The Territory

Chapter 5

                On my way to work the next morning I feel strangely excited. I have a friend in Zeke, and despite her ass hat boss, I think I have a friend in Casey also. Tina seems to like me, and I know Damian does… And Tripp is either being nice just because, or he likes me also. Maybe Patrick was right about it not taking long for me to win people over. As I am pulling up to the gate my phone goes off. I look down to see who it is… Well, speak of the devil.

                “Morning Patty.”

                “Good morning Emmie. How did you sleep last night?”

                “I slept great. Zeke came over and we watched that horrible movie, had some wine, ate Chinese food. Then when he left I went up to bed and the minute my head hit the pillow I was out for the count. I woke up feeling good this morning. How was your night?”

                “Eh, it was okay. I am having trouble finding a quality study group. The two I have joined so far are just… I don’t want to say stupid… wait, yes I do. They are stupid. How did they even get into law school?! Honestly. So today my goal is to fine a third new study group.”

                “I’m sorry baby,” I say as I pull into my unofficial parking spot. “I am sure you will figure it out.”

                “Thanks baby. How have things been at work? Any better? You won Zeke over, so that is good. Always good to have the tech guy on your side.”

                “Yes, and I think Casey is on my side too. Oh, we didn’t text last night. I met Damian’s wife, Tina. They are an interesting couple.”

                “Interesting how?”

                “Well he is a buff giant and she is the shortest little thing, but very curvaceous. But more than that, they seem to really love each other. Like that, ‘I only have eyes for you’ kind of love.” I say as I climb out the car and begin walking up the steps.

                “Well, you know what they say about opposites attracting. And that is great that they are so in love. Kind of reminds me of us.”

                I open the main door and am met by the two ‘Guards of the Hallway.’ Tripp and Vice are standing there looking at me as I walk in.

                “Hey Em, I have to go. Call me later. I love you.”

                “Okay, talk to you later Patrick. I love you.” I hang up.

                As I walk past Vice his look is almost one of horror like I just told Patrick I was going to skin him alive and make a suit out of his flesh. I smile and nod at Tripp but ignore Vice and his stupid look. Once inside Damian’s office, I put my stuff down on the floor and begin my mourning routine. I make Damian his cappuccino, I grab him one of whatever pastry is there, and I wait for him to come in. As I reach my desk, Damian comes in, eight o’clock on the dot. He is a creature of habit for sure. He smiles and takes his drink from me. “Good morning Em!” I can’t help but smile back at his cheerful disposition. “Good morning Damian.” I follow him into his office where he puts down his drink. I put down his pastry and sit opposite of him, waiting to see if there are any morning details he needs to provide me. As he takes his jacket off his collar comes down a bit and I can see a reddish-brown mark on his neck.

                “Why Damian Montague… Is that a hickey I see on your neck?” He blushes.

                “I have no idea what you are referring too,” he says, nonchalantly, trying to deflect attention.

                “Mmmhmm… Apparently you and Mrs. Montague had a wonderful time last night,” I state, giving him a knowing look.

                He says nothing, but smiles and looks away coquettishly. “Now, to today’s housekeeping. I need someone to go into town and pick up my three new suits. Normally Tina would do it, but she is filling in at the hospital for someone and will be on shift for the next who knows how long. See if Delta wants to do it, or maybe Cinque. Her office is upstairs next to security. Then, I have been craving these corned beef sandwiches that you can only get in town, so whoever goes has to pick me up lunch at Johannisberg’s deli. Extra mayo on mine. In fact, have them get like a dozen and we will let everyone know to go to the kitchen to get one. Lastly, my truck is running a little funny this morning. I need someone to take it down to see Cadence. They are waiting for it come in. That is it. That is all I have written down. Anything on your list?” He asks smiling at me. I shake my head.

                “No. But everyone seems busy today, running around and all. Why don’t I just take care of all that for you. I can take home books and finish whatever I don’t get done before the end of work.” Damian things for a second. “If you want to do all that you can, but don’t take work home. You will finish when you finish. You can take your own car if you’d like, or you can see Vice for keys to a company vehicle. He can also show you how to get to Cadence’s shop and then drive you back.” He smiles at me again. I shift nervously in my chair. “What’s up Em?” Damian always seems to know when I am feeling in a funk. “It just seems like… Well… I think Vice hates me. He doesn’t want me in his office and he is always give me a mean face when we cross paths.” I admit. Damian’s smile turns from happy to sympathetic. “It’s okay Em. He is a good guy, just a little prickly. He will go it because I said so. I am the boss, he will do as I say. Just let me know when you ready to go and I will make the call so you don’t have to. Okay?” I nod.

                I go to my desk and begin working. Things in the town don’t open until at least nine, so I have an hour to kill before I can leave. I am happy with myself; I complete two smaller books and am pulling out a third from the file room when Damian peeks out his office door. “You ready to go?” I nod. “Company car or yours?” I shrug. “Company car it is. It is good for people in town to see us out and about anyway. I will call Casey and tell her to send Vice over here. I nod and pack my things up, anxiety pounding in my chest as I wait. A few minutes later the door swings open hard, slamming the wall and Vice stomps in and walks directly to Damian’s office, slamming the door behind him. Good thing this building has strong hinges. There is muffled shouting on the other side of the door, almost like they are shouting and whispering at the same time… Then the door swings open and Vice stomps out and through the door to the main hall, slamming doors along the way. I stand and collect my stuff.

                “Here are my keys,” Damian says, handing me his keys and a few notes and a receipt. “Here is a list of where to go for what, as well as the receipt to pick up my suits. Also, here is a company phone,” he pulls out a new smartphone, the latest on the market. “You can use this only for work, or you can make it your everything phone, whatever you want. I programmed a bunch of need to know numbers into it, and your number is on the back until you learn it. Call if anything.” He leans forward and hugs me, kissing my forehead. I almost feel like he is throwing me to the lion’s den by the way he is acting. My heart starts pounding harder. I am not prepared to be alone with the ass hole.

                I walk outside and press the unlock button on the key fob. I see a slate gray truck light up. I walk over to it and jump in, start it up, and back it out. I then sit, waiting. I have no idea where I am going, nor do I know what car I am supposed to be looking for. Am I looking for the same black truck I saw him in the other day, or am I looking for a company car?.. Still nothing… Suddenly a huge black truck goes flying by. A hand comes out the window telling me to follow, but he doesn’t slow down. Mr. A-hole is not going to make this easy is he. I put the truck in drive and attempt to follow him, though the best I can do and feel safe is stay close enough to see him. I am never able to pull up behind him. That is, until he parks outside of a garage and gestures for me to go in through the gate. I pull the large gray truck through the gate and two men come running, and I literally mean running, out. They point towards an open spot in the garage. When I put it in park the doors unlock and someone comes and opens the door for me.

                “Good morning Sir, what can I do for you today? Oh… Hi…?”

                He obviously was expecting Damian. “Hi. I am Emileen. I am Damian’s assistant. He asked me to bring you his truck. He said it was running a little rough this morning.”

                The guy smiles and holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I am Caden and that is my brother Terrance. We will take care of the truck and drop it back off at the manner before the end of the day if that is okay.”

                “OH! Caden and Terrence… Cadence Garage. I got it. I like that. Yes, that will be fine. Here are the keys. Here is my number,” I show him the back of my phone and he pulls his phone out and types it in. “If there are any problems please call me and I will make sure to get it taken care.”

                He smiles and nods, “Nice meeting you Emileen. Good luck with old Vice back there. He is… something…?” I laugh, “You can say that again.”

                The walk to Vice’s truck feel like the walk to the guillotine. I feel like certain trouble is on the way. There is no way to make it out of that car ride alive. I get to the passenger side and wait for him to unlock the door. He sighs heavily and then the car clicks open. I open the door and climb high up into the truck. I picked a good day to wear a flowy dress and ballet flats. There is no way I would have been able to climb into this giant truck in a pencil skirt and heels. Today I am wearing a deep purple dress that has a sweetheart neckline and tiny spaghetti straps. It is very fitted down to my hips, and then the dress flares out into a flowy skirt. I am wearing a black three-quarter sleeve blazer and my black ballet flats. Perfect outfit for a day running errands around town for work. I sit down on the cool leather seat and buckle the belt and wait. He says nothing, just throws the truck into reverse and makes a three-point turn and heads back down the road towards the office.

                He rolls down both windows as he drives, the wind blows through so hard that my eyes begin to squint from the force. He pulls to a stop sign and has to wait for a semi carrying logs to go through. This short break in wind causes his cologne to waft towards me. It smells heavenly. Like sandalwood… It smells earthy and fresh. I feel my mouth go dry and I swallow hard trying to get my mouth the moisten, but I find no relief. I pray for the truck to move so that I no longer have to smell the amazing scent belong to the mand I despise. Just because he is the rudest person to ever walk the earth doesn’t mean that he can’t pick a cologne… and man, did he pick a good one. The truck finishes passing and I am thankful for the wind that begins to sting my eyes once more as he speeds down the road.

                Rather than pull into a parking spot, he pulls up behind a row of black SUVs and pulls a pair of keys out of the center console and holds them out to me. I look at him hesitantly confused. He sighs. “These are the keys to the company car Damian wants you to use to run errands.” His voice is just as sexy as I remember. My body responds instantly. My n*****s harden and press against the light padding in my bra and I feel myself getting wet, soaking my thong. I must have serious psychological problems. Why else would I respond to a man who treats me like complete crap this way. I must have some sadomasochistic streak in me that I never knew about to be turned on by him. I lean forward and take the keys from him. Our fingers touch just slightly, and he socks me, it is like a spark jumped between us. I yank my hand back and turn and exit the car, not saying a word as my mouth is still dry. I am disgusted by myself and my attraction towards him.

                I click the fob and a smaller black SUV with ‘Territory Corp.’ on the side lights up. I climb into it and look at the list of things to do. I put the address for the deli into the GPS and get on my way. I order the sandwiches at Johannesburg’s and let them know I will be back for them, then I head out to pick up Damian’s suits. They take forever as they check and double check that they are perfect, then they steam them one last time before putting them in garment bags. As the man hands them to me he tells me not to bend or crease them or he will destroy me. “Mr. Montague’s suits must arrive in perfect condition, do you understand?!” I nod yes. This man takes his job way too seriously. It is clothing guy, relax. Besides, I doubt Damian would be that upset if I accidently creased his suits. I walk back to the car and hang the garment bags in the back on the hook, careful not to crease or fold them as the man watches me from the window.

                I head towards the deli. The sun is in my eyes. I press the sunglass compartment in the hopes someone has forgotten glasses and I am in luck, there is a pair nestled in the holder. I pull the out and put them on. They are very masculine, but they do the job. I pull out to the deli and the boy behind the counter waves at me though the window, and gestures for me to stay in the car. Shortly after he and another young man come out carrying boxes with the sandwiches, bags of chips and sodas. I pop the trunk open and they slide the boxes in thanking me for my business before closing the trunk. I roll down the winder and thank them for bringing out the food. I dig in my bag for two fives to tip them. They take the cash and thank me again. I check the time and, if I hit no traffic, I will be back just in time for lunch. I turn around and head back to the Territory.

                I pull into the same parking space that I moved the car from, spot number two. I pack my stuff back into my bag and take off the glasses to return them to the overhead compartment. As I lift them up to the holder something catches my eye… they are monogramed. I pull them back down and open them to look at the initials. ‘VC’… Hm… VC? Then it hits me. Ugh! Vice Cruz! It is like I can not escape that man! I huff and close the glasses before retuning them to the overhead compartment and closing it. Is this his car? Did he have me use his company car? Why? So that if I put even a scratch in it, he could have Damian fire me? Well, the joke is on him, because the car is in perfection condition, not a fiber out of place. So there. Take that Vice! I climb out and walk to the side door, removing Damian’s suits.

                I walk into the office and knock on Damian’s door, he calls me in. I walk in and am greeted with the two ever present gargoyles that stalk the halls. Tripp and Vice are sitting there. I walk in and over to the closet, opening the door and hanging the garment bags, careful not to ruin the uptight tailors work. “Did you get sandwiches for everyone?” Damian asks excitedly. I can’t help by smile at his childlike expression. I nod and open my mouth but am cut off by Damian, “Are they in the car still?” It is like he can read my mind. I nod again and knit my eyebrows together, wondering how it is that this man who has known me for only a few days can read my every thought. “Let’s go men!” he declares. The three men stand and walk past me out to the car to fetch the food.

                From that moment on the kitchen is hectic with people rushing in to grab their sandwich. I decide I will wait until the frenzy has ended. Instead I walk over to Casey and hand her the keys to the company vehicle. She is standing in line waiting to get her food. She takes the keys and thanks me, but is clearly distracted by the line and the food. I smile at everyone’s enthusiasm and head back to my desk, people calling me and thanking me for bringing the food as I go. This was a good step towards making everyone like me. Good call Em… Good call…