Raven Beauty [b**m]

Chapter 3 — Desire

Chapter 3 — Desire

Keira

After having a small argument with Gabriel, I returned back home with the termination letter. There was no way I could get my job back now. Mr. Russell yelled at Gabriel which caused him to get more angry on me. He shouted and strictly told me that I should leave otherwise guards would kick me out. I had no other option than leaving so I left with the left dignity I had. He insulted me and threatened me.

Molly was gone for work and the apartment was messed up so I decided to clean it as I had nothing else to do. I spent hours taking my head off the cruel words Gabriel spilled on my face but I couldn't forget them.

While I was cleaning up my room, my phone began to ring, it was an unknown number. I picked it up with confusion.

"Hello,"

"Hello, is this Keira Marrow?" The woman asked.

"Yes, that's me."

"That's great, I'm Nina, calling from Russell properties. Mr. Russell would like to meet you tomorrow afternoon. Are you able to come?" She asked.

Mr. Russell?

Why?

"Of course, I'll come."

I was confused. Why did the CEO of the company wanted to meet me? Did I messed up so much? Was I going to hear another yelling? I didn't want too but it was too late, I already agreed to the woman. She gave me the timings and then closed the call. I was terrified now. Mentally slapping my self, I jumped on the bed and thought about it.

Mr. Russell was a good man but very secretive and personal. He barely came in front of people, especially strangers. I had been working for his company for the past six months and I hadn't seen him once, not until today. I bit my nail while thinking about it all. Everything got me anxious. I lost my job and now the CEO of the company wanted to see me.

Was this an opportunity? Or was this a chance to get more insulted by the CEO himself?

Molly returned back from her work at evening and as soon as she did, I bombarded her with my day, spilling every single detail of what all happened in the building.

"Oh, that must be horrible! Your boss is a rude-fuck." Molly gritted her teeth together and said in anger.

"Yes, I know but why is Mr. Russell wanting to meet me? Do you think he's going to yell like Gabriel did? I had enough bullshit from men for one day. I can't take anymore. Like, I respect myself. What do you think I should do?" I asked as I bit my nail once again.

"I think you should go. From what I heard, Mr. Russell is a nice man and he respects woman. I don't think so he's going to insult you for a small mistake you had done." Molly explained. To a point, she was right. I heard a lot about him, he was a nice gentleman with charming looks, some of it became truth when I saw him today but I wasn't sure whether he was a nice man.

"Yes, I should see him. But are you sure?" I asked again.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go see him tomorrow and don't worry too much about your job. You'll be fine." Molly patted my shoulders and got up to get herself a glass of water from the kitchen. I stayed back and thought about what Molly had said. There was no harm in seeing him.

No harm.

———

The next morning, I woke up early, shaved myself, took a warm bath that I needed since yesterday and then got ready to see the CEO of Russell properties. When I saw Mr. Russell yesterday, I admit, I was a bit shocked from his looks. He was beautiful without any doubt.

I spend some time deciding on what to wear. I was no longer working so formals weren't necessary. I wore a black colored sweater along with dull red colored skirt that reached till my knees. I wore of pair of leggings as well after seeing the cold weather outside. The trees were shaking like I was—out of immense fear. I wore a pair of boots and grabbed my bag before hurrying out.

Molly had gone for work so it was upto me to switch off all the lights and lock the apartment. I went down to the basement and got my car. Taking a deep breath, I started driving towards Russell properties. Traffic at peak hours was horrible. The sun was out and shining. A thousands of cars were surrounded around me, horning, beeping, cutting lane and whatever they could to ruin my mood. When I reached the business area of the Denver, the traffic was minimized, almost gone. I was able to reach the building on time—maybe a little late.

"f**k, f**k," I groaned as I wasn't able to find my phone. I dug deep inside my car and finally found it in one of the holes. I stepped out and went inside the building.

Before wandering around alone, I approached the receptionist downside so she could tell me where Mr. Russell's office was as I had no idea.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" The woman asked with a smile. She wasn't the one who called me yesterday, her voice was different.

"Hello," I gulped before continuing. "Where is Mr. Russell's office?"

"20th floor," The receptionist replied with a smile.

"Thank you,"

I quickly went inside the elevator and pressed on the 20th floor. The elevator was crowded with people and even though it was big, I was unable to breathe, probably because I was getting anxious.

No one gets a chance to meet Mr. Russell every now and then. I was getting horribly late now. It was 12:30 and the woman on the phone told me to come by 12.

Wow, Keira, way to go! I applauded myself mentally as I stepped out of the elevator finally. The 20th floor was empty, secured with guards and a lot of women wandering around here and there.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The woman on the reception asked. She wasn't the one who called me either.

"Um, I got a call yesterday—"

Before I could finish speaking to the receptionist, a woman in formals approached me. She was a blonde and she was wearing spectacles.

"Keira Marrow?" The woman asked me and I nodded my head. This was the one who called me.

"Please, come with me." She said as motioned her hand towards the hallway. I followed her and she took me towards the end of the hallway where there was an office and a couple seats by the door.

"You can go in now," The woman said as she opened the door for me. I swallowed hard as the cold air hit me. I stepped inside to face a large office, it was larger than Gabriel's too.

The walls were painted white, there was a blend of beige involved in the curtains that were in front of the large glass windows where I could see the whole skyline of Denver. There were small golden lights all across the room. My eyes finally landed on the man, Mr. Russell. His perfectly brunette hair and trimmed bear made my legs feel wobbly. I felt light—headed, it was a result of being completely alone with a man, in such a high distance as the ground was nowhere to be seen from the windows.

"Ms. Keira, please have a seat." His voice was cold yet so pleasant, probably crafted by the God himself. I licked my dry lips and sat down on the seat in front of his pitch—black desk.

I could see he was fond of black.

"Hi," I whispered as I raised my fingers.

I had no idea how to talk to men. The previous managers I had were less young and more old, I had no problem talking to them as they gaze wasn't on me but when Mr. Russell saw me, it felt like I was naked. Gabriel was old too, so I had no problem talking to him as well but the man in front of me was different. His eyes were an invitation to darkness, they were shadowing uncertainty and horror.

"Would you like something?" Mr. Russell asked.

I shook my head and fisted my hands together. I needed to control my urges and whatever I was feeling deep inside. This was the CEO of Russell properties, the man behind it all, the mind behind it all.

"I spoke to Gabriel, you can keep your job." He quickly came to the point and my jaw dropped open.

"What? Why?" I shook my head. "I mean, good, good."

"Yes, but be very careful and don't create unnecessary arguments in the middle of nowhere. If you had a problem, you should've gone to the Human Resource department and they would have sort this out for you." Mr. Russell explained.

"I'll keep that in mind next time," I said.

"Next time? Your planning to make another mistake?" He asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"No, no, fuc...no, I mean—of course not!" I staggered on my words. I wanted to mentally slap myself for cursing in front of such an influential person.

My fingers nails were scratching the back of my palm as I felt nervous. My heart fluttered with happiness as I realized that I had gotten my job back.

"Good, you can return to your work from tomorrow onwards. Let me know if Gabriel causes anymore problems for you. I'll speak to him then," Mr. Russell said as he diverted his eyes away from me and onto his phone.

I sighed out of relief and stood up. "Thank you," I mumbled before rushing out of the office. I had never felt so shockingly-anxious in my life. What was this affect? How could a man, completely unknown, affect me to the point where my legs were shaking?

I stumbled across the door but I was able to leave without looking back. I couldn't even think what he would have thought about me — a clumsy fool.

I wanted to jump when I entered the elevator, out of happiness of course. I had gotten my job back and there was no way Gabriel could kick me out now. I felt like rolling and shoving the termination letter up his ass. That's what he deserves for yelling and kicking me out when it was barely my fault.

The elevator stopped on the ground floor and I hoped out with a smile on my face until I came across Gabriel himself.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a raging but a silent tone. He didn't want to upset his boss or get a yelling from him. After all, everyone bowed down to someone. I was under Gabriel and Gabriel was under Mr. Russell.

Mr. Russell was under no one though, that's what money and power lets you achieve.

"Mr. Russell called me yesterday and I met him. He told me that I can keep my job and that I don't need to worry about you. So about that termination letter...do you want it back or should I throw it?" I asked as I placed my hands on my hips and stood confidently. I was brimming with happiness.

"He said that? No, he can't." Gabriel was confused and startled from what I said. He repeatedly shook his head.

"Oops, he already did so see you tomorrow at the mall!" I said before waving my hand and leaving the building.

I hoped to my car and went inside. Switching it on, I dialed Molly's number to tell her the good news.

"Hey," She picked up the call and said.

"Hey, guess what? I got my job back!" I exclaimed.

"What? Really? How did the meeting go with Mr. Russell? How did he turn out to be? Nice? Arrogant? Sexy?" Molly asked with excitement. She really adored him.

"He was really nice. I can't believe I got it back! He told me to go to the HR next time. I was so terrified but it worked out. I'm happy as hell now. I'm starting work tomorrow," I blabbered. I didn't pull my car out of the parking lot yet because I wanted the happiness and excitement to dissolve in before I drove long distance back to my apartment.

"That's amazing! Was he hot?"

"Yes, really hot. He's so pretty, I can't even stop but really scary too." I shrugged.

"Scary? Did he have two horns on his head?" Molly asked with a laugh.

"No, I mean, there was this energy radiating off him like he was something dangerous and scary. I don't know—maybe I was just to anxious but all it great now." I explained.

"Good, good. See you later then! You're treating me tonight." Molly said. "I have got to go now so bye!" She added before cutting off the call.

I placed my phone on the dashboard and looked around to get my car out of the parking lot. I was parked just out of the building.

Russell Properties.

I caught a glimpse of Mr. Russell himself leaving the building and entering a 4 by 4 with two women beside him. They were definitely not his assistant and he seemed really happy. My lips parted as he bought one of the women to his lap inside the car. I looked away as uncertainty rose in my chest.

I shouldn't feel this.

Mr. Russell was a really known man, of course he'd a hundred women throwing themselves on his lap. That was his lifestyle. I scurried away from the scene and drove my car into the main streets of Denver.

During the drive back to my apartment, I got a call from Amanda.

"Mr. Gabriel informed me that you'll be working from tomorrow. Is the the truth? I thought you got fired?" Amanda asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes, I did get fired but then Mr. Russell fixed it all for me so I'll be working from tomorrow. See you!" I exclaimed.

Amanda didn't seem happy for some reason. She was going to get fired too and she feared it.

"Oh, that's good. Although, my time is going to be over. This is my last week then I'll have to go." Amanda said depressingly.

"Yes, I know."