Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale by Meka James Read Free Book Online Page B

forever burned in my mind.  I’d been so in love with him. I’d put my dreams on hold to help him achieve his. He even managed to talk me into doing the unthinkable because it would be better for us. That was the biggest and most hurtful of all his lies since the real reason had nothing to with us and everything to do with him, or more accurately, them. The shock of seeing him in the act left me speechless. That wasn’t the first time he had cheated, but it was the last straw for me. I packed my stuff and moved out that day, not wanting to know what other surfaces they could have been on while I wasn’t home.
    I stopped running to check the time.  “Shit!” I hadn’t realized I’d been out that long. 
    I turned and sprinted back to the house. If I was lucky, I wouldn ’t be late my first day of work. After a quick shower, I picked out a simple, knee length tan skirt that had a matching half jacket and paired it with a soft blue button-down shirt. My hair was pulled back into a simple bun, but I left two curly tendrils hanging down on either side to frame my face. My sensible low-heeled pumps and a little light lip gloss rounded out my look. Grabbing my coat I rushed out the door.
    Walking into the office with five minutes to spare, I felt pretty proud of myself considering I ’d had to take public transportation.
    “You ’re late.” I was greeted by a thin, strict looking woman. I assumed she was the assistant I’d spoken with over the phone.
    “I…I ’m not. It’s not eight yet,” I stammered.
    “You start at eight, not arrive at eight.  You need to have his coffee ready and waiting when he gets here. You can’t do that if you haven’t even put down your stuff.  So, you’re late.” 
    She looked me up and down over the rim of her glasses, her thin lips turned downward in a disapproving scowl, before turning on her heels and briskly walking away. I dropped my stuff at what I hoped was my desk and hurried to follow her.
    “Do you know how to use the espresso machine?” She didn’t give me time to answer before she continued, “Oh never mind, just watch.” 
    She began pushing buttons and turning dials.  I tried to watch, but I was distracted by the mumbling she was doing. “More work for me. Always more work for me because he wants to hire the pretty ones.” She shot me an annoyed look.
    When she finished, she handed me the cup.  “Take that and wait for him in his office.”  
    I took the cup and quickly ran my hand down my skirt to smooth any wrinkles before heading to his office. I stopped in my tracks when I saw him. Patrick was on his computer. From the way she’d spoken, I thought he wasn’t in yet. I stood just inside the doorway, nervous flutters taking over my stomach. This was not how I wanted to start my first day.
    I quietly waited on some sort of direction from him, but he seemed to be in no hurry to acknowledge my presence. I took this time to study him because I was too nervous the day of my interview. He wasn ’t a bad looking man, but older. I would have to guess probably early to mid-forties. There were wrinkles on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes. His chestnut brown hair was sprinkled with gray. One would expect a man that took so much care in his appearance to dye it, but instead, he wore it well. He wore a lavender button down shirt with a gray striped tie that matched the jacket hanging on the back of his chair. The sleeves were buttoned together with shiny silver cufflinks.
    My eyes then wandered around his office. Like the lobby of the building, it had an ultra-modern feel; it was done in tones of black, white, and gray with accents of red.  The day of my interview, he’d told me he had a reputation for being a hard ass and most people couldn’t cut it in his office. That was the reason he kept his firm small, consisting of only himself and his assistant Kerrin, and a receptionist. That position got a lot of turnover, I suspected.
    “Well,