‘This system has been working for over thirty-five years and I don’t expect you to change it overnight. If it wasn’t working, I would be out of business by now,” he would say when she made suggestions. It pissed her off, but at the moment her hands were tied. She had made up her mind to take advantage of any new opportunity that might come her way.
Lisa sat at her desk and started to work. It was the same boring process every day: check the records, fill in the logs, file the papers in their appropriate file, arrange them on the right shelf; same thing day in day out. Somehow she’d managed to remain cheerful at work. The mobile phone played a large role in that. Social media, and a few games on her phone kept her sane.
Mr. Johnson walked into her office. “Is everything going okay?” he asked, pulling up his pants, since they didn’t fit well. He always did that! Lisa wondered why he would not just get clothes that fit!
“Yes, everything’s fine,” she answered.
“Ok,” Mr. Johnson turned to leave. He took a second to look back, then left, shutting the door behind him. Lisa’s thoughts strayed to her boss. He had recently divorced his wife of twenty years, and she wondered why anyone would get married and divorce after twenty years? To her it seemed a long time be a part of something and then decide to just tear it apart.
Sometimes she saw a sad look on his face; the look of a man who felt empty and needed more than just the work he seemed to devote all his time to. At the end of every working day Mr Johnson would still be around, flipping through papers, looking for more work to do. The loneliness must be killing him, she guessed.
Sometimes she would stare at the dingy office she worked in; the shelves to the right, an old dusty rug covering most of the floor, and to the left a fourteen-inch tube Television. She wondered why it still existed in this day and age. It seemed a vestige of the past. Mr Johnson had refused to let go. The man definitely was still living in the seventies. On the wall was a calendar. He always got calendars for the walls. The whole office belonged in the past, and it was killing her.
She wondered if he ever had sex, and immediately shoved the thought out of her mind and continued her work. She stared at her phone and it felt distant. She was fighting between two worlds; a world that Johnson & Co and sucked her into, and the real world that she lived in – the world she should belong to, but was pretty disconnected with at the moment.
Lisa picked up her phone, and opened Facebook to check what was going on. She scrolled through a few pictures of friends at bars, the beach, places where people have fun. She wondered if she still ever really had fun. She could not remember. Maybe when she was in her apartment watching TV, that was fun. At the moment that was the most fun she had. However, there were worse things than being bored and lonely, she thought, remembering back. She shivered. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the past from her mind.
Scanning the internet, she saw a posted job vacancy., and casually applied. There was no harm in trying. She had applied for too many jobs without getting any reply to think too much of the post. It was for a Personal Assistant in a growing company. There were no other details than that.
Sinking back in her chair, Lisa sighed, and continued with the papers; the damn bloody papers.
A few hours passed and she had almost gotten lost in time. It was finally time to leave the work, but it was too late to do much except watch TV and go to bed. She packed her things and arranged her desk. The sad thing was that she knew she would be back the next day, doing the same thing.
Almost everyone else had left the office except Mr Johnson. She knew he was still around because he left his office door ajar. The light in his office pierced the dark corridor, and Lisa wondered what he was doing in there. He was probably checking papers, reading, or something serious.
She first peeked through the door but could not see him because his desk was adjacent to the door. She had to open it further to see what Mr Johnson was up to. She opened the door slowly and stuck her head in, not wanting to disturb him. Mr Johnson had his back turned to the door with a magazine page opened in front of him. On the page was a stark naked model, and it was obvious the picture had all of Mr Johnson’s attention, every single bit of it. He had his dick in his hand, gently stroking it and groaning. Lisa was shocked at first, but then she relaxed. Mr Johnson was a man, after all, and his divorce from his wife must have had him missing a bit of sexual action.
The size of his throbbing penis also caught her attention; it was huge and filled most of his hands. Mr Johnson closed his eyes as he groaned, basking in the imagined sexual escapades with the naked model on the page. He kept on stroking and was oblivious to Lisa’s presence. He stroked faster and harder, groaning as he did so. Lisa watched in amusement. Mr. Johnson kept on stroking with rapt attention to what he was doing; he was lost in his ecstasy.
She’d had enough, and quietly withdrew her head from inside the room, heading out of the office complex. “Enjoy yourself, Mr Johnson”, she thought to herself. When she exited the building, she smiled and shook her head. It occurred to her that she had just seen her boss masturbating! It was also funny how he did not notice she was there! Poor Mr. Johnson. The man definitely needed some release.
As she drove home, she wondered what waited for her the next day. The same routine, again? A slow rhythm and blues track played on her car radio. Blue is what she felt, she realized. Lonely and blue.
Chapter 4
The apartment was dark and Lisa stood there in the gloom for a while. She then switched on the lights. Everything lit up, and she smiled. She wanted her life to light up with everything clear and distinct. She walked sluggishly into the bedroom and pulled off her clothes. Standing in front of the mirror, Lisa stared at her perky breasts. She had deliberately tried to down-play her own prettiness in recent years. It had only gotten her in trouble. In high school, she had won several pageants, but there was no time for all of that at the moment. Her big, geeky glasses made people see the nerd part of her before they thought about whether or not she was pretty. They had to take a closer look to realize what she was trying so hard to hide.
Gently, she caressed her breasts; then wiggled them in front of the mirror. Laughing at her own silliness, she went straight into the bathroom to take a nice, hot shower. She had no idea how long she had been in the bathroom; she seemed to have lost count of time. However long she spent in the bathroom was well worth it, she thought to herself. She felt relaxed and free. Now it was time to see a movie, then doze off.
She collapsed onto her soft, over-stuffed couch in the living room, picked up the remote control, selected a movie and clicked play. Wearing nothing but a pair of panties, Lisa enjoyed the freedom from clothing.
The movie played and came to a scene where the hero was making love to his love interest. It seemed so real and passionate. She wondered how they acted these scenes, whether they actually had real sex. She doubted it, but the scene seemed so authentic. From that point, she felt little tinges between her legs, and she could feel a bit of moistness build up in her vagina. She wanted to have them touched, but knew that wasn’t worth the pain. Slowly, Lisa slid a finger into her underwear, the tiniest, sexiest briefs any woman could wear. They had cost her but she liked indulging herself in a few things once in a while. These days it didn’t matter if they were Victoria secrets or something else. Her vagina called to her, and she could not refuse the call. Closing her eyes, she slowly caressed it, feeling the moisture and relishing the feeling it gave her.
She knew where to touch. She rubbed the top of her vagina, caressing her clitoris, her mind exploded as pleasure shocks surged through her. Stroking it faster, the pleasure grew intensely, making her vibrate as she kept touching herself.
She then allowed her finger to slide inside her pussy, one first going in and tickling the walls of her vagina. It felt so good. In her mind she saw colors, more than the colors of the rainbow. She slid a second finger in, caressing the upper wall of her inner vagina, loving the feeling it gave her; sharp j
olts of pleasure. She was already moaning, her other hand squeezing her breast as her fingers fondled her lower part. She went faster and bit her lip slightly as she did, squeezing her currently taut nipples, enjoying every movement of her fingers. She was almost screaming with pleasure.
Lisa was getting there, to that point when everything exploded, when the colors sparkled, and every nerve point screamed. She was almost there. She stroked faster, vibrating her fingers as she did so, sending jolts from her pussy up to her forehead. Arched on the sofa, her legs wide spread, her left hand on her boobs, right hand in her pussy, Lisa loved the feeling. Her wetness drooled down her lap, with her eyes closed, and in an instant intense moment, she climaxed. It was as if she levitated and floated in the air with a rush of wind enveloping her all at the same time. Every nerve in her body vibrated, screaming with pleasure. She relaxed and smiled.
Slowing her breathing steadily, Lisa rested her head on the couch. It was a beautiful moment, and she loved it. She had no idea where the movie was. She’d had lost track of the story and the characters. Lisa stared at the screen lost in her delight.
Suddenly, her phone beeped, and she picked it up. A text message had come in. Clicking the open button, she read a straight-to-the-point, direct text message. “Come in for a chat tomorrow by 10:00 am for the Personal Assistant Role”, it said. The address was in Connecticut! She smiled. Wow! She hadn’t expected that! At least she had the chance at a new job. If she got up early enough she would make it there on time.
Chapter 5
As Lisa approached the house, she could not help but gasp. It was a mansion, with a drive way and a magnificent edifice in the centre. Very impressive, so far! She got to the locked gate and wondered what to do next. There was no one in sight, and the only thing she could see were the lush well-trimmed gardens on both sides of the drive way, a perfectly manicured green lawn in the distance, and a cam staring at her from the left corner of the gate. She swore she could see it move at some point.
Suddenly someone knocked on her car window. It was a buff security guard with gleaming sunglasses and a stern face. “You have an appointment?” he asked.
‘
“Yes, I am supposed to meet with someone for the Personal Assistant job. Didn’t really get a name in the text”. She could hardly see any expression on the guard’s face. She wondered if he even blinked.
“Your name?” he enquired.
“Lisa Hall,” Part of her half expected the guard to send her back and tell her she was in the wrong place.
“You can go in,” the guard said instead, as the front gate opened by itself, moving slowly inward, “Go right ahead and you’ll see the parking lot on the right close to the main building. Someone will be waiting for you”.
‘Thanks”. She drove in and looked around at the same time. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen, except in movies or TV, but this was real and she was right inside it with a possibility of getting a job, probably with the owner of the building. She imagined it would be an old rich man who had several investments and needed an assistant to help handle his busy schedule. She was definitely up to it; she absolutely did not want to go back to Johnson &Co.
Lisa arrived in the parking lot and parked her car next to a red Ferrari, which was right next to a silver Porsche, and a black Mercedes sedan. Her Ford Focus seemed pretty out of place in the lot. Waiting at the corner was an elaborately dressed middle aged woman who smiled at her as she approached. Lisa smiled back.
“Welcome,” she said, as Lisa got out of the car, “You must be Lisa Hall.”
“Yes I am,” Lisa replied. Even the woman had an air of elegance about her. Lisa guessed that that came from working in the mansion for years. Everything she wore was elegant; her dress, the necklace and shoes. They looked really expensive too. She must be well paid.
Lisa looked down at her own rather drab attire. Black slacks, a white t-shirt and a blue jacket. She had hoped to look appropriately dressed, and suddenly felt that she didn’t. Realizing there was nothing to be done, she shoved her insecurities to the back of her mind, and smiled as brightly as she could at the woman in front of her.
The woman smiled back. “Great! Follow me.” She started walking toward the main entrance of the mansion, and Lisa followed, “Quite a few people applied for the job.” She continued at a steady but fast pace. “Mr. Turner saw all the applications. Sometimes he is particular about the people that work for him. “He told me to contact you.”
‘Thank you,” was all Lisa could say.
“For some reason, you were his pick. No one else was contacted,” she reiterated. It was obvious the woman was questioning her boss’s wisdom. Lisa knew she probably looked unworldly, young and lacking in confidence. She decided to keep a stiff upper lip. She’d really like to land this job!
“I’m really flattered. I’ll definitely make great use of the opportunity.” Lisa smiled a little crookedly.
“I’m Miss Pearson”, the woman replied. Lisa could not help but notice the Miss. She wondered if Miss Pearson had never married or if she was divorced. The woman looked beautiful, Lisa thought to herself.
“You’ll like working here. It will be an amazing experience, I assure you.” She opened the main door and they both walked in.
Lisa was awestruck but kept her composure. It was the most elaborate and beautiful sitting room she had ever seen; an impressive and opulent living room, a mix of glass leather and wood in a brown hue, projecting elegance and power. The fireplace had a brick outlay and a metal rail within which a cosy fire glowed. The furniture followed a unified colour scheme incorporating an elegant, most likely middle eastern carpet, with paintings hanging tastefully on the walls. Everything in the sitting room revealed a well thought out arrangement of standout pieces complimenting each other perfectly.
The sitting room had a pulse that almost spoke to her. It projected power, elegance, suave, style, a mix of the old and new. It was manly, fearsome, and cool all at the same time. Miss Pearson led her beyond the sitting room, through an elaborate hallway that had paintings that looked to her admittedly inexpert eye to be a Wallis, Picasso and a Van Gogh . . . possibly the most amazing art work she had ever seen hanging on the walls. Their journey through the wonderland ended at a door on the left end of the hall.
Miss Pearson opened the door and led her in. “Mr. Tuner, Lisa Hall is here,” she said.
‘Thank you Miss Pearson.” a voice said. There, a tall, athletic-looking male figure stood looking out the window at the far right corner of the office. He was not bothering to look back. Miss Pearson turned round and left the office, leaving Lisa to stand in an awkward silence looking at the strange man by the window. She couldn’t quite see his face, but from his chiselled figure she could tell that he was young. Maybe the owner’s son. Some of these rich kids could be quite rude and arrogant, she knew.
The silence stretched and Lisa became uncomfortable with it. “I’m Lisa Hall, applying for the Personal Assistant Role” she stammered. “This is a nice house.” She felt stupid as soon as she said it.
Finally, the guy turned around as if jolted out of a trance. His expression was one of disdain, Lisa thought. “He’s totally sorry to have contacted me!” Lisa realized. Still, he didn’t speak, but scrutinized her for a moment, then gestured with his hand for her to sit across from him.
“Thank you,” Lisa sat on a guest seat by the large office table.
Jason Turner left the window and took his seat opposite her.
“So would you like to ask me any questions?” Jason Turner said. He had an air of self-importance to him; an over-confidence that set her on edge immediately.
Lisa thought for a while. Jason seemed a very direct, straight to the point guy. She would try to be the same. “Why me? Miss Pearson told me you just picked me out of the pool of applicants. I’m curious to know why.”
Jason smiled, not too unpleasantly. “I saw your picture, and I had a feeling you would be my Personal Assistant. I us
ually follow my gut.”
“I see. Well, I will do my best to do a great job. You won’t regret it,” Lisa responded. She was finding the encounter quite mysterious and a bit unnerving.
“You seem like a simple girl, and maybe that’s what I find impressive. There’s no need for an elaborate effort to re-invent yourself. You just want to be you,” Jason said, with unblinking green eyes.
“Thank you,” was the only response she could mutter.
“In no time, though, you will learn that in my world people don’t want to know the real you. They only judge who they see, and at the end you have the power to show them who you want them to see”. Jason seemed almost lost in thought. “So do you have any other questions?”
“I hope you don’t mind me asking a personal question,” she hoped she was not pushing her luck. “This house is beautiful; do you own it or do your parents own it?” Lisa asked.
Jason stared at her intently for a few seconds and then answered, “My parents owned it, but they are gone now.”
“Sorry about that.” Somehow Lisa did feel sorry for him; the rich heir to a large inheritance. But somehow she found him self-important, detached and unpleasant, none-the-less.
“It’s okay. It’s been a while now. But it means I own all of this and a global real estate company worth billions of dollars. That should give you an idea of the importance and scope of your work. It is huge work, it is important work, and you are going to be well paid,” Jason said, his stare fixed and intense.
Annabelle's Angst: NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE ROMANCE Page 16
