Harley’s P. O. V
“Pardon?” I asked in a respectful tone.
“Are you deaf or perhaps dumb?” Sophie, our manager, asked seriously.
“What did this lowlife say to us?” Jade asked furiously.
I ignored her and focused on Sophie.
“I’m sorry, ma’am; I didn’t quite understand what you said,” I lied.
I wanted her to clearly repeat what she had just said.
“I hate to repeat myself, new girl. Molly, why the hell haven’t you told her about what goes on in this company? She needs to know how to respond to her superiors and how to work,” she yelled.
“I said, as of today, you are not allowed to work on the left floor or any floor for that matter. As of today, Molly and the others will handle that. Your job will be cleaning the backyard of our company and the storeroom. You are also forbidden to talk to any superior unless spoken to; it states that in the company rules. Weren’t you told? Failure to comply will result in you losing your job,” she warned as I frowned.
When she called me and Molly out of nowhere, I didn’t think much about it because Sophie wasn’t a harsh or bad boss. Most workers loved and respected her; they also claimed that she was more of an angel than a human. Never did I ever imagine getting on her bad side without doing anything.
“Don’t you dare do it,” Jade warned when she knew what I was about to do.
“We need this job, Jade. It’s way better than the orphanage we came from,” I reminded her and then bowed low.
“Please forgive me, ma’am; it was all my fault. Molly had told me about the company rules; sadly, I forgot,” I answered softly.
Jade huffed and then shut herself into our subconscious in anger.
“Whatever, I’ll also say this once, so listen carefully. One of you should go and clean Glen’s office. This is something I will only allow today because a part of me just feels like I should tell you this,” she said and then continued to speak.
“Today, he is in a very bad mood because he couldn’t invite Ian, one of the most powerful and influential men on the continent. He might snap at you, but he would appreciate some company, or should I say closure. Don’t talk to him; just your being there to clean will make him feel at ease. He doesn’t want to see my face, and he also doesn’t want the cleaning company to send their workers as well. Despite acting like that, he hates a messy room; that’s why one of you should go and clean it now,” she said, seriously confusing us.
For a second, it was as if she was really talking to one of us, and she made it sound very personal, as if there was someone among us who was very close to him. Was she perhaps telling this to Molly? I thought as I glanced at Molly angrily.
“Do you understand?” she asked.
“Yes,” Molly and I answered together.
“Good,” she said, then flipped her hair and walked away.
I hated to admit it, but Sophie was a very gorgeous lady with long, black, silky hair and dark blue eyes, a slender body, and amazing height. She looked as if she were a model ripped straight from a magazine. If Glen were to look at any female in a sexual way in our company, it would probably be her. She was not only admired by reporters whenever she walked by them; a lot of male workers worshiped the very ground she walked on.
“I’ll do it,” Molly said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“No way, Molly, I will do it,” I answered loudly.
“He will curse at you badly. Remember what happens whenever he is in a bad mood?” she asked.
We all knew what happened whenever he was very upset. He fired workers unreasonably and ordered the guards to kick out any person that irritated him. Everyone who approached him in such a situation ended up losing their job.
Molly was really good to me; there was just no way I was going to let her sacrifice her job.
“I do remember, but I still want to do it,” I answered.
“You can’t be serious, Harley; we both know how the boss hates your very presence!” she exclaimed.
I swallowed hard and forced a smile across my face.
“Don’t worry, Molly, I’ll be okay. So let me go, please,” I answered softly.
“Okay, listen, his office is the first room in the passage, and opposite his office, there is another room that is rarely opened. In there, we store cleaning equipment that is used in the boss’s office. Just don’t forget to close the door when you enter or go out,” she said seriously.
“I won’t. Thank you, Molly; I got this,” I answered and then quickly went upstairs.
We all knew how the elevator was for guests and the high-ups. We were only allowed to use the stairs, and it came as no surprise to me.
“Jade,” I called in a whisper.
“What?” she answered coldly after she had pulled out of our subconscious.
“I know how you like to challenge Glen; that’s why I’m going to ask you not to do that today you heard what Sophie had said earlier: he is not in a good mood, so we should be very careful. Whatever we say or do could make us lose our jobs, so please don’t interfere in whatever happens,” I pleaded.
“Okay,” she answered, then kept quiet.
When we reached the floor of his office, I looked around carefully. The floor was empty and very quiet, as if all the workers were absent.
I carefully moved to the first office and stood looking at the door.
“This is it,” I whispered to myself and then raised my hand to knock.
“And what the hell are you doing here?” His voice came from behind, startling me.
I quickly turned and faced him in fear. He stood glaring at me.
He was in a gray suit and a white shirt, with his first three buttons undone. His hair was badly ruffled, and dark circles were showing under his eyes. He really looked tired and somehow pale.
“Morning, sir. I came here to clean your office,” I answered.
He sighed loudly, then pointed to where I had come from.
“Get yourself out of my sight and never show your face again near this floor,” he ordered seriously as Jade shifted angrily.
“I’m sorry, sir, to have come unannounced, but it wasn’t on my own accord; it was on Miss Sophie’s orders,” I answered seriously.
“Damn it, don’t you dare act fucking stupid. Get yourself out of…” he yelled, then cut his words short and pressed his hand against his forehead.
He was about to stumble when I quickly rushed to his side and grabbed his arm. I was surprised when I felt tingles spread throughout my entire body. It took me a minute to notice how he was breathing heavily and how high his temperature was. No matter how intimidating he looked, he wasn’t well at all.
“Sir, let me help you into your office,” I whispered softly.
“Fuck off,” he spat in a low growl that sounded like an animal as I angrily stepped back and let him stumble a bit.
He leaned against the wall and faced me with a frown. He looked surprised at my actions.
“I need to help you in the office,” I whispered, then got scared when his eyes switched between their original color and a dark shade of red.
“I will kill you if you touch me again,” he warned.
I swallowed hard and then took a deep breath to calm myself.
I was scared but not very surprised at the change in his eye color because I, too, had a change in eye color and aura whenever Jade took over.
So that meant he was like me in some way; that’s why he was like that.
“Hey, do you perhaps hear a voice in your mind whenever…?” I cut my sentence short when his chest began to rise and fall.
“Jade, please help me; he needs to listen,” I whispered silently.
She instantly took over without hesitation, and for the first time, I saw fear on Glen’s face.
“You are not well; you need to rest in your damn office and let my human work in peace!” she said seriously, shocking both of us.
I quickly took over and bit my lower lip in fear. What did she mean by “my human”? And did she just order my boss as if he were a nobody? Was she out of her mind?
“You wanted me to help, and I did just that,” she said calmly.
“You didn’t help me! You screwed me over!” I yelled in my mind.
“Help me into my office; I lack strength because of the overdose of wolfsbane Glen took,” he answered in a deeper voice that sounded nothing like his own, and his eyes were now completely a dark shade of red.
I hesitated but quickly rushed to his side and helped him lean on me.
“Here,” I said softly, and then walked with him into his office.
We went to the couch, where I slowly helped him sit down.
I was about to leave when he held my wrist roughly. I flinched and then turned to face him with a rapidly beating heart.
“Sit down,” he commanded.
“Excuse me?” I asked, thinking I must have misheard him.
“I said sit down,” he repeated with emphasis.
I slowly moved and sat down a bit further from him.
“What is really going on?” I asked myself silently.
He moved closer to me and then lay his head on my lap. I quickly held my breath and tried not to react crazily.
“Your scent…” he trailed off as I breathed out.
I wanted to ask if I still smelled bad when he finished his sentence.
“Smells amazing, mate,” he whispered.
I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. All I knew was that everything that was happening felt so unreal to be true, and it made me blush in a way I had never done before.