Hopelessly Addicted

Book 1: His Assistant?

“I’ve apologized already, sir. I’m in a relationship with my boyfriend,” she said, yet unable to move away from his addictive touch. Her reaction to him confused her beyond words. It seemed her traitorous body wanted to be touched by him. Why couldn’t Frank ever touch her this way? However, she felt like throwing up at the thought.

“You should have thought about that before kissing me,” he said, releasing her and turning away. Raven let out a staggering breath, amazed at herself that she actually missed his touch now. Ashamed of her traitorous mind and body, she went to the coffee table where she had left the bunch of files last night. She did not know where to arrange them, so turning around she peered at a brooding Ralph Van Halen, sitting at his desk with a displeased look on his face.

“S-sir, where do I keep these?”

Ralph pointed at a corner cabinet without looking in her direction. Raven walked towards it and opened the cabinet, but a huge load of files fell upon her from the top shelf. Startled, she lost her balance and toppled to the floor. There was nothing nearby to cling to for dear life. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the fall, but she didn’t let go of the precious files that she had worked so hard and sorted last night. A pair of muscular arms went around her, preventing her from falling. She blinked at her boss with disbelief, a warm flush creeping up her body. He helped her regain her balance, yet his arms didn’t leave her, cocooning her against his body. With his intoxicating cologne playing havoc with her senses, it was difficult for Raven to concentrate on anything else.

“Can’t you be more careful, dammit? Your boyfriend won’t be around to save you all the time,” he growled at her. His annoyance hit her and she blinked out of her daze, feeling ashamed at her own clumsiness. She helplessly looked at all the files strewn around her. This was exactly what she was worried about. She now would have to arrange them all over again. Why couldn’t he appoint an efficient PA to do this work? It would have been less stressful that way. She had never done such work and would unnecessarily mess up more.

“The files fell on me when I opened the cabinet,” she explained, arranging the files in her hand. To her surprise, Ralph picked up the files which had fallen down and started arranging them.

“I’m doing it, sir,” she said, taking the files from his hands. His fingers brushed with hers, scalding her wherever he touched. Electric tingles shot up her body, but she tried hard to remain unaffected. Her eyes flew to his face when he caught her hand.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get time to arrange them,” he sighed. It shocked Raven that he had actually apologized to her instead of barking out orders.

“It’s okay, sir. I’ll arrange them for you,” she said, sprucing the files.

“I fired my last PA since he was trading confidential information to our rivals,” he informed her. Raven gaped at him, shocked by his admission. Ralph did not know what made him tell her so much. “I couldn’t trust anyone else since then.” Raven nodded in understanding and she quietly arranged all his stuff and then closed the cabinet.

Ralph observed her with interest, noticing the way she always gave all her concentration on any work she did. Her attention never wavered till she had completed the job. It was a rare quality, and it made her special. He decided instantly what he would do.

“Sir, I’ve arranged the files. Is there anything else that you want me to do?” Raven’s cheeks flushed with color, realizing that he had been observing her all the while.

“Yes, come with me to see your new office.” He briefly glanced at her mouth, which hung open at his words. Obviously, she had no idea what he was talking about!

“N-new office?” she stammered, but he strode out of his office without answering her. Raven rolled her eyes and followed him out.

“This will be your new office. You will work as my assistant from now on. Settle down quickly. In ten minutes, you will accompany me on a tour of the entire Production Department.” He simply strode out of the room to talk to his receptionist while she stood frozen at his words, trying to absorb just what he had just told her. Did he just appoint her as his assistant? It would be an honor for any intern to work as an assistant to the Production Head and Founder of such a famous fashion house. However, Raven was excited about reasons other than professional.

So what was she now? She did not know, but the idea of a tour of the Production Department interested her. She went to her floor to collect her stuff, but Thomas and Chloe gave her worried looks. “Has Van Halen fired you, Raven?” asked Chloe.

Raven shook her head. “No, sir, has shifted me to his floor. I would have to assist him now.” Danny and Lucy also came toward them and heard the news, eyeing one another suspiciously.

Thomas cleared his throat. “Actually, there’s something that we need to inform you before you join Van Halen as his assistant,” he said, and Raven looked at him with confusion.

“Sir has a notorious reputation with women, Raven. You’re too gorgeous for your own good, so we thought we should warn you. He just uses women and doesn’t give them a second look. Be careful,” whispered Chloe. Raven’s eyes widened as she grasped what they were saying.

“Here’s a list of all our numbers. Save it. Call us if you need help with anything,” said Danny, quickly jotting all their numbers on a piece of paper. Raven took it from him and picked up her stuff.

“Thanks, guys, I’ll see you later,” she said, rushing off towards the elevators. She was supposed to be ready in ten minutes for the tour and here she was, already fifteen minutes late. She quickly reached her floor and as the elevators opened, she saw a furious Ralph Van Halen pacing the floor in front of the reception, yelling at the receptionist. The moment he saw her, he stopped.

“What took you so long?”

Raven quickly kept her stuff in her room. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m ready now,” she said, picking up a pen and a notebook that was kept on her desk. He didn’t say another word and simply strode into the elevator. Graham Porter, the receptionist, gave her a sympathetic look as she rushed into the elevator after her boss.

“I will need an update everywhere. Just note it down and email me afterward,” he told her. She nodded, looking at the blank notebook, aware of his gaze upon her. The door opened, and he strode out. Everyone stared at the beautiful girl following him around. For the next two hours, Ralph toured two floors and took an update on all the work that was going on. Raven was tired of running around after him. Her legs were aching, and she was dying to sit down somewhere and have her lunch. It was already 2 o’clock when she returned to the floor. Mr. Van Halen went into his office while Raven thought of going to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. She called Chloe and found out that they had just gone to the cafeteria to eat. Raven happily rushed downstairs to the cafeteria to join them.

“So you’re a busy girl, huh?” asked Lucy.

“I’m so jealous,” said Chloe.

“I’m jealous of you. Wanna swap roles? You’re welcome to be Van Halen’s assistant,” said Raven, and they all laughed. Thomas didn’t look very pleased and spoke less, too.

“Are we meeting after office tonight?” asked Thomas, looking at her with interest.

“Yes, let’s go. Please say yes, Raven. We didn’t meet yesterday because you weren’t available. Let’s go to Oxygen tonight,” said Danny. It seemed like he had a fascination for Oxygen.

“I can’t. My parents and my boyfriend don’t approve of it,” informed Raven.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” asked Thomas, the disappointment clear in his voice.

“Yes. We’ll get married next year. He’s studying medicine,” she told them. Thomas looked very upset and didn’t utter a single word after that. The meeting was canceled, and they all finished their lunch and went back to work. Raven went back to her office and sat down to work on the mail that Mr. Van Halen had mentioned earlier. As soon as she sent it, Mr. Van Halen summoned her to his room. Sighing, she rushed inside.

“Yes, sir.”

“Be ready in five minutes. We’re going out.” Raven nodded curiously. Out, but where? She wanted to ask but didn’t have the courage to. She returned to her cubicle and sat down to check her mailbox. He had sent her ten emails within this brief span of time. The first one was a mail asking for her detailed resume to be submitted tomorrow. Before she could read her next mail, Mr. Van Halen strode out of his office towards her. Were five minutes over so early? She shut down her desktop and got up, ready to rush after her boss again. Mr. Van Halen entered the elevator, and Raven followed him.

“Are we going on a tour, sir?” she asked courteously, but he just looked at her without answering. Raven looked at him expecting an answer, not realizing that they both were locked in a staring contest. The elevator doors opened and Raven came to her senses and looked away. What was that? Her cheeks flushed with color as she looked at her feet and followed him outside. How could she be so dumb? He paused suddenly, and she collided with his s*xy back.