Elena Benton

          This was it; today was my last day at home before I set off onto my new journey. I had spent the last four years getting my accounting degree; thanks to my dads connections I was offered an internship at ‘Stronghold Corporation’ in California. I knew how lucky I was to have such a great opportunity given to me. I just couldn’t believe that this was all really happening.

          I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois. My father is a pastor; my mother stayed at home to take care of my brother and me. My brother John is older than me and left home when I was sixteen; he became a lawyer and lives in Chicago. Now it was my chance to go out into the world and make something of myself. At first I thought it would be hard to leave home but now I found myself ready to explore the world and be free for once in my life.

          I wasn't allowed to date through high school; thanks to my wonderful father and over protective brother. During college if I wasn't in school or studying, I was working; I didn't have time to date. I'm Twenty-One years old and the most I have done with a guy is one drunken new years kiss in college. Yes, I was definitely in serious need of a taste of the real world. I pulled my long blonde hair up into a loose bun and took one last look into my blue eyes in the mirror.

"This is the last day of being Elena Benton 'the preacher’s daughter', tomorrow I will be Elena Benton 'the independent and free woman'." I said out loud before turning and heading downstairs.

          I ate breakfast with my mom before we headed to church. After the service we had a small gathering as a going away party for me. By the time we got home that night I was exhausted; I knew that I had to get up early in the morning and headed off to bed. The next morning I packed the last few things in my suitcase and headed downstairs to meet my parents. I had a quick cup of coffee and we headed to the airport.

"I'm proud you of you Eli. This will be a great experience for you." My father said from the front seat; I could see my mother next to him wiping her cheeks, no doubt crying already.

"Thanks dad. I'm excited to see what the rest of the world is like." I said staring out the window at the approaching airport. My stomach started to tighten and get butterflies; I don't know if I was more nervous or excited.

          We made our way through the crowds at the airport until I was at my check in. My parents wished me well and we said our good byes. I tried to make the goodbye as fast as I could; my mom was already starting to cry uncontrollably by the time I left. As I got comfortable in my seat I went over some of the information I had prepared for my new job. The fact that I was going to intern for a multi-billion dollar company had my stomach in knots. If everything worked out this would be great experience to list on my resume.

          It was a good flight, no turbulence or surprises. I arrived at the Holiday Inn just after 7:00 P.M. It wasn't a fancy hotel, but it really wasn't that bad; it was clean at least. I had worked through college and managed to save up about seven thousand dollars. It seems like a lot but when you have to pay for your hotel and food and everything else while you work 8 hours a day for no pay as an intern; I knew that money was going to go fast. I hung up my suits in the small closet and took out my bathroom stuff. After making sure everything was in the right place for the morning I set my alarm and drifted off to sleep.

          I woke up to the alarm going off by the bed; I shut it off then jumped in the shower. I placed my hair in a tight professional bun and tugged on my dark blue slacks with the light blue pin stripes; I buttoned up and tucked in the white undershirt and pulled my light blue blazer over top. I brushed on some mascara and dabbed on some lip gloss before heading out the door. Stronghold was only about four blocks away but there was no way I was walking there in heels; I stopped on the side of the road and flagged for a taxi.

          I got out of the Taxi and looked up at the huge building that now stood in front of me; it was all stainless steel and glass in the front with huge stainless lettering spelling out ‘Stronghold Corporation’ above the doors. I took a deep breath and walked through the doors.

"You can do this Elena." I said to myself as I made my way up to the front desk. There was a young dark haired woman waiting behind the desk with a smile on her face.

“How can I help you miss?” She asked once I was standing in front of her.

“Elena Benton, here for the accounting position.” I replied giving her a quick smile.

"Oh yes, here it is.” She said handing me an envelope from the stack she was shuffling through. “Mr. Stronghold said everything you should need to get started is in there.”

"Thank you." I said moving to a nearby waiting area to look at the contents; I read the first paper that was included in the envelope.

Ms. Elena Benton,

          I am sorry that I was not able to greet you on your first day in person but I am a very busy man. I have set an appointment for you to meet me today at noon in my office (12Th Floor). I hope that I have provided you with all you will need to get started, please feel free to ask Max (head of accounting) if you need anything more. I had an office set up for you in the accounting department (3Rd Floor). Your name will be on the door and the key is in this envelope. Your father has always been a dear friend to me and I look forward to working with you.

                                                                                                                             Sincerely, Kane Stronghold

          Wow I wasn't expecting to even meet Mr. Stronghold let alone have a personal letter written from him. I placed the letter back into the envelope and fished out the key. I added it to my key chain then headed towards the elevators; I pushed floor Three and waited as it rose to my floor. I left the elevator and went to the area with the accounting sign. There were four different offices: the first one read 'Max Hunt', the second 'Thomas Staff', the third 'Julia Stall', and the last one 'Elena Benton'. I couldn't help the smile that came across my face as I read my name on the door.

          As I walked to my office I could see that no one was in the other three offices yet; good, this would give me some time to get use to my new office. I used the key to unlock the door and made myself comfortable behind the desk. The office had an all glass front with blinds that you had the option to close. The back of the office also had a large window that looked out onto the street below. I set a quick alarm on my phone for 11:45; I didn't want to be late for my meeting with Mr. Stronghold. I then started on the stack of paper work that was in front of me. I was glad that I had previous experience with book keeping or I wouldn't have had a clue what to do with the information in front of me.

          I had already been working for a few hours when Max knocked at the door; he was an average sized man with brown hair and glasses, not really much to look at. He seemed nice and told me if I had any questions to let him know. He got a call while we were talking and had to leave so I didn't really get to know him that much. I started working on the paperwork again when my alarm went off. I straightened out the paperwork on the desk, grabbed my phone and briefcase and headed out the door locking it behind me. I walked over to the elevator and pushed the button for floor Twelve.

          I could feel my heart rate start to pick up as the elevator climbed higher and higher. I was nervous to meet Mr. Stronghold; he was a very important man, even more important he was my boss. Keep it together Elena, you can do this, I told myself as I watched the numbers change for 10 to 11. I held my breath as it changed to 12 and the ding confirmed my arrival. I took one more deep breath to calm myself before taking a step to exit the elevator. There was a middle aged lady with curly brown hair at the front desk that smiled at me as I approached.

"Ms. Benton?" She asked wanting to confirm she had the correct person; I shook my head yes. "Mr. Stronghold is expecting you." She said gesturing her hand around the corner; she smiled at me before returning her attention to her computer. I smiled back and made my way around her desk to find a large office; the door was open so I peeked my head in the door before walking in.

"Agh, Ms. Benton how nice it is to finally meet you." Mr. Stronghold spoke from behind his desk. "Please come in." He added as he stood up to shake my hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Sir, my father has always talked about how great of a man you are." I said taking a seat in a chair across from him after we shook hands.

          While we continued talking about how my family was doing and how I was getting settled in to my work at Stronghold I couldn't help but take in his features. He had dark hair, a strong jaw line, and really tan skin; no doubt from living here in sunny California. He was very handsome for an older man; I mean if he wasn’t like my dad‘s age I could see myself going for someone who looks like him. We finished our talk and I picked up my stuff to get ready to leave; I was about to walk out the door when he spoke again.

"Tell your father I said hello for me please Ms. Benton." He said then waved before returning to his desk.

"Ok." I said and turned to walk out the door.

          The moment I turned around I ran straight into a wall dropping my phone and briefcase. Well at least it felt like I ran into a wall until my chest started burning. I took a step back and looked down to see a brown hot liquid soaking into my light blue blazer.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry." A male voice came from in front of me; I watched his hands come up and fumble around like he wanted to help but didn't know what to do.

"Mikko watch you language. Ms. Benton are you alright?" The sound of Mr. Strongholds voice broke me out of whatever trance I was in staring down at my blazer.

"Yeah, I'm fine.” I said finally looking up while fanning my shirt to try and cool down my burning chest.

"Hey look I'm sorry about that. I didn't even see you there." Mikko said looking down at me.

          I just stood there starring back at him, taking in all his features. He had dark hair almost black but with dark brown natural highlights throughout. His jaw line was sharp and he had a straight nose; his eyes were grey or maybe silver I couldn't really decide. Everything about this guy just screamed sexy to me. I watched him run his fingers through his hair anxiously. Oh shit, he was waiting for me to respond. How long had I been standing there staring at him?

"Umm, don’t worry about it. I have to go." I managed to spit the words out as I grabbed my briefcase off the floor and headed for the door.

          I gave them both a polite smile and left trying not to run back to the elevator. My hand was shaking as I fumbled to press the button for the lobby; why was I so nervous? I almost screamed when a warm hand came over mine steadying it enough to press the button. Oh god as if I wasn't embarrassed enough by the whole situation that just happened he had to follow me in the elevator too.

"A little too much coffee today?" He asked referring to my shaky hands; I still hadn't found the courage to look up but his little coffee joke wasn't that funny to me seeing that I had it all over me.

"It appears that you didn't think so." I said gesturing at my coffee stained suit; I know it was a little rude but I was still upset from being embarrassed.

"Well you forgot this." He said handing me my phone. "Where did you park?" He asked.

"Thanks." I said taking my phone. "I don't have a car here I just moved." I said, wondering why he would want to know where I parked.

"Ok, I will take you home then." He said as the elevator came to ground level. Only it was more like he was telling me I was going, not asking if I wanted a ride.

"Ok." I said it was better than having to stand and wait for a cab.

"Did you eat yet?" He asked once we got in his SUV.

"No." I answered.

"Ok we will stop and get something to eat. Where do you live?" He asked pulling out of his spot.

"Well I am not going in anywhere looking like this. You can just take me home, It‘s the Holiday Inn on Fourth." I said. What would make him think that I would want to go out to eat with coffee all over me?

"Oh yeah. I will take you to change first." He said glancing over at me; I think I saw him grin but he quickly returned his attention to the road.

          He pulled into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn and shut off the SUV. I opened my door surprised to find that he was doing the same as we both exited and closed the doors behind us. The chirp of the alarm made me jump a little when he locked the doors. Is he going inside with me? Why would he go inside? My mind quickly returned to how I left the room that morning. I don't think that it was very messy; I hope that its not.

          I wanted to know why he was going to my room with me, but I couldn't bring myself to ask; hell I couldn't even get myself to look the guy in the eyes for more than a few seconds. When we entered the room I quickly grabbed a new top and jacket and headed for the bathroom. I had just finished with the top few buttons of my shirt when the bathroom door opened; I jumped and felt my face flush as I turned around to face him.

"Put your shirt and jacket in here, I will get them cleaned for you." He said with an amused smile on his face as he held out a bag.

"You could knock, you know?" I said snatching the bag out of his hand. Geez, how did he know that I wasn't still naked? Or was he hoping I was? My face flushed at the thought.

"Ready?" He asked, ignoring my statement. What the fuck is with this guy?

          I tugged on my jacket and waved my hand towards the door. We walked back out to the SUV in silence; along with the short ride to the restaurant. I have to say it felt kind of awkward, but looking over at him he seemed at ease with the whole situation. We walked into the restaurant and the waitress seated us at a table by the bar. There were only a few other people there with us; I started looking over the menu deciding on what to order.

"Do you always wear suits on dates?" Mikko asked looking over at me. What? Why would he want to know what I wear on dates?

"Who said I wear suits on dates?" I asked confused.

          Mikko looked down at my suit jacket, shrugged, and then turned his attention back to his menu. Holy fuck! Did he think this was a date? I thought this was a ‘sorry for spilling the coffee on you’, business thing. Shit, what do I say? The waitress brought us our drinks and said she would be back for our orders.

"Umm Mikko, I didn't think...." I started. ”Well, I just thought..." I tried again. Fuck spit it out Elena, I scolded myself.

"What is it Ms. Benton?" He asked; seemingly impatient.

"Elena." I spit out. Shit, that was off topic but it felt weird calling him Mikko and him calling me Ms. Benton. I wonder what his last name is.

"What?" I look up to see him confused by my response.

"My name is Elena; I prefer that to Ms. Benton." I said not taking my eyes off my finger twirling the straw in my drink.

"As you wish, Elena." I melted a little at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue. What the hell was wrong with me? "Now what was it that you were saying before?" He asked looking over at me. Damn, back to the date thing; I still hadn't figured out what I was going to say.

"Mikko?" A female voice came from around the corner; out stepped a leggy Blonde with a perfect tan, she looked like a model. She smiled sweetly at Mikko and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek when she walked up. Mikko greeted her with a friendly smile, and introduced us.

"Tara this is Elena Benton, Elena this is Tara. Elena is a business associate at Stronghold." He added, before breaking off in brief conversation with her after the introduction.

          I sat there mindlessly staring at the menu while they continued talking. I was confused now; did he still think this was a date? Did he ever think that, or was I just over thinking things. The waitress came and Tara bid us farewell and headed to her table. We ordered our food and the waitress let us be.

"I will have a car pick you up and take you home from work; it‘s pointless to have you pay for a cab when I have drivers on standby all the time." Mikko said before taking a sip of his drink.

"What?" Was all I could manage to spit out. What the hell? He was offering me a private driver to and from work? That was just crazy; the taxi ride wasn't that bad.

"He will pick you up at 7:45 and be waiting in stall 4 in the garage after work. Here's his number if you need him for anything else." He slid a card out of his wallet and passed it to me. It read 'John Roberts' and a phone number was listed under that.

"I don't need this; I’m fine with the taxi." I said, pushing the card back over to him.

"It's already been arranged Elena, courtesy of Mr. Stronghold." He said a grin forming on his lips as he passed the card back to me. What the fuck!

          I didn't have time to process the information before the waitress returned with our food. I was about three bites into my burger when I looked up to see Mikko staring at me. I looked back down at my food before I let myself get lost in his eyes; I swallowed my bite before looking back up.

"What?" I asked. Why did he have to always stare at me like that?

"I just didn't expect for you to order a burger. I figured you more of a salad type." He said before shrugging and turning his attention back to his food.

          That was it; I had lost my appetite. What was so wrong with a girl eating a freaking burger? Why did everyone assume that if you were skinny that all you ever ate was salads? I don’t even like salad! Agh, why was he getting under my skin? I was just ready to go; I pushed my plate forward and sat back to wait for the server to come back.

"Over estimate your stomach?" Mikko asked looking at my almost still full plate of food.

"Yep." I responded, not bothering to look away from the imaginary object I was staring at by the bar. ‘No, really you just made me lose my appetite with your snide comments’ is what I wanted to say. He obviously wasn't happy with my remark.

"Let's go!" He said sharply as he stood up from the table and tossed down a $50 bill.

          Yes Sir, I wanted say; along with a salute. I grabbed my bag and followed him out the door. He took me back to the hotel, this time not bothering to walk me to the door. I stripped out of my clothes and jumped in the shower; I still felt sticky from my coffee bath earlier. After my shower I headed off to bed determined to clear my mind of the day‘s events.

**A/N: I don't have a cover yet so if anyone wants to make one I would love that :) Hope you enjoy, there is only Ten chapters in this book but they are all about the same lenght as this one.