The door slammed shut, blocking out the winter air from getting into the cozy room. Raine walked into her apartment, her hair covered in small flakes of snow that glistened in the light.
Xavier had just dropped her off at Mike's apartment, vowing that it would only be a couple of days before he would have the privilege of dropping Raine off at her very own apartment.
Her cheeks grew warm at the thought of the intimate moment that Xavier and her had shared earlier that night when she fell into his arms. She could still feel the warm touch of his muscular arms that had curled around her waist perfectly, holding her safely against his hard chest. And she could still hear her heart beat wildly in sync with Xavier's own. 'Was he feeling what she was too?' She thought.
"So the big bad Xavier Thorn let his hostage free, did he?"
Raine froze for a second, before realizing that it was only Mike who was sitting at the dining table, his head buried in a box of pizza.
"Hostage?" Raine questioned, before shrugging off that thick coat that was wrapped around her body.
"Yup." Mike said, licking his fingers. "After he kidnapped you from work?" He asked again, taking a big bite out of the slice of pizza.
"Ah, but a true kidnapping would be that when he took me against my will, correct?" Raine suggested, plopping down on one of the chairs besides Mike and opening up the box to be engulfed in the delicious aroma of the warm parmesan and garlic crusted pizza. "Perhaps I walked into the lion's den myself."
"So what did the lion say?" Mike played along.
"Lion?" Raine asked, her voice slightly muffled by the pizza that was now tantalizing her tastebuds and sending them in a wild state of euphoria.
Mike shook his head and began to laugh. "Xavier. What did Xavier say? Daisy was giggling all afternoon because of him." He said rolling his eyes.
"Well, I've got some good news and some bad." Raine said, chugging the Dr Pepper down her throat. "Which would you like to hear first?"
"Since it is the big bad wolf we're talkin' about, I'll take the bad, pretty please?" Mike teased, grabbing yet another slice of pizza.
Raine giggled before wiping off her face. "The bad news is, our adventures of living together as Rainy and Mikey and taking over the world are coming to an end."
"Say what?" He asked, burping out loud.
"You're finally getting rid of me Mike! I'll be off your sailing ship soon and you can get your bachelor pad apartment back to yourself." She said dramatically.
"And why would you possibly be moving out?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I got a job."
Surprise overtook all of the expressions on his face as he looked at Raine. "You got a what?"
"A job." Raine grinned."Xavier invited me over to talk about a job offering he had and well.....I kinda took it."
"Wow Raine! That's great!" Mike exclaimed, pushing his plate away and engulfing Raine into big bear hug. "But I'm confused." He mumbled in her embrace before pulling out and looked at her. "What does this have to do with you leaving?"
"Well I---"
"Hold up!" Mike interrupted. "What job did you get?! Who are you working for?! Details girl! I need details!!"
"Well first off all, I think Daisy's rubbing off on you a little too much!" Raine giggled. "I mean you sound like a thirteen year old girl with a One Direction obsession!"
"Shut it!" Mike playfully glared."I'm just excited, alright."
"Ok, so first of all, it's a personal assistant job."
"PA? Raine, I thought you weren't down for something like that after everything that happened with Axel?" He said frowning.
"I admit I wasn't up for it at first, but...." Her fingers involuntary went to the silver ring on her thump as she twirled it around before gathering herself together. "But I think I can handle this one. I mean I am going to be working for Xavier, after all."
"You're what?!" Mike shouted, shocked.
"Working for Xavier?" Raine answered, although it was more of a question.
"Xavier?! As in Xavier Thorn? The Xavier Thorn of Thorn Inc?!"
"Gee Mike. What on earth has gotten into you." Raine frowned. "I'm seriously right, you really need to stay away from Daisy." She said recalled Daisy's reaction when she found out that the mystery man who had been coming to her small little cafe was none other then the CEO himself. Raine chuckled to herself, realizing that Mike was nonetheless different from her crazy friend.
"Answer the question Raine!" He demanded.
Raine shook her head and rolled her eyes before getting in a comfortable position. "Yes. I'm going to be Xavier's new PA at Thorn Inc." Raine said slowly as if she was talking to a child, to make sure that Mike would understand instead of freak out. "He called me at his office to offer me the position.....Actually, his current PA was leaving the country to work at another branch and the position was open."
"So you took it?" He said, still in disbelief.
"Well, I guess I did." Raine said. "I really needed the job. The pay is great and it comes with a lot of benefits too. Apparently to company provides all of their employees with a place to live and everything."
"But you don't have to move Raine. You can stay here too."
"I know....But Mike, I really don't want to be a burden on you. you've already allowed me to stay here for such a long time and it's my responsibly to know when to get out."
Mike stayed quiet for a while, allowing Raine's words to sink in. "So you work for Xavier now? As his PA? Wow man." Mike said cupping his own face. "I gotta admit, that's pretty lit."
Raine let out a laugh as she thought about her position. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined an opportunity like that to show up. But now that it had, she was determined to prove herself worthy of the job. "I know. I was shocked when Xavier offered it."
"I bet you were! I mean from a waiter at a small cafe to Personal Assistant of Xavier Thorn?! Girl you got some luck!"
"Luck? You and I both know how much of this luck I have." Raine said lowering her head, her voice laced with sorrow and only Mike seemed to understand.
"Hey...." Mike said, cupping her face in his palms. "You're doing really well Raine. Don't bring yourself down like that."
Although Raine nodded her head in approval, her heart was still in denial. After everything that had happened, Raine didn't know what to believe. Her faith in things like luck had long been gone and now all that was left of her was a tiny piece of her fragile heart.
* * *
It was nearly midnight but sleep seemed to be having a battle with Raine. Despite the fact that she was beyond exhausted from the hectic day and her eyes were pleading to shut, her mind refused to turn off.
The eventful day kept on rewinding in her head. The call from Xavier, the job offer, the new apartment, everything seemed to be spiraling out of control in her mind. But out of all of these things, the one thing that kept Raine's mind dancing in the dark was Xavier.
Tossing and turning for another hour, Raine ripped the blanket off her body, throwing it to the side before sitting up right in her bed. The only light illuminating her room was that of the bright crescent moon that was hanging high up in the sky, surrounded by a team of stars, flickering amongst the darkness.
Pushing herself off the plushy bed, Raine walked over to her window, leaning her elbows on windowsill as she looked out at the city. Her eyes scanned the city lights that painted the horizon in glimmering yellows and whites. Her eyes made way to the lingering cars on the now empty roads that rushed to get home. New York at night was a sight to see and Raine couldn't help but be mesmerized by the ambiance of this metropolis.
She couldn't help but compare this city to her own. Life in California had been so different. From the warm weather to the relaxed people to the salty sea air; everything was so different.
A sigh escaped her lips as past memories resurfaced. But before she could go any further down memory lane, her thoughts were interrupted by the soft chiming noise coming from her phone. Confused, she walked over to her bedside table to find the screen of her phone lit up with a message. A message from an unknown number.
Unknown >> Remember me?
A frown formed on Raine's face at the obscure message from this unknown number. She hadn't given her number out to anybody but Daisy, Mike, and Xavier. On top of that, all of their numbers were already stored in her phone. So who could this possibly be?
Raine Woods >> I'm sorry, who is this?
Raine waited tentatively for a response, only to be met by silence. Her question didn't get answered and nor did this mysterious person reply back in any form.
"Must be a wrong number." Raine mumbled before yawning out loud. After waited for another minute, she shut her phone off, setting back on the table and crawling into bed. Her soft blanket covered her body, wrapped her in a bundle of warmth as her eyes finally gave out, making Raine fall into deep slumber.
* * *
"Good morning Mr. Thorn." Raine said as she walked into Xavier's office for the first time, not as a friend, but as his Personal Assistant. She was dressed up sophisticatedly in a baby pink pencil skirt, along with a cream colored silk top that was tucked in at the waist. Her face was adorned in natural makeup and her brown locks flowed in loose curls behind her shoulders.
Xavier, who was dressed to impress himself, in a gray suit, looked up from his computer. A smile formed on his face as he took in Raine's professional yet simply gorgeous attire, but it was quickly replaced by a frown as her words sunk in.
"Mr. Thorn?" Xavier questioned. "Raine, it's Xavier for you."
"But I work for you now." Raine said shrugging.
"That doesn't change anything." Xavier said with a strained voice. "Call me Xavier."
"I don't see any of your other employees calling you Xavier..." She mumbled in voice barely audible. Unfortunately, Xavier had the ears of an owl, not missing a single syllable that left Raine's mouth.
"I don't give a damn about any of my other employees. You are going to call me Xavier. Is that clear?" He said with annoyance.
"Y-yes. Yes, of course." Raine said, a little taken aback by his harsh voice. Raine definitely wanted Xavier to treat her like an employee and not take advantage of his friendship, and if that meant dealing with the hot headed Xavier Thorn that the world saw him as, then she was just going to have to deal with that.
"I'm your boss now Raine, do not defy me." He stated again, his voice aggravated and irritated.
"Sorry." Raine merely whispered.
Her soft voice acted like a switch that had been flipped on. Immediately, all of his fury rushed out of his body as his eyes fell of Raine whose face was no longer glowing like it had been a couple minutes ago.
"Shit!" He mumbled, running his fingers through his hair, messing it up in the process. "I'm so sorry Raine. I didn't mean too...." He trailed off, preoccupied in guilt.
"It's alright." Raine said, her eyes once again meeting his own which were filled with shards of guilt.
"It's most certainly not." Xavier said, disappointed with himself. "It's not alright. It's your first day and I....." His head hung low, not being able to meet the coffee brown eyes that he had been addicted to. "I'm truly sorry. I....I have....I have anger issues and....There's a meeting today and I'm really not looking forward to it. I guess I was just stressed out and I took it all out on you."
"No worries." Raine said shaking her head, a soft smile back on her lips. "At least now I got to see the beast everyone talks about when they hear your name." Raine laughed away.
"I didn't mean to unleash the beast on your first day." Xavier said, shaking his head. "That was really stupid of me."
"Like I said before, no worries. At least you're treating me fairly instead of babying me." She replied with honesty, making Xavier's eyes freeze on her's. The once icy blues eyes seemed to melt and thaw out as they focused on Raine, returning back to a beautiful deep, sky blue color that Raine had grown accustomed to.
"You're simply crazy Raine." Xavier finally said after observing her for a minute longer. "I feel guilty now. I ruined your first official day."
"Don't worry. My first day at Cathy's, I accidentally poured hot coffee on one of the customers and then being the clumsy girl I am, slipped on it and fell."
A smirk spread on Xavier's lips. "Quiet the luck you got there with your 'first day of work' Raine." He teased, pushing his chair away from the desk and leaning back. "Speaking of Cathy's, do you plan on continuing your job there?"
"I'm not so sure at the moment. I texted Daisy and well....."
"What did she say?" He asked anxiously.
"Well let's just say she kinda freaked out." She said laughing. "But she was really happy that I got this opportunity and she told me that she would give me some time to think about what I wanted to do with that job." Raine said looking at Xavier, who was attentively focusing on every word that left her mouth. "I think I'll continue working at the cafe on the weekends. I can always use the extra money and Daisy can use the extra help."
"That's not a bad idea." He nodded, allowing the thoughts to settle. "Anyways, good morning Miss. Woods." Xavier said with a wink.
"You can call me Raine."
"Only if you call me Xavier."
"Stubborn as always." Raine said rolling her eyes.
"Yup." Xavier nodded, popping the p. "That's me!" He beamed.
"Ok, XAVIER!" Raine exaggerated. "What can I do for you today?"
"Cindy's busy with some other work, so she'll be coming in late. I'm assuming she gave you a tour of the building and most of your duties?" He confirmed to which Raine nodded.
"Yeah, she did."
"Great! To start off, you can go get me a cup of coffee. Black, noâ"
"Sugar." Raine completed before Xavier could even finish.
A smile played of his lips as took at Raine with pride. "Exactly why I wanted to hire you."
* * *
After gracing her mightly boss with his favorite drink to keep him up and running for the rest of the day, Raine began her official work, managing phone calls and scheduling appointments. It wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be and Raine was content with the way things were playing out.
As soon as she had finished up organizing everything, she left the comfort of her cabin and headed to Xavier's.
A subtle knock was all she needed to do before she entered Xavier's room to find him busy on the phone talking in a rather harsh manor to the poor caller. A frown inched onto Raine face, confused by his moody behavior.
It wasn't long before Xavier hung up the phone, slamming it onto the his desk and looking back at Raine.
"You called for me?" Raine asked cautiously as Xavier remained engrossed in his thoughts.
"Uh....yeah. I needed my schedule for the day and I wanted to check in with you to make sure everything's going fine."
"Everything's going just fine. I finished organizing everything and I think I got the hang of transferring phone calls." Raine replied with a smile. "As for your schedule, you have a annual profit report to submit to the shareholders of the company. I have here that it's due in a week but Cindy told me to remind you about it. Other then that, the only event I have scheduled here is your meeting with Ethan Evens. I've received a confirmation from his secretary earlier this morning so everything is verified and set."
"Ughhh." Xavier groaned disapprovingly. "I've been dreading this meeting all week."
"With Mr. Evans?" Raine asked confused. "Why?"
"He's pure torture."
"He can't be that bad. Cindy was telling me that the both of your companies have been doing business together for a very long time."
"You'll find out how bad he is shortly. Anyways, I'm assuming you know your duties of what to do before any meeting at the company?"
"Yup!" She said, popping the p. "She told me to make copies of the files which you hand over to me, as well as set up to conference room and make sure all of the projectors are working."
"Perfect!" Xavier said, searching his drawers for something before he pulled out a manila folder and passed it to Raine. "These are the documents for today's meeting. I need you to make 10 copies of them and arrange them at each seat in the conference room."
"I'll have that done right away."
"Thank you Raine." Xavier smiled. "Oh, and you'll be attending the meeting with me and I need you to take notes."
"Gotcha!" Raine stated before turning on her heel and heading over to the copy room.
* * *
"Here comes the douchebag." Xavier muttered as he watched none other then Ethan Evans walk into the conference room with a smirk smeared on his pale face. Like Xavier, Ethan Evans was also a young bachelor who had inherited his father's fortune and become CEO of E&E. Spoiled brat was the term that he was referenced by in the business world and the name did pure justice to his personality.
"Huh?" Raine asked confused as she looking up from her iPad which she had been preparing for the notes.
"Nothing." He spat out causing Raine to frown at his sudden mood change.
Taking her eyes off Xavier, Raine diverted her attention to the green eyes that met her gaze. To say Ethan was good looking would be an understatement. His tall height and well built body made him stand out from the others who had entered the room. Not to mention the emerald eyes that were complimented by his blond hair, that glistened in the light.
"Ah, Mr. Thorn." Ethan smirked, while raking his eyes over Raine. "I see you've changed you're flavor of the month." His eyes followed along Raine's body causing her to shift uncomfortably. "Brown eyes at long hair....I like her better then that other chick. What was her name? Cynthia?"
"Mr. Evans." Xavier spoke with a tight smile. "I suggest we begin the meeting instead of invading each other's personal matters. Professionalism? I believe you know that means."
"Whatever you say." Ethan said allowing his eyes to linger on Raine's petite form for a mintue longer.
Xavier's face hardend and his hands formed into fists as he saw Ethan scan his eyes over Raine, however seeing that this was a conference room and that they were about to start the meeting, Xavier tried hard to keep his anger in the bay.
Soon enough, Ethan finally took a seat in one of the chairs that happened to be facing Raine. Flipping through the documents in front of him, he waiting untill Xavier cleared his throat to speak.
"So, as we all know, the contract that Thorn Inc had with E&E has offically expired." Xavier began, silencing the members that were gathered in the room. "After the change of CEO and a majority of the Board Members at E&E, we've decided that in order to insure a profitable outcome, a series of clauses will be added to the new contract."
Xavier went on and on, discussing each of the difference clasues that he and the financial advisors at Thorn Inc had deemed neccessary and important in order for the companies to work well together. Raine attentively took notes of all the points Xavier and the others went over, while also taking into account what the associates of E&E had to say. Wierdly enough, the only member to remain silent the entire time with the CEO himself, Ethan Evans.
"Any comments?" Xavier asked, finishing his presentation.
"Yes." Ethan said, raising his hand. "I think this entire presentation was trash."
"Is that so?" Xaiver glared. "I was thinking the same thing actually. Not about my presentation but by this false contract your company sent to me. Did you really think I was stupid enough to sign these papers simply because that's what my company has been doing in the past? You're company is failing and that's not my issue. The only thing I am concerned about it whether my company is profiting or not! You need this more then anything, Thorn Inc isn't the least bit desperate."
"Oh please! Cut the crap Xavier! I don't want partnership in your company." Ethan admitted.
"Then why the hell are you here?!" Xavier asked now with annoyance.
"It's the stupid shareholders!" He shouted. "Apparently my judgement isn't good enough and they want our companies to work in sync so that the stock price stays high! I don't even want to be here right now!"
"Maybe if you had a brain in that thick skull of your's, your own company would take you more seriously."
Xavier smirked.
"Whatever." Ethan said sitting up. "I don't really give a damn as long as I'm getting my fair share in the profits."
Xavier scrutinized him for a minute before replying. "You know, I really miss the days when your father would come to my office with a bottle of wine and rant about how spoiled his little prince was."
"Too bad he died." He said dryly.
Xavier paused briefly to glare at him. "Yes. Too bad. Because if Edward was still alive right now, I wouldn't have to be listening to his poor excuse of a son give me all this crap."
"You'd be the one to say that." Ethan said rolling his eyes.
"If you weren't Edward's son, I would have to thrown you out of my building, Ethan."
"Try me." Ethan smirked. "Oh wait, I have a propostion. I'll leave your building but I won't leave alone. I'll take a suvenier with me. " He said, while his eyes drifted to Raine who was scribbling away on her iPad.
"Get out." Xavier roared, slamming his hands on the table and shouting out of his seat. "Get out before I call security."
"And my contract?"
"You really think I'd invest in you're company? Please Ethen, I'd rather throw my money in a swimming pool." Xavier said with a tight smile on his face.
"Maybe not my company but it is my father's."
"You're father is six feet under. And under those circumstances, E&E is no long his. It's your's and therefore I have no intentions of investing in it. "
It didn't take long for the message to sink into Ethan's thick skull. Within a couple of mintues, he had left the room, followed by other representatives that had come from E&E. After Xavier gave a concluding statement to the members of Thorn Inc that were present, they all filed out of the room as well. Soon enough, it was only Xavier and Raine left in the empty room, lit only by the light of the projector that was displaying some statistical report.
"I think I know why you were dreading the meeting now." Raine said, not being able to contain her laughter.
Xavier's eyes flickered to her's and he couldn't help but laugh with her too. Their laughter radiated throughout the room that was once filled with a depressing silence.
"Pure torture."
______________________
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