Chapter 23 FIRST DAY AT HAYES INTERNATION
Ava's POV
The morning started with Dominic's alarm going off at six AM sharp.
I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head but he was already up, kissing my shoulder.
"Time to get ready. Your first official day at Hayes International." He pulled the covers off me and I tried to grab them back.
"I changed my mind. I don't want to work there." I said.
"Too late. I already had HR set up your office." He disappeared into the bathroom and I heard the shower start.
Two hours later I was standing in front of my closet in a towel, panicking.
"What do I wear to a billion-dollar company where everyone already thinks I slept my way in?" I called out.
Dominic appeared in the doorway already dressed in a charcoal suit.
"Wear the black dress. The one with the jacket." He walked over and pulled it out.
"It's professional but still you."
"Everyone's going to hate me." I said slowly, avoiding his gaze.
"Let them." He turned me around to face him. "You're smart, Ava. Smarter than half the people in that building. Show them that."
I got dressed and stared at myself in the mirror. The dress was perfect, hitting just below my knees with a fitted jacket that made me look older but that was very nice.
"You look beautiful." Dominic came up behind me and kissed my neck.
"And intimidating. Which is exactly what you need."
The drive to Hayes International was quiet, my stomach doing flips the entire time. When we pulled into the underground parking garage, I saw the reserved spot with Dominic's name and right next to it, a new sign that said
"A. Scott."
"You gave me a parking spot?" I asked, surprised.
"Of course. You work here now." He got out and came around to open my door.
We took a private elevator that went straight to the executive floor, and when the doors opened my breath caught. It was so big and beyond beautiful, I had only seen something like that in movies.
"Mr. Hayes, good morning." A woman in her thirties with perfect hair and a designer suit approached us.
"Miss Scott, I'm Priya Sharma, Mr. Hayes' executive assistant. I'll be showing you to your office."
Her smile didn't reach her eyes and I could tell immediately she didn't like me being there.
"Thank you, Priya." Dominic's hand rested on my lower back.
"Ava's office is next to mine, correct?"
"Yes, sir. Everything is set up as you requested." She turned and started walking.
My office was right next to Dominic's with a glass wall between us so we could see each other but still have privacy. It was bigger than my entire apartment with a massive desk, leather chairs, and that same incredible view.
"This is too much," I whispered to Dominic.
"It's perfect." He kissed my forehead.
"I have a meeting in ten minutes but I'll check on you after. Priya will introduce you to everyone."
He left and I was alone with Priya who was already looking at her tablet like I wasn't even there.
"So, Miss Scott, Mr. Hayes mentioned you'd be working on special projects." She said it like special projects was code for something else.
"Your assistant should be here any minute."
"I have an assistant?" I asked again, confused.
"Everyone at your level has an assistant." She walked to the door.
"I'll send her in when she arrives."
Five minutes later a girl who looked barely twenty knocked on my open door.
"Hi! I'm Jenny Park, your assistant. This is so exciting!" She bounced in with way too much energy for eight in the morning.
"I just started here two months ago so we can both be new together!"
At least she seemed friendly, that was nice for me.
"Thanks, Jenny. I'm Ava."
She was quite young and that explains her excitement and even how she talks. She pulled out her own tablet.
"So what do you need me to do?"
Before I could answer, there was a knock and a man in his fifties stuck his head in.
"Ava Scott? I'm Robert Davidson, VP of Marketing." He didn't come in, just stood in the doorway. "Dominic mentioned you'd be joining some of our team meetings. Looking forward to your input."
The way he said it made it clear he wasn't looking forward to anything.
The rest of the morning was just full of introductions. Sarah Kim from R&D, James from Security who barely grunted hello and Tom from IT who was actually nice and told me to call him if I had any tech issues.
And then Marcus Chen appeared in my doorway around eleven with two coffees.
"Thought you might need this." He handed me one. "First day can be overwhelming."
"Thank you. That's really nice."
"So how are you holding up?" He sat down and I noticed Jenny watching us through the glass.
"Honestly? Everyone either hates me or thinks I'm sleeping my way into a corner office."
"Which you are." He said it with a grin.
"Sleeping with the boss, I mean. The corner office you actually deserve."
"How would you know? You just met me."
"Because I sat in on that client meeting last week where you asked questions that made everyone else look stupid." He sipped his coffee.
"Dominic doesn't give positions to people just because they're pretty. He's smarter than that."
"Tell that to the rest of the floor."
"They'll come around. Or they won't. Either way, fuck them." He stood up.
"Team lunch at noon. You should come." He said
"I don't know..."
"Come on. You can't hide in here forever." He was already walking away.
"I'll swing by at twelve."
I spent the next hour trying to figure out what my actual job was supposed to be when Victoria appeared in my doorway.
"Settling in?" She looked around my office like she was pricing everything.
"Nice space. This used to be the CFO's office before Marcus moved to a bigger one."
"What can I do for you, Victoria?" I asked, kindly.
"Just being neighborly. We're going to be working together quite a bit." She sat down without being invited.
"Dominic put you on the international expansion project. That's my territory."
"I'm sure we can work together professionally." I stated out.
"Of course." She smiled that cold smile.
"Just remember, Ava. I've been here for five years. I know how things work. I know what Dominic needs before he knows it himself. You're going to need to prove yourself to earn anyone's respect here."
"I plan to."
"Good." She stood up and smoothed her skirt.
Marcus later came to call me for the lunch and we walked to the elevator and I glanced back to see Dominic watching through his office window. I waved and he didn't wave back, just stared.
In the elevator Marcus hit the button for the ground floor.
"There's a great salad place around the corner. Whole marketing team goes there."
"Is Dominic going to be mad I went without telling him?"
"Probably. But you're a grown woman with a job. You're allowed to eat lunch." He looked at me. "Unless you want me to check with him first?" He said.
"No. You're right. I don't need permission to have lunch."
The restaurant was crowded and loud, and the Hayes International team had pushed three tables together in the back. Sarah Kim was there, along with Robert, a few people I hadn't met yet, and Tom from IT.
"Everyone, this is Ava. Be nice or I'll tell Dominic you weren't." Marcus pulled out a chair for me.
"So Ava, what exactly is your role going to be?" Robert asked before I'd even sat down.
"I'm still figuring that out, honestly. Dominic mentioned special projects and international expansion."
"International expansion is Victoria's domain." Sarah took a bite of her salad.
"Has been for three years."
"I'm sure there's room for both of us." I said.
"Sure there is." Tom jumped in, clearly trying to help.
"More minds on a project is always good."
The conversation moved on to office gossip and I started to relax. Until Sarah turned to me with a smile that wasn't friendly.
"So Ava, just out of curiosity. What's your educational background?"
"I didn't go to college. Couldn't afford it." I said.
"Ah." She nodded like that explained everything. "Well, at least try to look like you earned your position here. Even if we all know how you really got it."
The table went quiet and Marcus started to say something but I held up my hand.
"You're right, Sarah. I didn't go to college. I couldn't afford it because I was too busy working three jobs to pay my mother's medical bills. But you know what? I'm still smart enough to be here. So if you have a problem with that, we can discuss it. Or you can just keep making passive-aggressive comments and I'll keep ignoring you."
I stood up, grabbed my purse, and walked out.
Behind me I heard Marcus say,
"Well that was fucking rude, Sarah."
I made it back to the building and straight to my office, my hands shaking with anger and embarrassment.
My phone buzzed and it was a text from Dominic saying I should come to his office.
Great. Truth is, I actually don't care what no one has to say. They really weren't as righteous as I was, but desperation really hadn't met them.
Yes, I slept with Dominic. Yes,I need his money. and yes, I enjoy is cock that I want it Everytime.
I walked next door and he was standing at his window, his back to me.
"Close the door."
I did and he turned around.
"You went to lunch without telling me." He said
"I went to lunch with coworkers. Like a normal person with a normal job."
"This isn't a normal job and you know it." He moved toward me.
"Do you have any idea how it felt watching you leave with Marcus?"
"I'm allowed to have lunch with people, Dominic."
"Not when I specifically asked you to stay close." He said.
"You didn't ask. You never ask. You just expect me to read your mind and do what you want!"
We were both getting louder and I suddenly remembered the glass walls that everyone could see through.
"This isn't the place..." I started.
"I don't care." He backed me up against the door. "You want everyone to know you're mine? Fine."
Before I could respond, he was kissing me hard, his hands already pulling at my jacket.
"Dominic, people can see..."
"Let them see." He walked me backward toward his desk, sweeping everything off it in one motion. Papers and pens scattered everywhere but he wants on
"We can't..."
"We can and we are." He lifted me onto the desk and pushed my skirt up.
"You want to assert your independence? Fine. But don't forget who you belong to."
His hand slid between my thighs and I gasped.
"Dominic, please, everyone can...oh God..."
The glass walls were frosted but not soundproof. Anyone walking by could hear if we weren't careful.
His fingers pushed my panties aside and I had to bite my lip to keep quiet.