The Billionaire Alpha’s Rejected Mate

Blonde-haired Bitchiness!

*Claire's POV*

You know what the best part about starting a new job was? It wasn't the fact that this could turn out to be the opportunity of a lifetime. It wasn't even the fact that I was meant to spend the entire day not doing anything.

It was the fact that I had no idea how it was going to go. This could turn out to be the greatest or the shittiest job and I had no idea which it was going to be. There was something about not knowing what was going to happen that made my stomach quiver in an exciting way. I just knew that no matter what happened, I was going to face this head on.

Within three hours of being there however, I began to notice that things might actually take a turn for the worst. And it all had something to do with a particular lady who was sitting across from me with a sneer on her lips and her eyes narrowed at the screen. We were sitting in absolute silence, so much so that I could have sworn that every breath she took sounded loud and ear-splitting.

You'd think that I would find a way to relax after the first hour went by. Having sat in the office for that duration, I should have gotten used to it and not bothered about her again. But I couldn't. I couldn't hide the fact that the awkwardness was getting to me, and I really wanted to find an outlet for my pent-up energy. I needed a way out, and I couldn't find any chance to do so which didn't involve me storming out of the building and never coming back.

Even though she wasn’t looking directly at me, I could tell that there was a harsh coldness coming from her. She tried not to make it obvious, but from the way she was looking at me, I could tell that she was absolutely pissed by the fact that I was here.

Normally, I wouldn’t care. I have no problem with someone choosing to be my enemy. After all, what’s life without a few enemies? But what I did have a problem with was being judged unfairly. I needed to know that things were going to go smoothly between us, otherwise I was going to end up hating every day of work for the foreseeable future, and I was not ready to dig myself a hole that deep.

But eventually, I caved. And when I called out to her, she gripped the side of her desk as though I had just committed a mortal sin. I saw the way she gritted her teeth in annoyance, and rolled her eyes several times that it was a miracle they didn’t just fall into the back of her head.

"What is it?" she asked in a clipped tone. "I'm in the middle of something."

"I was just wondering if I could help you out with something," I said, trying to be patient. "I'm bored of just sitting here and not doing anything."

She glared at me over the top of her computer, her eyes holding very little joy. Someone clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Her eyes were narrowed infinitesimally, and her nostrils were just beginning to flare. At the back of my mind, I wondered why she was so pissed with me. I had never done anything to upset this woman before, so why did she have a problem with me? Could it be that someone had already informed her about William -Mr Compton, for Christ sake! - and me? I knew rumours travelled fast in the corporate world. I could imagine that someone downstairs had already spread the report of the boss stopping for a chat with the new junior secretary. Questions would be asked, and eyebrows would be raised. And the last thing I wanted was for anyone to think that I got this job because I was sleeping around with the boss.

But I didn't care about that right now. All I needed to know was why she had a problem with me.

"Look," she said. "I'm up to my neck in trying to organise this meeting on such short notice, and Mr Compton prefers things done in a very specific way. He entrusted this to me, and I am responsible for everything that happens to it. You're new here, so you probably don't understand that when someone offers you some downtime, you should accept it wholeheartedly. You never know when the next one is coming around, and I'm sure you will look back on this with regret once you're competent enough to take on even more responsibilities."

"Who says I'm not competent enough?" I asked. "I haven't even done anything yet for you to gauge my competence."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I should have realised that when you came in for your interview and impressed everyone with your résumé and your work ethic. Oh, that's right. None of that ever happened."

And there it was. The words cut through me like a knife, and I sat there frozen in front of her like a deer caught in headlights. I should have known that this would come back to haunt me. I should have realised that they would all know how I came into the job in the first place, and how I was lucky to be here. Truth be told, I didn't expect to be judged so early in the job. I assumed that they would take some time to gauge whether I was worthy of respect or not based on my work ethic, and only then would they begin to judge me. But apparently, that was never going to happen. They had formed an image of me already, and that wasn't going to change.

I didn't know what to say or do. Her words had thrown me completely off balance, and I simply sat there while she returned to her computer without even batting an eyelash, knowing that she had firmly put me in my place. I hated seeing the satisfied grin on her face, the knowledge that she had completely and utterly humiliated me and put me in my place. I hated the fact that she was right even more, because I should have gotten this job the right way. I should have gone through the process like everyone else, instead of having my dad call in and ask for favours. That was the most degrading and humiliating part of all this, because I would never know if I was capable of getting the position on my own.

It was humiliating, having to sit there and take the insult. There was no recovering from this; Andrea would hold it against me for the rest of my time here, and I couldn't even figure out a way to change her mind about me. It was rare for a person to change an opinion they had formed about you, and even when it did happen, that usually took a very long time. If I wanted to get her on my side, then it was going to take months of dedicated effort, which I wasn’t really in the mood to do. So what if she didn’t like me? I could get by without her adoration. All I needed to do was make sure that she respected me, at least. And the only way I could do that was by showing her that I was a competent assistant and that I could do this job perfectly. Anything less would simply earn another condescending look, and I would only be proving her right if that happened.

But then, something changed in the air suddenly. A few minutes ago, the entire office had been a little bit less quiet since William left about an hour ago. But now, the silence returned almost with laser-like precision, and I immediately realised what was going on.

William Compton had returned to the building.

It was remarkable just how quickly everything could turn around so quickly within the space of a few seconds. Everyone went deathly quiet, and a cold hush fell over the entire office floor. A chill crept down my spine as the noise plummeted instantly, and I could have sworn that even the dull beeping of a printer which had been going on since I got here suddenly died down.

Andrea sat up immediately, pushing her glasses further up her nose and fixing her hair. She had already grabbed a file from her desk and was moving towards the glass doors when he suddenly walked into our office.

I melted at the sight of him, and somehow I found myself leaning closer towards him. His eyes were on me, roaming all over with a possessive light in them. His lips were slightly parted, and I found my eyes drawn to them once again.

Holy moly, this man was attractive.

"Mr Compton," Andrea said breathlessly. "I've finished compiling everything with regards to the meeting later. Everyone has been contacted, and they're on their way."

She handed him the file, but he didn't even glance at it. Instead he walked towards me, and I swallowed hard as his scent filled the small space. His eyes, dark and mysterious, held me captive and I didn't know how to escape. I felt like a cornered animal, but rather than feeling threatened, I was mesmerised by the man in front of me.

He came to stand beside me, and he paused while never taking his eyes off me. It made me slightly uncomfortable, and with the eyes Andrea was looking at us, I knew that nothing good was going to come up from this.

"Can I help you, Mr Compton?" I asked, to which an audible gasp escaped from her lips as though I had just said something blasphemous. She took a step back in horror, utterly disgusted by what I had just said.

But on William's part, he didn't look like what I said bothered him at all. In fact, he looked slightly amused by my remark.

"Nothing yet, Claire," he said. "I just came to check on you and see how your first day is holding up so far."

"It's going great," I lied.

He tilted his head slightly, as though he were studying my face and looking for something that would give away my true emotions. I hid my feelings well, and when I noticed Andrea watching us out of the corner of her eye, I knew that my future here would depend on how well I answered his questions.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. "I don't see you doing anything right now."

"Actually, Andrea was just telling me what my job entails," I said. "She wants to make sure that I am completely prepared for responsibilities, because the boss likes things done a certain type of way."

He smiled at that, revealing a perfect set of teeth and a dazzling smile which would have set the world on fire if he desired it so. His eyes twinkled with mischief, and he leaned over to whisper something while I took in a sharp breath to inhale his scent.

"Your boss sounds like an asshole," he said. "Why would you work for someone like that?"

"I hear he pays well," I replied sarcastically. This time, he actually threw his head back and laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. Several people peeked into our office to make sure that they heard correctly, and that it was their boss who was laughing this way. It made me wonder just how serious and terrifying he was to draw this kind of fear from everyone around him.

"You really are something, Miss Monroe," he said when his laughter subsided. "How would you like to have lunch with me today?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," I replied, meeting Andrea's gaze while she was pretending not to listen.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because Andrea and I have a lot to work to do," I said looking to her for help. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, that's right," she said, never even looking in my direction. I could tell that she was just happy to be involved in a conversation with William than anything else.

He stared at me for what felt like an entire minute, while Andrea stood awkwardly behind him. But then, after a long sigh, he stood up.

"I'll see you after the meeting then," he said. "Andrea will inform you when we're done, so you can meet me in my office."

As soon as he walked out, I was able to breath more easily and calmly. I looked up at Andrea, who was clearly fuming and ready to fly off the handle.

"Andrea..."

"Don't," she said, raising a hand before she stormed out of the office. I sat there alone in silence, and I wondered what exactly I did this time to piss her off. Why did she have such a problem with me? Was it because William was showing just a little bit of attention to me and she thought I didn't deserve it?

Perhaps.

I sighed and leaned back into my seat with a groan. This was going to be a very long year indeed.

*