

"Thea, please." I corrected her, "and thank you for all the food!"

"It's no problem Thea," she smiled warmly, before disappearing from view. If every morning Aiden got to meet her cheery attitude, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a rainbow smile on his face the whole day.

**

I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong it wasn't even mildly funny. I'd reached the office building ten minutes before Aiden had, and somehow that fool had forgotten to inform anyone that I was to be working there. After some brief haggling with Mary, who called me any version of a gold digger she could imagine without being directly insulting, I was seething. And I was so fucking ready to put her in her place once Aiden arrived. But Aiden walked into the office with the foulest of moods, stopping by the reception only to bark, "Why aren't you up with Lydia yet? I don't think I'm paying you to sit and gossip with my employees."

I had an acerbic response in my mouth, but it was halted by his sharp command, "Go to Rodgers and sign your contracts. And then come see me in my office."

Jesus fucking Christ.

If this was any intern's first day, they would have walked straight out of the door and never come back. Fuck, I might have considered trashing something on my way out. I didn't get to flip the finger to him, really because he walked away as fast as anyone's long legs could take them and I was left to my own devices, having to ask Mary again who the fuck Rogers was and where I could find him.

"You're heading to HR?" Jason interrupted my unproductive conversation, coming to my rescue once again.

I nodded. "I'll take you there. And I'll give you a full tour of the place." Jesus, with that smile, he should have been filling up billboards. What the fuck was he doing behind a computer screen?

"Oh no, I'm sure you're very busy. I'll find-"

"Ah, but you're forgetting something. I am the boss of my own schedule. I'll catch up on work later, let's get you signed in so Mary doesn't keep bothering you." He put a hand over my shoulder, taking me away from the reception and saving my ass a second time already.

We took the elevators till the eighteenth floor, discussing more about a product he was trying to gain traction for. There was awareness and interest, and then came the toughest part of it all: the decision making. I was talking to him about CrazyEgg, and the conversation was all too thrilling, making me sad when we ended up in front of Rogers' office. We put a pause on it and I tried to focus on whatever Rogers was telling me. 2 paid leaves a month, deductions afterwards, perks, sexual harassment grievances, basic stuff. I had to show them a couple of documents for the insurance and whatnot, but it was such a bore that I just noted it down on my Notes app and hoped for the best that I would remember. They gave me a new company email ID, and I happily skipped away feeling amazing.

Jason was waiting outside, scrolling through something on his phone. On seeing me, he quickly pocketed it, taking me upstairs to the thirty fifth floor again. "Twenty and below is where the boring people are," he explained, "Admin, Finance, IT, all that stuff. Twenty-four is Media, twenty-five is Design and Digital and twenty-six is B2B. They're my favorite floors." His boyish grin told me just how much he enjoyed his job, and his passion for his work shone through his eyes.

"I'll make sure to catch you in action sometime," I told him, making him chuckle.

"Don't do it on a day when I'm pissed."

"Can't be worse than what I experienced this morning," I rolled my eyes, making him look with questioning eyes.

"Did Aiden say something stupid? On your first day!"

I shrugged, not knowing what else to say. Jason shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "He's got a thing bothering him for weeks now. It's stupid honestly and he has no reason to get this worked up over it, but he's obsessed with the business really. Still, gives him no good reason to be pissed at you. What were you doing?"

"Trying to convince Mary to let me go up."

Jason shook his head again, "Mary's a... different story altogether. Not everyone can get along with her." Thinking of something, he dropped the conversation, moving to my tormentor, "I'll give him a piece of my mind later today; I'm supposed to drop by for some work. Till then I'll kiss you good luck." Jason leaned forward, kissing my cheek and then turning away, leaving me flustered and awkwardly standing at the turning leading to Aiden's office.

I kept my eyes on Jason's retreating back till he took a left and disappeared before taking my own path to Aiden's office. Lydia was on a call when I arrived, taking notes on a paper as the person on the other end spoke. She raised a finger to ask me to wait, so I sat down on the chairs outside the office.

"Of course, I'll have Mr. Steele contact you by the end of the day. Is it? Then by lunch. Not a problem, thanks for calling me. Yes, absolutely, thank you." Lydia sounded amazingly professional while the call lasted, but as soon as she turned to me her words changed tone, "Look at you girl! You've managed to snag two of the hottest commodities in the market till date and it's only your first day here."

I opened my mouth to say something when she shushed me, "Mr. Steele's in a bad mood, let's not keep him waiting, okay?"

I agreed. We could gossip and talk about men later. Lydia handed me a file and asked me to get Aiden's signature on the last page while I was getting assigned for the day. Apparently, Aiden wanted me to work on as many areas as possible, which meant every few days he'd put me in a new role.

I knocked on his door twice before going in, taking one last look at Lydia who reassured me with a thumbs up sign. Still not reassured, I shut the door behind me, heading to Aiden's desk where his head was craning towards the computer screen, reading through what I could vaguely make out was an Excel file.

I wanted to ask if he had reading glasses, but I was also not stupid enough to poke the bear. Instead, I cleared my throat and waited for him to respond.

"What is it?"

"I need your signatures on this for Lydia and my assignment."

Aiden looked up from the screen, confused to see me. Was he expecting someone else? I didn't waste a second, opening the file to the last page and keeping it in front of him.

"You're supposed to be in HR." He said after a moment, going over the document quickly and signing it. His signature was clean, deliberate and so beautiful, I had to wait for a moment to recover.

"I got my employment papers signed from Rogers," I informed.

"How?" What was that supposed to mean?

"I went to his office and Rogers gave me the paperwork." I deadpanned.

"Did someone help you get there?"

"I met Jason on the way there. He insisted on taking me."

Aiden ran a hand over his face, as if Jason had ruined some elaborate schem-

Oh, that little piece of shit!

"Did you purposely yell at me in the lobby? And you made sure I wouldn't know how to get to HR just to make my life difficult?"

His silence was a confirmation. What the fuck was that for? I couldn't understand the workings of his mind, but I had no interest to probe deeper anyways. Aiden Steele was playing mind games with me, and I could play right back. Swallowing my anger, I said, "Well done, Steele. Now where am I supposed to be today?"

If he was confused, he didn't show. A corner of his mouth lifted slightly but he wiped it off immediately, "I want you to deliver some files to Kelley. She works for our design team."

I took the three colorful folders from him, "I don't suppose you'll tell me where the design team is." Aiden flashed me a full smile. I pretended to be worried for a second, before raising my chin in the air. If Aiden Steele wanted me to prove something to him, I would.

"Get it signed from her before lunch."

"Uh... okay." I looked at the folders in front of me doubtfully, hoping it would stroke his ego and inflate it further. And then, when the time was right, I would poke him and send his ego on a one-way ticket to Timbuctoo. "Anything else?"

"No, we'll see what else is to be done once you finish that." He had a satisfied smirk on his face that I couldn't wait to wipe off. I exit his office, and in an attempt to make my act believable, I stopped by Lydia's desk with my best puppy dog face. I didn't know if she was that loyal to Aiden, but I couldn't blow away my cover by looking too confident.

"He's asked me to get these files to Kelley in design." I told her, pouting, "Can you tell me where the design team is?"

Lydia only smiled, looking like she wanted to help but her hands were tied. Okay, I see this. Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I smiled back, making sure the sarcasm was visible clearly, "Thanks a lot."

Familiarizing myself with the floor I was working on, I made my way down to the twenty fifth floor, confidence in my stride. How big can a floor be? I could find Kelley easily and-

"How on earth are you everywhere?" Emerson asked me just as I exit the elevator.

"Can't help it, I have a boss who adores torturing me." I shrugged, making Jason laugh. Before I could ask, he beat me to it, "He's texted me to not help you at all with this task."

"That wasn't my question. I was going to ask if you'll listen to him." I smiled, making sure my dimple was on full display. And because I was desperate enough, I picked a page out of Hailey's book and flipped my hair over my shoulder.

I couldn't figure out which of the two worked, because Jason leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "Second left and third cabin." He straightened up then and looked at me with a serious expression, "You didn't hear it from me."

"I didn't even meet you here." I gave him an innocent shrug, turning on my heel to walk towards this Kelley.

"Oh, but you did. I assume Aiden gave you sufficient time to find Kelley?" He called, and I halted in my tracks, facing him again.

"Till lunch hour."

"Get those files delivered and meet me on twenty-three, Grace's office. You'll like it."

I couldn't say no. I nodded, excited for whatever he had to show me, and turned to find Kelley. 

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