The Incubus and His Secretary

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Something Unexpected

Anaya’s P.O.V:

It was nearly ten at night when the elevator doors to Lancelot’s office dinged open and he stepped into the room, looking utterly exhausted and ready to pass out.

“Mr. Eustis?” I ran out of my cabin and reached him just in time to catch him before he collapsed on the ground. “Lancelot!”

“I d-don’t need help!” He fought against my hold on him as he stood up on shaky legs. “Book me a hotel for tonight, now!” He snapped at me as he walked towards his desk. “Where’s the diary I gave you?”

“The diary?” I asked him dumbfounded. He couldn’t possibly be thinking about that damned diary at a time like this? “Are you sure you don’t want to rest for a little while?”

“Do not tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing Ms. Johnson. Get that diary and call the next three women on that list. Now!” His voice was hoarse, but there was an undertone of anger to it that I haven’t heard before. And here I was thinking I’d made some progress with him.

“What are you waiting for Ms. Johnson? I said now!” He snapped me into action as I rushed to my desk to get the diary and proceeded to do as he had asked. “And make sure to keep a two hour interval for each appointment.”

Finding the next three names on the Red diary, I called each one and giving them appointments to the hotel Lancelot frequents when he’s with clients. Calls done, I informed Lancelot that I’d asked to book the suite at Harvey International where he usually has a room reserved. All he did was nod at me and head towards the elevator door, without a word of appreciation or a word whatsoever!

The nerve!

Feeling extremely guilty for having just practically selling off those three women, I sat down on my desk, thinking of what to do next. I’ve never met someone like Lancelot before who has no respect for women! And to think that he even has a sister! If he treats others like this then God only knows how he treats his sister?

Picking up my phone I swept through my contacts, trying to find someone to share my thoughts with. When my mom’s number came up, I hesitated. Mom would no doubt have a few words of wisdom to help me through this guilt-ridden phase, but then she’d get worried about my safety and want me to quit this job. That was out of the question because not only did Reefwood give me a higher pay cheque than Bluestar, it also provided up to 40% of the fees required for medical checkups and treatments. Deciding against calling mom, I swept further down the contact list until I came upon Mary’s name.

“Of course!” Marissa not only had good insight, but she also knew all about the Eustis brother’s shenanigans. If there was anyone who could help me through this, it would be her. I pressed the call button.

“Hey Sunny! You staying over tonight?” Cheerful as always, even though she must’ve just gotten home herself. Bluestar was currently helping us run the company smoothly until Lance was back on his feet.

Oh, he was back on his feet alright. And the first thing he wants to do right after returning was f**k around rather than reassure his employees that everything was fine. I told Mary exactly that.

“Hmm…I totally understand what you mean.” A sizzling sound in the background. “Hey, I know you don’t like the store bought teriyaki sauce but I’m out of the homemade batch you made last month. You okay with that?”

“Mary, I’m here feeling guilty for literally selling out three women and you’re discussing dinner ideas? Really?” I scrawled at the phone, knowing well that she can’t see me.

“Look, it’s clear that Mr. Junior Manwhore Eustis isn’t coming back the entire night and it’s already past office hours. So I suggest you come over, have dinner, stay the night and go back tomorrow with a clear mind?” Mary said calmly. “An empty stomach isn’t going to give you any ideas and we might be able to better understand the situation once we discuss things over. Do you get me?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I clean up here. I’ll see you in half an hour?”

“I’ll have dinner ready by then.”

Hanging up, I started clearing the desks and arranging files in order with post it notes so that the clerk who comes here in the morning to get the signed files will know what to do. I picked up by bag but before shutting off the lights. I was about to leave when my eyes went to the glossy cover of the red diary. I picked it up and shoved it inside my bag before heading out.

****

“You know,” Mary spoke with a mouthful of grilled vegetables, making her words almost unrecognizable. “It’s a good thing your boss never sees you with your hair down. He’ll think you’re still in high school.”

That’s one thing I’ve always hated about myself, having a baby face. If I left my hair down and swapped contacts for my glasses, people will think I’m a high schooler trying to act adult. Which is why I always keep it in a tight bun on top of my head.

“Chew with your mouth closed young lady!” I frowned as I ate another piece of grilled teriyaki chicken. “And you know that’s not what I’m here to discuss.”

I’ve had a look at Lancelot’s diary while I was heading to Mary’s house in a taxi and I’d been shocked to find over two hundred name on it. That had just made me feel sick.

“Look,” Mary sighed. “I’m not saying that the Eustis brothers are doing the right thing, but you have to know that those women weren’t forced into this. You’ve spoken with them on the phone, haven’t you? To fix appointments. Did they sound unwilling to you?”

My frown deepened. “Stop playing the devil’s advocate.”

“Well someone had to before people start calling the cops on you for interfering in their lives,” Mary said, pointing her fork at me before she went back to her dinner.

Mary was right, maybe I was just being a prude, poking my nose where it didn’t belong, but I couldn’t, wouldn’t stand back and watch anyone humiliate a woman. So I kept quite in front of Mary, not wanting to spoil out girl’s night…but I already knew what I had to do.

****

Next morning, I arrived with Lancelot’s special coffee just in time for the elevator doors to shut behind me, my mind a mess and my heart thundering a mile an hour.

Mary and I had a nice night together, whipping up a chocolate cake for desert, drinking cheap wine and watching chick flicks. And then Mary had fallen asleep and I’d sneaked out of the room to make a few calls.

The elevator dinged at the tenth floor and I stepped out alone, the others having gotten off on lower floors. Reefwood had twelve floors in total, the first nine floors were the office while the place from the tenth floor upwards was reserved only for Lancelot, with a small portion of the tenth being his cabin. No one was allowed to go upwards even though Lancelot’s private elevator had buttons for all twelve floors, the common elevator ending on the tenth.

I know I was stalling, thinking about useless things so that my mind stays diverted from the events that were about to unfold today. Maybe I was wrong. Mary had a valid point when she said that Lancelot never forced himself on anyone, they chose to be with him even though the tabloids had taken several pictures of him on events one after the other, with a different woman in his arms. They were all adults, late 20’s to early 30’s. Some were even in their early 40’s- I’d made sure to find out- they could make their decision on their own without me interfering. But there was this teeny-tiny part of me that kept screaming foul play even though I’ve tried to reason with myself over and over for the past twelve hours.

“Is this a one-time thing Ms. Johnson or did you decide that since I’ve already hired you, it’s okay to come in late.”

Lancelot’s sharp voice cut through my thoughts and I looked at the wall clock right above my desk to find that it was already 8.45 am. My eyes widened at the time, wondering what could have made me this late, but my mind came up blank. I’ve never before been disoriented when it came to my work. No matter what difficulty I had faced in my personal life, my professional record had always been spotless.

“Anaya?” Lancelot came out of his cabin to stare at me standing like a statue right outside the elevator door in navy blue pants and a white shirt and a coffee cup in hand, his brows creased. The way he said my name made a shiver run down my spine, the utter rightness of it made me had second thoughts.

But it also helped sharpen my resolve. Maybe this was how he seduced innocent women, using his face as well as his voice. And I knew what I was about to do wasn’t wrong at all.

“I’m sorry Mr. Eustis, but there are guests waiting for you in the lounge, would you like to meet them?” I asked, handing him the still steaming cup of espresso.

“Guests?” Lancelot frowned. “I didn’t know I had any meeting today. Did you forget to put that in the organizer?”

“No, Sir. They came in unexpected.” I went to my desk and made the call to Mina to send the guests upstairs. “They’ll be here shortly.”

“And who might they be Ms. Johnson? You know I do not meet people if they don’t have a prior appointment.” His voice was snapped, angry.

“I’m sure you’ll like to meet them.” I held his gaze as they locked onto mine, the raw power in those topaz eyes threatened to make my knees buckle.

Thankfully, and to the sudden thundering of my heart, the elevator doors opened and fifteen women came inside at once, all gorgeous in their own right and gracefully dressed…and all looked supremely pissed off.

The reason I was late was because I’d been the one to welcome them and make sure they sat together in the lounge room. The rest would have taken its natural course as it was supposed to; the women could not have waited to quench their curiosity about why they were all here to meet Lancelot. And that would have brought out their personal connections with him. As predicted, the rage in their eyes proved that my plan had succeeded.

And then something unexpected happened.

The women had hardly come halfway inside the waiting area when Lancelot stepped in front of me, blocking his face from view before I had a chance to judge his reaction…and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees instantly, making Goosebumps break out on my skin.

And that was when I knew that something was very, very wrong.