She was thankful that her outfit for today was at least covering up a decent part of her body because she wouldn’t be able to bear the shame of dancing that way while her boss was sitting there looking at her. Since she wouldn’t afford to forfeit her pay just because someone unexpected showed up, she played professionalism and just concluded that she will pretend as if nothing happened.

She finally went to change, quickly received her pay from Mike and rushed out of the club before he would come out and they will bump into each other. She was still panicking when someone grabbed her from behind and she yelled.

She shouted “It is not what you think” in shock and turned to see her confused roommate standing there

“What am I thinking?” Emily asked raising her eyebrows in return, she was also shocked at the reaction of her roommate.

“Oh! It’s you. When did you get here?” She asked comporting herself as she wiped her sweaty hand on her clothes

“I arrived just now when Mike told me you were here. I was around the area so I thought I should wait for you” Emily answered walking close to her and linked arms with her

She sighed a shallow “I see” and turned to walk up to the street

Emily took a short glance at Amber’s face and nudged her by the shoulder “Did something happen? Why are you look dejected?”

“I am so tired, I want to go home right now” she murmured with a tired voice and flagged down the taxi for both of them.

She didn’t utter any word throughout their ride and Emily was tempted to ask what happened to her but she decided to pass it off. She wouldn’t need to bug her to open up she wanted to let her know what was happening with her, she will just have to wait for her to open up herself.

Amber just showered, ate an apple and slumped into her bed when they got home and she didn’t get up till noon of the next day. She woke up with a loud yawn and headed to the fridge where she gulped down a bottle of cold water and a loud belch followed.

“So irritating” Emily blurt out with a disgusted expression on her face from the other side of the room.

She was about to close the fridge when what happened at the club yesterday rushed to head again and she screamed before running to grab her phone. She had forgotten all about it as she slept like a baby throughout the night thanks to the tiredness of her both her work and the club.

“Do I have any text or missed calls?” she groaned as she frantically scrolled through her phone but she didn’t find any.

She sighed in relief and dropped her phone before going to clean up and finally ate a proper food. She was busy glancing at her phone all day even when she was watching a movie with her roommate. She was expecting her boss to call or text her about what happened in the club but he didn’t and his silence was making her scared.

Emily became tired of her unsettled attitude and lashed out “It’s not like you have anyone calling you, why are you checking your phone every five minutes? You are getting me distracted”

“It’s because my boss might call” she responded with a sigh

“Why would he call or text you? He has never for once disturbed your weekend” Emily countered with anger etched on her face

“You have been acting weird since yesterday, did something happen at the club yesterday?” her roommate pressed further to squeeze whatever was wrong out of her and she finally spilled the beans. “Tom Holland was at the club yesterday and he saw me dancing on the pole” she confessed and Emily spat out her water in shock before experiencing series of coughing session

“Tom Holland? Your boss? How come? He’s the most boring person I have ever seen on earth so why was he at the club randomly?” Emily poured out as water ran down her eyes thanks to the coughs, she could not believe her ears

“I know right? I wonder what he was doing there yesterday, I almost dropped down the pole” she sighed, slumping deeper into the sofa

Emily blinked severally to digest the situation at hand, she was confused for a bit that she didn’t know what to say before she suddenly snapped her fingers, “But why is that an issue? It’s not like you are violating any work rules. You don’t need to expect a call or text from him because it is your private issue” she said to her

The moment she said that, Amber also reasoned with her. It was as if her senses were just opened and she whispered, “Wait! That’s true. It’s not like I was there during work hours and it’s my private life so he has no business with it” and decided to brush off the issue.

She finished the movie with Emily and Eddy’s call came as she went to her bed to rest for the rest of the day. She planned to finish her report the next day and prepare for the office as usual, that was her normal weekend routine because Saturday was the only time she could get enough rest.

Eddy told her to get prepared with Emily in the evening because he would be coming over to take them out. She agreed and he ended the call after telling her that he would be there by seven in the evening.

Eddy is her boyfriend she started dating a year ago, she had met him at the college festival she attended with her roommate. He was already a graduate but according to him, he came to have fun because he had missed the school and he was having a free time.

He is working as the manager of a delivery company and earning a cool amount of income, that wasn’t a burden to her although because she was not the type to run after rich men.

She texted her roommate and they got ready in the evening, he came around seven o’ clock and they both entered his car which zoomed off to one of the night parks.

“Where are we going to? Is something happening somewhere?” she asked as soon as he swerved to the right side of the road

“Today is the cultural night at the park, have you forgotten already? You were the one that said you were interested the other day” Emily responded

“Really? It’s really today? Oh my God! I have totally forgotten. I would have sulked over it if not for you both and that’s why I love you” she said with a broad smile

“You should try reducing your workload, you are forgetful these days” Eddy remarked

“Well you are there to remind me so I am rest assured” she pouted and gave him a quick peck

“Before you display any form of affection please remember that I am here so don’t cause any accident, I still have so many things to do that I don’t want to go to heaven right now” Emily said at the back and they all giggled.

They got to the park and everywhere was lit up prettily, everyone were moving around with a light stick as they waited for the event to start. There were different stands displaying many beautiful items and they decided to check them out before the main event starts.

Emily and Amber ended up buying a couple bracelet and also got their names embedded on it to avoid confusions or mixed up while Eddy and Amber got a matching key chain. The event started and they went to their seat, they enjoyed every bit of the event as the performers delivered their performance with quality moves and exciting events.

Eddy dropped them at home around past ten in the night and she pecked him on the lips before rushing in to watch her favorite show, she ended going to bed around midnight without even remembering the encounter with her boss at the club, she had decided to mark it as a past event and she would not have that hinder her daily life but little did she know that it would be a big problem for her.

Tom Holland left the office on Friday evening and was driving home when he got a call from Dave Lin the famous designer who owns the biggest cloth brand in Paris. He had been trying to sign a partnership deal with him for close to two years but it never worked.

The manager of Dave Lin called him and told him that he should come over to the club to sign off the agreement if he still wants it because will be flying out of Chicago very early the next morning. He quickly turned the car around and zoomed off to the place he was called to where he met Dave Lin.

Dave immediately explained, “Oh Mr. Tom! I am sorry that you didn’t get a positive response from me all these while. It is due to my extremely busy schedule and also I wanted to see you in person. The owner of Shellhouse mall in Chicago is extremely popular so I didn’t want to waste the chance” as soon as he saw him and he exchanged handshakes with him

Tom wanted to counter him that he could have just told him so instead of keeping him waiting all these while but he decided to brush it off and just sign the contract which was his own cup of tea. Since he was always prepared to sign with him anytime, the contract was right there with him in his car.

He brought out the envelope containing the contract and was about opening it when Dave held his hand.

“Stop! Just stop!! Do you not understand what fun means? Why are you rushing to sign the contract when we can take our time, talk over drinks and enjoy the view” Dave winked and pointed to the stage where the strippers were getting ready to dance.

Since Dave was not a fan of the club, he wasn’t that pleased with the proposal but he just had to endure since it will birth something positive for his company. He dropped the envelope, folded his hand and was looking at whatever they were about to do on stage when someone familiar mounted the stage in a hot red full body bikini.

At first, he thought he was dreaming when he saw his secretary he left at the office few minutes ago climbing the stage and taking her position beside the pole. He blinked twice to confirm and there she was, it was indeed Amber.

“They are really beautiful and sexy, don’t you think so?” Dave said with a chuckle and he just nodded to go with the flow

Every other person there was not his business anymore, he just fixed his gaze on Amber who was happily doing her dance until she locked eyes with him. He quickly diverted his gaze and pretended as if he was not interested so as not to make her feel uncomfortable because it was her private life after all until he saw her being molested by one of the men.

The real reason why she agreed to come in the first place was because of Dave Lin, she had tried calling her boss when she heard that he was there but his phone was on silent because he was already there and was busy talking to Dave at that time. When she could not get a hold of him, she decided to go, then find a way to talk to him when she has the chance since she’s the secretary of the company that is trying to get a contract with him.

Since he already knew that she saw him and how she ran outside after the show, he decided to text her that he had gotten the contract with Dave just as she was going out of the club and before she could react, Emily walked up to her.

Although he tried his best not to think about the scene through the weekend, he couldn’t get it out of his head completely. Amber was not the type to dress slutty or behave dirty at work, she’s always strict with her work and doesn’t have much friend so she doesn’t join the office gossips.

She’s always punctual and professional with everything she does so as long as she keeps her attitude up, they wouldn’t have any problem.

****

She woke up on Sunday morning and started working on her report that will be due by 2pm the next day. She finished her work and got to other things, drank some water from the jug on the table and proceeded to catch up on her drama series to pass time. After having dinner, she packed her bag for work and took the USB flash containing the files to the table where her bag for work was to put it there alongside other things.

She woke up late the following morning and rushed into the bathroom to get ready, the alarm she set didn’t wake her up because her phone was on vibration as she was trying to block any disturbance.

“I am my biggest enemy” she muttered to herself as she struggled to put on her shoes and ran out to grab a taxi.

Thankfully, she got to the office before her boss, Tom who walked in five minutes after her entry.

“Good morning, Mr. Tom” she greeted as he entered the office

“Good morning, Miss Amber” he replied and went straight into his office which was not strange because he never talked unless it was needed.

Her mind went to the stripping incident but she decided to push it off since he didn’t even behave like he saw anything.

“Let’s be professional” she muttered to herself and puffed out some air as she got ready to work for the day.

Time flew by and it was quarter to two in the afternoon when her boss called in and told her to bring in the report he told her to submit that day.

“I will be right there sir” she said and stood up gracefully to reach for her bag so she could retrieve the USB drive containing the file but she couldn’t find it.

“What is happening?” she bellowed and turned her bag inside out but nothing was coming out of the bag

“I definitely put it here so where is it?” she said to herself as fear came over her

She was searching all over her table when she finally remembered that she dropped it on the table the previous night instead of putting it inside her bag when her phone rang. Eddy had called in at that time so she dropped it and went to pick his call, it was one of the reasons she placed her phone on vibrations too when she dropped the call.

“Damn it!” she bit her lips and glanced at the time, it was ten minutes to two

There was no how she could run home and come back in the next ten minutes and when she called Emily to see if she could help her send it over through her mail, she was not around.

“What is this mess?” she mumbled and the telephone rang once again. “I will be right there sir” she said as soon as she picked the call

She walked to his office with a tensed shoulder and stood in front of him waiting for him to raise his head.

“If you are here then hand it over” he said and stretched his hand to receive it but she only bit her lips

He looked up after waiting for some seconds and he didn’t receive anything, “What are you doing Miss Amber? Why are you not handing it over?” he questioned in his husky voice

“I forgot the USB drive at home sir. I left it on the table since I was in a rush” she managed to speak and he slowly retracted his hand

“You may leave” he said to her and she was confused about why that was his response

“I can go home to bring it immediately if you can spare me thirty minutes sir” she suggested but he ordered “Don’t worry about that, you can leave” and she bowed before leaving for her desk

“His voice is scary for some reasons” she murmured as she sat down with various thoughts running through her mind

She tried calling Emily again to see if she could help out but Emily told her that she was in school so she wouldn’t be able to help her out. She prayed for a miracle for the next five minutes before the meeting starts but nothing happened.

The meeting time finally came and they got to the meeting hall and found Chairman Holland, the owner of the Holland group in which Shellhouse is just a subsidiary sitting down there.

“You didn’t tell me that you will be here today” he said to his father as he took his seat

“Do I have to announce that I am coming to my own company? Start the meeting and do not mind me” Chairman Holland grunted.

All things needed were presented and the meeting was about to be drawn to a close when Chairman Holland suddenly requested for sales report.

“I forgot it at home and I couldn’t go back to retrieve it. If I get home, I will send it to you mail unfailingly sir” Amber quickly responded and bowed in apology

Chairman Holland slammed the table and thundered “Do you think I don’t know that you are covering up for his incompetent ass? He didn’t pay attention to something like this because of his nonchalant attitude! How can you not get the sales report ready by this time and make your secretary take the fall? If you cannot run the company properly then get out and let me hire a professional!”, making already tensed Amber shake to pieces.

She tried rushing to interrupt that she was the one at fault but Tom motioned for her to stop. He bowed “I am sorry father” but Chairman Holland slammed “Why are you calling me father? I am here as the Chairman!” and Tom bowed again with a soft “I am sorry Chairman Holland”

“I am giving you the last chance, don’t let me throw you out” Chairman Holland growled and left the meeting hall.

Amber was rushing to catch up with the footstep of her boss as they head back to the office. They entered the office and she rushed to follow him into his office so she could apologize once again

“I am really sorry for my silly mistake sir. I shouldn’t have made such a mistake” she pleaded and bowed

“You too know that it was a silly mistake right?” he shouted at her as he loosened his tie and she was taken aback. She quickly pleaded “I am sorry sir, this will never happen again” but he scoffed as he walked closer to her while fuming hard.

She kept walking back away from him but he didn’t stop walking closer till her back touched the wall. He placed his hand on the wall at the back to lean closer to her “It will not happen again? Yes it can never happen because as from tomorrow you are no longer an employee here anymore” he fired at her.

It took some seconds before what she heard him say to register in her head. She could not believe that she was getting fired just like that but come to think of it, the mistake didn’t seem to be a small one considering the way his father lashed at him back at the meeting room.

All her outstanding debts and fees flashed in her face in the split of a second and she knew that she was in a big trouble. She already quit at the club and was expecting a raise in few months’ time but now she’s being fired? How will she survive in Chicago?

She got down on her knees with immediate effect, letting go of all her pride as she rubbed her palms together in a pleading manner. She cried out “I am extremely sorry for everything that had happened. I made a silly mistake and made you go through such insults, I know there is nothing I can say to make you feel better but I am ready to do anything to calm your anger and make up for the incident” and he stopped to look at her

He crouched down to her level “You will do anything to calm my anger and make up for the incident?” he asked. The look in his eyes was scary to her, it was something she had never seen in her three years of working with him. It was as if he finally achieved his aim and that he was glad she was begging him like that but who cares? She wants her job back and that is all that matters.

She quickly replied with a sober tone “Yes sir! I will make sure to do everything so please tell me what you want” and he smirked before slowly raising his hand to stroke aside the stray hair on her face which made her dumfounded “You already gave your word, I hope it will not change so see you tomorrow Miss Amber” he said with a deep voice and rose to his feet.

She was still on her knees there looking at him as he went back to his desk because she could not understand what the statement, the smirk and the stroking of hair was all about.

“We need to step out in the next one hour so please prepare Miss Amber” he ordered from his desk and that jolted her back to reality

She quickly rose to her feet, cleaned her knees and straightened her skirt before bowing to him and walked out of the office. Different thoughts ran through her head as she sat down on her desk while trying to get other things done before he calls for their outing.

She was having a weird feeling but she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was. As she was getting her things done, her mind would wander around what exactly his requirement could be for a while but she tried her best to wave it away and focus on her job

“As long as I get to keep my job” she muttered as she started working away on her system.

They left the office, drove for close to thirty minutes and got to a building in one of the downtown houses. He parked the car somewhere and they both alighted from the car to walk down the sloppy road for up to five minutes.

He opened the gate to leading to the medium white house standing at the middle of the compound and they both walked in with him leading the way. He pressed in the passcode and the door opened to see a room so neat and well kept, every of the furniture there screamed money and his print was all over the house because everything there was well organized which was one of the things he loves.

He turned to her with a smirk and said “Welcome to another world Amber” which only made her nervous as her eyes landed on the same painting that was in his office hanging at the corner of the room.

Seeing how he called her by her name, she was not sure about what was going on anymore and the place was not even familiar to her. She gradually took some steps backward and tried to run out of the house but the door was locked by the time she got there. She turned back to see Tom dangling the key in his hands and he smiled.

“What have I gotten myself into?” she thought as her heart beat increased.

She slowly walked back to where he was standing with the keys in his hands and tried to lobby him but he was not in for whatever she had up her sleeve. She begged with a pleading eyes “I don’t know what this is all about but can you just leave the door open? I mean we don’t have to lock the door before we can stay here isn’t it?” and he shook his head

“It is necessary we lock the door anytime I am here or not because that is exactly why it is there” he remarked and threw the key in his pocket. “Now since you are here, I believe we don’t have all day and we don’t have any time to waste. You said you would do anything I ask for if you can keep your job right?” he asked and proceeded to take his seat

She nodded her head frantically in agreement and he motioned for her to take a seat while pointing to the sofa in front of him. She sheepishly adhered to the instruction and watched him speak with a tensed shoulder.

He rubbed his palms together a little and hesitated before he finally opened his mouth to say what was on his mind. “Before we start anything, I want you to know that you are entering a world that is messy. There are many dramas to expect but I trust that you will play your part well and keep things professional” he said to her and she nodded slowly

“First thing is we are going to draft an agreement that says you will do as you are told and failure to do so means I can discharge you from your office anytime” he continued

She asked if the contract was ready and he told her she would be the one to draft it of course as he pointed to a computer sitting on the desk at the right side

“You should help yourself”

She got up and walked up to the computer where she began her work with immediate effect. Since that was not the first time she was drafting up a contract, she knew exactly what to do and in no time she was done. He instructed “Print out a copy” and she did before bringing it to him.

He read through the contract and pointed out the mistakes she made and also told her to add a line “On no account will I decline any request or order no matter the day, situation and time”

She went back to fix the errors and also include the line before printing another copy out for confirmation and this time he approved of it. “Print out two copies” he ordered

They both signed the two copies and held one each as a sign of their agreement

She finally summoned up the courage to ask him about why he didn’t say anything to her even though he saw definitely saw her at the club on Friday night. It wasn’t like she needed to know but she was just curios.

“Should there be a reason why I am not interested in your personal life? Whatever you do outside the office is none of my business except it affects my own company” he said sharply and she sighed in relief

“As always, Tom Holland is professional” she thought and smiled a bit before she heard him clear his throat

He told her to start her own end of the contract by firstly cleaning up the house and she exclaimed that the place was too big for her. “Then am I to join you? You said you would do anything. Well you can choose not to do it and just let me rip this off so you can pack up and leave my office” he said and positioned the paper between his fingers to rip the paper off

She rushed to his side and quickly held his hand to stop him “Why would you rip it off so quickly? I didn’t know you as an impatient man” she gritted between her teeth

“I will make sure everywhere is as white as the clear waters” she added with a small laugh and looked around to get the cleaning equipment

He told her where the cleaning equipment are and she rushed over to pick them and get to work. She was expecting him to have a vacuum cleaner at home so that would save her the stress but what she met there was cleaning brushes and mops.

She muttered “What is he doing with this when he’s so rich? Rich people are truly very stingy”, picked them up and turned to leave the room when she saw him standing there with his arms folded

“Did you hear that?” she said with a fake smile

“Should I not have heard?” he returned the question and her smile disappeared before she ran past him to the room where she began to clean the room.

He sat down at the table reading a magazine while watching her work, she was sweating profusely and wondered why there was no enough ventilation in the room until she saw that all the curtains were done and the windows were shut.

“Can I lift them? This place is too hot” she requested

“Don’t touch them, I don’t want any unnecessary attention from outside and that is why they are there” he said without shifting his eyes from the magazine. “But it is so hot here” she pouted and continued her work

She was finally done by six in the evening and everywhere was sparkling clean like he wanted. He inspected the room to see that there was no speck of dust before nodding his head in confirmation.

He complimented her about how perfect the cleaning was and told her to move out so they can leave for the day. She was already famished, thanks to the work she suddenly had to do. “Just like that? Nothing to drink or even eat?” she muttered and ran to pick her bag before she gets locked up in the room alone.

He drove her back to her house where he dropped her and told her he would expecting the missing report on his table as early as possible the following morning.

“He’s just so mean, I am so hungry that I might die right now but he couldn’t even get me something to eat” she lamented and rubbed her grumbling stomach as she unlocked the door to her room

She was still taking off her clothes when the doorbell rang and she went to check who was there. “You have a delivery” the man said from the front of the door

The delivery man stretched forth a box of large pizza and fried chicken making her confused. She complained that she didn’t order anything of such and the man explained “The man that ordered it said gave this address” and she got to realize that it was her boss.

“When did he order something like this? He made me curse at him for nothing” she muttered with a broad smile and took the delivery from him

He had ordered the food for her when he was about leaving the house with her so that by the time they got to her house, the food would have been ready.

She sat down in the sitting room after showering to munch on her package and watch the TV but she was not interested in whatever was showing on her screen so she picked her phone to scroll through the net instead.

“Oh! He posted another painting today” she said with a wide smile as she marveled at the art on her screen. “Whoever this Umbra is, he is so gifted because how can one paint like this” she added and liked the post before she checked the time and saw that it was past eight but Emily was not yet back.

“Where is she? Did she go to the club again?” she said to herself and dialed her number only for her to come in

“I was about calling you, it’s unusual of you to be late without telling me” she said to her and Emily slumped on the sofa tiredly

“I worked all day at school so I am dead tired right now” Emily responded before rolling down to join her in the pizza and chicken feast

“What is the occasion? You hate to buy these things with your money” Emily questioned before digging into one of the chicken drumstick

She wanted to tell her about what transpired between her and her boss at work but kicked against it, she decided that it would be best if no one knows about the deal between the two of them.

“That’s true, I hate to buy these things with my money but then I was craving it so I just went for it” she lied to cover up

“That is exactly what I have been telling you all these while, you only live once so spend on yourself” Emily said with excitement but she only scoffed

“If I want to spend on myself then that will be over something beneficial not junks. I hate to put on weights” she countered

“You already resigned from the club so there is no reason for you to keep in shape anymore. You are free to eat as you like” Emily argued

“I want to look good in my office clothes. How will I look good if I don’t stay in shape?” she added and Emily nodded in agreement

“It is best to look good at the office” Emily agreed with a wink and Amber hit her shoulder

Emily questioned if her boss didn’t say anything about the incident on Friday and she shook her head. She explained how he told her that it was her private life and he doesn’t need to ask her anything over that. “He’s so cool and professional” Emily blushed as she pulled another slice of pizza out of the box.

She was about to ask another question when Amber’s phone rang with Eddy as the caller. She quickly picked up the call and told Emily to have the rest of the food since she will not be coming back to the sitting room and went to her room to speak with Eddy. They talked for like five minutes before he hanged up and she proceeded to pack her bag for work when she remembered that she haven’t thanked her boss for the meal. She decided to text him instead of calling since he might be busy and it was already late.

****

Tom was coming down from his car when the text dropped in his phone “Thank you for the food sir” he read from the notification tray and closed his phone as he walked into the house before one of the maids ran to collect his bag from him

“You should wash up and come for your food” his mother, Anita said to him and he turned to his room to wash up.

He sat down at his desk and brought out the contract he signed with Amber earlier and went through it again before standing up to put it in his secret safe. He turned to leave the room when the door suddenly burst open.

“You are indeed back” Joseph, his brother said with a wide smile and he was taken aback

“When did you come back?” he blurt out in shock

“I came back this afternoon, are you not happy to see me?” Joseph said with a smirk but Tom was not pleased to see him.