The CEO's Pet

Amber has lived in Chicago for the past three years after she moved from Boston to start her office work where she works as the secretary to the CEO of the biggest Department store, Shell House.

Her everyday work was always hectic but who was she to complain when her boss was always working with her even late into the night so it was not as if he was punishing her on purpose but one thing she really love about her boss, Tom Briggs is that no matter how hard they have to work, he makes sure she enjoys her weekend so every Friday she goes home as early as possible.

This particular Friday was like every other one and she was so happy to get off work because she actually had her own plans for the day.

“Miss Amber, the sales report should be ready by 2pm on Monday so make sure you try to finish it up over the weekend” Tom, her boss said to her as he came out of his office wearing a tired look on his face.

The week have been extremely stressful for them because new arrivals just came in at the mall and they had to monitor the sorting out because if they didn’t, their office’s telephone will certainly blow up with calls for complaint and he was not ready to go through such a hassle anymore.

The last time they had such situation, the employees had packaged the wrong orders all the way from Chicago to Thailand and they had to return the goods which made them suffer a huge loss due to the cost of shipping. Another situation was the employees sending the wrong size of wedding dresses to a party and there was no time to meet up since it was ordered at a very close date.

She stood up to reply “Should I draw up all the reports for the past three months? We seems to have a lot to deal with these days” placing her hands in front of her navy blue skirt

“You should leave that for now, the sales report for the new ones is important for now. Do enjoy your weekend Miss Amber” he answered and walked out of the office.

She released a heavy sigh with happiness as she closed her eyes and folded her fists in happiness, “It’s another weekend to do what I want” she muttered as she cleared her table before packing her bag to leave as well.

She was waiting to flag down a taxi when a text popped up on her phone, she opened it to check that it was from Mike

“Do you want to take a slot tonight? One of our participants suddenly came down with a cold”

She hesitated a bit before replying because she was honestly tired for the day and she was already dreaming of how to get home early, shower and sleep with her phone switched off to avoid any disturbance.

She thought about if she should take the offer or not for some minutes but finally kicked against it. She texted back “I don’t think I can make it today, I am so tired right now” but within seconds, Mike called back

“You should take this chance! There are many people of influence attending the show and who knows? You might be able to hit the jackpot” he stated trying hard to convince her so she can take the offer but she was not interested, her mind was made up.

“We are always treated invisible so I don’t want to waste my time” she replied with a discouraged voice

“Dave Lin is also attending” he whispered to her and her eyes bulged out in shock

“What? The same Dave Lin?” she shouted, scaring the taxi driver for a bit.

The tiredness she was feeling some seconds earlier flew off from her face at the mention of the popular name she just heard.

“Sweet goodness! I will be there right away” she answered immediately and told her taxi driver to turn to her destination

“Star club please” she told the driver and resumed her talks with Mike

“Costume? I have nothing on me right now”

“You should trust me, I have it available for you” Mike assured her and she told him that she will be there in few minutes before she disconnected the call

She had been working part time in the Star club ever since she landed in Chicago as a stripper thanks to her hot body. She has smooth and sexy long legs, the perfect curves and shapes where necessary. She is a tall and slender lady, a very great dancer with head turning skills and over all a beauty with long eyelashes and brown eyeballs that are sexy and captivating so she got hired quickly when she pushed for the job.

She decided to be a stripper because she really loved clubbing and she was great at dancing, the money she was getting as a secretary was not enough to cover her bills so she just took on the job as an extra source of income. Her mother was diagnosed with cancer and she had been on chemotherapy for months, and this has been taking a toll on her

She had vowed to herself that she would quit the job once her boss increases her salary as promised by the end of the year. It was stated in the contract that her salary would be subjected to increase every three years and she couldn’t wait for the raise.

Even though she had spent close to three years with her boss, they didn’t have any other relationship except work. Tom is a strict man who doesn’t even joke around, he would never open his mouth unless it is about work and he doesn’t care about any other thing except work so that made him a boring man to everyone.

She pulled off at the club, ran inside and saw Mike already waiting for her at the entrance of the changing room

“Hey Mike” she greeted in haste

“Change into this, you are late already” he said and handed over a bag to her

“Thank you” she shouted and ran inside the room to change into a pink full body bikini that was hugging her body tight

“You look hot as always” Mike remarked with a wink as she tried to keep her blonde hair in place

He led her into the private section of the club reserved for the crazily rich men and women. She met others already at their poles and she quickly ran to take her place. The song started and she began to tease the audience sexily, she grabbed unto the pole and was whirling around it while enjoying herself when she sighted someone familiar and her heart skipped a bit.

“It cannot be, can it? There is no way Tom Holland will be in a club watching strippers” she muttered to herself but it was not a dream, her boss was indeed there looking at her.

She checked again to see that she was not dreaming and it was indeed true. She wasn’t dreaming at all, her boss was there staring at her as she was rolling on the pole sexily in a provocative outfit.

She resumed her dance but suddenly, one of the rich men there rose up and started to dance with her. They had the freedom to dance with them but needed their consent to touch their body. The man didn’t ask her and just dragged her to himself, she was feeling uncomfortable with the way he was dancing with her and placing his hands on sensitive parts of her body.

Tom Holland noticed her discomfort and had no choice but to step in

He grabbed the man’s sharply from her back and the man glared at him in shock “I think she’s not comfortable with the way you are touching her” he stated with his thick voice booming through.

She shifted her face to the side to cover up and hide from him and as soon as the man released her, she flew down the stage and rushed to hide, she cannot afford to lose her job, she’s in need of a huge amount of money after all.

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.

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.

Joseph have been staying in Dubai for over three years and refused to stay home after his graduation. He would always argue about how he was still small to work at the company.

“I want to enjoy my twenties a little bit because once I start working I won’t have the time for that anymore” he argued whenever their father brought up the topic of him coming back home.

He finally came home that afternoon and he didn’t even let Tom know so as to surprise him.

“You came this afternoon? How come I was not informed?” Tom questioned

“Because I wanted to surprise you. Look at how shocked you are right now” he replied with a chuckle and Tom sighed

“Do you like making a fool out of people?” Tom slammed him and he raised his eyebrows

“What do you mean by making a fool out of people?” he asked

“You said you will not be coming home anytime soon so why are you here?” Tom questioned

“Oh that? I realized that there was no fun for me anymore in Dubai because I had visited every places for the three years I was there and now that I am getting older, I should start taking my life serious you know” he responded with a wink and Tom eyed him

“Moreover, I miss this house’s food” he added as he leaned on the wall

“I can’t help but wonder whatever this art is, you have the same at your office and at home too, this things are freaking expensive and it has no meaning to me. I don’t understand why people spend tons of money just to hang them on the wall” Joseph remarked looking at the art work hung on the wall.

“Are you going to stay here forever? Won’t you go out anymore?” Tom said to make him leave

“What? Are you uncomfortable with me here? We will be spending so much time together as from now though so I think it’s better you start getting comfortable with me because I will be sticking to you like a leech” he told him and walked out of the room while leaving the door opened

“That pest” he muttered as he saw what he did

He was about to close the door when Joseph yell from the back making him jump in fear

“I got you again this time” Joseph cackled and Tom chased after him in anger

He had forgotten all about the text he received earlier so he didn’t reply her and just went to join the family for dinner. He apologized to his father for the ruckus at the company earlier when he couldn’t tender the report at the appropriate time.

“You always ruin your efforts with small mistakes and these small mistakes, if continuous can ruin one’s hard work” his father, Steve scolded

“I will make sure it doesn’t repeat itself anymore” he apologized once again

“How about the contract with Dave Lin? Have you still not been able to secure that too?” Steve asked

“I got it signed last weekend but you were not around so I couldn’t show you” he responded immediately

“You could have texted me if you got it signed, we are now a step ahead of our competitors with that now” Steve remarked and resumed his food

“You got Dave Lin to sign the contract? Wow you are really incredible Tom!” Joseph clapped

“You should complement him in times like this. Dave Lin is not an easy fish, he’s so difficult to meet and he only sign contracts physically. This is worth celebrating” Joseph added and chuckled

“You should just shut your mouth and eat before I throw you out” Steve growled at him

“This is exactly the reason why I didn’t want to come in the first place. You are making me lose my appetite already but I cannot leave this delicious food that was thoroughly, carefully and beautifully cooked by mother” he said and laughed for a bit before reaching for his cup of water.

Amber went back to work the next day and resumed her work like nothing had happened. Everything was still the same, just like before except the fact that she was always anxious about when he would call her in relation to their contracts.

She submitted the report to his table the first thing in the morning and was working away on her system when he called her through the intercom. She marched quickly to his office in her high waist white skirt and wine bow blouse to answer his call.

“The CEO of MG Pharmaceutical’s daughter is getting married and they requested for a special tour by one of the employees of the company to shop for the dress. Since you are a lady, you might be able to pick out something good so help them out” he instructed and she input it in her tablet

“What time is that sir?” she asked

“They will be coming over by three in the afternoon so get ready by two fortyfive” he responded with his eyes glued to the book

“Noted sir” she said and turned to leave

“You should get me some coffee” he added and she left to get his coffee ready just as his phone rang

“What do you want?” he asked as he picked the call

“You always make it obvious that you don’t want to talk to me. Anyways guess where I am right now” Joseph said over the phone

“Do I look like I have time for that right now?” he slammed trying not to get angry

“I am at that restaurant, the one where we went to on your twentyfifth birthday. They still have the killer food and guess what? They have new menus that are to die for, you should come over with me when you are free” Joseph said with a small laugh and Tom loosened his tie a bit

“You should seriously stop disturbing me, I am so busy here” he said

“Don’t worry about being too busy, I am back now so I will be helping you out in the future or will you be helping me out? Anyways time will tell. I wanted to tell you more about the restaurant but since you are busy, I will just leave you alone” Joseph and disconnected the call before he could even reply.

She brought the coffee to him and he took a sip immediately to cool his burning anger but the sugar was way too much so he spat it out with immediate effect.

“What is this nonsense? Are you planning to kill me with sugar?” he yelled at her and that made her afraid for some minute because that would be the first time he would ever yell that loud at work

“I am sorry sir, I will prepare another one” she said and picked up the cup

“Don’t bother, I will get one myself” he remarked and left the room to cool down at the café down the mall.

He was sitting at the café looking at the people passing by while calming his anger when he overheard some women talking behind him.

“Why is she staying this long in the restroom? We are not here to spend all day” One of them lamented

“She’s absolutely slow in all things and that is why she doesn’t even take the hint that we don’t like to hang out with her” the other woman remarked

“I know right! We tried so hard to make her know that we don’t want her in our circle but she kept forcing herself on us” the first one supported

“Well it’s her loss. At least when we get here, we get discounts because of her status” the second one said and they both chuckled before they saw the person they were talking about coming from the restroom

“I’m sorry, I made you wait for this long” the person said with an apologetic tone

“Well it’s not like we have anything doing so it’s fine” one of the friends replied

“Let’s go for the shopping since I am done now” the person stated and he turned to look at the familiar voice to see that it was his mom.

He quickly looked forward and stood up before they realize that he was the one and walked back to his office.

“She’s always moving out with people who have no manners” he mutter to himself in anger and walked back to the payment counter

“You see those three women there? Make sure there is no discount on whatever they buy and when asked, you should tell it’s an order from the management” he instructed and the employee bowed a bit in understanding

“You are nothing but money sucking demons” he said angrily and shut down his phone to prevent any calls from his mother.

The women finished buying and were expecting a discount as usual but the employee did exactly as he was told.

“Why is there no discount today? We are regulars here you know” one of them asked with a raised eyebrow

“I am sorry ma’am but the management that there should not be any discount as from now on” she answered politely

“Who is the management? Is it not your son? Why not give him a call?” the second woman suggested and Anita brought out her phone to call Tom but his number was switched off

“His phone is off, maybe he is in a meeting” she said to them and they rolled their eyes

“You might be able to get through to his secretary, why not call her?” the first friend suggested

“I don’t have his secretary’s number, was I supposed to have it?” she answered and they couldn’t hide their shock

“Why wouldn’t you have his secretary’s number? That is the most important thing because how will you get updates about him?” the second woman stated

“I never felt the need to get update about him though” she muttered and they shook their head

“Can we get the CEO Secretary’s number?” one of them asked turning to the lady at the counter

“I am sorry ma’am but I don’t have it. You might be able to get it at the reception though” she replied politely once again

“You all are so complicated! Let’s just pay for it and go” the second woman snapped and finally they paid for their goods without any discount which made them edgy towards her for the rest of the hangout.

Amber checked the time and got ready for the arrival of the said guests coming from MG Pharmaceutical. Just as she finished touching her makeup in the restroom, a call came through from the mall that they were around and she went immediately to attend to them.

“Welcome ma’am, I am Amber and I am here to help you out as per CEO Tom’s order” she said with a small smile

“I am so sorry for requesting this and taking your time when you should be doing other things” the bride to be apologized

“You don’t have to apologize, this is part of my job too” Amber remarked

“This is my fiancé, Charles. He decided to come along with me and you can just call me Joy” she introduced

“You are both welcome” Amber said to them and stretched her hand forward

“Shall we go now?” she said and led the way.

They walked for a bit deeper into the left wing of the clothing section till they got to the bridal section. Amber pushed the door opened and waited for them to enter before she went in too and closed the door behind her.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” she asked with her hands placed neatly around her lower abdomen area

“I want something simple yet elegant and classy” Joy replied instantly

“I will get them for you right now” she said and went to handpick the gowns that was in the category she mentioned.

After ten minutes, she pushed the cloth hanger out and showed her the dresses on the hanger

“Will you try them on now?” she asked and Joy nodded

Joy started trying out the clothes in the small changing room around the corner of the room while the employees helped her out. Amber stood beside the door waiting for her to finish up when Charles dropped his cup of water on the floor.

She ran to his side to quickly help him out with cleaning of the shattered glass and spilled water since the employees were working for Joy at the moment. She bent down a bit to gather the pieces of cups after guarding her hand with wipes wrapped around it, she was halfway done when she felt a hand on her behind but it was very brief.

She thought it was a mistake and continued her work until she felt the hand groping her again and this time it was longer. She could not take it anymore and stood up to confront Charles who quickly played dumb.

“What do you think you are doing?” she asked raising her eyebrows

“What do you mean by that?” Charles remarked feigning innocence

“Apologize right now!” she demanded and Charles scoffed

“What did you just say?” he asked with an evil grin

“I said you should apologize right now!” She demanded once again and a voice stepped in

“What do you think you are doing right now?” Tom asked as he walked into the room.

Tom was passing by the bridal section as he was returning to his office when he saw Amber in arguments with Charles. He walked into the room to ask what was happening when he heard her demanding for an apology.

“I am demanding for an apology from you right now” she yelled at his face

“What is going on right now? What do you think you are doing?” he asked looking at her

“He was touching me appropriately, he was groping me” she explained

“Why would I do that? I only dropped the cup of water by mistake and she was cleaning it up before she suddenly started yelling at my face to apologize” Charles said innocently and she scoffed

“It was true that his cup shattered but while I was cleaning it up, he suddenly groped me from behind and it was twice at that” she insisted

“Is there any proof that he did that? You shouldn’t make false accusations” Tom said and her shoulder dropped in shock.

She has been working with him for close to three years and he could still think she made things like this up? She was so disappointed in him and angry at him at the same time. She closed her eyes to beat back the tears that were welling up in her eyes for a while.

“I don’t have any CCTV to prove it here” she said with her head down

“I sincerely want you to prove it now, I feel wronged for being accused of something I didn’t do” Charles remarked and she could not believe her ears

“I am sorry for the misunderstanding caused, I hope you will let it go quietly” Tom apologized to him but he slammed his hand on the sofa’s arm

“Why should I let it go quietly when she’s accusing me of sexually harassing her! Do you know me? Do you know how great I am? Were you trying to squeeze money out of me by making up some foolish stories like this? I can file a petition against this company and that will be over for you all and even your boss standing here” Charles threatened and she couldn’t even speak because she was rendered speechless by his sudden boldness

“Once again we are sorry, CEO Charles” Tom apologized

“I don’t want your own apology, I want her to apologize since she was the one that accused me” Charles remarked and that was the end of the drama for Amber

“I will never apologize since you are the one that was in the wrong. You groped me and still want me to apologize to you?” she stated with pain mixed with anger

“As from tomorrow, don’t come to work anymore Miss Amber” Tom commanded and bowed in apology to Charles when a text dropped on Amber’s phone

“You should balance up for this week or we will stop the treatment” the nurse from the hospital texted her and she sighed

Everything in her wanted her to slap him and walk out of the company too but her piling debts would not just allow her to do anything. She bent her head forward towards Charles and apologized

“I am sorry for accusing you wrongly” she said and they wondered why she changed her mind

“I guess you losing your job brought you back to your senses” Charles chuckled and rested his back on the sofa

“I don’t want an halfass apology like this, you should apologize properly by going on your knees” Charles declared and Tom turned to face him, surprised at his request

“I know something happened between you two but going on her knees will be too extreme” Tom said and Charles picked up his phone

“With one phone call I can make all your stocks become dust in an instant. Do you still think you can risk it because of one employee?” Charles said with a smirk and Tom didn’t know what to do

He was still thinking of ways to handle it when Amber went on her knees and apologized to Charles. She knelt down in front of him while trying to hold back her tears.

“I am sorry for accusing you wrongly once again” she apologized with her head bowed

“You will make me the bad person at this rate” Charles said and motioned for her to stand up but she could not find the strength to do that.

Tom walked to her side and helped her up but she flung his hand away and glared at him for a bit before managing to stand up on her own and stomped out of the room. Joy came out after trying out the clothes and picked the one she liked.

“You can send that to my house” she said to the employee that followed her in and they bowed to her before leaving the room with the clothes she picked

“How was it? Did you find the one you like?” Charles asked with a smile

“They were all so beautiful that I wanted to pick all but I had to restrain myself” she answered with a smile

“Where is Secretary Amber?” she asked looking around

“She went to take care of an urgent matter” Tom quickly covered up for her

“That’s sad, I wanted to thank her for her help” she pouted

“You can do that next time. Let’s go now because I have a meeting in the next thirty minutes” Charles said standing up and they left the room.

Tom escorted them to the car and bid them goodbye before returning to his office where he saw that she was absent from her seat.

She had gone to the restroom to bawl her eyes out because she couldn’t bottle up the pain and embarrassment inside anymore. She felt so wronged that she was the victim and she was the one that also apologized. The more she thought about, the more her anger rose and she felt like kicking them both in the face.

She finally finished crying and fixed her makeup before going back to the office. She entered the office and locked eyes with Tom through the window blinds and glared at him for some seconds before marching to her seat.

Not more than two minutes, he called her to his office and requested for a file. She brought it to him and handed it over to him when he addressed her.

“If you don’t know when to draw the line between being professional and stubborn, you might end up losing all you have” he said flipping through the pages

She wanted to argue but stopped since it was a futile effort and the damage was done already so she just turned to take her leave while he continued his work.

She finished up for the day and went to the hospital to settle the bill and also see her mother who was admitted there. She pulled the door opened to see her staring into the bright lights coming from the city’s buildings.

“Isn’t this night so beautiful? There is moonlight also” her mother said to her as she turned to look at her

“I know right. They are shining so bright with nothing being able to restrict them, I hope I can shine like them someday because I am so jealous of them right now” she poured out

“Did something happen at work? You look so down and your voice is sad too” her mother asked as she came nearer to her

“Well there is never a smooth day at work. I am just tired that is why my voice is like this” she told her mother

“If you are holding on because of me and being disrespected then you should quit. You shouldn’t go through hard times because of me” her mother advised and she chuckled

“Who is being disrespected? Your daughter is the secretary of the CEO! I am one of the high ranking employee in the company so you should be proud because it is a bragging right” she stated and they both laughed

“I just feel bad seeing you put all your money into my hospital bills, you should be doing other things with your money” her mother muttered with a sad voice

“That is why you should get better soon so we can many things together. I have a long list of what to do with you” she said, helping her to adjust her scarf around her neck

“I promise to then” her mother said firmly and they both hugged each other.

Her mother have been suffering from kidney disease for the past six months and the dialysis treatment have been consuming a lot on her paycheck but she was not complaining as long as her mother is able to hold on till they find a donor.

She sat by her mother’s side as they played their favorite song, Winter Bear by V while enjoying the scenery of the night.

“Imagine your face say hello to me, then all the bad days are nothing to me. That line is really comforting” she muttered and quickly clean the tears dropping from her eyes before her mother sees it and get worried.

She finally bid goodbye and left the hospital when a car pulled up and it turned out to be Eddy

“Hello beautiful lady? Are you going somewhere? Do you want to go on a ride with me?” Eddy shouted with a wave and she burst into a broad smile

“I guess I will not be sleeping angry this night” she said to herself as she ran to enter the car

“I have been dialing your number all day but you didn’t pick up so I went to check you out at the office and I was told you left already. I figured out that this will be the place you are then” he said as soon as she got into the car

“You really know everything about me” she remarked fixing her seatbelt

“Of course, it’s been more than two years” he said proudly

“Since I am here, should I just greet her? It’s been a while I came here” he suggested

“It’s way past visitation time and she’s resting too so we can come back another time” she responded and he nodded in agreement before igniting the car and zoomed off.

He parked the car at a distance so they could walk a little bit to her house and discuss things

“How is work going? You seems to be busy these days” she asked holding his hand

“There have been so many requests coming in these days so it’s natural to be busy” he responded holding unto her hand in return

“How about you? How is work?” he asked looking at her and she lost all expression on her face because she was not sure whether to tell him what was going on at work or not.

Knowing his temper, he might make the incident bigger than usual if she reveals what Charles did to her and also if she tells him about the contract, he might misunderstand so she shook her head and kicked against it.

“Everything is going on well at work” she lied and he nodded

“You are a professional at what you do after all” he remarked

“I stopped working at the club. I won’t do that anymore” she told him and he stood still for a while

“Although I really didn’t like the idea of you being a stripper at a club, I was able to understand since it was because of your financial status and since I didn’t have much to offer from my end, I couldn’t stop you. Will it be too selfish of me to say that I am happy you quitted?” he carefully stated and she smiled

“No, you are not selfish at all. Thank you for your support all these while, thank you for the understanding too. I think life pitied me a little and made my love life a good one at least” she remarked and he drew her closer to himself

“Life doesn’t have a choice but to be fair to us in one aspect or the other. Let’s enjoy this fairness till the end” he commented and leaned in for a kiss.

It was slightly getting deeper when they heard someone cough from behind and they turned to see Emily standing there

“Should I just leave the house for both of you tonight? You seems to want to burn in the moment” Emily remarked and they laughed

“You should have a good night sweetheart” Eddy said to her and waved her bye before leaving for his car while she entered with Emily

“You are one fearless lady” Emily teased her as they went inside the room.

She thought about everything that happened that day while showering but after letting water flow through her hair into her head and wash away everything, she was refreshed.

She scrolled through her favorite artist’s posts and wondered why he haven’t updated any painting for quite some time

“I wish Umbra can upload something nice soon” she sighed before throwing her bed to her side

“At least, there is peace at this side of my life” she muttered as she stepped out of the shower and went to bed.

Emily left the house very early the next morning after telling Amber that she has an early morning test. Amber dressed up and went to work also with a better mood than that of the previous day since Eddy made her feel better the last night.

She got to the office and saw the text from Tom saying he would be coming in late to the office so she attend the meeting with the head of teams in his stead.

“Whatever” she mouthed as she read the text and removed her long coat to start the day’s work.

When it was time for the meeting, she picked up her coat and left for the conference room in the far end of the left side at the top floor of the building. She was shown respect to as the secretary to the CEO as she entered and sighed

“At least, I still have some respect left to my name” she thought and had her seat

“The CEO will not be joining us today because he has something urgent to attend to so we will start the meeting without him. What do we have on ground?” she asked and one of the team leaders tendered her report.

“The sales for this month shot up because of the many conglomerates wedding that will be taking place soon and luckily for us, all of them are buying their wedding items from us” the team leader reported

“With this sudden increase in orders, make sure that the employees doesn’t mix up orders like the last time because we don’t have any money to settle queries and also make sure that all their goods are sent to them in the best condition. Of course, make sure to package them well too and include a congratulatory gift for them” she directed and the team leader replied that she would do exactly what she said.

They discussed other things with the rest of the team leaders and after three hours, the meeting ended and she returned to the office to finish up what she was previously doing before Tom finally came to the office.

Emily finished her test and was walking around the corridor while chatting seriously with someone when her friends sneaked in on her.

“Who are you texting this ferociously? You don’t have a boyfriend if I can remember” Jessica said staring at her

“You have been texting a lot these days, who is the lucky guy? Are you going to hide him from us forever?” Mark added and she hid her phone

“I was discussing about my tuition fees with my dad, nothing more” she lied and Jessica tilted her head

“From what I know, your tuition for this session is settled because I was there when you paid so why are you discussing another one already when the first semester is not even over?” Jessica questioned

“That’s how I and my father do our thing. Stop bothering me, it’s a father and daughter talk so why are you poking your nose in?” she raised her voice and Jessica was startled

“There is no need to shout, I was only joking but I guess it went wrong” Jessica stuttered

“Are you sure nothing is wrong? You are so defensive today” Mark stated and she shook her head

“I was just pissed that she didn’t believe me” she said and patted Jessica’s shoulder to apologize

“I’m sorry”

“It’s okay” Jessica said with a shrug

“How about we hang out today? We are off the hook of test for a while” she suggested

“That would be nice!” Mark growled and they giggled before deciding where exactly to hang out.

Amber tendered the reports of the meeting to Tom and also explained some other things that were discussed in the meeting.

“Thank you for doing a wonderful job” he complimented her and she went back to her seat.

She was planning to clock out when Tom’s call came through

“We have somewhere to be today” he said and she almost cursed at him because she had already planned to go out of work as soon as possible.

They went to the same place where they went to the last time and she helped her carried some boxes he put in the car’s trunk inside the house.

“You can arrange them in the fridge” he said and disappeared through a door in the room leaving her to do what he ordered.

She opened the cartons one by one to find different snacks, fruits, drinks and lots of bottled water

“Is he planning to live here now? How come he’s buying this much?” she muttered as she filled the enter fridge with it.

She finished arranging them and waited for him to come out but seeing how he didn’t come out after a while, she decided to go to him instead. She walked in through the door she saw him walk through and found herself in a corner with two rooms there. She slowly walked to the right one and tried opening it when it opened by itself to reveal Tom coming out of the room and that made her startled a bit.

“I am done with the arrangement” she quickly said

“That’s good but let me make one thing clear, your work is only in the large room. On no account should you wander around or go into the room aimlessly” he warned and she nodded

They went back to the large room and he told her to have her seat while he also sat opposite to her.

“I know you must have been wondering why we signed a contract, what exactly I want from you and how long this will last. I will iron out all everything right now and you listening to me talk means that there is no turning back no matter what because you have become my own” he stated clearly

“From now henceforth, you will be revealed as the artist UMBRA” he revealed and she was confused about what he was saying

“Artist Umbra? What is that?” she asked raising her brows

“Umbra means shadow in Latin and that is my name in the painting world. I don’t know if you have ever heard of Painter Umbra, which is me sitting in front of you” he explained and she covered her mouth in shock before she started laughing

“I know that you are very boring but there is no need to try hard to make me laugh, I am already used to your cold atmosphere” she chuckled loudly but when she saw that he was not smiling and dead serious, the chuckle began to fade away slowly.

“Wait! Are you serious right now? You are the artist Umbra? The same Umbra? The anonymous artist? You are the one?” she asked with a serious face and tone this time around

“I know you do not believe me but that is not a problem because I wouldn’t too if I were in your shoes but I will prove it to you” he said and grabbed a large piece of white paper from the desk with a mini purse containing several pencils.

Before she could even grasp what was going on, he already sketched her face and showed it to her

“What the hell? You are really the one” she blurt out and he marched to the desk to bring out a big carton at the down slot of the shelf sitting there.

He brought out some watercolor palettes and started painting on the sketch while she waited patiently even though she was so curious about what the outcome would be. He was done after forty five minutes and he turned the paper to her so she could check it out.

She gasped in awe and stood up to find her way to the desk where she collected it to see it more closely.

“This is so beautiful, how can this be so perfect?” she marveled as she raised the paper to her face

“Do you believe now?” he asked with a hint of pride

“Of course! I have been a fan of Umbra for two years and I can recognize any of his work. This is really Umbra’s stroke” she gushed

“Should we resume our contract negotiations then?” he said standing up.

Amber finished the negotiation with Tom around eight in the evening and quickly flagged down the taxi to take her to Eddy’s house since that day was his birthday. She initially planned to leave the office and go straight to his house but since she had to fulfil her contract with Tom, she texted him that she will be late that night.

She wanted to use the elevator in the building but the wait was so long so she decided to just use the stairs instead since Eddy’s room was on the first floor. Just as she opened the door to the stairs, a lady in all black passed by her with a black cap on her head. She was scared for a bit but since the lady passed by in a flash, she just ignored it and went on her way.

TWO MONTHS AGO

“Elaine, how is the search for small artists going? Have you found anyone yet?” Phoebe asked as she entered the office in her small black gown barely covering half of her tights

“The search is going well but can you just put on some skin hose at least? How will you be comfortable in that?” Elaine remarked shaking her head

“You are an artist and you are still this judgmental? Don’t you know that one of the beauty of arts is ability to express it freely and lovingly? I am a work of art so why are you restraining me from expressing myself freely and lovingly?” Phoebe countered

“You can as well go naked then since you want to display your body art badly” Elaine stated and resumed clicking on the arts in front of her while Phoebe looked at it with her until it got to a particular art.

“Stop! Stop!!” Phoebe screamed making Elaine jump

“Who painted this?” she asked bending over a little

“This was painted by someone we don’t know. There is nothing about the person except that they goes by the name umbra” Elaine replied

“Umbra? Makes sense” Phoebe remarked with a satisfied tone

“What do you mean by that?” Elaine asked turning to her

“Search up the name for me, I want to see their other works” Phoebe instructed and Elaine searched him out within seconds.

They went through his account for some minutes and Phoebe was very impressed with his work. Although he haven’t posted many works, the few he had were very impressive to her.

“I can see why the person is named Umbra” Phoebe muttered

“Why?”

“If you look carefully, there is always a shadow over the painting. It is very light but evident. This means that the person is trying to hide a bright light behind a darkness that in turn casts a shadow” Phoebe explained and Lawrence came in at that moment

“Good morning” he shouted with continuous snapping of his fingers as he danced to the music playing on his earphones

“Good morning sir” they both greeted and he smiled at them before walking to his office

“I think we might have found the gem you are looking for” Phoebe said to him and he stopped immediately

“You found one? Let me see, I hope it is a wonderful gem this time” he said walking over to the computer where Phoebe showed him the works she was talking about

“Yesssssssss this is it! This is what I have been talking about. This is the aura I have been picturing. Just like you have said, this is the gem” he almost screamed and Phoebe smiled in satisfaction

“What should we do with the artist?” Elaine asked looking at him

“What do you mean what? You should get in talking with them immediately! The works of this artist must be featured in this exhibition and of course as the highlight” He stated with all seriousness

“But he doesn’t have anything except for his name, how will I contact him?” Elaine complained

“That’s up to you Miss Elaine” he shrugged and went to his office

“Seems like you will be busy for the next few days” Phoebe muttered to her and patted her back before going to her own seat.

She spent all day asking around in the artists’ communities if anyone knows the identity behind Umbra but no one seems to know the artist. For ten days, she kept searching frantically, sending messages to his inbox and comment section on the app but she didn’t get any response.

She was about to give up after trying for the last time on the fifteenth day when a response suddenly came through from him.

“Oh my God! He responded!” she screamed and Phoebe was taken aback at the suddenness

“He did? What did he say?” Phoebe asked running over to check his reply

“I am sorry for not replying sooner, I have been extremely busy but I will think about your offer and get back to you since Lawrence Manon have been an artist I admired for a long time so I will consider this offer as a honor” Umbra replied

“I hope he gets back soon and with a positive reply at that, it seems we will have a peaceful exhibition this time around” Phoebe sighed and went back to her seat.

Tom finished showering that night when he picked up his phone and logged into his account that he couldn’t visit for the past fifteen days due to hectic works at the office. He saw the messages and comments of the offer and wanted to accept right away but he stopped for a while to think over it once again.

He sent a reply that he would think about it and then placed a condition that he would only work with them if he will not be revealing himself but they declined and said the main point of the exhibition is to broadcast both the art and the entity behind it.

He was torn between turning down a rare opportunity from his favorite artist that he had been looking up to for decades and accepting the offer which means him revealing his face. He couldn’t arrive at a conclusion about how to go about it until the instant Amber begged desperately for her job in front of him.

“I will do anything you want” she pleaded with desperation in her eyes and the thought of making her Umbra in his stead dropped in his head.

He decided to reveal her as Umbra for the exhibition and display his art which was his only true dream. He didn’t want to cause any frenzy to the company so he chose to stay anonymous but as fate would have it, his works spoke for itself.

“I know you must have been wondering why we signed a contract, what exactly I want from you and how long this will last. I will iron out all everything right now and you listening to me talk means that there is no turning back no matter what because you have become my own” he stated clearly

“From now henceforth, you will be revealed as the artist UMBRA” he revealed and she was confused about what he was saying.

After painting her face to convince her that he was indeed the one, he proceeded to negotiate about their contract terms and what she would have to do.

“You will only have to come out as Umbra and take on the project. It is very simple because you will not be required to draw anything new. The already done works will be what will be displayed at the exhibition so you just need to show up at the exhibition and do the needful which is answering questions and briefing them about the inspiration behind the arts” he explained to her and she went mute for several seconds.

“Answering questions and briefing them? I don’t know anything about art itself and also I don’t know what your works represent so how can I speak on your behalf? Also what if I am asked a question that I cannot answer?” she asked in fear

“That is why you will have to study on art since the exhibition is three months away and also we will be discussing everything about me when we meet here. The questions that will be asked during the exhibition will also be sent to me for revision and practice so you don’t have to worry about that” he narrated and she sighed

“This seems like an easy task that is not easy, I don’t think I can do this. It is wrong to deceive people! On no account should you do that! Why don’t you want to go public? It will be great for you and your company so why are you hiding the fact that you are the one behind the works? This is me deceiving myself, my family, your fans and the one holding the exhibition in general so I don’t think it is right” she said standing up to leave

“Well we have no choice then, I guess our contracts end here and you know what that means” he said standing up too and she went quiet for a while.

Even if it meant ending her job, she felt it was better than deceiving people because it would surely come back to bite her sooner or later so she didn’t let the threat faze her but she also had many things to take care of so she couldn’t just throw away her job right at that instant.

“Can you give me some time to think about it then?” she asked and he nodded

“Sure! You have a week to do that” he said and she sighed before leaving the house since she had somewhere to go.