Chapter 1

Riley POV

It's cold in here, too cold actually. After leaving the heat outside, the temperature here is unbearable. I suppose to make it more comfortable for those who are just coming in temporarily, but when you've been sitting here for thirty minutes already like me…. It's just too much. I sigh and look over at the receptionist. I'm beginning to wonder if she has forgotten about me. I really didn't want to get up or anything, but what choice do I have? She hasn't looked at me once since I signed in. I pick up my bag and slowly make my way over to her, breathing in deeply to steel my nerves.

"Excuse me, um, ma'am?" Her fingers freeze on the keyboard, and she slowly looks up at me. I can see the annoyance in her expression, as well as boredom. "Yes sir?" As she speaks I see the lipstick smudged across the front of her teeth, and try not to smile. "I've been waiting here for a while, and was just wondering when I would be going back. My appointment was twenty minutes ago." She breathes in loudly through her nose, I suppose trying to stay patient. For what reason, I don't know. I haven't done anything deserving of needing extra patience.

"Dick is a very busy man, he will see you when he can." Without another word she looks down, immediately going back to her typing. Just great, guess I'll have to wait longer. I just inherited a really great place from my late Father, and will need a good job to pay the bills. I head back to my seat and sit down, preparing to wait awhile. I open my bag and pull out the papers I received confirming my appointment time. A glance in the top corner shows the name of the business, Dick Incorporated. I get that the guy's name is Dick, but did he really think naming his business that was a good idea?

I suddenly hear the main door bust open, and a very serious looking and well dressed man steps into the room. He walks by the receptionist desk and the woman at the front stands up, greeting him with a big smile. He must be important for her to treat him like he's God's gift to earth. It could also be the good looks though, he is very attractive. I see her say something to him, and he looks in my direction. He smiles in a stiff way at me, keeping it professional clearly. I stand up as he approaches me, since it seems like he has something to say.

"Unfortunately I was a bit too busy to make our appointment time, but since you're still here I'm available now if you wish to come up." So this is Dick then. I study him slightly, just enough to get my bearings before I'm stuck in a room with him. "Um, yes sir, I would love to." He holds out his palm slightly in front of him, and then starts to walk. I suppose it was a gesture for me to follow him. We head to an elevator, and he presses the number of the highest floor. All in total there are seven floors. Seven is a number I really like, so today should turn out well...I think.

"So what position are you applying for?" I turn to look at him as I hear him speak to me, but his gaze is locked directly in front of him, not even glancing my way. Not that he needs to look at me, in fact him doing so actually makes me feel a bit less shy. "I saw that the position of secretary was open, so I would like to apply for that." At this he gives me a brief glance, but quickly turns his eyes in front of him again. "And you're aware of how much work that position is, right?" He doesn't say it in a demeaning way, but almost as if he is tired. I suppose he's had a lot of bad secretaries before.

"Absolutely sir, my last job was as a secretary as well." He purses his lips slightly in thought. "Why did you leave your last job, if you don't mind me asking?" We arrive at the floor and step out, and I follow him to what I assume is his office. "I don't mind at all. I moved here recently, and my previous job is in a different state." He nods slightly in understanding, and opens the door to a clean and stylish looking office. "Come in and take a seat. You have your resume with you?" I nod and sit in front of the desk, pulling my bag up onto my lap and shuffling through the papers. I know it's in here somewhere. Ahah! There it is.

I pull it out gently and slide it across the desk towards him, remaining silent. He falls back into his seat and flips open the folder, scrolling through with an unreadable expression. I can't tell if he is impressed or disappointed. It's quite frustrating actually. The silence in the room is almost unbearable, but by his expression I can judge that he doesn't seem to mind. He picks up the papers and heads to a printer on the side of the room. I fiddle with my fingertips as he makes copies, wishing he would speak or something and break this quiet. As he finishes he heads back to his desk and slides my papers back to me.

"Now I have to ask, is there a reason there is no number on this resume for the place you worked at before?" His voice speaking suddenly scares me a bit, and I jump slightly. "Ah, well I didn't think to…" How stupid of me to forget to add something like that, especially when I'm applying for a position that can't have mistakes. I'm just showing him up front that I'm a failure! "If you don't mind, could you write the number on this for me?" He slides a piece of paper over to me, and I hastily grab it to write it down. Stupid, clumsy me though knocks over what appears to be a cup of coffee.

"Shit!" I quickly jump out of my seat as it all spills in my direction, soaking through my clothes. He slides back out of his chair and quickly clears things off the desk. Geez, I just had to swear in front of him, didn't I? "Are you okay?" I nod quickly, pushing my back away from where the coffee is spilling and looking around frantically for something to clean up the mess. "I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to spill it." He presses a button on the phone on his desk. "Angela, send someone up here to clean up this coffee." I hear the receptionist from before speak up, much nicer than she ever spoke to me. "Of course, sir. My pleasure." My pleasure, my ass.

"It's not a problemmm…." He looks up at me. "Oh, my name is Riley." He nods in acknowledgement. "Yes, it's not a problem Riley. I shouldn't have had it sitting on that spot of the desk anyway. You can use my private bathroom over there." He points off to the side of the room, where I see a nice wooden door. "I'll send someone to get you a change of clothes." My eyes widen. "That's not necessary at all! I don't want to bother you, I can just change this when I get home." He finally gives a genuine smile, quickly switching back to a serious face. "Nonsense, besides our interview isn't over yet. I wouldn't want you sitting in wet clothes." I bite my lower lip and quickly head into the bathroom without saying a word.

Wow, that guy is really hot. I hope he didn't see me blushing. He might think I'm weird since I'm a guy. I shut the door to the bathroom and look in the mirror above the sink. Not only are my clothes wet, but they are stained an unsightly brown color too. At least no one will think I peed myself. I peel off my soaked clothes and wet some paper towels, wiping away the coffee still on my skin. Luckily it didn't go through my clothes to my boxers. Shockingly there is even a shower in here, I'm definitely not gonna risk my luck and use it though. I'm guessing he spends a lot of time here if he requires a shower in his personal bathroom. I guess I'll spend a lot of time here too if I get hired as his secretary, sure won't have the luxury of a shower though that's for sure. 

I can hear someone outside the bathroom now besides Mr. Cummings. I'll take a guess and say it's the person who is cleaning the mess out there. Ugh, who am I kidding? No way am I getting hired now. I need to get a job by the end of the week if I'm gonna afford the place my father left me. Otherwise, I'll have to sell it and find somewhere cheaper. I would really prefer not too though, seeing as it's already paid off and I only need to pay property tax. I can see myself staying here for years to come. Maybe building my life, getting married and having kids. The house could sustain all that, with no need to move and find a new place to support everyone, and shell out loads of money I don't have.

Suddenly I hear a knock on the door, and I quickly step over and crack it open slightly. I peek out and see Mr. Cummings holding some dry (and kinda fancy looking) clothes. It's just a plain shirt and pants, but the quality of the material is definitely not cheap. "T-thank you. Again, I'm so sorry about this. Are you really sure it's fine for me to wear these clothes?" He gives me a tight lipped smile and nods, handing them to me and quickly turning away. I quickly shut the door. That's off, he seemed like he wasn't okay with it at all. These clothes feel so soft, and the stitching looks great. They probably cost a lot and he's just letting me wear them. I hurriedly put them on and take a moment to appreciate the softness, before opening the door quickly and stepping out.

Richard POV

I inhale deeply and stiffen as he opens the door slightly, showing off his collarbones and ruffled messy hair. He looks almost feminine, in a way. I think this could actually work. "T-thank you. Again, I'm so sorry about this. Are you really sure it's fine for me to wear these clothes?" I suddenly realized I was staring, composing myself quickly before smiling and nodding. I hand him the clothes and quickly turn away, intent to not come across as a creep. The sound of the door closing reaches my ears and I breathe a sigh of relief. Yeah, this can definitely work. I'm sure he could fool everybody.

I head back to my desk and am about to sit down, when I hear the click of the bathroom door. I turn towards him and gesture to the now clean chair for him to sit down. "Please, have a seat. I would like to continue discussing your resume." He walks over somewhat stiffly and sits down, appearing to sit on his hands. Guess he's afraid after what happened last time. Wonder if I should tell him how many times I've knocked over a cup of coffee in here? Although I doubt he would believe me, he's been giving me doe eyes since he got in here. I'm used to it though, apparently money and power has that effect on people. I just wish I had that power during my childhood.

Ah well, let's not think of that. The past is the past and the now is now, right? I look back down at his papers and shuffle through them, remembering that I still need the number to his last place of employment. I hand him a new piece of paper and pen, trying to give a reassuring look. "Why don't we go about this a bit more calmly now?" He blushes at this, probably from embarrassment. "Yes, sir." I look through his papers again while he writes the number, picking out a few things I would like to ask some more in depth questions on. He hands the paper back to me, still looking quite shaky. Yeah, I'm sure this will work.

                     .........….

I give a simple wave goodbye as he heads out the door and closes it behind him, leaning back in my seat and breathing out. I press the button on the intercom to Smith, who is in charge of handling my paperwork. "Hey Smith, are you still in the office?" I wait for a moment before hearing a click, signifying someone has picked up the phone. "Sure am Richard, what can I do for ya?" I shuffle the papers into a neat pile and stretch before responding. "I might be hiring a new secretary. I need a new contract signed up and an NDA prepared." I hear a slight chuckle over the line. "Of course, I'll have it for ya before the clock strikes midnight." I press the end button without saying goodbye and put the papers away.

It's already past five, and I know I'll be here for several hours longer. Everyone wants to be rich like me, but they don't want to stay past five at the office and arrive before nine. It takes discipline to get to this point. I guess that's the only good thing that came out of my childhood. I learned that getting somewhere in life means pushing yourself past the limit, getting uncomfortable, and suffering. Smith has been with me for a long time, and he certainly had the paycheck to show for it. That was a man who understood to gain success you had to sacrifice time. A smile graces my face as I think of Riley. I normally would be against a male secretary, as it doesn't meet my needs. However, it's been a long time since I've been so intrigued by a person. Even if Riley isn't female, I'm sure he could quite easily pass for it with some feminine clothes, makeup, and a high quality wig. From what I saw on his resume he was quite good at his job too.

I have a meeting set up for tomorrow to meet with Riley again. From the look on his face he didn't seem hopeful, maybe he assumes I'm trying to find some way to turn him down. Well, unless the call to his old workplace in the morning reveals something horrifying, I don't see why I should turn him down. Women are too exhausting to be around, and men just remind me of my father. It would be nice to be around a guy with a more feminine appeal. I'm rather used to being alone, but quite frankly I don't enjoy it all the time. Well, hopefully everything tomorrow works out smoothly.

After working on some papers for a while I hear a soft knock at the door. Must be Smith, he's the only one I'm expecting this late in the day. "Come in." The door creaks open and he takes his time coming in. The man is quite old now, after all. I think it's better for everyone that he doesn't move too quickly. "Well, I've got all your papers right here. If you could take a look real quick before I head out for the night, just so I know I don't have ta go changing anything." I exhale a bit in amusement. He's never messed up before, and I doubt he would start now. He knows just how to amuse me though after a long day. I flip through and look at all the important sections before humming in satisfaction. "Everything looks fine to me, I'll take a better look at it when I get home, but for now you can head out." 

He gives me a nice big smile that causes the corners of his eyes to crinkle. "Well you just be letting me know if you need me ta change something, okay?" I smile back at him and start gathering my stuff to leave as well. "Go on and get home to your wife, Smith. No doubt she is cursing me now for keeping you so late." He shakes his head at me and turns away to leave. "I suppose you're right, I think I can smooth her over with a little wining and dining tomorrow though." As I gather up the last of my things I head out with him. "That's the spirit, Smith!"