Chapter 31 Her New Boss!
“I’ll think about it,” said Alyssa. She somehow had an inkling that maybe it was Nicholas who had sent Maxwell here with a job offer for her. However, more than that, what irked her was how did Nicholas know she had shifted here with Eva!
“There’s nothing to think about, Alyssa. The pay is huge. In fact, it sounds too good to be true,” said Eva as they sat on the bed.
“That’s exactly why I am suspicious that Nicholas might be the one offering me the job.” Eva gaped at her friend since she had hardly considered that angle. “Didn’t you hear Maxwell admit it was Nicholas who gave him our address?”
“I’m sure he’s stalking you,” said Eva, making Alyssa’s jaws drop as a feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Why would he? This is so creepy, Eva,” she shuddered. “Anyway, I still have the pay in my account to fall back on if I don’t take up the job offer. Don’t worry.”
The next morning, Alyssa was ready to go to Maxwell’s office to find out more about the job. She decided that if it was Nicholas’s ploy to get her to work for him, she would decline outright. However, before reaching the office, she accessed the ATM center to withdraw the salary from her account. However, every time, she inserted her card; the machine rejected her transaction. What was going on? Did her stepdad have anything to do with it? She should have opened a personal account of her own long back instead of having a joint account with her stepdad. It had been the best way since he would deposit money in his account and she was free to withdraw any amount. Now it seemed her moving out of his apartment had made him block her from accessing the money in the account. Why would he freeze her account and inconvenience her this way? Now without the salary, she did not know how they would survive for the next fifteen days.
Disappointed, worried, and stressed, she went to Maxwell’s office. Being fifteen minutes late, she knew she would be on the receiving end for her tardiness. However, Maxwell smiled with relief at seeing her and ushered her towards his conference room.
“I thought you weren’t interested in the offer. What happened? You look stressed?” asked Maxwell, seeing the devastated look on her face.
“Nothing much. I just discovered that my stepdad froze my bank account. It had my salary.” She helplessly flailed her arms.
“That’s very unfortunate. I think you should take up this job instead of pleading with your stepdad for money.” Alyssa nodded, and they went into the conference room to see a man waiting for them.
“This is Jacob Stewart, HR Manager of Donnelly Financial Services. He is here to interview you and complete the formalities on behalf of Nicholas, in his absence,” said Maxwell, and a gasp escaped Alyssa. So she was right all along. Nicholas had indeed sent Maxwell with a job offer for her. “Mr. Stewart, this is Alyssa Van Every.”
The man came forward and greeted her and they sat down to discuss her scope of work while Maxwell left to attend to his own work.
“I hope you are aware of your duties as the Personal Assistant to our CEO and owner, Nicholas Donnelly,” he asked, but Alyssa shook her head. He explained briefly what her scope of work was. She would have to report to Nicholas, take care of his schedule, be well-versed in the services the company provided, and be able to deal with calls and emails independently. She needed to travel with him and help him in his business meets and to communicate his orders to the rest of the departments and so on. Apart from traveling with him, Alyssa had no problem at all. She needed the money and would stick around until she found a better opening. She was a grown woman and could keep things professional between them. What could happen in a crowded office?
“Here is an agreement that you need to go through and sign, Ms. Van Every,” said Mr. Stewart, handing her a document to check and sign. Alyssa hesitated, but took it from him.
“Actually, before I sign this, I have a small favor to ask from the company, Mr. Stewart. Would it be possible for me to get half the salary in advance?” she knew it was an absurd request, but she had to take a chance. The man looked flustered and thoughtful.
“I can’t decide that, Ms. Van Every. Let me call my employer and ask him,” said the man, excusing himself and going out of the room to call Nicholas. Alyssa sighed and scanned through the document which contained the information Mr. Stewart had just told her. He returned after two minutes with a smile on his face.
“Yes, Ms. Van Every. Mr. Donnelly has agreed to pay you half of your salary in advance. Can you please provide me with your bank address?” he asked.
“I don’t have a bank account yet, but I will soon create one. Can you give me the payment in cash?” she requested hesitantly.
“Yes, we can, but you have to sign this bond here. It states that you cannot leave the job for a year,” said the man, handing her another document. Alyssa went through the clauses and sighed. There wasn’t any other way than to sell her soul and work for the devil. At least it was better than the life she had left behind. If her stepdad and her brother had thought that they could compel her to do their bidding, they were wrong. She would never bow down to them. On an impulse, she signed both the documents and handed them over to Mr. Stewart, who looked extremely pleased with himself.
“The money will be delivered to your new address in two hours. You are requested to reach our office tomorrow at 8 sharp. Have a nice day, Ms. Van Every,” said the man, getting up and leaving. After he left, Alyssa sat quietly, contemplating what she had just done. Had she done the correct thing? After all, Nicholas was no saint. He was as bad as her brother.
The door opened, and Maxwell entered with a relieved smile on his face. “Congratulations on getting a new job. So when do you join?” he asked.
“Tomorrow,” said Alyssa, her tone dull, lifeless. She hadn’t taken this job up out of her free will, but her family had forced her to.
“Come on, cheer up. It can’t be that bad,” he said when the door opened and an attendant brought some refreshments for them. “Please help yourself,” urged Maxwell.
Alyssa sipped the refreshing drink that calmed her considerably, and she realized how stressed she had been. “Thanks for the drink, Maxwell. I’ll go home now. Eva will wait for an update,” she said, getting up. Maxwell’s face brightened up at the mention of Eva’s name.
“I’ll come down in the evening with dinner,” he said, and Alyssa smiled at him.
“See you then. Bye,” she said and left in a rush to update Eva before she left for work. She reached their apartment and pressed the doorbell, but the sound of voices coming from inside alerted her. Who could Eva be talking to? No, scratch that! She wasn’t talking, she was arguing with someone. After a few minutes, she pressed the doorbell again and Eva opened the door, her face flushed with anger.
“What’s wrong? Who were you fighting with?” asked Alyssa, walking into the house but froze seeing her brother standing in the middle of the living room. How did he find them? How did he know their address?
“What are you doing here, Alex?” she demanded angrily.
“I’ve come to take you both home,” he said gruffly.
“I’ve bought this apartment and I’m not going anywhere with you. This is my home,” said Eva pointedly. It made Alexander angrier, and he glared menacingly at her.
“What was the need to suddenly buy an apartment?” he demanded.
“I’m tired of living in other people’s houses and being trampled upon like trash. I refuse to be addressed as a beggar girl. Tell your dad that I have an apartment of my own now,” she spat back, taking Alexander by surprise.
“Ah, so that is what this is all about? Look, dad didn’t mean it that way. He was just upset with Alyssa.” Eva scoffed at his lame excuse.
“Being upset doesn’t give him the right to insult me, Alexander. Whatever! Even you’re no better, since you didn’t say a word to correct his misconception about me. I share the food bills, electricity bills, and all expenses equally with Alyssa, in contrast to what your father hinted at,” fought back Eva, taking out all her pent-up frustration on him. Alexander gazed back at her, taken by surprise, while she stomped away to the bedroom and locked herself in. He sighed and turned his attention to his sister.
“Dad wants you to return home, Alyssa. You won’t be able to survive here for long without money, anyway. You might have already figured out that he has frozen your bank account,” said Alexander, but Alyssa seemed unaffected by his speech.
“Let him. I’ve found a job and I can survive here all by myself without his money. I’m not going back. Goodbye, Alexander. Find yourself someone else to bully,” she said, opening the door wide for him to leave.