Chapter Two

I sat there for over three monotonous hours sorting the papers out into the right piles before it became completely unbearable. It took quite a while to even know which document the paper belonged to because there weren't any page numbers on them. It was clear that my predecessor had absolutely no interest in the job. Well, unless you counted Mr Satani himself, I added as an afterthought.

 With a groan, I pushed myself up off of the floor. My bum hurt from serious exposure to the floor which, despite the fluffy carpet, was ridiculously uncomfortable. My stomach chose that moment to grumble and a quick glance at my watch had me breathing out a relieved sigh.  It was lunch time.

"Thank God for small mercies," I muttered under my breath while sweeping up the sorted documents into a pile.

During the course of the morning I had added post-it notes to several sheets. I hadn't even understood half of what the documents were about, but it was clear that someone was fiddling with the figures. The question was why.

Straightening out my clothes, I crossed over to Mr Satani's door and knocked lightly on the tinted glass with one hand while the other clutched the papers to my chest. A muffled voice called out in response so I used my free hand to push open the door.

It was impossible to miss the imposing figure of Mr Satani as he sat behind the desk. His gaze was fixed upon the screen of his computer so that his face had taken on a blue hue in the oddly gloomy room. It was a crime that this man had an incredible office overlooking the city and he was wasting it all with blinds closed and lights on.

The CEO held up a single finger to signify that he had noted my presence while his attention remained firmly upon the screen.

The office was exactly how you would expect a man in charge to have it. Each wall was filled with bookcases and imposing filing cabinets. The few titles I could see on the shelves had me puzzling over the man. But then I snorted. There was no way that Mr Satani, narcissist and god's gift to women, had read those ancient tomes.

I allowed my gaze to wander back to the man in question and soon I felt my brows drawing further and further up my head. The desk he sat behind was completely organised.  Even the keyboard looked like it was in the perfect place and each of the pens in the little holder were arranged at the perfect angle. If anything, the office screamed out to me that he was trying too hard to look like the perfect office worker.

I shook that thought off quickly.

The whole look of the place was brought together by tall dark and handsome as he leant back in the black leather chair, behind his ridiculously large desk with that unconscious smirk upon his lips.  All he needed was the cat and then he would look like the stereotypical cartoon villain.

Mr Satani cleared him throat which snapped my attention back to him. My hand fisted into the paper in my arms as I noted the smug smile, the one that created the cutest dimple in his cheek, while his eyes trailed lazily up and down the length of my body. My teeth ground together as his blue eyes lingered on every bit of my exposed skin.

"What can I do for you Miss Holmes?" The man leant forwards as he purred the words, his gaze never leaving mine. 

Chewing on my bottom lip, I looked everywhere but at him as I held the pile of crumpled documents out in his direction.

"These are the ones I've sorted out already. I've marked a few because there were discrepancies. There's nothing huge but by the time you build it up over the course of the year, well it is actually quite big."

When he made no move to take them, I dropped them onto his desk with a bang and then slapped a finger on one of the highlighted and post-it covered page. Mr Satani blinked up at me for several long seconds before his eyes flicked downwards. I watched as they trailed across the words over the paper – a quick glance to begin with but quickly becoming focused as he grasped what I was trying to tell him.

When he finished, he did nothing but stare at the paper, a furrow between his brows and his body rigid. He actually looked puzzled – if that was the right word for the expression.

The silence dragged on for too long, my stomach decided to break it with loud grumbling. But still he did not look up.

"I'm going to head off for lunch. Is there anything you want me to do before I go?" I added the last part awkwardly, wishing and hoping that he would ignore my offer.

I turned towards the door and was almost there, almost safe when there it was. His gaze was burning into my back once more. I didn't even have to turn to know it; the touch of them surveying my form was almost physical.  I rolled my shoulders to erase the sensation.

 "Wait!"

Wincing, I glanced over my shoulder in time to see him strut around the desk. His six-foot-something frame towered over me in the blink of an eye.  Before I knew what was happening, I had an armful of paper once more.

"Do me a favour and take these to Mr Watson, three doors down on the right hand side. Ask him if he will look over these before our meeting at five."

He shunted me towards the door with a forceful yet guiding hand on my back. Within five seconds I was back out in the hall with the papers clutched to my chest. I blinked at the office door as it closed behind me. Then his words sunk in and I cussed. Great, I thought bitterly, a meeting.  I was surely expected to be here as long as he was which would mean working until at least six.  

"Sure thing boss," I grumbled while giving a one armed mock salute at the closed door.

Then, spinning on my heel, I hurried down the hall.  I wobbled my way forwards as my stilettos sunk into the plush carpet underfoot.  Despite my protests about their ridiculous overspending, I was actually looking forwards to the time when I could sit behind a clutter free desk and sink my bare toes into the fluffy carpet.

I paused to look at each nameplate on the doors as I progressed slowly down the hall.  My brow twitched upwards and my lips threatened to turn into a smile when I paused before a darkened room which bore the name 'Bubba.' I shook my head and continued on and, just as he said, third door on the right bore the name Watson.

The door was closed but blue tinted light seeped out from beneath the frame. I rapped lightly on the solid wood. There was no sound or movement from the other side. I waited a few moments more and rapped again. However, my next knock made no sound because instead of hard wood, the surface I was banging against was soft and squishy. I blushed and lifted my face while hastily retracting my hand from where it had been drumming on the front of an immaculate and expensive suit.

I met the twinkling blue eyes of a man who looked like he was at least in his sixties. He reminded me of Michael Caine when he played the loveable butler Alfred in Batman, with the white hair and kindly smile. I allowed my lips to twitch into a small grin as I met his warm gaze.

"Hi, are you Mr Watson?"

"That would be me." He said with a smile while his hands fiddled with his tie. "And who, may I ask, are you?"  

The knowledge behind swirling in those irises told me the old man knew exactly who I was. Still, I decided to humour him.

"I'm Savannah Holmes, the new PA for Mr Satani." I replied, offering out my free hand for him to shake while my other still clutched the papers close to my body. His warm hand wrapped around mine pulling me into a firm handshake while his lined face looked down at me. I rolled my shoulder to try and alleviate the itch that decided in that moment to raise its ugly head once more.

"Nice to meet you Savannah," Mr Watson replied warmly as he stepped back. "Now as nice as it is talking to you, I assume you have a reason for interrupting my important work."

I frowned as the itching lessened as soon as we were no longer in contact with one another.  I forced myself to push the curious thoughts running through my head until a later time. Shaking my head side to side, I forced my smile to stay on my lips.

 "Mr Satani sent me over to remind you about the meeting tonight." I held out the papers to him which he took with curiosity twinkly in his gaze. It disappeared as I continued to talk. "He also asked me to give you these and ask you to look them over. There are multiple discrepancies in several of the documents. It could merely be a clerical error but he thought you needed to check it out."

 Mr Watson's fingers shook as he flicked through the first couple of sheets, his frown getting deeper and deeper. After a minute or two he looked up at me, his blue eyes rather glazed as he looked right at me without really seeing.

"I'll take care of it, I'll see you later my dear."

 I worried my bottom lip between my teeth as he disappeared back into his office, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

Blinking a few times, I glanced up and down the hall feeling rather off kilter from the man's abrupt dismissal. However my stomach reminded me of my overdue lunch hour by grumbling obscenely loud, successfully distracting me from my concern.

Flushing, I scurried back down the corridor to my desk and then superficially rearranged the papers. I gave up soon after I started however, when the mess looked just as bad as it had originally on the other side of the work surface. Then, after grabbing my bag from the bottom drawer where I had thoughtfully stashed it earlier, I quickly stuck my head around Mr Satani's door.

"I'm heading off for lunch. If you need anything, I'm guessing you have my number?"

The striking man nodded his head, lifting his gaze from his screen to give me a white gleaming smile.

Ducking back through the door, I snorted which quickly into a laugh when I caught the words that he muttered to himself.

 "I can't believe she resists me. It should be impossible."

Shaking my head, I skipped down the hall with a massive grin on my face.

I pressed the call button for the lift while fumbling through my bag. The urge to call home became my main focus now that I was no longer trying to organise Mr Satani's copious amounts of admin.  Finally my hand closed around my phone and my stomach lurched uncomfortably. I could already picture the look of Mari's face when she heard that I would be working late.

A metallic chime announced the arrival of the lift. It successfully pulled me from my less than cheerful thoughts. I lifted my head just as the doors pulled smoothly open and immediately my gaze fell upon a man who had to be in the wrong place. He looked like he should have been an underwear model not a suit. He was beautiful – much too pretty to be handsome. He was probably my age but the way that his chin was struggling to produce stubble made him look more like a teenager than an adult.

Stepping through the doors before they could close once more, I raised a single solitary brow as the figure.  He stood no more than two feet away and yet those two feet may have been an ocean because he steadfastly ignored my presence. Instead, he continued to pout his lips into the reflective walls of the metal box.

Rolling my eyes, I scrolled through the contacts in my recently liberated phone and pressed the call button when I came to Marianna's number. While I waited for it to connect, I noted that the guy had finally prised himself away from his own reflection. He caught my gaze and nodded at the keypad while his finger hovered over the lobby button.

I nodded and quickly turned my back on him as the tinny sound of my best friend's voice filtered through the speakers of my phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mari, is Vannah. How's Danny?" I questioned as I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and gnawed on it.

"He's good, just went down for a nap so hopefully he'll be awake when you get home."

I could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke of my son. I placed my hand over my heart as it throbbed and I closed my eyes against the discomfort.  I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be at home with my baby boy. I certainly did not want to be here, sorting out crap for the big baby I had to call my boss.

"About that..."

I trailed off, unsure whether I wanted to continue.

"Do you think you could watch him until seven tonight Mari? It's just there is a meeting at five that I have to be here for."

The static crackled over the line as my friend hesitated on the other end.

"Van, I would if I could but I have plans tonight that I really can't get out of." Regret was thick in her tone and I knew that she really did regret it. She helped me all the way through the pregnancy just like she had helped me through every traumatic event in the last few years of my life. The woman had been with me through it all and was the closest thing I had to family besides Danny.

"Never mind Mari, do you think you could bring Danny down to the office instead? Some made up bottles would be great too."

I bit down harder on my bottom lip and soon felt blood pool into my mouth from the small cut. It wasn't that I thought she would say no which was making me anxious, but that she would say yes. For some reason the idea of Danny being here later made me feel really uncomfortable. I knew from my past experiences that it was a bad idea to ignore instinct but right now I had very little choice.

"Yeah, of course I can. I'll meet you in the lobby at about half four, if that's alright with you? It's going to take me a while to drive down there."

I nodded in reply before realising she couldn't hear me.

"That'd be great Mari, I'll see you then."

We exchanged a few more pleasantries before we both hung up.

I was still staring at the darkened screen of my phone when the lift pulled to a stop. My stomach lurched as the doors sprung open with the metallic ding. I quickly evacuated the space and breathed a sigh of relief when my heels clicked on the hard floor of the lobby – no plush carpet in sight.

I strode towards the reception desk where Kirsten and another receptionist were in their element. Catching sight of me, the blonde waved and chattered on brightly for a few seconds more before removing her headset.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked, ducking down beneath the desk for a moment.

When she reappeared she had a small handbag and a black leather jacket held firmly in her grasp. I looked down at my phone and then quickly slipped it into my own bag while offering her a small smile.

 "Yeah I'm ready."