Ansel smirked as he saw Elisa's shocked expression. He thought about staying out of the interview and reveal himself later but then changed his mind. Besides, Anya would have a fit if he didn't show up.
"So, Ms. Elisa Campbell. It's a pleasure to meet you," Ansel said, acting as he had never met Elisa. He looked over at Anya. She was giving him a dirty look. He guessed his sister figured out that he had something to do with it, and she wasn't too happy with his tricks.
"Can I talk to you in private?" Anya forced a smile and grabbed Ansel's arm. "Excuse us for a moment, Ms. Campbell," she dragged him outside before he could say anything.
Anya punched him on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Ansel winced.
"What the fuck is she doing here? Is this one of your dumb pranks? You are too old to be doing this, Ansel," she hissed.
"What are you talking about? She has every right to interview for a job," Ansel feigned shock.
"Don't play dumb with me, Casanova. I know exactly what you're trying to do. You're trying to hire her so you can keep trying to get inside her panties. You're disgusting!" Anya said in a hushed tone.
"This isn't a prank. Yes, I do want to get closer to her and change her mind about me, but I also think she can handle this job. Besides, she wouldn't be here if she didn't need it. You can't take the opportunity away from her. Now that would be cruel," Ansel said.
"Whatever, let's finish the interview, and I'll decide whether she qualifies. You are officially banned from interviewing her," Anya declared.
Ansel laughed and followed her back inside the room. Elisa still hasn't moved from her spot. She must be frozen from the shock of seeing him and has yet to recover from it.
Anya and Ansel sat down in front of her again. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Campbell. Shall we begin the interview?" Anya chirped and stared into Elisa's eyes. Maybe she can read her mind and escape from the jerkface she called her brother.
Elisa finally snapped out of her shock and looked directly at Ansel. "Is this some kind of a joke?" she asked.
Ansel straightened his back and made eye contact with her. His face turned serious. "Adams Corp. is an extremely reputable company. We would never joke about something serious like this interview! If you don't want this job, you are free to leave," he declared.
Anya wanted to choke Ansel, but alas, it wouldn't look professional. She looked at Elisa, who was staring at Ansel. She could see the hatred in her eyes. The woman did not like Ansel. Not one bit.
Anya smirked. Maybe hiring her isn't such a bad idea. Someone needed to put Ansel in place, and Elisa seemed like the kind person who could do that. "You should stay. We offer plenty of benefits and a generous amount of compensation. Besides, this could be your stepping stone to have a successful career. You'll have lots of opportunity for promotion."
Elisa nodded and didn't say anything else, which encouraged Anya to continue the interview.
After the interview, Anya caught up to Elisa in the elevator.
"I am offering you the position, just so you know," Anya announced.
Elisa's eyes turned wide. "You are?"
"Absolutely. I know you hate my brother but trust me. This is a good company. You wouldn't even have to deal with him as much. You'll be sitting at the receptionist desk, far away from that idiot," Anya said.
Elisa thought about it for a moment. It wasn't like she had a choice. She just got fired, and there was no way she could find another job on such short notice.
"I'll be happy to accept your offer. Thank you so much! I won't disappoint you, I promise," she said. She had a mixed feeling about this because of Ansel Adams, but she decided to suck it up and roll with it.
"Great! You can start tomorrow. Tiffany will show you around," Anya smiled, and they shook hands.
Elisa went home and handed Esmeralda her payment. She was starting to feel good about this job.
"How did it go, Miss?" Esmeralda looked at her curiously.
"I got the job!" Elisa beamed.
"That's amazing! I'm happy for you," Esmeralda smiled and left.
Now to convince that perverted landlord, Elisa thought to herself. She took Audre's hand and headed to his apartment, which was on the first floor. She knocked on his door then anxiously waited. The door opened after a few seconds.
"Well, hello young lady, didn't expect to see you here," he grinned. His smile disappeared as he saw Elisa brought her daughter along. "What can I do you for?"
"I wanted to let you know that I got a better paying job so I'll be able to pay you everything I owed.
"Is that so?" the landlord's face turned dark.
"Yes, I will bring the money at the end of the month, I promise," Elisa said.
"Fine. But this is your last chance. Unless you pay me a little visit," he said suggestively.
Elisa tried her hardest not to show her disgust. She quickly grabbed Audre and went back to her apartment. After playing with Audre a bit, she hopped into the shower and thought about her new job. She wondered if that obnoxious and arrogant man had something to do with her getting fired. Gosh, she'd be so pissed if that was the case!
The next day she headed to Adams Corp. to start her day. She was excited and anxious at the same time. What if she makes a wrong first impression? She hoped Ansel don't try to flirt with her and make her uncomfortable. She couldn't stand him as a person, but she thought Anya was okay.
Tiffany stood up from her desk and greeted her as soon as she stepped inside.
"Oh great! You're here. I'm going to show you everything you need to know. You are to mostly answer the phone and direct people in the right direction when there are conferences and meetings here. It's an easy job, so you'll be just fine!" Tiffany chirped.
"Then why are you leaving?" Elisa asked.
Tiffany laughed and rubbed her pregnant belly. "I've decided to quit and be a full-time mom."
Lucky, Elisa thought. She wished she could do the same, but she didn't have the money or support for that kind of luxury. She walked behind the desk so Elisa could show how everything worked.
Her eyes turned cold as she saw Ansel Adams walking toward them. He looked at her and raised one of his eyebrows. "Good morning," he said, then walked into the elevator.
Tiffany sighed. "I'm going to miss that fine piece of ass," she confessed.
"Tiffany!" Elisa gasped. "Aren't you married?" she laughed.
Tiffany laughed along with her. "I am, but I'm not blind. Come on. You have to admit our boss is total eye candy. I mean, those intense grey eyes are just..." The phone suddenly rang, interrupting her. Tiffany turned to Elisa. "Mr. Adams wants to see you in his office."
Oh great, she's about to be subjected to more of his flirting, Elisa rolled her eyes and headed to his office which was in the 40th floor.
"Ms. Campbell, may I call you Elisa?" Ansel asked when she entered the office.
"That'd be fine, sir," Elisa said politely.
"Please have a seat," he motioned her to sit down, and Elisa obliged. "So, are you having a good day so far?"
"I am. I think I will like working here. Thank you so much for the opportunity," Elisa said. It wasn't a lie. She truly appreciated the job offer.
"That's great. But now you owe me that dinner date you missed the other day," he smirked.
Anger flickered in Elisa's brain, but she kept her cool. "Mr. Adams, I appreciate this opportunity, but I want to make some things clear. I accepted this job because of your sister, not you. And I most definitely won't tolerate your unprofessional behavior. I don't owe you anything," she said curtly.
Ansel leaned over to get closer. His piercing grey eyes bored into her. "And I too would like to make one thing clear, Elisa. Your life is in my hands now," he declared, his tone low and menacing.
Elisa looked like she'd burst into flames anytime now. She didn't say anything for several moments and just stared at him. Most likely contemplating his murder."Are you threatening me?" she asked. Ansel could tell she was trying her best to control her anger which excited him even more."Absolutely not, darling. I don't have to threaten anyone to sleep with me. Women usually fall right on my lap. I'll admit you're turning out to be a challenge but trust me, you are just like all the others and will eventually end up in my bed. Mark my words." Ansel said. His eyes never left hers."You're infuriating and completely delusional. Since this isn't about work, I'll excuse myself now." Elisa stood up."Until next time. Oh, I know! Why don't you join me for dinner after work? Since you owe me and all," Ansel smiled sweetly.Elisa let out a low groan and stormed out of the office. Ansel laughed to himself. This was turning out to be a lot of fun. He knew h
Elisa tried to focus on work after Ansel left, but she was so annoyed. No, not just annoyed, furious. Darn that arrogant man. Who does he think he is! Just because he was rich and good-looking, he had no right to act that way. He is the worst!Elisa stormed inside her apartment and slammed the door shut."Ugh!" she groaned."Um...are you okay, miss?" Esmeralda asked with her eyes full of worry.Elisa almost forgot Esmeralda was babysitting Audre. She looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. I am fine. I just had a rough day.""Are you sure? You looked really upset just now. Anything I can do to help?" Esmeralda asked.Elisa didn't want to burden Esmeralda with her personal problems, so she decided to laugh it off. "It's nothing really. Just some work-related frustration I needed to let out. Don't worry about it," she said."Oh, by the way, A man called earlier," Esmeralda said.A man? The first person who came to mind was Anse
Anya stared into space and frowned. It was Sunday afternoon, and her husband Connor was making her favorite breakfast. Chocolate chip pancakes with real maple syrup. The kitchen was filled with a delicious aroma, but even that wasn't enough to cheer her up as she had something in her mind."Alright, what's going on?" Connor finally asked. He had been observing her for a while now."What do you mean?" Anya looked at him."You've just been sitting there, not saying a word. Normally you wouldn't keep your mouth shut even if I tried," Connor smirked."Ha, ha... well, I've been thinking," she said."What else is new?""Connor!" Anya scolded.Connor chuckled. "Sorry, just joking. What are you thinking about? Do tell.""I am worried about Ansel. He has no respect for women, and one day he'll get himself into real trouble," Anya said.Connor shook his head. It was normal for Anya to worry about her twin brother, but Ansel was a
Ansel locked up his office for the day and headed home. He decided not to bother Elisa on his way out this time. He didn't want to appear too desperate for her attention. Also, he was exhausted.He took his key out and unlocked the door, and was surprised to find the living room light was on. He had always been careful not to do that. It wasn't that he was afraid to waste electricity bills. It was because his mother drilled into his brain that he shouldn't waste electricity, and he got into the habit of turning all the lights off.He heard a noise in the kitchen and stiffened. Fuck, is that a burglar? he thought. Well, if it is, he was in the wrong apartment!Ansel picked up a fire poker and carefully approached the kitchen, ready to take down whoever dared to rob him.He slowly opened the kitchen door with the fire poker still raised, then gasped when he saw the woman sitting on one of his barstools."What the fuck, Jessica! What are you doing her
Elisa took a quick shower and lay down on the couch. Audre was already asleep, so she had a moment of alone time. She decided to spend it by watching movies all night since she didn't have to work tomorrow. The weekend was finally here. She barely ever had alone time ever since Audre was born. Such quiet moments like this were rare for her.Her cellphone suddenly rang, breaking her peace. It was her father calling. It was 2 AM, so Elisa became worried. Something must be wrong if her father was calling this late! He was usually in bed by 10 PM."Dad? What's the matter? Why aren't you sleeping?" Elisa said as soon as she picked up the phone."It's Kaelan! He is trouble,"her father sounded breathless."What did he do this time?" Elisa said irritably. Kaelan was always causing problems, making their lives harder than they should be."He got arrested. You have to bail him out," her father said.Elisa held back from cursing out loud
Elisa looked at her phone and squinted. She had received a text from Ansel first thing in the morning."You are cordially invited to an all-day event with an extremely handsome CEO, Me. I will be sending a car in two hours,"the text said.Elisa rolled her eyes and smiled. What a dork.Wait, all day! How was she supposed to do that when she has Audre? There was no way she could afford a babysitter for the whole day.The doorbell rang all of a sudden, startling Elisa. She hurried to open it. Esmeralda was standing in front of her with a smile. Elisa was surprised since she didn't call her yet. She looked at Esmeralda questioningly."Big plans today?" Esmeralda chirped."Um...how'd you know? Are you some type of psychic?" Elisa let out nervous laughter."Someone called me and asked me to look after Audre until later today. He said he was your boss," Esmeralda said.How did Ansel know about Audre and
Ansel Squinted at the entrance sign and looked at Elisa."Sorry, what are we doing here?" he was confused."We are going to have a nice tour at this lovely farm, and you are going to learn how to milk a cow," Elisa replied casually as if it was the most natural thing to do on a first date.Oh, you got to be kidding me,Ansel thought. He had never been on a farm. He didn't even like farm animals. His parents took him to a petting zoo once, but he ran out crying because he couldn't stand the smell of feces. Elisa must've sensed how snooty he is and decided to bring him here to mess with him.Jokes on her because he won't back down, Ansel decided. He is going to have a good time no matter what. But wait...did she just say milk a cow?"What do you mean we are going to learn how to milk a cow?" Ansel let out a nervous laugh."Not 'we,' you are going to learn while I stand back and enjoy the show," Elisa smiled."Excuse me? I
"So...I suppose you'd want to end our date here since you had that traumatic experience with Sally, the cow?" Elisa looked at Ansel with hopeful eyes. They were finally out of the farm and now sat inside the limo.He was all cleaned up, and Samuel and Megan were nice enough to offer them lunch, so they stayed for a bit. Elisa figured Ansel had enough."What are you talking about? I am having a great time, Ansel smirked.Dammit...she thought she had him. Elisa was frustrated."Besides, it's my turn. We have to have dinner, don't we?" Ansel said."I'll skip it. I only eat twice a day," Elisa said. She had to admit she was having a good time, but there was no way she'd let Ansel know that."Nice try attempting to escape, but you're stuck with me," Ansel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and moved her closer to him. Elisa thought about swatting his arm away, but she leaned back instead. His warmth spread through her body. It felt good to be h