A Revolting Offer

The sun shined brightly through the small dusty window. The smell of syrup and butter wafted through the apartment as Adelina tossed another pancake into the air.

Two small children watched with hungry and fascinated eyes as the pancake revealed adorable bears on the other side.

"Wow!" Both children shouted in awe. "Big sis how did you do that? You made a picture on the pancake!" The children asked excitedly.

Adelina laughed as she deposited the bear pancake with the others and turned off the stove top.

"It's a secret. I can only tell you how when you get this tall," She reached a hand a foot above her head.

"That's no fair! You're not that tall!" The small girl shouted.

"You're just worried because you'll never get that tall. I'll be that tall soon enough and then I'll know the secret." The small boy gloated. His twin sister looked at him hopefully. "I won't tell you, even then." The boy taunted. The small girl hit his arm.

"Then I hope you stay short. As short as a kid forever and ever!" The girl cursed him in petty anger.

Adelina laughed as the two children bickered. "Alright Mina, Leo come eat. I promise I'll show you both how I make them next time." Adelina smiled with her golden eyes as the two children stopped fighting and ran to the small old wooden table.

The pancakes were delicious. Fluffy, sweet and sticky. They left a warm feeling that only these rare breakfasts seemed to bring as the three of them ate and laughed together.

"That was so yummy." Mina sighed as she forced down another bite of the delicious breakfast.

"I wish we could eat pancakes everyday." Leo commented with a sad smile.

Adelina looked at her younger siblings. She wanted desperately to let them eat pancakes everyday but groceries were hard to afford as it was. Especially since she had just lost her best paying job.

She shook off the negative thoughts as she ruffled Leo's hair. "One day, I'll make sure we have pancakes every morning." Adelina said with a smile.

Leo jumped up. "Promise?" He smiled holding out his pinky.

"Pinky promise." Adelina laughed as she hooked her pinky with his and shook.

"I don't know if you should still be making pinky promises at your age." Her mother interrupted as she hobbled her way into the small kitchen. She had a soft smile as she sat down with the rest of her family.

Mina huffed. "Mom you can never be too old to make pinky promises! They're the most important type of promise there is!" Mina declared with confidence.

Her mother laughed as she took the medicine Adelina prepared.

"Good morning mom! I saved you some pancakes and I also prepared some oatmeal." Adelina poured some syrup on the pancakes as she passed the plate to her mother.

Her mother stared at the pancakes with a soft and sad smile. "These drawings on the pancakes. It's just the way your father used to make them." Her mother commented as she stared fondly at her daughter.

The air grew quiet. The mood became melancholy, as the realization sank in that a member was missing from their little table. Adelina gulped down the ball in her throat as she took in the sad expressions on her siblings faces.

"Oh please. The ones dad makes are way more amazing than mine." Adelina stated. "Remember the time he made a tiger! I was so scared I couldn't eat the pancake." Adelina recalled fondly.

The twins' eyes grew to the size of saucers. "He made a tiger! That's so cool!" They said in unison.

"Mhm." Adelina stated as she began to recall all of the other animals her father used to draw on pancakes.

Her mother smiled fondly at the scene of a picture perfect family breakfast unfolding before her. They didn't have a lot. They were still missing an important part of their family. But at least they had each other.

An hour later, Adelina continued to page through the newspaper with her red pen. There were circles and x's lined across the page. She crossed out another job and groaned. She wasn't having any luck finding a replacement job.

She slammed her head on the table. How was she going to make this work. She let her head soak up the coldness of the table. She stayed there for a bit trying to sort out her thoughts.

Finally, she burst up from the table. She'd go scouting in person. There was always some jobs that were advertised on buildings. Sometimes they even had better pay than the ones she found in the paper.

She threw on a nice white blouse, her black pencil skirt and her trusty black heels. With a quick glance in the mirror she headed out the door.

After a short ride, Adelina stepped out of the cab. The sun streamed through the branches of the blossoming trees and small pink petals floated through the air as she walked down the street.

The tall buildings towered over her, and people dressed in office suits rushed down the street, running back from their lunch break in order to clock in on time.

Adelina smiled. This was the type of atmosphere she had grown accustomed to all those years ago. She searched the front of each office building as she roamed the streets. Looking for any sign of someone hiring.

She knew her chances were slim of landing an office job due to her slandered reputation, but she always came here first in hope that she would find her chance.

She strolled as she came upon a sign out front that indicated that they were hiring for entry level marketers. She took a breath.

"I can do this." She whispered softly as she walked through the revolving doors. The lobby was pretty, not as luxurious as some of the buildings she had been in but it was nice enough to bring the promise of a pretty paycheck.

She confidently walked towards the front desk. Repeating positive affirmations in her mind as she smiled at the receptionist.

The receptionist was a younger girl with heavy make-up. The receptionist clacked her long pointed fingernails on her keyboard. Adelina stood there with a smile on her face for a moment, waiting for the receptionist to look up.

After a few minutes of the receptionist clacking away, Adelina finally decided she should announce herself.

"Excuse me, I saw the sign outside about the career opportunity. I would like to apply please." Adelina politely interrupted.

The receptionist groaned as she looked up at Adelina. She shot daggers with her eyes as she picked up an application and shoved it into her hands.

"Fill that out and just put it on the desk when you're done." The receptionist grumbled turning back to her computer.

Adelina took the papers and sat down at a small table to fill them out. She was halfway done when she noticed the company name at the top of the papers.

GD Enterprises. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to recall why that name seemed so familiar. She shook her head. That didn't matter at the moment she just needed to finish her application and keep searching for a replacement job in case this one fell through.

She completed her paperwork a few minutes later and went to hand it in.

"Excuse me I've finished the paperwork." Adelina informed the receptionist.

The receptionist swiveled and glared at Adelina. "I told you to just put it on the desk when you're finished. Can you not even follow simple instructions?" The receptionist chastised as she snatched away the application.

The receptionist scanned the information and let out a chuckle. "You really think you can get hired here with this pathetic work experience?" The receptionist laughed.

Adelina was startled. What kind of business would hire such a rude girl to work at the front desk. "Excuse me?" Adelina stated surprised.

"You have no experience in an office setting. All of these are just small time jobs. You're only experience in an office setting is from a company that went down for embezzlement? What do you think we do here? Charity work?" The receptionist let out another laugh as she looked up from the application.

She leaned forward and sneered as she hovered her hand above the garbage can. "Your application will just end up in the trash anyway. Why draw out the suspense?" She mocked.

Adelina was about to defend herself when someone interrupted her.

"Now now, that's no way to treat a prospective employee." A familiar voice ridiculed.

Adelina froze. She knew that voice. It was one that haunted her nightmares. She slowly turned around as she met the face of someone whose very existence she wanted to forget.

Granite. Their eyes met and everything clicked in Adelina's mind. That's why she recognized the company name. It was the company he created from the money he stole from her family's company.

"Adelina? Is that you?" Granite gasped. A smug grin grew on his face. "It's been so long since I last saw you. What brings you here?" He sauntered closer to her.

"Granite" Adelina glowered.

"Ah I'm so happy you remember me. I didn't know if you would, considering we haven't seen each other since that day in court." Granite replied. His mockery blatant in his words.

Granite stepped towards the receptionist and grabbed the application from her hands, quickly scanning her information.

"You know, you may not have enough experience for this job." Granite asserted. He eyed Adelina pausing on her long legs. A wolfish sneer spread on his face as he stepped closer to her.

"However, I do have an opening for my personal secretary." He sneered as he brought up his hand to grab a lock of her hair. He stepped closer and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "It requires a lot of personal attention. If you want it, the job is yours." His eyes were hungry.

Vivian left him a few months after their heist. He never truly got over her but maybe he could get Vivian back in his bed if he played around with the girl she hated the most. From what he could tell, Adelina was desperate for a job. Probably desperate enough to become his plaything. Not that he would mind going a couple of rounds with the girl he had never gotten into bed.

His eyes gleamed as an enticing thought ran through his mind. She was probably still a virgin.

Adelina felt nothing but pure rage for the man in front of her. She took a step back and gripped his hand, quickly shoving him away.

Granite was shocked. She had always been timid in front of him. He had not expected her to push him away. His muddy eyes roamed her up and down admiring her physique. Oh, she would be fun to break.

"While I thank you for the opportunity. I believe I will look for employment elsewhere." She maintained her calm demeanor even as her blood boiled inside of her veins. She turned to exit the building.

A dark chuckle resounded behind her. "Oh really. And just who do you think would willingly hire the daughter of a criminal?" He snickered.

Adelina twirled and glared at the bastard. How dare he bring that up in front of anyone. Especially when he knew who the real criminal was here.

Granite stepped closer. His awful musk permeating the air around her. "I'm willing because I've always been fond of you Adelina. I may have strayed from you once but if you give me a chance I can show you just how much of a man I've become."

His hand traveled from her arm to her lower back. "You have all the qualifications for my personal assistant." He leered. "All you need to do is give me very close, and very personal attention." He whispered, his lust apparent on his face.

"What do you say?" He hinted as his hand crawled lower.

Adelina felt her patience snap. The emotions she had caged for so long, broke free.

He felt her hands against his shoulders before he found himself on the ground. Adelina standing over him. Her lips curved into a wicked smile.

"I say that any evidence that you are indeed a man would have to be found with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass. So back off unless you want me to take a pair of nail clippers and detach any proof that you are actually a man." She hissed.

Her golden eyes were filled with flames as she snatched her application from his shocked and slumped form and exited the building.

As soon as she was out of the building she rushed down the street and turned the corner. She paused and leaned against the warm wall. She let out the breath she had been holding and willed her hands to stop shaking.

She was angry.

So angry.

Absolutely furious.

How dare that cretin put his hands on her. She clenched her jaw. She felt the strong need for a shower now.

The adrenaline rush soon wore off. She was shocked at how she had reacted in the situation. It was as if her body and mouth were acting independently while fueled by her rage.

She also recalled how forward he was towards her. Had he grown too much power over the years that he had that much confidence to do that to her in a public setting?

She cursed as she realized she may have waited too long to take her revenge.