The Real Beginning

Bryan was silent, thinking about what Mason just said, he wouldn't put it past the man in front of him to stay true to his words and have him removed from his sister's life by any means. Here he had a chance to take advantage and make a nice life for himself, he was about to speak until he noticed that the silence made Mason uncomfortable, he smiled inwardly as he rested further on his arms. No harm in having a little fun at the CEO's expense before he agreed to the offer. Mason shifted in his chair trying not to make his discomfort obvious, he tried to guess what was running through Bryan's mind but the expression on his face was totally blank. A part of him worried that Bryan would refuse to work for him, he was obviously someone who enjoyed his freedom and working for Mason would curb him somewhat. When he couldn't bear the silence any longer he cleared his throat and said "Well?" "Well what sir?" Bryan responded teasingly "Are you willing to take this job and perhaps turn your life around or not"

Bryan pretended to think about it for a few moments before responding "Heck yeah I'll do this. Why would I want to stand in the way of a rich man protecting his poor sister while making some cash at the same time". Mason sighed with relief at Bryan's response. The man grinned at him and Mason almost found himself grinning back, he had to remain in control or Bryan would push him around "Good choice Mr Holding, now that you work for me you need to keep in mind that I am your boss and while in a working environment you need to follow my orders" Bryan shook his head at Mason "Or maybe we could decide to do a little less work and I'll show how to loosen up and have fun a bit. I bet it gets boring in here, we could bring your secretary and co-CEO in too you know, form a little men's club except we would be partying and not golfing like rich people do. I'm sure you can already guess that I know how to have a good time so it's a win-win for us both, what d'you say?" He finished with a wink.

For a split moment, Mason considered withdrawing his offer and throwing the man out, he toyed briefly with the thought of making his sister take online classes instead and finding a way to make Bryan disappear forever. However, knowing Lisa, that wouldn't work out and he didn't want to risk pushing his only family away and losing her. He banged his fist on the table and said in the frostiest voice he could manage "Listen here Bryan, this is not a game so if you think me offering you a job means you can act anyhow you might as well walk out now. Every employee in this organization works hard for their pay and I do not expect any less from you. I won't stop you from hanging out with my sister but while you work for me, you will listen to me and you will earn whatever you get, do you understand?"

Bryan studied him for a few seconds and decided not to push him any further…. yet "I understand sir" he said in a serious tone that took Mason aback, this Bryan guy is really unpredictable he thought as he relaxed a bit glad that he was about to keep things in control.

"So how is this going to work out between us?" Mason stared at him in confusion for a while before realizing that Bryan was referring to their working arrangements, he cleared his throat before responding "As my personal assistant, you will do anything that's required of you ranging from getting me a cup of coffee to booking flight if we'll need to travel"

Bryan's eyes shone at the thought of traveling to new places without having to bother about the cost of plane tickets, he entertained the idea of traveling to exotic places even if it would be with Mr boring CEO in front of him "I would be traveling with you seriously?" Mason scoffed at the question, Bryan was right when he told him not to expect much, the guy didn't even know his duties "Of course you would be traveling with me on official duties, you will arrange and take notes in meetings. There are lots of things I'll require you to do but I guess you'll learn on the job. You'll meet Ben every morning to get full details of my schedule for the day and report back to me, if there's any cancellation you and Ben will handle it, the two of you will be working together a lot so you had better do your best to get along with him. In any case I expect your phone to always be on and you will respond to my call or text or emails immediately" he finished swivelling slightly in his chair

"That I can definitely handle, the pay had better be worth it though" he muttered

"The pay is worth more than you certainly deserve and we'll need to do something about your appearance, I can't have my personal assistant looking like he's about to pull out a knife" Mason responded smirking confidently. Bryan cursed inwardly at Mason's arrogance, he didn't like that Mason obviously saw him as inferior, he however respected what he was doing for Lisa. He pushed down his anger and smiled back at Mason "What's wrong with my appearance, it's totally comfortable, the ladies love it and I scare off bad guys. It's a win unless you're afraid I look so handsome I'll steal the ladies from the CEO and that's why you want to stuff me in a suit"

Mason sighed exasperatedly, he knew Bryan was like a wild beast and he would need to tame him, the man obviously had zero experience in a corporate environment and that, to Mason was pitiful, it didn't stop him from imagining what it would be like to plant a fist on his face though, the thought of punching Bryan satisfied him a bit and he responded calmly"You need to remember that you'll no longer be working on the streets Bryan, you have entered into a corporate world where your appearance actually matters. What you are wearing will send a message to whoever we're dealing with so you're to be in formal attire only." Bryan shrugged and said"That sounds boring but you're the boss" "I'm glad you realize that, keep it in mind" Mason responded sternly.

"So let me get this straight boss" Bryan said with a mischievous grin "I have to rise earlier than the sun, be at your beck and call anytime during the day, dump my amazing fashion sense for boring formals and try to be posh as much as possible?" "Bingo, you've got that right. Looks like you are capable of handling this afterall "

"That sounds like hell but with a fat paycheck at the end of the month….. I hope" Bryan said, still grinning in a way that made him look strikingly handsome. Mason nodded without a word "In that case, let's do this Mr Carlton, it's going to be a long and interesting ride" Bryan smiled brightly and stretched his hand towards Mason half expecting the other man not to take it.

"Right back at you Mr Holding" Mason said, shaking Bryan's hand and raising his eyebrow at the bad boy smile on the latter's face. I hope I don't regret this decision, oh Lisa, what the hell did you drag me into? He thought.